Abolish the Vote — and the Laptop? | with Prof. Evan Pivonka

What if democracy didn’t require a single vote? In Episode 5, hosts Peter McHugh, Lidia Zur Muhlen, and Makayla Castle sit down with Prof. Evan Pivonka — lecturer in Constitutionalism and Democracy at UVA — to debate some genuinely provocative ideas about power, education, and the future of civic life. First: the case for abolishing elections. Prof. Pivonka introduces “sortition” — randomly selecting local and state officials the way we select jurors. It’s been used across Europe, traces back to ancient Athens, and might be more representative than what elections produce. Or it might be a disaster. The hosts push back hard. Then: Professor Pivonka reveals he banned laptops from his seminar last semester, replaced all written essays with 30-minute one-on-one oral exams, and calls it one of the best semesters of his career. His students agreed unanimously. But can that policy last? Finally: should students be learning to write — or learning to prompt? And if AI is the future, is sheltering students from it in the classroom actually setting them back? Guest: Prof. Evan Pivonka, Lecturer in Constitutionalism & Democracy, UVA Department of Politics Topics: sortition, democracy, voting, civic education, laptops in class, AI in education, ChatGPT, oral exams, UVA Timestamps: [00:00] Introduction [00:58] Meet Prof. Evan Pivonka [01:45] The case for abolishing voting — sortition explained [05:00] Inexperience, legitimacy, and the democracy problem [09:00] Civic education and who’s actually prepared to govern [13:00] Fundraising, partisanship, and declining institutional faith [16:30] Banning laptops from the UVA classroom [21:00] AI in education: threat or tool? [27:00] Using AI well vs. using it to coast [30:30] Closing thoughts Disagree With A Professor is a student-led podcast from the University of Virginia where students respectfully challenge professors and experts on the ideas that shape our world. Hosted by Peter McHugh, Lidia Zur Muhlen, and Makayla Castle. Music: "Dispersion Relation" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License Disagree With a Professor is created by Think Again at the University of Virginia, with production support from Awkward Sage Media. Connect with us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkagain.uva/