The Washington Center hosts the Inside Washington Seminar each year, which brings together students and faculty from all over the country to examine the most pressing issues facing the nation, engage with elected officials, practitioners, thought leaders and one another. This year, Inside Washington is opening its doors to a broader audience by filming and publishing some of the talks from the opening day’s plenary session. Listen to the introductory remarks by Dr. Scott McLean of Quinnipiac University, as he frames the debate over the health of American democracy and what the outcome of the 2022 midterms told us about the state of our institutions. This episode is part of a series done in partnership with GBH Forum Network, The Washington Center, Ford Hall Forum, Suffolk University Political Science and Legal Studies Department.