Archive · 66 conversations
Interviews and field notes from people building new forms of democratic practice.
Paul Nemitz examines how concentrated control over data, infrastructure and AI can weaken democratic life, and argues that these technologies are not politically neutral. Drawing on his experience with the GDPR and other EU digital legislation, he discusses regulatory enforcement, the limits of trea
Thomas Lorenz discusses Brief nach Berlin, an open-source, AI-assisted tool that helps citizens identify the appropriate political representative, draft a letter about a local concern and then copy it by hand. The conversation uses this practical project to examine how civic technology can lower bar
Former Vermont lawmaker Terry Bouricious explains how observing the British Columbia Citizens’ Assembly led him to focus on sortition: selecting ordinary citizens by lottery to make public decisions. Drawing on his experience inside elected politics, he argues that elections favor political elites a
Malik Lakoubay of Dark Matter Labs discusses how civic infrastructure can be financed as an asset class rather than depending solely on philanthropy. Drawing on his work with RadicalxChange and Dark Matter Labs, he explores democracy and civic bonds, community-led risk sensing in Mumbai, data owners
Olivier Schulbaum discusses how Platoniq and Goteo connect civic technology, culture, social innovation and democratic experimentation. He examines citizen assemblies through affective legitimacy, enclave deliberation and art-based methods, arguing that those most affected should help set the agenda
Ryan Koch, host of Civic Tech Chat, joins Alessandro Oppo for a cross-podcast conversation about how civic tech has evolved from volunteer networks into a professional field—and how AI is changing what people can build for the public good.
Gianluca Misuraca of Inspiring Futures Europe, coordinator of the European Union AI Skills Academy, discusses how foresight can help societies shape technological change. He explains why democratic control of AI depends on digital sovereignty, public-sector skills, interoperability, better procureme
Alvaro Oleart is an academic researcher at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. In this episode, he discusses citizen assemblies, EU participation, Big Tech, AI, collective actors, social movements, and why democratic innovation should avoid depoliticized shortcuts.
Alberto Fernandez Gibaja leads International IDEA's global work on technology and democracy. In this episode, he reflects on digital sovereignty, AI governance, data rights, representative democracy, political parties, and why democratic societies need political will to shape technology.
Simon Horton is a negotiation expert and author of The End of Conflict. In this episode, he discusses collaborative negotiation, political conflict, peace processes, deliberative democracy, and the potential role of AI in helping societies resolve disputes.
Anthony Zacharzewski is the founder of Democratic Society, an organization working across Europe to build democratic infrastructure and improve participation in government. In this conversation, he discusses how participation can become part of institutional design, why democracy must engage serious
Kenobit, also known as Fabio, discusses why decentralized social networks and the fediverse are not just a technical alternative to commercial platforms, but a political issue. In this conversation, we talk about Mastodon, ActivityPub, algorithms, engagement, moderation, non-proprietary digital spac
