Voices for Bendigo (and beyond)

What happens when people come together around kitchen tables, have real conversations about what they love about the place where they live and what needs to change, and then take what they find to the politicians who want to represent them? That’s how the Community Independents movement in Australia works - and it’s played a growing role in national politics over the last decade. We find out more from the team kicking off the latest iteration, in Bendigo, Victoria. Chapters (00:00:03) - Introduction and arrival in Bendigo(00:01:28) - Launch of Voices for Bendigo(00:03:16) - Victorian political context and protest vote(00:04:51) - What is the Voices for movement(00:07:46) - Believe in Bendigo and movement's roots(00:08:53) - Voices movement spread and the teal wave(00:10:43) - Attack on Helen Haynes(00:11:19) - Deciding to go ahead in Helen's honour(00:13:49) - State-wide spread of Voices campaigns(00:15:22) - Kitchen table conversations explained(00:17:42) - Starting with what's strong, not what's wrong(00:20:02) - First Nations, treaty, and deeper democracy(00:23:06) - Ambitions for Voices for Bendigo(00:25:21) - Candidates meeting the community(00:26:23) - Castlemaine's Dinner for Democracy and People's Assembly(00:28:56) - Jara earrings and First Nations art(00:30:16) - Closing reflections on kindness and connection(00:31:36) - Wrap up and sign off

How should we understand the moment we're living in? Sarah Wilson is an author, podcaster and philosopher who argues we need to accept that this is a time of profound and inevitable collapse - and that while there is no hope, there is something else happening. Jon hosted Sarah at the Conduit in London for a live conversation that wasn't about elections or citizens' assemblies, but was absolutely about how we save democracy - by showing up, connecting with one another, living fully and beautifully, and building from there. Chapters (00:00:03) - Introduction to Sarah Wilson and the Book(00:01:25) - The Title: I Eat the Stars(00:03:17) - Defining Societal Collapse(00:04:32) - Complex Civilizations and Collapse Patterns(00:06:32) - Global Interconnection and Climate Origins(00:07:22) - Moving Beyond Climate Framing(00:09:10) - Capitalism, Linear Thinking, and Letting Go of 'We Can Make It'(00:10:41) - The Relief of Letting Go of Hope(00:13:06) - Dissonance, Sanity, and Systemic Blame(00:14:47) - Moloch, Responsibility, and Compassion(00:19:41) - Living with Uncertainty(00:21:58) - Liminal Times Throughout History(00:24:39) - Stepping Into Adulthood(00:25:47) - The Spiritual Turn and Letting Go of Being Saved(00:30:36) - Community Size and the Dunbar Number(00:34:31) - Showing Up and Making Change Contagious(00:37:25) - Charm, Joy, and Community Movements(00:38:53) - What If You're Wrong? Agency and Islands of Sanity(00:42:28) - Closing Reflections: Homecoming and Sacredness(00:44:37) - Audience Soundings Begin(00:45:17) - Audience Questions on Responsibility and Complexity(00:47:41) - Audience Reflections on Uncertainty and History(00:49:11) - Responding to Responsibility and Agency(00:51:37) - Sarah's Personal Journey Through Anxiety(00:55:36) - Managing Complexity and Avoiding Fascism's Vacuum(00:58:14) - Pro-Social Prepping and Personal-Macro Connection(00:59:54) - Closing Call to Action: Care, Dance, and Awe(01:03:27) - Final Thanks and Podcast Sign-off

In April this year, Jon was invited to help launch a new community-centre-cum-democracy-hub in the city of Stavanger, Norway, with the brilliant name of The House Of Wonder And Disagreement - and of a world-first project to create a standing citizens’ assembly as part of a city’s governance from outside of government… As part of the launch, Jon hosted a conversation with Jan Inge Reilstad of KÅKÅ, the organisation running the project, and leading Norwegian journalist Hilde Sandvik, to find out more - and ask whether democracy needs saving everywhere, even in the Nordics. Chapters (00:00:03) - How to Save Democracy in Norway(00:06:17) - Koka: The House of Discussion and Disagreement(00:11:01) - The Comedy and Economy Festival(00:14:26) - Citizen Assembly(00:21:17) - The question of trust in the government(00:23:25) - Norway's culture of community work(00:26:45) - Taiwan's growing trust in government after COVID(00:29:55) - The challenges of life in Norway(00:33:17) - Social democracy and the Nordic model(00:36:11) - Bergen and Stavanger(00:41:44) - The City Panel(00:44:24) - The Random Selection Citizens' Panel(00:45:49) - Comments on the future of our democracy(00:48:24) - How to Save Democracy(00:50:18) - In the Elevator With Ananes(00:52:03) - How to Save Democracy

When the Eaton fire ripped through Altadena, Pasadena, in January 2025, a whole neighbourhood was virtually burned to the ground. One of the many to lose their home was Carola Secada. In this episode, we hear what happened next: the creation of Dena Heals, a mutual aid marketplace and wellness centre that has since supported over 7000 people from 1500 families as they have rebuilt their lives. Chapters (00:00:03) - Carola Cicada on How to Save Democracy(00:05:21) - Exploring Altadena: A Hidden Gem(00:07:40) - The Dina Heals Community Project(00:13:55) - Exploring the Community Center at Nike Sports(00:20:52) - In the aftermath of the fire, how to heal the soil(00:26:54) - Dina Heals: Still Healing the Communities after the Fires(00:32:02) - Dina Heals on the Help of the Community During a Crisis

At the end of 2020, a combination of Covid lockdowns and “Black Summer” bushfires across the Australian state of Victoria meant that Melburnians were confined to their homes for weeks on end. But instead of staring into crisis, a group of citizens came together determined to start reimagining and rebuilding their city out of it. Jon sat down with Kaj Lofgren and Charity Mosienyane to hear the story of Regen Melbourne, an organisation born in that moment to catalyse work across the city towards three “earthshot” goals, including making the Birrarung river swimmable from source to sea. Chapters (00:00:02) - Regen Melbourne: How to Save Democracy(00:01:31) - In the Know: Charity Musegnane(00:04:17) - What is Regen Melbourne?(00:06:45) - Regent Melbourne: The Centre for Place Based Work(00:10:22) - The Swimmable Birang: Melbourne's environmental rebirth(00:15:47) - The role of the London Mayor(00:20:52) - The Earthshots(00:27:02) - Rethinking the issue of water(00:32:24) - Regen Melbourne: The Conditions for a New Melbourne(00:41:00) - The End Game of Saving the River

Working with political theorist Jonny Benson, Omezzine has been looking back over her experiences in the politics of her native Tunisia - first as an activist in the Tunisian Revolution, and then as a politician in the aftermath. Their aim? To reflect on the role democratic innovations such as citizens’ assemblies might have played, and draw out lessons that could help the world. Jon takes the role of interviewer to see what they’ve found. Chapters (00:00:01) - How to Save Democracy(00:00:59) - Omazin: The role of citizens in the Tunisian(00:06:36) - Tunisia's democratic backsliding(00:10:02) - Tunisia's disillusionment with democracy(00:13:01) - Tunisia's democratic backsliding(00:16:21) - The case study of national tax reform(00:18:46) - The role of the advisor in the Tunisian government(00:21:16) - Democratic Innovation in the Tunisian Transition(00:29:56) - The trade off between transparency and privacy in democratic innovation(00:34:06) - The Future of Democracy in Tunisia(00:38:04) - How to Save Democracy

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

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

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

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!