Democracy Innovators Podcast

The Democracy Innovators Podcast is an independent publication launched in February 2025 by Alessandro Oppo and Carlo Michaelis. Society is complex, and technology is evolving rapidly. Today, we use technology extensively in governance, and in the future, it will become even more pervasive in the political sphere. This podcast provides a space to discuss these changes, explore possibilities, and ultimately shape the future together. Our mission is to share insider stories about civic tech by interviewing those working on new forms of participation. We aim to highlight and add value to the incredible projects created by civic hackers. www.democracyinnovators.com

Democracy Innovators Podcast is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Democracy Innovators Podcast, a news show with 0 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #62

  Paul Nemitz on AI’s threat to democracy, Big Tech power & decentralization

  Oct 1, 202646 min

  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 treating code as law, and the importance of human judgment. The conversation concludes with a case for decentralizing AI and involving technologists directly in democratic institutions and debate. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider making a donation. It really helps us to sustain the podcast. PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7KCR9XBSCQVMG

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  Episode #61

  Thomas Lorenz on Brief nach Berlin, lowering barriers to participation & open-source civic tech

  Sep 22, 202653 min

  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 barriers to participation while preserving meaningful human action. It also considers AI’s risks for privacy, dependence and social isolation, as well as its potential to make public administration more responsive and democratic collaboration easier. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider making a donation. It really helps us to sustain the podcast. PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7KCR9XBSCQVMG

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  Episode #59

  Terry Bouricius on multi-body sortition and redesigning democratic lawmaking

  Sep 15, 20261 hour

  Terry Bouricius is a former Vermont lawmaker who has spent decades working on democracy reform, now focused on sortition — the use of random selection to form representative citizens’ bodies. His experience as both a politician and reformer led him to question whether elections are actually democratic. In this episode, he explains why he sees elected legislatures as inherently oligarchic, drawing on citizens’ assemblies, ancient Athens, and experiments in Ireland and elsewhere. We discuss how randomly selected bodies could make laws, how technology and AI might support deliberation, why advisory assemblies need real consequences, and why politicians may have little incentive to pursue consensus. Bouricius also outlines his vision for a multi-body democracy beyond elections. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider making a donation. It really helps us to sustain the podcast. PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7KCR9XBSCQVMG

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  Episode #58

  Malik Lakoubay from Dark Matter Labs on financing civic infrastructure and democratic innovation

  Sep 10, 202656 min

  Malik Lakoubay is a system builder and co-runs the Expanding Civilizational Optionality initiative at Dark Matter Labs, working at the intersection of civic infrastructure, finance, technology, and democratic renewal. In this episode, he explores how technology can enable new forms of participation and collective decision-making, from quadratic voting to community sensing in Mumbai. The conversation takes a provocative turn into “civic finance”: treating civic infrastructure as an asset class and exploring democracy bonds as a way to mobilize private capital for public value. Lakoubay also discusses token economics, incentive design, and why democratic innovation may require rethinking how value is created, measured, and shared. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider making a donation. It really helps us to sustain the podcast. PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7KCR9XBSCQVMG

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  Episode #57

  Olivier Schulbaum on democracy after the platform and the struggle for democratic infrastructures

  Sep 1, 202654 min

  Olivier Schulbaum co-founded Platoniq, a foundation at the intersection of participation, civic technology, culture, social innovation and democratic experimentation. He explains why citizen assemblies on sensitive issues should begin with those most affected, allowing them to shape the agenda before experts frame the question. The conversation also examines how institutional “technification” can drain citizens’ proposals of their original meaning. It then turns to GRID, an experimental AI agent with a legislative-theatre “joker” that interrupts the flow and asks participants to reflect. Rather than treating AI as a frictionless route to consensus, Schulbaum explores technology that deliberately introduces friction into deliberation. If you enjoy our podcast, please consider making a donation. It really helps us to sustain the podcast. PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/7KCR9XBSCQVMG

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