Outrage Overload

A Connors Institute podcast

Outrage 98 – Why Saving Democracy Sounds Like a Threat to Conservatives – Scott Warren and Sophia Winner

Aired Oct 7, 2026

When pro-democracy advocates talk about “protecting institutions” or “preserving democratic norms,” why does that message so often fall flat in conservative communities?

In this episode of Outrage Overload, we sit down with researchers Scott Warren and Sophia Winner from the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. They unpack a groundbreaking ethnographic study exploring how conservative Americans actually perceive democratic institutions, state legitimacy, and political trust.

Rather than relying on quantitative polling or surface-level focus groups, this deep ethnographic research engaged participants in rural Wyoming, suburban South Carolina, and Ottawa County, Michigan, for multi-hour interviews. The findings reveal a fundamental disconnect: while mainstream democracy messaging focuses on procedural norms, conservative trust originates at a much deeper level—the moral foundation.

Sophia Winner is SNF Agora Research Program Coordinator. A graduate of the University of Maryland with degrees in Government and Politics and Economics, she focuses on civic engagement, economic policy, and democratic participation.

Scott Warren is SNF Agora Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. He leads initiatives exploring pro-democracy conservative agendas, national civic participation, and democratic reform. A pioneer in civic education, Warren is the author of Generation Citizen: The Power of Youth in Politics, and former advisor to USAID. He has taught at Brown, Stanford, and JHU, and writes widely on political engagement, youth activism, and democratic resilience.