Stories

The United Nations
A call to democratic imagination: why we need Global Citizens’ Assemblies
The world is at a turning point. As crises mount — from climate breakdown to technological disruption and growing authoritarianism — our systems of global governance are not stepping up to the task. We are trying to solve 21st-...
Myanmar (Burma)
Abusing a Disaster
The Myanmar junta builds power with ruins. Citizens are not only ignored in the aftermath of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake of March 28 2025, but instead abused in their vulnerability, as the junta lunges for more ground among the...
photo via NCL
UNITED STATES
NATIONAL CIVIC LEAGUE Creating a Democracy Where People Are Heard
In Democratic Practice, It's Time to Go on Offense
Image of two people holding an EU flag
European Union
Enlargement Is the EU’s Strategic Compass. Here’s How to Use It Now.
There’s no easy way to say this: if the EU continues to stall on enlargement, it risks falling geopolitically...
CC 3.0. Photo by Sofiia at Adobe Stock
LVIV
NOEMA Ukranians Are Planning a New, Local Future for Post-Conflict...
With help from cities around the world, a democratic, "Locals First" model emerges.
Courtesy Mathews family
BEIJING
COLUMN 'If Your Mother Says She Loves You, Check It Out'
Learning journalistic and democratic skepticism through my mother-editor.
Photo from the Future of Where
VIENNA AND HOUSTON
FUTURE OF WHERE From Dead Mall to Urban Hotel
Returning the mall to the original Austrian vision.
Photo by Dane Waters
HO CHI MINH CITY
LETTER: What Vietnam's Billboards Don't Say
A 50th anniversary of war reveals a city.
Image generated by Gemini
THE DEMOCRACY COLUMN
COLUMN: An Obituary for the American Republic (1789-2025)
In lieu of flowers, design a new republic.
Photo by Joe Mathews
NAGO (OKINAWA)
NEWSLETTER Against Broligarchy; Participation in Reverse; No Democracy Is...
What's Worth Reading and Watching in Local Democracy
OCEANSIDE
COLUMN A Local Sprint to Transit's Future
Riding across North County San Diego, squinting into the future.
Afghanistan
EDITORIAL This Is Not Science Fiction
No Funds. No Democracy.