The Renovator

Bill Kristol and Danielle Allen Our fantastic first Live episode of “The Headstrong Club”

Fantastic conversation between @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social and Danielle yesterday, the first installment in our "Headstrong Club" series - political polarization from Tom Paine and Edmund Burke to today!

Rewiring Democracy Now: Switzerland shows us an alternative to corporate AI Public AI must counterbalance corporate AI

AI causes real harms - water, electricity, exploitation of workers or elimination of jobs, copyright violations. Or rather capitalist corporations selling AI cause those harms. AI itself doesn't have to be harmful at all, if we create guardrails to make it work for us.

Rewiring Democracy Now: Switzerland shows us an alternative to corporate AI Public AI must counterbalance corporate AI

New from Nathan Sanders and Bruce Schneier: a Swiss AI Initiative, Apertus, is now the most advanced example of public AI, a concept—and a movement—for building AI in the public interest.

Rewiring Democracy Now A new kind of political engagement emerges in Japan

Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders explore how Takahiro Anno, elected member of the House of Councillors in Japan, harnessed AI technology to engage constituents and inform meaningful policy change.

Learn more here ⤵️
https://therenovator.substack.com/p/rewiring-democracy-now

Hawaiʻi AG Not Giving Up $35K Paper Bag Case The islands’ chief law enforcement officer asked for patience with her office's investigation into who received the money.

In this week's roundup: A corruption investigation is growing in Hawai'i, per @civilbeat.bsky.social:

In this week's Democracy in the States roundup: In Utah, tiny homes and a holistic "whole person" approach to housing:
@utahnewsdispatch.com @utahgov.bsky.social

In this week's Democracy in the States roundup: In South Carolina, a bipartisan law to help formerly evicted folks to clear their records and get housing:
@scdailygazette.com

In this week's roundup: Colorado's legislative proposal to require data centers to use 100% renewable energy by 2031, and Wisconsin lawmakers propose a moratorium until regulation & sustainability concerns are met:
@cathykipp.bsky.social @conservationco.bsky.social @senchrislarson.bsky.social

In this week's Democracy in the States roundup: in Kansas, lawmakers seek to regulate personal and romantic relationships with AI: @kansasreflector.com

In this week's roundup: the Alabama state senate considers a bill to regulate AI in healthcare, mandating that a human make all final decisions about denying insurance coverage:
@alabamareflector.com

Not Exactly a Love Story: Federal Power Meets State Control It’s February 14, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup.

Tennessee, Michigan, and Indiana embroiled in fights over detention centers and contracts, while detainees in Iowa, Nebraska, and Idaho sue the DOJ over mistreatment @tennesseelookout.com @indianacapitalchronicle.com @iowacapitaldispatch.com @idahocapitalsun.com @aclu.org @acluidaho.bsky.social

Not Exactly a Love Story: Federal Power Meets State Control It’s February 14, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup.

Alaska, Georgia, New Hampshire, Ohio, Michigan, Montana, and Nebraska in legal fights over the federal government's demands for voter data, per @alaskabeacon.com @georgiarecorder.com @newhampshirebulletin.com @ohiocapitaljournal.com @nebraskaexaminer.com @michiganadvance.com @dailymontanan.com

Not Exactly a Love Story: Federal Power Meets State Control It’s February 14, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup.

Beth's weekly Democracy in the States news roundup is 🔥!

Indiana House panel advances school cellphone crackdown, revised youth social media bills • Indiana Capital Chronicle A school cellphone crackdown and language to tighten controls on youth social media use cleared the House Education Committee Wednesday.

Indiana House panel advances school cellphone crackdown, revised youth social media bills

Kansas bill calls for communism class, civics test amid claims of ‘anti-Americanism’ in schools • Kansas Reflector Kansas Republicans and a think tank want to require students to learn about communist/socialist regimes and pass a civics exam to graduate.

Kansas bill calls for communism class, civics test amid claims of ‘anti-Americanism’ in schools | #ksleg #ksed via @gracefromkansas.bsky.social kansasreflector.com/2026/02/12/k...

Tennessee Supreme Court hears arguments in Legislature’s laws targeting Nashville Tennessee’s Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in two cases with implications for state lawmakers’ ability to wield influence over local governments that run contrary to their…

The Tennessee Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases dealing with state laws directed at Nashville's local government.

via @tennesseelookout.com

How ICE Raids Are Affecting Children—And What Schools Can Do What is immigration enforcement doing to kids and families? And what can schools do to protect their students’ mental health and physical safety?

What is #immigration enforcement doing to kids and families? And what can schools do to protect their students’ mental health and physical safety? greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item... via @greatergoodmag.bsky.social #K12 #mentalhealth #education

We Have Reached Bottom When a racist meme becomes civic sacrilege

We're still reflecting on @slaughteram.bsky.social's latest column, and her call to talk about this incident even though it's repugnant, to acknowledge and stand firm in our feelings of outrage, and to call others into a common creed of respecting human dignity.

Why Democracy Shouldn’t End at the Office Door The Strange Contradiction of Living as Citizens but Working as Subjects.

New from economist Malcolm Salter:

Why Democracy Shouldn't End at the Office Door: The Strange Contradiction of Living as Citizens but Working as Subjects. Employers and employees all benefit when everyone has a voice in the workplace, and that supports democracy in our civil society too.

EdWeek featured a conversation between Rick Hess and Ashley Berner, one of several pieces on the politics of civic education in our latest roundup:

In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union | The New York Historical A panel of preeminent historians explore key moments in American history and our ongoing quest for a “more perfect” union.

Also in the latest roundup: catch @dblight.bsky.social, Lonnie Bunch III, Drew Gilpin Faust, @kawulf.bsky.social, and Colleen Shogan at @nyhistory.bsky.social or livestreaming today on the topic "In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union":

Shout-outs also to @jonahg.bsky.social, @facinghistoryuk.bsky.social, @michiganpublic.bsky.social, @yaelbromberg.bsky.social, @jabannandale.bsky.social in our latest civic ed news roundup, as well as this piece by NH educator Tyler Paré:

VR’ing Democracy: High School Innovators Use Virtual Reality to Empower First-Time Voters Emily Gorodetskiy and Anushka Kalyan both grew up in immigrant households, where language barriers and unfamiliarity with civic systems made voting feel overwhelming. When Gorodetskiy and Kalyan met i...

Thanks to @thefulcrum-us.bsky.social for this piece about "VR'ing Democracy," a great project that grew out of the Civic Innovators Fellowship for Civics Unplugged!

How A.I. Is Reshaping Our World: A Live Webinar for Students on March 4

Students can submit questions to this event in advance for @kashhill.bsky.social and @joannaskao.bsky.social from the @pulitzercenter.org:

Civic Education News Roundup Civic humanities, the politics of civic learning, and a new AAA&S report.

New civic education news roundup! Everyone seems to have scheduled great webinars this week, so there's plenty to check out. And check out @cfr.org's Presidents' Day quiz today!

therenovator.substack.com/p/civic-educ...

Education in an Age of Polarization A broad range of views on democracy to help break the stalemate caused by partisan conflict.

"The opportunity educational pluralism offers is remarkable: the possibility of creating space for shared knowledge while honoring, in institutional form, philosophical and religious differences." —Ashley Rogers Berner in her piece for @democracyproject.bsky.social

How Two Educators Are Teaching History Right Now (Opinion) The ‘firehouse’ of current events provides an opportunity for classroom discussion.

How Two Educators Are Teaching History Right Now (Opinion): The ‘firehouse’ of current events provides an opportunity for classroom discussion.

Explore three ambitious proposals for a 'Re-Founding' of American democracy, including expanding the House of Representatives, proportional voting in Presidential elections, and a 'Rigorous Flexibility' model for new Constitutional amendments.

Read more: https://loom.ly/ncVN39w

#thefulcrum

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, there's a call for a new moral vision and a commitment to civic renewal in communities across the nation.

Read more: https://loom.ly/-an1OX4

#thefulcrum

The MEGA(lomania) Movement Here’s what I see in our politics right now:

New post from Danielle Allen: from MAGA to MEGA, a major new threat to election security.