How to Save Democracy

How to Save Democracy
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Personal Journals

Democracy is in trouble. Around the world, trust is breaking down, systems are creaking, and people are walking away. But we still believe in it. Not as something we have, but as something we do. How To Save Democracy is a podcast about repairing our relationship with democracy, hosted by Omezzine Khelifa and Jon Alexander, with producer Jo Barratt. We hold space for the hard conversations — the ones we all know we need to have. We'd love to know what you think when you've had a listen. If you want more, we need your help. Sign up, spread the word, and if you can, support us. Let’s rebuild democracy together.

  1. 5d ago

    The DOCE Proposal

    Jon has spent much of the last year based at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, as a Visiting Fellow on the “Reimagining Democracy” programme. As part of this, he published an essay calling for the creation of Departments of Citizen Empowerment at every level of government, everywhere in the world. In this episode, Omezzine interviews Jon about the ideas in the essay, with the help of our new friend from the University of Manchester, political theorist Jonny Benson. Chapters (00:00:01) - How to Save Democracy(00:01:18) - Community turnout to stop far-right violence in the UK(00:05:01) - Republicans on Doge and the(00:12:11) - Proposal: Department of Citizen Empowerment(00:15:21) - Have We Lost Faith in Humanity?(00:17:23) - What a Tuesday afternoon in the UK(00:18:44) - Citizen Empowerment and the US(00:24:31) - CISO empowerment and the traditional institutions(00:34:09) - John's Call for Citizens Empowerment(00:38:46) - How to Save Democracy

  2. Jul 16

    Double Take Debate: How to Save Democracy

    Jon took the hot seat for this episode of award-winning comedian Robin Clyfan’s new current affairs podcast, Double Take Debate. This discussion pits the politics of deliverism, where politicians try to fix the problems of the world for us, against our vision of a more participatory democracy, where people hold the solutions to our own problems. The politics of England’s new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, get a mention or two along the way… Chapters (00:00:01) - Double Take Debate(00:00:41) - The question we're asking today(00:02:14) - In the Elevator With Matthew Torbett and John Alexander(00:03:24) - John and Matthew on the Future of Democracy(00:10:14) - On taxation and the future of the UK(00:17:36) - Democracy and the angry vote(00:22:47) - Citizens assemblies and their dangers(00:27:22) - Citizens assemblies and democratic accountability(00:29:56) - Crowdsourcing the Election(00:34:37) - The seriousness of politics(00:39:54) - Why We Should Save Democracy

  3. Jul 9

    It Takes a City

    Our friends Flavio and Stefania have brought together stories of participation and democracy from across four continents. In this episode, they interview the pioneering Portuguese politician Graça Fonseca about her time as Deputy Mayor of Lisbon - and about that city’s participatory budget, which every years sees millions of euros directly allocated to citizen ideas by citizen vote. Chapters (00:00:01) - It Takes a City: The Participatory Budget(00:01:23) - The Lisbon deputy mayor on participatory budgeting(00:08:10) - The participatory election in Lisbon(00:12:34) - How did the population that was participating in the budgeting change?(00:14:12) - Participatory Budget(00:19:48) - Portugal's participatory budget(00:22:58) - Natasha Grasse on Participatory Budgeting

    It Takes a City

  4. Jul 2

    A Democracy of Doing

    Jon found himself in Perth, Western Australia, with the team from the DoingCo. This social enterprise supports a growing movement of “town teams” across the country and beyond: local doers coming together to shape their places, their way. This is a joyful, powerful movement - as you’ll hear from nightclub-promoter-turned-community-organiser Jimmy Murphy, and all-round citizen powerhouse Kendell Terrell. Chapters (00:00:00) - How to Save Democracy(00:01:09) - What is the Town Team Movement?(00:05:36) - Town Team Movement in Western Australia(00:09:25) - Jimmy Murphy at the Town Team Movement(00:16:22) - The Town Team Movement(00:18:22) - Vicious Cycle of community(00:24:11) - Town Team Movement: Building trust with government(00:36:46) - Give It A Go!

  5. Apr 13

    What Art Can Do for Democracy

    We host legendary artist Brian Eno and his co-author Bette Adriaanse to explore the ideas in their book, What Art Does. Feelings are not luxuries, they're powerful forces that can nurture democracy or, in the wrong hands, unmake it entirely. Even at its most intimate and personal level, art invites us to imagine alternatives, experiment, and find grounding, a sense of stability, and forward momentum in a world of increasing uncertainty. Chapters (00:00:01) - How to Save Democracy(00:00:37) - What Does Art Mean?(00:05:59) - What is the character of now(00:08:29) - The Conversation about Art and Democracy(00:13:57) - Feelings in the Art World(00:17:59) - On Feelings and the Right(00:20:05) - The Politics of Emotions(00:26:31) - Art and Children's Play(00:30:44) - The Power of Art in Politics(00:35:22) - From Hard Art to Community(00:40:19) - East Marshall United: Community Organization(00:46:18) - Soundbites 4, Control and Surrender(00:56:33) - The Future of Art(01:00:20) - How to Save Democracy Global(01:07:21) - How to Save Democracy

  6. Mar 23

    Neighbourhood Power

    Radical architect Indy Johar and renowned community leader Immy Kaur share their understanding of the vital importance of neighbourhood-scale work in the face of the realities of our time. Sometimes brutal in their realism, they force us to stare hard at the challenges and not shy away from painful truths. But they're also insistent about what becomes possible when we work at a human scale: the scale of our lives and the places we live, where we all have a role to play in building the future we need. Chapters (00:00:01) - The freedom of the streets(00:00:47) - How to Save British Democracy(00:13:19) - The Home Retrofit: reimagine it(00:17:23) - In the Elevator With Imi(00:21:37) - The Retrofit of the House(00:30:46) - The 6 fundamentals of sustainable housing(00:37:07) - Indie and Immi on the Need for Community(00:42:38) - Predictions of degenerative volatility(00:45:15) - Community and the future of freedom(00:50:38) - The Alternative to Dictation(00:52:22) - The Need for More Money in Climate Science(00:55:32) - Community ownership in the UK(00:58:37) - John Oliver on the Future of Democracy(01:02:06) - On the future of science democracy(01:04:36) - How to Save Democracy

  7. Mar 9

    Nation of Strangers

    For our first live recording, we host Turkish writer and political commentator Ece Temelkuran to discuss her brave and beautiful new book, Nation Of Strangers. In a world unmaking our sense of safety and belonging, Ece offers something we desperately need: a vision of the future we can create together and requiring all of us. Her most powerful insight? The unhomed among us aren't simply victims of our times. They're pioneers, already carrying the know-how we need to build our new home together. Chapters (00:00:03) - How to Save Democracy(00:07:19) - How To Lose A Country(00:11:49) - Where Are We Now?(00:14:31) - NATION OF STRANGLERS(00:21:37) - Turkish intellectuals' struggle for freedom of speech(00:22:52) - The Beauty of Exiles(00:25:17) - How did we get to this?(00:30:20) - The Light and the Darkness(00:33:49) - The Right to Be Beautiful(00:35:30) - I Am Being Unholed(00:42:43) - Watching the Reality(00:45:32) - Ajay's Favorite Words(00:46:29) - The End of The Odyssey(00:52:29) - A message for the stranger(00:55:58) - How to Save Democracy

  8. 11/14/2025

    Taiwan’s Transformation

    Trust in government has been collapsing all over the world over the last decade - but one country has bucked the trend. Fewer than 10% of the population trusted government in 2014, but by 2024, that figure had climbed above 70%. Spurred on by a collective of civic hackers calling themselves “Gov Zero”, Taiwan has trusted its people, opened its institutions, and even crowdsourced what was arguably the world’s most successful Covid response. In this episode, we draw out the lessons every nation can learn from this story with the help of one of its key actors, Audrey Tang. Audrey is Taiwan’s “Cyber Ambassador” and former Minister of Digital Affairs. A prominent member of the Gov Zero collective, she became a reverse mentor to Minister Jaclyn Tsai in the aftermath of the peaceful Sunflower Revolution in 2014, before joining government herself in 2016 - and becoming the world’s first transgender minister in the process. Chapters (00:00:01) - A prayer for the Internet(00:00:43) - How to Save Democracy in 2030(00:04:27) - Protesters and the Tunisian Revolution(00:08:33) - The 'GoV0' movement in Taiwan(00:11:25) - The Sunflower Revolution and the Occupy Movement(00:22:07) - Taiwan's vaccination response: Fast, Fair and Fun(00:26:38) - Taiwan's growing trust level(00:34:22) - Audrey's Singularity: The Future of Collaboration(00:40:51) - Citizen Story: Building a Bridge(00:50:45) - The Time for a Demonstration(00:52:51) - How to Save Democracy

See All (13)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Democracy is in trouble. Around the world, trust is breaking down, systems are creaking, and people are walking away. But we still believe in it. Not as something we have, but as something we do. How To Save Democracy is a podcast about repairing our relationship with democracy, hosted by Omezzine Khelifa and Jon Alexander, with producer Jo Barratt. We hold space for the hard conversations — the ones we all know we need to have. We'd love to know what you think when you've had a listen. If you want more, we need your help. Sign up, spread the word, and if you can, support us. Let’s rebuild democracy together.

Information

  • Creator
    How to Save Democracy
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    How to Save Democracy

You Might Also Like