The Move Podcast S2E1: We’re back!

In our first season we focused on public spaces of discourse. We met with people in government and civic society organizations, and discussed how governance could be redesigned to improve public engagement processes. Through our conversations we learned that there isn’t a clear delineation of where civic life begins and ends? Political and social preferences are perhaps as evident by where we choose to shop, as how we choose to vote. Now, in season 2 we’re tackling this bigger question: What are the private spaces of civic discourse? We are focusing on the new players shaping civic space and civic life: retailers, developers, social media firms, coworking spaces and more.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:00:00] Hey, Ayushi.

Ayushi Roy: [00:00:04] Hey, how’s it going?

Ceasar McDowell: [00:00:05] It’s going really well. Here we are, thinking about our second season.

Ayushi Roy: [00:00:09] So exciting.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:00:10] It really is. Season one went really well. I think we got really good compliments on it.

Ayushi Roy: [00:00:14] It was amazing, yeah.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:00:15] Yeah, and some really amazing guests who just opened our eyes up, and I think for people who are listening-

Ayushi Roy: [00:00:21] Hopefully opened up theirs too.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:00:22] I know. But, we decided not to stop at one season, but to keep going.

Ayushi Roy: [00:00:28] No, no.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:00:28] Here we trying to set up number two, and we spent so much time last season looking at how both government and civil society organizations are really thinking a lot and really experimenting a lot about how to actually create processes that really take in the broad base of who we are as public.

Ayushi Roy: [00:00:48] But there’s other players in the space that are shaping what our civic life looks like.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:00:53] Like who?

Ayushi Roy: [00:00:53] Where does civic life even begin or end?

Ceasar McDowell: [00:00:57] Mostly we say it, well, it’s in those public spaces or in those social networks.

Ayushi Roy: [00:01:01] Government, parks, nonprofit …

Ceasar McDowell: [00:01:04] Yeah.

Ayushi Roy: [00:01:05] But no.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:01:05] No? Maybe this is what our show will be about this season: looking at the market and other places that are actually shaping our civic life, sometimes with us knowing, and sometimes with us not knowing. What’s their responsibility if they’re doing that?

Ayushi Roy: [00:01:19] We talk so much about spaces of public discourse, and conversations, and public engagement. But a lot of that conversation today is happening on a particular kind of medium, and what is the responsibility of those platform owners to effect/impact change, disaggregate the way in which those conversations are being had?

So in our second season, let’s go out and just take a look at what private actors are doing to even build the public’s muscle for democracy.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:01:54] I have some ideas of people we can bring in, because this is exciting. We can bring in some people from real estate, who certainly are redefining public space. People from online communities, people from … everything from banks to higher education institutions to … I think there are probably some really interesting actors out there that we’re going to discover, and we hope you join us for season two to see who they are. I’m Ceasar McDowell.

Ayushi Roy: [00:02:20] And I’m Ayushi Roy. Thanks so much for listening.

Ceasar McDowell: [00:02:24] Bye.