“Until the 1980s, candidates spent a fraction of their time talking to donors; just a few weeks a year, a little more right before an election. True, they'd fund raise from the wealthy interests, as they do now, but it was a minuscule part of their job: policy and constituent services were the heart of the work.”

American attorney, author, political candidate, and professor

Zephyr Rain Teachout is an American attorney, author, political candidate, and professor at Fordham University. She specializes in democracy law and antitrust law. Her work and public life connect legal scholarship with political engagement. At Fordham, she focuses on the rules and structures that shape democratic government, while her writing and campaigns have brought those ideas into the public arena.