Political Comedy and Entertainment: Saving or Stifling Our Democracy?

Description

Join this engaging hybrid workshop featuring members of the newly announced 2025-26 SNF Agora Visiting Fellows, a remarkable group of journalists, artists, faith leaders, social scientists, democracy and human rights advocates, and policy experts who have come to Johns Hopkins University to explore critical questions about democracy and civic life. This workshop embodies the SNF Agora Institute's mission to connect theory with practice and invite our community to think more broadly about democracy—what it looks like, who it serves, and how we shape it together.

This month, the SNF Agora Institute will explore the role of political entertainment in shaping civic engagement and democratic participation with Amy Becker, professor of communication and media at Loyola University Maryland. Becker's work explores how comedy, celebrity, and entertainment shape civic behavior, especially among younger audiences. During her time at SNF Agora, Becker is investigating how political comedy and entertainment can foster a more engaged, less polarized, and more informed citizenry in our democratic systems.

Featured Project: Political Comedy and Entertainment: Saving or Stifling Our Democracy?

Becker is examining whether entertaining political content is helping to build a more active, responsible, and well-informed citizenry or simply preaching to the choir. With the late-night comedy landscape lacking demographic and ideological diversity and podcasts becoming the medium of choice for political conversation, she explores what role political comedy and entertainment can play in fostering democratic engagement. Come learn how infotainment—from sitcoms to TikTok videos to podcasts—can bridge divides, inform traditionally less engaged audiences, and encourage the formation of issue publics while remaining relevant in the age of AI and democratic challenges.