SNF-Agora
@snfagora
The SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University aims to revitalize the spirit of the ancient agora in today’s world by fostering inclusive dialogue, debate, and collective action to strengthen pluralistic democracy.
Who gets to tell the American story? On July 30, presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky and SNF Agora Institute faculty member Leah Wright join moderator Eugene Scott to examine myth, memory, and democracy’s future. buff.ly/bMGhElg @harvardash.bsky.social
U.S. history may be polarizing Americans more by generation than by race or ideology, according to new research from SNF Agora Institute's Peter Pomerantsev and Millions of Conversations. Read more. buff.ly/3dZ4yZz
SNF Agora Sr Fellow Peter Pomerantsev examines how power is shaped by narrative as much as territory. In a new piece for the Financial Times, he unpacks how Russia’s story works, where it fractures, and what states can do now. Read the story: buff.ly/ziMSk36
Now accepting applications for a 2026–27 Artist in Residence. Focus area: Democracy and the Media. We welcome artists working across visual, performance, musical, and interdisciplinary forms. Stipend up to $25,000. Apply by March 2 snfagora.jhu.edu/vf
SNF Agora is recruiting Visiting Fellows from diverse sectors, disciplines, backgrounds, and ideologies to work with our faculty, researchers, and students during the 2026-2027 academic year. The focus area is democracy and the media. For info, or to apply, visit snfagora.jhu.edu/vf.
SNF Agora Institute Professor of International Affairs Henry Farrell joined The Ezra Klein Show for a wide-ranging conversation on global power and economic leverage. buff.ly/lg8CyQT
Welcome Back! Join us for cocoa and conversation! The SNF Agora Institute is hosting a low-key, drop-in welcome for students, faculty, and staff interested in democracy, civic life, and public dialogue at JHU. January 29, 6-7:30 pm, Bloomberg Student Center, Room 216 All are welcome.
When the Wolves Came, hosted by SNF Agora sociologist Ruth Braunstein, has been named one of The Atlantic’s 20 Best Podcasts of 2025. The series examines Christian nationalism in American evangelicalism with a focus on how people change their beliefs and identities over time. buff.ly/Z6jD1r5
Philanthropy has the potential to defend democracy or to destabilize it. In his new op-ed, Daniel Stid issues a simple injunction: First, do no harm. He offers 5 concrete steps that philanthropic funders can take to support pluralism and strengthen liberal democracy. Read it here: buff.ly/io27Ucu
Free Speech for Me, But Not for Thee. SNF Agora's Lilliana Mason discusses what data we have on how Americans think about political violence. Listen to On the Media. www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm...
It's not too late to register to watch the live stream of tonight's @Opentodebate. Learn the Legacy of the COVID Pandemic tonight at 6:30 buff.ly/3WJlQU6
The Hopkins Forum continues with a live debate in Baltimore on the legacy of COVID-19. Leading voices in public health and medicine reflect on what went wrong, what we learned, and how we can prepare for the next crisis. With Tom Frieden, Jerome Adams, Dara Kass, Doctor Mike RSVP buff.ly/ko8fLQd
From “Red Plenty” to “Dark Abundance,” competing visions shape how we think about growth, governance, & opportunity. SNF Agora faculty member Steven Teles traces the rise of different “abundances” in his latest analysis. Explore the varieties of abundance: buff.ly/rpYm6Eo
What if complexity isn’t a problem to eliminate—but a reality to understand? In Carnegie India’s review, Suyash Rai reflects on Yuen Yuen Ang’s Adaptive Political Economy—a new paradigm and method for studying development as nonlinear, co-evolutionary. buff.ly/H2XbYsE
How can democracies stay resilient in a time of global disruption? SNF Agora and @chathamhouse_org are partnering to find answers through global webinars, youth forums, and two key sessions at the 2025 London Conference. Details: buff.ly/TtJPnwg
SNF Agora faculty Martha S. Jones co-authored an amicus brief defending birthright citizenship, drawing on decades of Black civic advocacy before the Civil War. Read: bit.ly/MJ-amicus @marthasjones.bsky.social
“Digital platforms can foster cross-national engagement and mutual curiosity.” New research from SNF Agora’s Yuen Yuen Ang shows: Tradional media → more hostility; Social/online media → more moderate views buff.ly/hXfHM9K
Leaders in democratic development, public-minded AI, fair, and civic life, including the institute’s inaugural Artist in Residence, join Johns Hopkins as SNF Agora Visiting Fellows buff.ly/3uw2Bgv
Can the U.S. stay ahead of China in the AI race by controlling AI chip access? Join former congressman Will Hurd and experts from both sides of the aisle for a live debate at The Hopkins Forum on May 14. Reserve your seat: buff.ly/USPcUE3
How do universities foster intellectual diversity while strengthening civic life? SNF Agora faculty Amy Binder, Andrew Perrin, and Simon Halliday are helping lead the way. More on the Civic Thought Project and upcoming conference here: buff.ly/aTWRamg
Jim Baer talks with SNF Agora political scientist Steven Teles. They discuss how shifting class dynamics are driving America's political polarization and increasing distrust in institutions like higher education and public health. 🎧 Listen on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform.
SNF Agora's Martha S. Jones powerfully counters claims against exploring complex histories, emphasizing honest storytelling as essential for strengthening communities and national identity. Watch her insightful interview segment on MSNBC here: on.msnbc.com/43uSLYl
“We need to stop imagining AI as super-powered individual intelligences and start seeing it for what it is, a system that reorganizes information and power” explains SNF Agora’s Henry Farrell Read more: bit.ly/3XXBiE9 @himself.bsky.social
Louis Hyman, an SNF Agora Professor at Johns Hopkins, told MarketWatch that federal job cuts are unprecedented and threaten stability, especially for the Black middle class. Read more: www.marketwatch.com/story/federa...
SNF Agora is now accepting applications for our faculty grant program! Learn more about the application by scanning the QR code or at https://buff.ly/4gZUNm8.
Join Dr. Chris Krupenye for a fascinating discussion on the psychology behind human politics and its evolutionary roots in our closest primate relatives. 2/27, noon – 1:30 pm SNF Agora Conference Room, Wyman N325F, and Zoom https://buff.ly/4ifIx1V
Join us Friday evening for a debate and dinner, discussing the Trump administration's actions on immigration, the Department of Government Efficiency, and more. Dinner is included. February 28,7:30pm - 9pm Gilman 132
As part of our Spring 2025 Pizza and Politics series, Professor Adam Sheingate will present his new data-science-meets-political-science project: The Election Spending Dashboard. February 26 @ 11:30 am – 1:00 pm Free Pizza at 11.30am. Talk begins 12.00pm.
Join SNF Agora and the Hopkins Bloomberg Center for a conversation with David Smolansky, Edmundo González, and María Corina Machado on Venezuela’s fight for democracy and its global impact. RSVP at this link: https://buff.ly/4hGbowt