What do you know about blockchain?  Surely you’ve heard our episodes with Brett Scott or the Blockchain Socialist or Rohan Grey. Now we have another one. Steve’s guest is Victor Vernissage, co-founder of the project Humanode, which aims to use blockchain to create a biometric based system. Victor, who agrees with Steve that the US is not a democracy, notes that even “decentralized” crypto systems replicate oligarchic structures, where power is tied to capital. 

They delve into the intricacies of Humanode’s capacity and discuss how this can be a tool for building parallel systems outside traditional governmental structures. They also touch on the potential for decentralized governance and the challenges of implementation at both local and global levels.  

Victor talks about concepts like liquid democracy with specialized chambers to avoid tyranny of the majority. He explains Sybil attacks and sockpuppeting. The conversation offers insights into how technology can be leveraged for social and political transformation, emphasizing the role of community involvement and the importance of building new economic and social structures from the ground up. 

Victor Vernissage is a researcher and cofounder of multiple ventures, with his latest baby being Humanode, an egalitarian decentralised ledger built on the principle of one human = one vote in contrast to capital-based blockchains predominant today. Victor loves macro, complex systems and the intersection of crypto, identity and economics, meanwhile building new social structures as code. Learn more about the project at humanode.io 

@tech_mingler on X  

Humanode: One Person, One Vote with Victor Vernissage

IN OUR AMERICA panelaço:—A Pots & Pans music of protest

mp3 [33Mb] http://www.picture-poems.com/mp3/in-our-america.wav

score pdf http://www.picture-poems.com/pdfs/in-our-america.pdf 

TEXT by the “Nasty Women get Shit Done” Collective

TEMPO 160 The 109-step [11,881] full-spectrum rainbow IN OUR AMERICA Flag panelaço

“IN OUR AMERICA [solo master drummer calls]
ALL PEOPLE ARE EQUAL  [collectivo panelaço response]….

[4 x 6beats then repeat]

TEXT by the “Nasty Women get Shit Done” Collective

IN OUR AMERICA panelaço:—A Pots & Pans music of protest

This regime has erected the pillars of its rule on the blood of 120,000 executed political prisoners. Thirty thousand of them were executed in 1988 in the span of a few months based on Khomeini’s fatwa. The mullahs’ constitution, penal code, civil code, and laws adopted by its parliament are all based on the violation of human rights.

I am confident that the religious dictatorship ruling Iran will be overthrown by the Iranian people’s uprising and resistance, and with their Army of Freedom and 1,000 bastions of rebellion.

1988 massacre

This is the fifth episode of Overcoming Polarisation: Paths to Common Ground, a podcast series from Debating Europe, Friends of Europe’s citizen engagement unit. This episode features a recording from the public session of our European Young Leaders #EYL40 seminar in Bucharest, a discussion on rebuilding trust in a polarised society.

Europe is feeling fractured. Whether it’s politics, climate, tech, or trust in institutions, more and more people are feeling left out, unheard, and uncertain about the future. But what if we could flip the script? What if instead of fuelling division, we looked for common ground?

In this series, we’re diving into the real issues behind polarisation. Economic inequality, climate anxiety, digital disruption, and bringing together voices from across the spectrum. From policymakers, activists, business leaders, and most importantly, citizens’ voices via our latest study “Voices for Choices”.

In today’s episode, recorded at the end of May, the participants to the public session discussed a polarised society in light of the recent Romanian presidential elections. You will hear the voices of many of our EYLs: Oana Țoiu, Daria Kaleniuk, Maria Nefeli, Andras Kulja, Andrei Popoviciu, Bora Muzhaqi and Min-Sung Sean Kim. They are joined by other notable guests such as Dragoș Tuță (Sustainability Embassy), Ciprian Stănescu (Social Innovation Solutions Romania) and Robert Santa (Rethink Romania). You will also hear insightful interventions from several other participants in the public session.

If you want to comment on this episode you can send us an e-mail: press@friendsofeurope.org

Policy Voices | Rebuilding trust in a polarised society

What game is President Donald Trump playing with Vladimir Putin? Is peace in Ukraine attainable? And what is the role of the EU in the negotiations, if any? 

Leszek Jazdzewski (Fundacja Liberte!) talks with Piotr Buras, the Head of ECFR's Warsaw office and a Senior Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Tune in for their talk!

This podcast is produced by the European Liberal Forum in collaboration with Movimento Liberal Social and Fundacja Liberté!, with the financial support of the European Parliament. Neither the European Parliament nor the European Liberal Forum are responsible for the content or for any use that be made of.

Trump’s Gambit with Piotr Buras

Angela Lang spoke with WORT's Zoe Sullivan about how Black Leaders Building for Community creates opportunities for listening and community connection and how that connects to building a thriving community.
Photo Credit:  WORT News

Angela Lang on Finding Common Ground

In this episode of Novus Sanity Check, Torbjörn Sjöström meets sociology professor Claire Durand from the Université de Montréal, internationally recognized for her research on election surveys and the practices of democracy. Claire Durand has, among other roles, served on AAPOR’s committee for evaluating opinion polls in U.S. elections and has presented analyses on methodological differences, such as between telephone and web surveys, at AAPOR conferences.

The main theme of the episode is democracy. Torbjörn Sjöström and Claire Durand reflect on the survey industry’s crucial role in neutrally supporting democratic processes. They delve into how voting systems can create unequal representation and discuss international examples where people are prevented from voting, along with other insights on the development of democracy from Claire’s research.

#98 Claire Durand - Democracy in the world

Tonight, Friday, August 22nd, at 6 pm on The Brian Crombie Hour I interview ✅ Roberta Tevlin. 👉 ALL my 🎤 podcasts and 🎦 video casts can be accessed any time on my web site https://briancrombie.com which holds repository of all my shows. 📌 Roberta Tevlin, retired physics teacher and political newcomer, speaks about her activism in electoral reform, drawing on her family’s political history. She examines proportional representation, mixed member systems, and lowering the voting age while addressing voter turnout and engagement. Tevlin critiques Canada’s first-past-the-post system, noting how Conservatives have won majorities with a minority of the popular vote, weakening the influence of other parties. She calls for a nonpartisan citizens’ assembly to evaluate reforms and urges collaboration among the NDP, Liberals, and Greens. She also considers compulsory voting, preferential ballots, referenda, and recall votes as tools to strengthen democracy. 

📺 Videos: https://briancrombie.com/video-gallery
🎧 Podcasts: https://briancrombie.com/podcasts-the-brian-crombie-hour
📻 The Brian Crombie Hour airs nightly at 6 PM on Sauga960AM
📌 Subscribe to Brian’s YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/2Oioec8

#BrianCrombie #ElectoralReform #Democracy #CanadaPolitics #ProportionalRepresentation #VoterEngagement #CdnPoli #FairVote

Roberta Tevlin | Electoral Reform

Dr Richard Denniss, Executive Director of The Australia Institute talks about his new essay in The Monthly on tax reform – Richard says tax reform is about democracy, not economics, and reforms should not be centred on what we want, but on who we want to be. He also talks about the intertwined issues of rising company profits, interest rates, the supermarket duopoly, and price gouging. Read Richard's essay here: https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2024/march/richard-denniss/tax-grind
Broadcast on 27 February 2024.

Interview with Dr Richard Denniss On The Simple Truth About Tax Reform

A summary of the mood of fear  in Washington DC as August 2025 comes to an end. It is even worse than it was more than a decade ago when political scientist Norman Ornstein published (with co-author Thomas Mann) It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism. In this wide ranging conversation Ornstein and FRDH host Michael Goldfarb analyze the current situation, discuss whether the 2026 Midterm elections will be free and fair and what can be done right now to push back on the radical path Trump and the MAGA Republicans are trying to force America down. Give us 58:39 to explain.

Washington DC, August 2025, Fear and Loathing and Worse

Composer. Writer. Photographer. Former conductor & founder of the ASKO ensemble.

On a bike/ski/hike trek of the Pacific Northwest studying native plants & climate breakdown 🌲 from sagebrush sea to whitebark pine. Composing off-grid the whole way.

#Sun2Sound 🌕 on X

THINKING LIKE A STONEPINE, a soundpoem manifesto https://vimeo.com/844665859

“LOVE & WATER, three thought poems w/ coda, PHAROS for small orchestra, “Nightwind”” https://vimeo.com/847079690 

CURRENTLY on mt bike/ski/climbing trek through Pacific Northwest, working on a photobook about WHITEBARK PINE COLLAPSE and CLIMATE CRISIS. BASES in the WALLOWAS | AMSTERDAM | ALPS. 

WEEKLY photo/poetry updates at www.picture-poems.com & THE CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE new music, poetry & dance performance project at www.cs-music.com

ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT for progressive, tech-savy, instrumental virtuosi interested in dialogue & collaborative undertakings.

CONTACT cliff@picture-opoems.com
Or on SKYPE or FACETIME @cliffcrego

MUSIC? The one thing humans do,
that makes the rest of nature jealous.

ما آمده‌ایم که امیدها و باورها را شکوفا کنیم تا راه سرنگونی استبداد دینی گشوده شود و آزادی و جمهوری و دموکراسی و برابری در ایران زمین برپا شود می‌توان و باید

Host FRDH podcast. Radio essayist and documentarist for the BBC and NPR. Historian and author of Ahmad's War, Ahmad's Peace and Emancipation.

Listener-sponsored, volunteer-powered, noncommercial community radio broadcasting to south-central Wisconsin at 89.9 FM and online at wortfm.org via our studios in Madison. 

We provide an outlet for communication, education, free expression, entertainment, training and access for the purpose of sharing music, information, news, and cultural experiences, and strive to give people underrepresented elsewhere in traditional media a voice. 

NOTE: Most of the content posted at this time are news stories or talk shows. 

MUSICIANS:  We NEVER look on our SoundCloud for music submissions, so it's not a very efficient way to contact us. Please go to www.wortfm.org and click on Music --> Music Submissions for our submission info and guidelines. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

We're a leading think-tank that connects people, stimulates debate and triggers change. Don't forget to tune into our weekly Frankly Speaking Podcast on European and world affairs.

Long-form conversations about politics and current events, international affairs, history, art, books, and the natural world – presented by Amy Mullins, Tuesdays 9am-noon on Triple R 102.7FM.

Macroeconomics has never been so ... delish!  Macro and Cheese explores the progressive movement through the lens of Modern Monetary Theory, with hot and irreverent political takes, spotlights in activism, and the razor sharp musings of Real Progressives Founder and host Steve Grumbine.  The cheese will flow as experts come in for a full, four course deep dive into the hot queso. 

Comfort Food for Thought!

The European Liberal Forum (ELF) is the official think tank and political foundation of the European Liberal Party, the ALDE Party.
Together with 56 member organisations we work all over Europe to bring new ideas into the political debate, to provide a platform for discussion and to enable citizens to make their voices heard.

Brian Crombie has 20 years of corporate experience, a depth of knowledge in all facets of finance, strategic planning and corporate / business development for a wide breadth of companies in several industries. Brian has deep political, community and charitable involvement as well.

New tracks tagged #Democracy