How can citizens be involved in governing by contributing their wishes, ideas and expertise? And how can leaders use big data to make their work more transparent and prevent corruption? Beth Simone Noveck, law professor and director of the GovLab research center in New York, advises governments worldwide on open governance – for example Barack Obama during his time in office and, since 2018, the German government. In this interview, she talks about this democracy of small steps and the chances and challenges of Germany’s Digital Council.

Kat Rodriguez has one of the toughest jobs along the U.S.-Mexican border. She helps Central American families find relatives who have disappeared on their journey to the United States. All too often, their bodies are found in the Sonoran Desert behind Kat’s house. On her mission to stop the deaths, Kat crossed the desert on foot with 70 women, men, teenagers, and me. Join us in my radio feature.

The citizen journalists of InsightShare or Rising Voices believe in the best of all possible worlds: a world in which the disenfranchised rise their voices. Like Keidy and Rezwan who get involved virtually and are threatened for real.