How to win an election - The ugly truth You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. Stop falling for the slogans and the media portrayals. Watch how the winning strategy actually forces leaders to ignore "we the people" just to keep their funders happy.

Ever notice how politicians dodge every awkward question during debates? We traded real conversations for pre-rehearsed talking points and zero-sum contests. See why the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate was one of the last real political conversation.

Stop scrolling for a second and ask yourself: why do some online comments make you so mad? Social media isn't a meritocracy; it’s a clickbait engine fuelled by your anger. Here is how the "wrongness" of the internet traps your brain.

Why does the loudest person in the room always seem to win online? We’ve built a "shoutocracy" that rewards rage over actual merit, but there’s a way to fix the middleware of our democracy. Discover how bridging algorithms can actually help us find common ground again.

Note to self. After everything I say, no matter how bizarre or nonsensical say "Let that sink in". Let that sink in.

Ever wonder what actually happens in a real citizen's jury? People with radically different views listen to each other and despite the initial anger, leave in tears of relief. True democracy is about dialogue, not just winning a contest. Let's make our leaders listen and act.

A radical strategy to assert democracy against the dictatorship. But from the centre! Great discussion with my friend Joe Trippi @joetrippi.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6ZV...

"Between 2012 and 2022, UK territorial emissions fell by 31 per cent. But the emissions embedded in its consumption fell by a mere 10 per cent. In effect, the UK has shifted emissions elsewhere far more than it has reduced them." @MartinWolf_ www.ft.com/content/86fd...

Note to self. After everything I say, no matter how bizarre or nonsensical say "Let that sink in". Let that sink in.

A radical strategy to assert democracy against the dictatorship. But from the centre! Great discussion with my friend Joe Trippi @joetrippi.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6ZV...

Watch the full interview with Joe Trippi here:

yes and thank you for the excuse to share one of my all-time favorite tweets (from @longwall26.bsky.social)

Most people think democracy is just about voting, but there’s a "depolarisation machine" hidden in our history. By bringing back the jury-style model of representation, we can finally reduce the power of lobbyists and special interests. It’s time to balance the stool again.

Ever feel like politics is just one big, exhausting culture war? Belgium tried something radical by letting 50 randomly selected citizens call the shots on the issues that actually matter. See why they're focusing on real life issues instead of just trying to get in the headlines

Watch the full interview with Joe Trippi here:

Do you ever feel like a fool for still believing in our political system? We’re so used to the contest that we’ve forgotten how to actually talk to each other. Here's why the secret to saving democracy isn't about winning an argument—it’s about changing the DNA of how we disagree

"Consider what conservatives and classical liberals said they believed before 2016. … " oliverhartwich.com/2026/02/27/t...

"If they seem awkward, slightly uncomfortable, even imperfect, you may be surprised by how warm they are in real life. It’s not a universal law, of course. But it’s not a bad starting point." Bang on Politicians' humanity is usually marked by their awkwardness www.crikey.com.au/2026/02/25/j...

Wikipedia works because it is a meritocracy, unlike politics or business. We confuse competition with merit. Competition gives us great tennis players, but does it give us the best leaders? Let us rethink what winning means for society.

This 6 min video from 2018 contains two stories from our history which should be up in lights and which virtually no one knows. youtu.be/5cR96KesAMQ

You wouldn’t let a tennis player call their own lines, so why do we let politicians set their own rules? This is the simple umpire fix that could restore trust in our institutions. It’s time to change how the game is played. We need independent truth, not more partisan fighting.

We force leaders to play a brutal power game to win elections. When Joe Biden stepped down, we missed a huge chance to change the rules. Imagine a system that ignores campaign speeches and uses a Venetian merit system to pick the best candidate. It is time to end this circus.

Find this video on youtube here:

I came upon this quote "Sometimes I simply remind patients that sooner or later they will have to relinquish the goal of having a better past. Irvin D. Yalom" I found the film of Yalom's novel When Nietzsche Wept It’s a fine film. Watch it. Watch it now! youtu.be/du_8b_Ch2aA

Michael Polanyi coined the term "tacit knowledge," which is the idea that our most fundamental wisdom comes from striving to make life better. You’re building a pathway in the multiverse every single day without even realising it.

This video has gradually picked up steam since posting. 80 likes and lots of nice comments - all organic. Please check it out for yourself - and remember #likeShareSaveTheWorld @thesharedcentre.bsky.social youtu.be/XGCxuMBqTuI

Why are teams with expert bosses significantly happier and more productive? We’re losing our way with "careerism," and it’s making our institutions less healthy. Watch to see why the "general manager" myth might be the biggest mistake in your organisation.

When McKinsey brought corporate metrics to British Intelligence, truth became a secondary concern. Discover how a "point system" for senior readership incentivised agents to sensationalise reports, leading to one of the biggest intelligence failures in history.

This video has gradually picked up steam since posting. 80 likes and lots of nice comments - all organic. Please check it out for yourself - and remember #likeShareSaveTheWorld @thesharedcentre.bsky.social youtu.be/XGCxuMBqTuI

Pretend is never good enough. Except in electoral democracies

Will Mr Market come to the rescue? www.linkedin.com/feed/?highli...

Pretend is never good enough. Except in electoral democracies

Free speech and garbled-speech This week's substack together with the first of the second tranche of videos in the Shared Centre. open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

"In 1968, a US B-52 carrying four nuclear bombs crashed in Thule harbour [Greenland.] Three of the bombs were recovered but one was lost." www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...

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"In 1968, a US B-52 carrying four nuclear bombs crashed in Thule harbour [Greenland.] Three of the bombs were recovered but one was lost." www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...

Free speech and garbled-speech This week's substack together with the first of the second tranche of videos in the Shared Centre. open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

I appear to be in "a dense web of lawyers, ex-judges, economists, business owners, artists, performers and heritage professionals." Not the end: Inside Tasmania’s AFL stadium stouch www.themandarin.com.au/305653-not-t...

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You think you chose your political side, but did you really? The competitive system isn't just about voting; it’s programming how you see the world and locking you into a box. It’s time to realise that treating politics like a team sport is breaking our ability to think clearly.

PODCAST @mediaactive.bsky.social with @ngruen.bsky.social discuss his online video series, “Awakening Our Better Angels”. #democracy #auspol rss.com/podcasts/tra...

A surgeon always thinks the answer is surgery, and a psychotherapist thinks it's all in your head. Your specific expertise is actually blinding you to the real problem. Stop trying to force your professional toolkit onto every issue and learn to see the system as it really is.

We’ve convinced ourselves that elections are the only way to run a democracy, but we’re missing half the picture. There’s a second, even more powerful way to represent the people that we already trust in courtrooms, so why aren't we using it in government?

Edmund Burke famously said that society is a pact between the dead, the living, and the unborn. We’re standing on the shoulders of giants, but are we actually adding anything for the people coming next? It’s time to rethink what kind of legacy we are actually leaving behind.

Watch the full video here:

ICYMI …PODCAST @ngruen.bsky.social in conversation with @mediaactive.bsky.social about Gruen’s online video series, “Awakening Our Better Angels”. #democracy #sortition rss.com/podcasts/tra...

Democracy by Theatre: Why Boring Policies Matter Ever wonder why schools crumble while politicians argue about culture wars? It’s because fixing education isn’t "entertaining" enough for the news cycle. We’ve turned democracy into a reality TV show, and we’re paying the price.

Check out the @ngruen.bsky.social video series on #democracy at @thesharedcentre.bsky.social. There are twenty in the series. www.thesharedcentre.com

PODCAST @ngruen.bsky.social in conversation with @mediaactive.bsky.social about Gruen’s online video series, “Awakening Our Better Angels”. #democracy #sortition rss.com/podcasts/tra...

Australian economist and CEO Nicholas Gruen recently launched the first of a twenty-episode series of short videos on sortition and citizens' assemblies. #GetLucky #Sortition #Lottocracy www.tegenverkiezingen.nl/gruen-komt-m...