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Episode 34: What can Mars teach us about politics on Earth? May 15, 2014

Show notes

The future of Congress has been on our minds.
Recently, we considered how advances in technology and data analysis can and will change the way legislators do their work. There are places that are pushing the envelope in this arena. In Brazil official state hackers are building apps, games and data visualizations to help Brazilians – and the members of Parliament – understand the legislative process. In Finland, they are trying legal reform through crowdsourcing – literally turning the legislative process over to the people.
There’s one other place we wanted to explore for ideas about the future and politics – Mars.
Author Kim Stanley Robinson is probably best known for a trilogy of novels called “Red Mars,” “Green Mars” and “Blue Mars.” Their story follows the first human colony on the Red Planet, from scientific outpost through growing villages and cities, to political revolutions, independence from Earth, and a new constitution.
Science fiction is like a big sandbox of ideas in science and technology, but also in culture, politics, and governance. “Lincoln’s great sentence, ‘government of the people, for the people, by the people, shall not perish from the Earth,’ is a utopian science fiction story because it’s in future tense,” Robison says. “We do science fiction all the time in stating our political goals and then acting on them.”
A broad theme in Robinson’s work is tinkering with Mars to make it more hospitable to human life. He’s concocted a Martian constitution where the environment itself is an acknowledged stakeholder that has rights.
As his characters embark on this massive experiment, two factions emerge: those who believe that it is right and good for humans to manipulate and change the planet as much as they like, and those who believe the wild Martian environment should be protected. Sound familiar?
In this case, Robinson’s work is more about NOW than the future. He uses his science fiction to express a clear point of view on issues such as climate change. As far as he is concerned, we are actually in a better position to protect earth than his characters are on Mars.
This week on the DecodeDC podcast, it’s the future of Congress from about as far outside the Beltway as you can get.
Special thanks to Jeremy Stursberg for his original music in this week's podcast.

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Episode 33: Future Congress May 08, 2014

Show notes

We have always been innovators. It is in our nature as Americans. Heck, democracy itself was born here, as part of what the 19th century French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville called the Great American Experiment.
But with the average age in Congress at around 60, plus a legislative process that has come to a grinding halt in the past several years, could the United States be losing its experimental edge?
Sure, it may feel like our civic lives are advancing with the Internet age, what with the massive proliferation of ways you can contact your representatives in Washington -- email, Twitter, Facebook, and so on. The problem is, the people on the receiving end of those messages -- Congress -- hasn’t really put in place ways to deal with the modern onslaught of messages.
In fact, unless you take great pains to be clear that you live in the district of the lawmaker you’re contacting, the truth is, by and large, members of Congress ignore your messages.
By contrast, consider Finland. There, lawmakers are experimenting with a bold new way of reforming a law: crowdsourcing -- meaning turning the legislative process over to the people.
Or consider Brazil, where there is now an experimental computer lab smack in the middle of the Parliament’s committee rooms. There, official staff hackers throw together apps and games and data visualizations to help Brazilians -- and the members of Parliament -- understand the legislative process.
Today on the DecodeDC weekly podcast, we explore these forward-looking examples of legislative innovation, and ask the question of our own lawmakers here in Washington, DC: What’s the future of Congress?

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Repost Episode 1: House of (Mis) Representatives May 01, 2014

Show notes

This is it, folks — DecodeDC is relaunching next week! Keep an eye out for our new logo, and enjoy multimedia content on our daily blog, which will be posted on all Scripps websites.
Thanks for sticking with us as we’ve been preparing for the all new DecodeDC and reposting some of our favorite podcasts.
For the final repost, we’re going back to the very beginning of DecodeDC to Episode 1: House of (Mis) Representatives. This very first podcast focuses on a feeling many people get when dealing with Washington: “My voice isn’t being heard.” Why do they feel that way? It could be because they aren’t being heard.

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Repost Episode 10: A Kind of Republican Apr 25, 2014

Show notes

As we prepare for the relaunch of DecodeDC, we are continuing to repost some of our past episodes. This week we re-present our conversation with former congressmen Jim Kolbe, a Republican from Arizona who served in the House for decades.
Similar to many of his Republican colleagues, Kolbe is a strong fiscal conservative. But what makes Kolbe such a fascinating political character is what makes him very different from many members of the GOP. He’s pro-choice, and he’s openly gay.
Kolbe describes his outlook on the future of Congress — what should change, and what can’t change.
On another note, stick with us as we prepare for the relaunch. Very soon we’ll have a multimedia blog, new logo and even more content!

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Repost Episode 16: Belly of the Beast Apr 17, 2014

Show notes

Last week we re-posted an episode featuring former Congressman Lee Hamilton reading his essay on how politics has changed. As promised, we’re now reposting our follow-up conversation with Hamilton from July of 2013 about the biggest problem he sees in politics today: Money.
“While there’s a lot of rhetoric given to the ordinary voter — government of the people, by the people, for the people — the fact of the matter is, a politician spends most of his or her time courting money. And the people who give the money want something in return. That may not be corrupt, it’s certainly not illegal —but it does put disproportionate influence on the money side,” he says.
Hamilton cautions against the assumption that the American system has worked for more than 200 years, so it will continue to do so.
And another reminder that we’re getting ready to relaunch in DecodeDC in the coming weeks. We’re almost ready with a new logo, a multimedia blog, and even more content.

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Repost Episode 15: What's Wrong? Apr 11, 2014

Show notes

It’s a question that never seems to go away or have a clear-cut answer: What’s wrong with Washington?
For an answer – or some answers – we’re turning to former Rep. Lee Hamilton this week. We’re reposting a June 2013 podcast with Hamilton, who, with a resume that includes decades representing Indiana’s 9th District and vice-chair of the 9/11 Commission, knows a thing or two about Washington.
In this episode, Hamilton reads his essay “How Politics Has Changed.” He argues that in the current political climate, it’s much harder to do the basic work of politics, which, according to Hamilton, is finding common ground. Next week, we’ll repost our conversation with Hamilton about the biggest problem he sees in politics today: money.
On another front, stay tuned for the relaunch of DecodeDC in just a few weeks. We’re almost ready with a new logo, a multimedia blog, and a lot more content.

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Episode 32: Inside the Investigation Apr 04, 2014

Show notes

Sometimes the journey is as interesting as the destination.
That’s what our colleague at Scripps News, investigative reporter Mark Greenblatt, discovered as he pursued what he thought was a straightforward news story. Greenblatt got a tip: NASA was spending a boatload of money on first-class and business-class airfares.
That set Greenblatt off on a quest worthy of Camelot, through mazes of bureaucracy, mountains of Freedom of Information requests and dungeons of unreturned phone calls. We thought the story of the story said a lot about the government – and about trying to report on the government. So we debriefed him for this week’s podcast.
Semi-spoiler alert: Yes, NASA does spend millions on so-called “premium travel.” But there also is a deeper story about how the government as a whole does not know how much is spent on something as simple as premium travel, despite being ordered to keep track of it. And that raises the question: How does the government keep track of the really complicated stuff?
And now another reminder: The launch of our new, multi-media DecodeDC blog is only a few weeks off. Sit tight. And tune in.

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Repost Episode 23: Morality 2.0 Mar 28, 2014

Show notes

The Obama administration called for an end Thursday to the National Security Agency's bulk collection of data about phone calls made within the United States. The proposal, which would have to be approved by Congress, stems from the uproar following NSA contractor Edward Snowden's disclosure of details about the federal government's intelligence gathering.
Disclosures by Snowden and others, such as Bradley Manning and Julian Assange, raise the question of which is worse: breaking the law to leak classified secrets, or keeping quiet about what could be a violation of Americans' constitutional rights?
We've gone back to the DecodeDC archives to re-present Episode 23: Morality 2.0, which tackles this issue, and what we should do about it. Featured is Northwestern Professor Peter Ludlow, who explains a generational rift, and where the country should go from here.
A reminder: We are getting ready to relaunch DecodeDC in the next few weeks. In addition to the podcasts, which will be weekly, we are planning a daily, multimedia DecodeDC blog for all Scripps properties -- and for a national audience. Until then, we'll be reposting some of our favorite and smartest podcasts.

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Repost Episode 18: The Paperwork Reduction Act Mar 21, 2014

Show notes

It’s that time of year again, where flowers are budding, the grass is growing greener, people are shedding their winter layers, and taxes are due—sorry for the reminder.
Have you ever wondered why there’s so much burdensome paperwork associated with taxes? In fact, Americans spend more than two billion collective hours filling out income tax forms. To provide some clarity, we’ve gone back to the DecodeDC archives to re-present our episode on The Paperwork Reduction Act.
This episode from August 2013 features Clay Johnson, a tech CEO and former Presidential Innovation Fellow. He explains how the implications of the PRA go beyond tax time, playing a fundamental role in how we interact with government. So if you feel like the government isn’t listening to you, Johnson says you have to take a look at the PRA.
Another reminder: We are getting ready to relaunch DecodeDC. In addition to the podcasts, which will be weekly, we are building a daily, multimedia DecodeDC blog for all Scripps properties—and for a national audience. So over the coming weeks, we’ll be reposting some of our favorite and smartest podcasts while we build the team and our new online space.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 31: Fear and loathing in gay Washington Mar 14, 2014

Show notes

He was an influential figure in one of the biggest social changes the country has seen in decades --x the growing acceptance of gay Americans. But, you've probably never heard of him. So we've gone back to the DecodeDC archives to bring you this encore podcast from June of 2013, featuring Rich Tafel. Tafel opened the first office in Washington for the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest organization representing gay conservatives.
Tafel provides stunning behind-the-scenes insight of an early 1990s Washington. He describes a vibrant, underground network of gays working in politics that cut across party lines. But Tafel tells the story of how that comradery was undermined by pure politics as the Republican Party became more socially conservative. It's a story of closed door meetings, outing campaigns, and a vast shift in how politics are done today.
Quick reminder: We are getting ready to relaunch DecodeDC. In addition to the podcasts, which will be weekly, we are building a daily, multimedia DecodeDC blog for all Scripps properties -- and for a national audience. So over the coming weeks, we'll be reposting some of our favorite and smartest podcasts while we build the team and our new online space.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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