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...

Watch the full video here:

You believe in shared rules, but what happens when politicians ignore them? We are seeing a new crisis of democratic norms. Can our leaders save us? The shocking answer is NO. Find out why the defence of democracy must be taken off the politicians and given back the people!

They’re pseudo-conversations, orchestrated by paid entertainers & advocates with fixed positions, playing to the gallery, harvesting attention, & selling it to advertisers. To find out more, watch video 4 of The Shared Centre series here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLAv...

Most disagreements are mostly misunderstandings Something I really believe! And don't miss the great comment - by a Russian teacher of game making - it seems. youtube.com/shorts/KPOPQ...

.../ This fragile fabric of communication is what makes us a truly remarkable species and allows us to achieve things no other species can. To find out more, visit The Shared Centre video series by clicking the link in the bio or watch the reel in full here: www.youtube.com/shorts/j_wl4...

What Tennis Teaches Us About Fairness and Rules Are we competing, or are we cooperating? You might think the answer is obvious, but tennis shows us something deeper. Every rally depends on rules, fairness, and cooperation — without them, the game collapses. www.youtube.com/shorts/y1ehw...

This week’s substack - with Video 5 And remember as far as the video is concerned #LikeShareSaveTheWorld Do you really want to be telling your grandchildren that you didn’t like and share when you had the chance? @thesharedcentre.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

The conversations around The Shared Centre is growing and we’d love for you to grow with us! 🌿 Come and visit us in our Discord community where you can connect with like-minded people, swap ideas, share updates, and get involved in our chat. 💬 Join the conversation using the link in our bio!

Yes, rather the problem But why use the word 'offended'? Strange usage in that context.

Nice to see it back just as it was in Lincoln's Day

This week’s substack - with Video 5 And remember as far as the video is concerned #LikeShareSaveTheWorld Do you really want to be telling your grandchildren that you didn’t like and share when you had the chance? @thesharedcentre.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

One step forward … Netherlands centrist party wins big in election as far right loses support www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...

It’s what makes conversation, teaching, and cooperation possible. Our “theory of mind” is our real superpower, not brute intelligence.

.../Conversations shape our relationships, our politics, our culture & even our sense of self. Unfortunately, most public “conversations” aren’t conversations at all.

What a difference a few years make!

Most disagreements are mostly misunderstandings Something I really believe! And don't miss the great comment - by a Russian teacher of game making - it seems. youtube.com/shorts/KPOPQ...

"We're going to create superintelligence" How about making outlook search work first. How about that

Conservative conceptions of manhood always included being quick to anger and the tinge of violence but it also included not whining, being taciturn, being hardworking , etc. Clint Eastwood, not a 12 year old raging at Mom for not having chicken nuggets.

i kind of prefer doing business with firms that haven’t bribed the President.

terrific thread but this is worth a highlight: the GOP understands that politics is a way to contruct a majority, Democrats, on the other and, imagine a majority and try to construct a politics that reflects their imaginings (see also: Schumer, Chuck; "the Baileys")

After over a year or using these things, I'm still saying 'please' to AIs. I guess I'm just a nice guy ;)

Is life a competition or a team game? 🎾 The truth is, it’s both & when self-interest takes over, everything breaks down. From politics to academia, we’ve lost the balance. To fix our institutions, we need to rebuild trust and put cooperation back at the centre. To find out more follow us here.

This is a sentimental country folksong. But at least as I heard it, its ultimate subject is sentiment as a fatal siren song. Or, as another great modern folksong - this time from the city - has it “a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”. youtu.be/6uQNRTnsntY?...

Being unpretentious, we often do a good monument us Aussies! Irish Famine Memorial irishfaminememorial.org

This is a sentimental country folksong. But at least as I heard it, its ultimate subject is sentiment as a fatal siren song. Or, as another great modern folksong - this time from the city - has it “a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”. youtu.be/6uQNRTnsntY?...

Fixing the world, one video at a time The time has come. 2 years in the making 20 videos on how to fix our world - as if passing through a portal open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

The fourth video in The Shared Centre series launched today, and in it, Nicholas Gruen explores how we can rebuild the art of conversation and the benefits it could bring to civil society. Conversations build our lives.../ #conversations #thesharedcentre #jordanpeterson #CathyNewman #relationships

In The Shared Centre video series Nicholas explores communication and cooperation further to listen to more on this, click on the link in the bio. www.youtube.com/channel/UCXF... #cooperation #thesharedcentre #communication #relationships

Did you know humans are worse than chimps at some simple cognitive tasks? Nicholas Gruen explains why: our brains are wired for social understanding, not raw problem-solving. We constantly track what others are thinking, predicting responses & adapting our behaviour - skills chimps can’t match.

/...If soldiers could do that in war, we can do it too in building better institutions and a healthier democracy. To find out more follow us here or click the link in the bio to find out more. youtube.com/shorts/PCVQp...

Soldiers in World War I invented secret codes of cooperation. They would not shoot at certain times, and a strange kind of chivalry grew in the middle of the trenches. By thinking about their own self-interest and that of the enemy, they found a way to entangle them.../

“When someone threatens to burn down your house unless you do as you're told, and then they burn your house down anyway, you don't have to keep doing what they told you.” ~Cory Doctorow pluralistic.net/2025/10/20/p...

I remember when my toddler reached the poopoo/peepee stage of humor. It was a really fun part of being a parent. Notably, we did not give him the nuclear codes.

Mutual obligation – a super power or a tangled web? Nicholas Gruen @ngruen.bsky.social explores this and other conundrums in his upcoming YouTube series “The Shared Centre”. Launching on Thursday 16th October, share and let your friends know! Find out more here: linktr.ee/TheSharedCen...

The first 3 videos in @ngruen.bsky.social's new YouTube series are now released, with original music by Brian Eno! Watch to discover why our leaders are so self-serving, how teamwork made us human, and how insiders are sabotaging our institutions #TheSharedCentre www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

On reading this. Ike seems like a class act. An instinctive moderate who gave peace a chance when it really mattered. See also his letter to his brother on accepting the New Deal as part of the American compact, even if he had a more modest idea of the role of government.

Similarly politicians compete for our votes. These ideas have worked miracles. But they’ve left a rising residue of careerism and self-interested leadership. In #thesharedcentre YouTube series launching on Thursday 16th October 2025 @ngruen.bsky.social explores how we can build better institutions.

"Democracy is a system based on trust in the human sense of responsibility, which it ought to awaken and cultivate." Vaclav Havel

Sometimes policy & politics throw the baby out with the bathwater. So how can democracy's best parts build a better world? Join @ngruen.bsky.social on his YouTube series “The Shared Centre, Awakening Our Better Angels” to explore how citizens assemblies can displace systems that divide us.

Fixing the world, one video at a time The time has come. 2 years in the making 20 videos on how to fix our world - as if passing through a portal open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

A little bit of background suggests this is really potentially worrying and she knows nothing about what she's talking about. The snails are not "on the site" (if they were it would be less of a problem because you would just pick another site)... www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Mutual obligation – a super power or a tangled web? @ngruen.bsky.social explores this and other conundrums in his upcoming YouTube series “The Shared Centre”. Launching on Thursday 9th October, share and let your friends know! Find out more here: linktr.ee/TheSharedCen...

The Shared Centre, a new YouTube series by @ngruen.bsky.social , with original music by Brian Eno, launches in 4 days time, follow to find out more. #thecountdownison #thesharedcentre #comingsoon

Why do we so often complain that our leaders are just in it for themselves? We set it up that way. In #thesharedcentre YouTube series launching on Thursday 9th October @ngruen.bsky.social explores how we can build better institutions. #savethedate #thesharedcentre #comingsoon

Why has @ngruen.bsky.social created The Shared Centre? Because current democratic system ignore our dual nature - we strive to serve our own interest but we also want to do our bit. And we feel great when others reciprocate.

In @thesharedcentre @ngruen.bsky.social explores this very issue, and considers if that is how we rebuild a civilization fit for humans. Follow to find out more as The Shared Centre YouTube series prepares to launch soon.