The Case for Citizen Rule with Helene Landemore | Bonus Episode

In this bonus episode, host Roger Berkowitz interviews Helene Landemore about her new book, Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule, with a focus on how her argument for citizens’ assemblies expands beyond epistemic “better decisions” to emphasize “civic love” and the bonding, trust, and transformation she observed in French assemblies and the Yellow Vests. They discuss Landemore’s choice of “love” over “friendship,” stories of participants forging deep connections, and how this emotional groundwork enables collective intelligence. Berkowitz highlights the book’s framing quotes from Buckley and Chesterton to probe democratic inclusion and bringing “shy people out,” while Landemore critiques elite-driven models of democracy. They also address the tension between expert-run assembly design and citizen rule, bipartisan skepticism, and Landemore’s Connecticut project on unequal local public services as a step toward permanent citizens’ assemblies and long-term institutional reform.

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ABOUT:

Produced by the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College, this podcast offers close readings of Arendt's books alongside engaging interviews and thought-provoking conversations. Released weekly, each episode provides listeners with a deeper understanding of Arendt's philosophy and its relevance to contemporary issues. Available on all major podcast platforms, listeners join us on a captivating intellectual journey through the mind of Hannah Arendt.

New episodes every Friday morning! Join Roger Berkowitz, Founder and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center for Politics and Humanities at Bard College, as he discusses the works of German Jewish political theorist Hannah Arendt (1906-1975).

THE HANNAH ARENDT CENTER:

The Hannah Arendt Center provides an intellectual space for passionate, uncensored, and nonpartisan thinking that reframes and deepens the fundamental questions facing our nation and our world. Become a member and enjoy several benefits including live access to our Virtual Reading Group that takes place most Fridays, and upon which this podcast is based: https://hac.bard.edu/membership/

More information can be found on our website: https://hac.bard.edu/ Follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/hannaharendt/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hannaharendtcenteratbard/

THE HOST:

Roger Berkowitz is the Founder and Academic Director of the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College. He is the editor of On Civil Disobedience: Henry David Thoreau and Hannah Arendt (2024), The Perils of Invention: Lying, Technology, and the Human Condition, and co-editor of Thinking in Dark Times: Hannah Arendt on Ethics and Politics (2009), and Artifacts of Thinking: Reading Hannah Arendt’s Denktagebuch (2017). Berkowitz edits the HA: Yearbook and the weekly newsletter Amor Mundi. He is the winner of the 2019 Hannah Arendt Prize for Political Thought given by the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Germany.

EDITED BY:

Alex Fox Tschan is the editor & co-producer of the “Reading Hannah Arendt with Roger Berkowitz” podcast. He is a working musician, creative producer, & audio/visual editor at his Brooklyn-based studio, The Fox & The Sound. With 25 years of recording & performance experience, Tschan’s recent projects range from indie-pop albums to audiobooks for McNally Jackson. A full spread of his work & collaborations can be found at pastelhell.com.