Bill Moyers Puts the Spotlight on the Bare Knuckle Fight to Buy and Control Our Democracy

Moyers interviews reformers Lawrence Lessig and Zephyr Teachout on how money dominates our political system.

By Bill Moyers

November 14, 2014 | In this turbulent midterm election year, two academics -- Zephyr Teachout and Larry Lessig --decided to practice what they preached. They left the classroom, confronted the reality of down-and-dirty politics, and tried to replace moneyed interests with the public interest. Neither was successful – this year, at least – but on this week’s show, Bill Moyers talks with them about their experiences and the hard-fought lessons learned about the state of American democracy.

BILL MOYERS: Welcome. What happens when two college professors leave the theories of the classroom behind for the real world of bare-knuckle politics? Well, they learn a lesson the hard way. Just ask Zephyr Teachout and Larry Lessig. Each is an outstanding scholar. She teaches constitutional and property law at Fordham Law School here in New York, and recently published this highly acclaimed book, “Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United.” Larry Lessig teaches law at Harvard and directs that university’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. Both champion free and fair competition in our economy and our elections. Zephyr Teachout ran for governor of New York in the Democratic primary against incumbent and friend of Wall Street, Andrew Cuomo.