Season 2, Episode 6: Scott Henning - On Sortition

In this conversation, the speakers explore how citizens' assemblies—randomly selected groups of everyday people who deliberate on key policy issues—can be protected from manipulation by powerful interests as they grow in prominence. Brett Hennig of the Sortition Foundation explains safeguards like open-source lottery algorithms, citizen-chosen experts, and OECD-backed standards that ensure transparency and legitimacy. They discuss the risk of co-optation by groups like the NRA, emphasizing the need for clear principles to distinguish genuine assemblies from manipulated ones. The conversation then shifts to strategy: why Hennig's team targets the UK House of Lords for reform, and how movements like Belgium's Agora Party already field candidates who commit to vote based on assembly outcomes. The host outlines a vision for electing independent representatives in the U.S.—rooted in democratic tech tools and public disillusionment with both parties—and Hennig agrees that lasting reform will require mass social movements and local experiments to scale up. The conversation closes with reflections on democratic cooperatives as a more sustainable alternative to corporate oligarchy.