Episode 10. Is Democracy Science Fiction?

I thought I had a gas leak in my Brooklyn apartment. I didn’t. But the speed and seriousness of the response made me think about all the invisible systems quietly preventing disaster around us.That led me to a stranger realization: Star Wars is older than democracy in Spain.In this episode, I talk about why representative government is younger and more fragile than we like to think, why we only notice functioning systems when they break, and why civilization needs custodians more than trolls.Chapters:0:00 Coming up0:36 The gas leak that wasn’t1:49 Invisible systems and daily maintenance2:17 Star Wars is older than democracy in Spain3:40 Democracy is fragile, not inevitable5:03 We keep what we maintain6:46 Civics, inheritance, and socialization7:14 When dysfunction starts to feel normal8:25 History, memory, and the fear of forgetting9:46 We need custodians, not trolls