Politics with Paul

Approachable, nonpartisan, and nonideological analysis of various political topics by nonpartisan political analyst, writer, researcher, and speaker Paul Rader.

How Can We Restore Trust in Political Institutions? w/ Sherman Tylawsky | Politics with Paul #107

E108 • Aug 25, 2026 • 63 mins

How did we come to have such disturbingly low trust in so many American political institutions? And how do we restore that faith? Today's Politics with Paul guest, Sherman Tylawsky of the George Washington Institute, discusses these questions and more. Tune in to hear his insights on why it is important to have some faith (but not blind and unthinking faith) in the basic organizations, rules, and systems of American politics; why this lack of trust is a threat to democracy; and how fixing the problem is attainable.

Key Points

Improving civics education can significantly enhance respect and trust in political institutions by involving citizens more actively in the political process.
Institutions such as the military and certain civic nonprofits still enjoy high levels of respect, while political parties and Congress are particularly maligned and in desperate need of repair.
Partisan and ideological perceptions heavily influence trust in institutions, and addressing this issue requires promoting socialization across political divides and reducing the emphasis on rigid ideological identities.

SHERMAN'S LINKS

George Washington Institute: https://georgewashingtoninstitute.org/
Friends & Fellow Citizens Podcast: https://ffc.buzzsprout.com/
Friends & Fellow Citizens Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsfellowcitizens

PAUL'S LINKS Other Works

FREE 5-day educational email course on how to fight polarization: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
Buy my book about political independents: https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Medium articles on elections and political science: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/

Media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
Email: [email protected]

Speakers

Paul Rader

Host • 38%

Sherman Tylawsky

Guest • 62%

Chapters

0:00	Intro: Sherman Tylawsky and Trust in Political Institutions
1:51	Why Sherman Got Invested in Trust in Political Institutions
5:28	The George Washington Institute and What it Does
10:17	How Understandable is the Distrust of Institutions?
17:31	Is There a Difference Between Trust and Respect?
23:44	What Institutions are Trusted or Maligned the Most?
31:52	Party and Ideology Labels' Impact on Faith in Institutions
41:05	How Improving Civics Would Boost Trust in Institutions
50:00	How to Convince People to Have More Faith in Institutions
58:53	Random Question: The Word You'd Ban From the English Language
1:01:49	Closing and Links to Our Works

Transcript

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