The Future in Context
by e.Republic Editorial
TFIC takes you deeper into the stories that are shaping our future. Seeing around corners or making sense of the collision of technology and society is hard. Context can help. Our writers and editors probe important questions about where we are going by first asking about where we have been and why. The show is produced through the joint editorial resources of Governing and Government Technology.
Episodes
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Running Cities Better
As America's cities grapple with post-pandemic challenges like rising crime, economic uncertainty, and strained public services, urban leaders are rethinking how to govern, collaborate, and rebuild. Governing's Winter Issue explores these dynamics, highlighting how mayors, philanthropies, and…
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The Year in Review
In 2024, state and local governments navigated a rapidly evolving technology landscape that placed artificial intelligence, cybersecurity resilience, digital equity, accessibility and user experience at the top of their agendas. These pressing issues fueled a surge in AI-focused legislation,...
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Practical Cyber Advice for 2025
In this episode of The Future in Context, host Ashley Silver speaks with Cody Tyler, managing director at EXOS CYBER, about the critical cybersecurity challenges facing state and local governments. The discussion explores why government agencies are frequent targets for cyber criminals, the dual...
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Sidewalks as Vital Step(s) in Public Transit
There are new questions about the future of U.S. transportation funding after the election. Experts are eyeing a shift in priorities, with local transit measures seeing success in unexpected places and tensions rising over partisan divides. While federal investments in infrastructure have sparked...
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Fern Tiger on Creative Instigation
Governments can drive economic growth and mutual progress by collaborating with communities to co-create innovative projects. But how can they effectively spark this collaboration? In the latest episode of The Future in Context, host Ashley Silver interviews author Fern Tiger about her new book,...
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Toward Economic Mobility
As Americans contemplate the implications of a consequential general election, this may be a good time to reflect on the state of the American dream. It is still a powerful idea. And it faces challenges — some are old and intractable, others are novel if not surprising. Allan Golston, president…
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Delivering School Choice
West Virginia state Sen. Patricia Rucker, a strong advocate for universal school choice, is transforming the state's education system with a vision shaped by her experiences as an immigrant and former teacher. Known for championing vulnerable communities, Rucker has faced opposition from both...
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POY Leaning into Seattle's Future
At a time when cities are grappling with multifaceted challenges, Rob Lloyd has taken on the complex challenges of transforming Seattle's tech landscape. Recently appointed to the pivotal role of chief technology officer, Lloyd brings a holistic approach to public service, blending insights from...
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POY: Centering Public Health
After guiding the Texas county through the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Philip Huang, its health director, pushed for collaboration and long-term strategies to prepare for future crises. Data modernization proved to be crucial. Huang has spent his career navigating the complexities of public health…
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POY: A Mayor's Legacy: Economic Growth, Historical Reckoning
G.T. Bynum is leaving the family business. The outgoing mayor of Tulsa, Okla., is the fourth member of his family to lead the city. The former city councilmember became mayor in 2016. During his tenure, he implemented a data-driven approach to real-time policing while focusing on redressing…
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POY David Crowley: Could Have Been a Carpool
On this episode, we look at Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley's innovative approach to tackling homelessness, budget challenges and systemic inequality. Crowley is among those recognized by Governing's returning Public Officials of the Year award series. Created three decades ago to...
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Setting the Table for a New Civics Conversation
As the nation nears its 250th anniversary, a longtime broadcast journalist and historian calls for addressing economic inequities, corporate monopolies, and restoring effective governance grow stronger. The country's 250th birthday comes on July 4, 2026. Technically, it is called the quarter...
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The CIO Wrangler
As state CIOs prepare to gather in New Orleans for their association's national conference next week, it is worth taking stock of the public-sector IT community — strategic and operational complexities, leadership, strategic planning, partnership-building and relentless change in technologies and...
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Solutions, One Hack at a Time
Fifteen years after putting the civic in civic tech, Code for America is pivoting to come alongside local governments to take on the challenges they face today — bringing collaborative expertise to the use of AI in the public sector and defending gains made through diversity, equity and inclusion...
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All Hands: Global Cybersecurity Threats ARE Local
SHOW NOTES Here are the top five takeaways from this episode: Rural Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities: Small and rural communities face significant cybersecurity challenges, particularly in protecting critical infrastructure like utilities, with limited resources making them more vulnerable to cyber...
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Meet California's Chief AI Gatekeeper
Politico calls him California's "chief gatekeeper" when it comes to AI rules and regulations. However, state Sen. Thomas Umberg isn't all that interested in closing the door to progress on how we use and develop large language models (LLM). In fact, while the Santa Ana Democrat has concerns about...
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Less Big Three, More Gen Z
The former Rust Belt state is betting its future on a sought-after natural resource — people — guided by one person in particular. Hilary Doe, the first state chief growth officer anywhere, discusses what's next. Michigan is putting its future in the hands of a single person — its...
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Public Transit's Fiscal Cliff
As ridership continues to lag amid a stubbornly slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, cities experiment with free rides and micromobility to prove public transit's worth in worsening financial conditions. When New York Gov. Kathy Hochul spiked plans to implement congestion pricing in New York...
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Is This The Eligibility and Redistribution Engine America Needs?
Former Compton, CA mayor Aja Brown grew up poor. Early on, she developed a sense of what could be for her community. Later, as an urban planner, she had what she calls a "heart to see Compton reach its full potential." Once she sat in the mayor's desk, armed with a 12-point vision plan that...
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The Trouble With TikTok
Eric Goldman, associate dean of research at Santa Clara University School of Law, assesses concerns around the impending TikTok ban or buyout. It faces significant First Amendment challenges, he said. The debate over the potential TikTok ban, or forced sale under recent federal legislation…
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Government websites are failing at the basics: How to fix them
A new report card called ScanGov monitors and evaluates the fundamentals of government websites in all 50 states and the federal government. The report reveals that half of all states received a failing grade, indicating a need for improvement in transparency, domain credibility, accessibility…
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Choosing to Lead
From digital inclusion to AI innovation, we take a closer look at Government Technology's honorees in the 23rd year of its annual awards. In conversation with editorial staff, we focus on the work of five particular leaders. The editors of Government Technology recently released their annual Top…
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The Importance of State Government News Coverage
State government coverage faces a decline amidst journalism's broader struggles, with Pew Research Center revealing a rise in statehouse reporters, yet a decrease in full-time coverage. The University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communication combats this trend, sponsoring the $25,000...
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Reimagining the Future of Public-Sector IT
With a crowd of more than 900 people, the NASCIO Midyear Conference buzzed with energy about generative artificial intelligence, along with concern that humans remain in charge. Generative AI can fill a room. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) Midyear Conference...
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AI as a Stress Test for Government Data
The rise of generative artificial intelligence is a stress test for data governance and management. And an opportunity for data stewards to shine. When Neil Cooke became the Chief Data Officer at the Texas Department of Information Resources in 2022, generative artificial intelligence (GenA) was...
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Resisting the Campaign for Safer Streets
Reducing traffic deaths is a compelling proposition, but it gets complicated when trying to make it so. Reduced enforcement of traffic laws, increased rates of driver impairment, cellphone distractions and street designs that prioritize speed have helped reverse long-standing traffic safety gains...
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Is AI Ready to Replace Human Policy Advisers?
A 50-state investigation in data journalism suggests the answer is, not yet. The AI agent was insightful on a number of fronts; but, while not descending into hallucinations, its mind strayed from instructions as the experiment went on. Government Technology Data Reporter Nikki Davidson tasked...
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Check Your Mailbox!
The reinvention of a Virginia city built by railway robber barons as a biotech hub defies default strategies of trying to attract new players to do what was done by the companies that left or closed. The story of Roanoke shares the cover of the rebooted print edition of Governing magazine* with a...
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Nudges in the Night
Lawmakers, industry players and parents are making moves to keep kids safe online, but their approaches vary widely. A bipartisan bill in the U.S. Senate is intended to shield children by requiring social media platforms to turn off addictive product features, and require companies to minimize...
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Dollars for Driving
The freedom of the open road would become a little less free if congestion pricing became widespread in America. The strategy aims to reduce traffic congestion by charging variable fees for driving at certain times in certain areas. Planners and policymakers see the potential revenue to offset...
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Making AI Safe for Government
Work is well underway in jurisdictions across the country to prepare for the next generation of doing the public's business. Governments have the unenviable task of coming to terms with the promise and pitfalls of generative AI through the strictures of public policy. On this cover story episode…
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What Could Entrepreneurs and Government Do Together?
The co-author of a new book suggests that when technology, data and collective effort converge, government, the tech industry and higher education can tackle major challenges while bringing a new generation into the workforce. Arun Gupta — a venture capitalist, academic and author — champions a...
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Medicate, Mitigate and Rejuvenate: An Agenda for States in 2024
Mental health, climate and workforce are at the core of a complex cluster of issues confronting lawmakers in this year. Legislators are under growing public pressure to address mental health challenges, implement climate policies and stabilize public pensions, while also dealing with workforce...
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For Those Following Along at Home
As legislatures in 37 states are back in session this month, with another 9 set to open before April, law makers face a daunting set of challenges. Budget prospects have improved modestly but tax tensions remain as law makers deal with complex demands to deal with crises in housing and drug...
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Gov Tech's Moment with Private Equity
GovTech100 companies are likely to have an outsized role in making government better. Many now come with deep pockets thanks to investments from private equity. Government Technology's ninth annual list of gov tech companies that are changing the way government works comes with an added twist —…
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The Year's Biggest Stories in GovTech
There was nothing easy about it, nor was it a return to normal after the disruptive years of the pandemic, but state and local governments found ways to hold their own against persistent threats and challenges in cybersecurity and workforce issues in 2023. They also continued campaigns to refresh...
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Countdown to '24: What to Expect from the Election
This time next year, Americans will be casting votes in the 2024 general election. State and local races (and issues) will take place in the long shadow of a carefully watched presidential rematch. The 2024 general election follows in a tradition of modern elections dating back to 1964 that are...
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Tales from Hardware Park: High School students at the intersection of STEM and MedTech
From inhaler watches to redesigned crutches: How a unique summer program in Birmingham is pushing boundaries in STEM education. This episode of TFIC explores the MedTech Device Experience program in Birmingham, Ala., and previews an upcoming documentary on how the unique summer program is pushing...
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X Marks a Tough Spot for State and Local Government
Significant changes at X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, are forcing public agencies to adapt, revert to communications channels they control, or contemplate leaving it all together. The changes have caused public agencies to rethink what they need to do to effectively...
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Making Good on the Mistakes of Digital Government
Tara Dawson McGuinness, founder of the New Practice Lab at the New America Foundation and co-author of the newly re-released book, Power to the Public: The Promise of Public Interest Technology, joined Paul Taylor, Noelle Knell and new permanent co-host Ashley Silver for a discussion of the state...
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Getting Schooled by Generative AI
The Center for Digital Education's Aaron Gifford and Andrew Westrope unpack the special education issue of Government Technology magazine with particular emphasis on the rise of Generative AI (artificial intelligence) in the classroom. Here are links to the stories mentioned in this episode:...
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The Future of Civic Hacking in Context
A 14-year-old self-taught coder is doing for government what it did not do for itself. His dad helped but he learned how to hack alongside friends at a venerable but sometimes overlooked public institution – the library. Civic hacking is generational. It still carries some of the old school...
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Facing The Music
Historian and humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson offers some final thoughts on putting the First Amendment, national security and America's most (in)famous leakers -- Daniel Ellsberg, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning – in context. Clay's efforts to put things in a historical...
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The Leaker Behind the Pentagon Papers
Our resident humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson remembers Daniel Ellesberg, the war planner turned whistleblower after Vietnam. Stream the show from www.tfic.tech or subscribe to the show on the podcast app of your choice. Additional audio courtesy from the CBS Archives and YouTube.
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Watergate Redux: Will We Measure Up?
Our resident humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson laments a country divided, again. Stream the show from www.tfic.tech or subscribe to the show on the podcast app of your choice. Additional audio courtesy from YouTube.
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The Presidency: Who Would Want That Job?
Our resident humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson has been a little perplexed by the growing number of people throwing their hat in the ring for the 2024 Republication nomination for president. Stripped to the underlying essential question, Clay asks, who would actually want that job? History tells…
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Hoover Damned: A Better Manager than President
Our resident humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson returns to our occasional series on some of the less well-known presidents of the United States. Perhaps best remembered for the dam and institute named for him, the 31st president was known as a great humanitarian but had a low view of the role of...
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90 Seconds to Midnight: Biden. the G7 and Hiroshima
Our resident humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson reminds us that the hands of the Doomsday Clock now stand at 90 seconds to midnight — the closest to global nuclear catastrophe it has ever been. Against that backdrop, the United States still struggles with its own nuclear history. Stream the show...
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John Quincy Adams - Lifetime of Service and Thwarted Pursuit of Happiness
Our resident humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson takes us back to the origins of the sixth president's pathetic quest for greatness and his sacrifice of happiness during a lifetime of service. Stream the show from www.tfic.tech or subscribe to the show on the podcast app of your choice. Additional...
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Supreme Court in Crisis
Our resident humanities scholar Clay Jenkinson laments that the public expects better from the highest court in the land and has lost trust in the judicial branch as much as the others. Echoing an ancient Roman poent, Clay asks, who will save us from our guardians? Stream the show from...
About this show
TFIC takes you deeper into the stories that are shaping our future. Seeing around corners or making sense of the collision of technology and society is hard. Context can help. Our writers and editors probe important questions about where we are going by first asking about where we have been and why. The show is produced through the joint editorial resources of Governing and Government Technology.
Hosted by
e.Republic Editorial
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