On Wednesday, December 11, we will be holding a conversation to break down the election and the state of American democracy, especially the state of democracy around us in the Mid-South.

We don’t know exactly where we’ll be in terms of election outcomes or the state of political discourse, but we do know it will be worth talking about!

Join us for a night of great conversation! Tickets are only $10, plus service fees. If you’d like to support us further, you can also make a donation here.

FEATURING

Dr. Allyson Shortle

Dr. Allyson Shortle is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Political Science department at the University of Oklahoma, where she researches group identity in the context of American political behavior. She runs OU’s Community Engagement + Experiments Laboratory (CEEL), Oklahoma City’s Community Poll (Exit Poll), and OU’s Democracy Survey of OU freshmen.

Dr. Shortle is currently serving as a 2024-2025 Public Religion Research Fellow, where she engages in public scholarship at the intersection of religion, culture, and politics. Her co-authored Cambridge University Press book, The Everyday Crusade: Christian Nationalism in American Politics (2022 – w. Eric L. McDaniel and Irfan Nooruddin), examines the relationship between American religious exceptionalism and prejudicial and antidemocratic attitudes. Her book was named one of the American Library Association's "Choice Reviews" for 2023. She is also part of multiple trans-disciplinary and cross-university research teams that employ community-engaged approaches to assist with rural renewal efforts in Oklahoma.

Austin Gelder

Austin Gelder is the editor of The Arkansas Times. There, she primarily covers government, politics, and education.

Austin has over two decades of experience in journalism and editorial work, including at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Heifer International’s World Ark magazine.

Matthew Moore

Matthew Moore is the senior producer and cohost of Ozarks At Large, a daily hour-long newsmagazine from KUAF Public Radio in Fayetteville. Matthew's reporting covers local and state politics, civic engagement, as well as arts and culture.