New Hampshire is a state that prides itself on its civic engagement — especially at the local level. But in recent years, rising polarization and misinformation have complicated matters for communities trying to find common ground.
With New Hampshire's annual town meeting season as the backdrop, NHPR's "In Our Backyard" series sought to chronicle the state of local democracy and the experiences of the people who make it work in 2022: from election workers to librarians to everyday citizens who show up to participate. Along the way, we tried to avoid focusing solely on the debates dividing communities — we also tried to highlight the people who were actively working to bridge those divisions and welcome more voices into the democratic process.
The audio player above provides a montage of some of that coverage. A link to all of the stories in the series can be found here.