In this episode of Better Politics, we sit down with Shoukei Matsumoto — a Pure Land Buddhist monk, philosopher, entrepreneur, and author of A Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind — for a rare conversation recorded live in Berlin. 

From Doraemon to DeepSea prompts, to Buddhist interbeing to AI as a mirror for our humanness, Shoukei guides us through what it means to lead, live, and make sense of a world where biological and non-biological intelligence now coexist. 

This is a conversation about humility, ego, ancestors, trust, and the future of human leadership in the age of AI — and why becoming “more human” might be the real path forward.

Enjoy the episode!

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

This week's episode airs during the first-ever Berlin Freedom Week, an idea that our guest, Leopoldo López, was instrumental in developing with the city of Berlin.

As the General Secretary of the World Liberty Congress, Leopoldo López believes people's power is a non-negotiable precondition for consolidating the global movement for democratic renewal. He also shares his insights on what better political leadership entails, and why we must harness the momentum of change to usher in the type of political leadership citizens deserve.

Enjoy the episode!

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

The first episode of the new season of The Better Politics Podcast was recorded on the sidelines of the 2025 Athens Democracy Forum convened by the Democracy and Culture Foundation.

The Better Politics Podcast is a platform for hearing and learning from leaders themselves. Too often, we throw arrows at politicians without engaging them on reshaping the system so they can govern more effectively.

This week we talk democratic innovation, political party reform and embracing the tide of change with Paul Magnette, the President of the Belgian Socialist Party.

This year, Paul Magnette was inducted into the "Democratic Innovators of the 21st Century" Politicians' Hall of Fame.

The award, given by the Better Politics Foundation in partnership with the Democacy and Culture Foundation, celebrates outstanding men and women who have devoted their lives to advancing democracy globally.

Enjoy the episode!

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

Welcome to Better Politics — the podcast for anyone who refuses to accept politics as it is.

Politics today feels broken. 

Trust is collapsing. 

The gap between people and power is widening. 

We’re tackling 21st-century crises with 18th-century politics, 19th-century institutions, and 20th-century tech. No wonder people are losing faith.

Better Politics is here to change that. 

Non-partisan by design, global in reach.

We bring you voices from around the world — leaders, reformers, thinkers, and everyday people. 

And yes, we ask the political leaders themselves how to make politics better. 

Too often we throw arrows at them without engaging them in reshaping the system so they can serve more effectively.

Because politics should do more than cling to the past. It should spark hope, earn trust, and deliver for people and planet.

This is Better Politics.

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

You can do things differently, and just because it hasn't been done before, doesn't mean it can't be done," says Democratic Innovator Hall of Fame recipient Kate Chaney.

In this episode, we talk with Member of the Australian House of Representatives for Curtin Kate Chaney about the importance of crowd wisdom and optimism in challenging traditional political paradigms. Through intimate conversations with voters- often sitting around the kitchen tables of their own homes to understand their priorities and values- she’s reshaping how we think of democracy and creating a more compassionate politics.

This episode was recorded at the Athens Democracy Forum in September 2023, where Kate was named a ‘Democratic Innovator of the 21st Century’ by the Apolitical Foundation and the Democracy and Culture Foundation. Read our “Leaders or Latercomers” report about the barriers politicians face in implementing democratic innovations on our website.

Reach us on X (@apoliticalfound), LinkedIn (Apolitical Foundation), Instagram (@apoliticalfoundation) and Facebook (@apoliticalfoundation) or email via [email protected]. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics: bit.ly/3NlIWSt

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

Politicians and people must come together to solve the biggest issues of our time. But how do we facilitate productive relationships in an environment of cynicism, distrust and polarization?

In this episode, we talk with Secretary of Citizen Participation in Nuevo León (Mexico) Ximena Peredo about strategies to mainstream participation and creating public policy. As a former activist and columnist, she’s passionate about bridging the gap between citizens and government through innovative initiatives such as participatory budgeting in schools, a network of peace agents, and community mediation centers.

This episode was recorded at the Athens Democracy Forum in September 2023, where Ximena was named as one of the ‘Democratic Innovators of the 21st Century’ by the Apolitical Foundation and the Democracy & Culture Foundation.

Check out our Democratic Innovators of the 21st Century list to find out who else was recognized!

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

"We live today in the falling apart of what I would call consumer democracy."

In this episode, New Citizenship Project co-founder and Citizens author Jon Alexander talks with our CEO Lisa Witter about the need to switch from a consumer story to citizens story in politics.

He gives examples of what citizen-led governance looks like around the world and calls on politicians to work on trusting people.

Since recording this podcast, we've hired Jon as a consultant on our Democratic Innovation work.

Jon's book recommendations: Together by Ece Temelkuran, Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Marie Brown, and Citizen's Britain by Paddy Ashdown

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

* Khadija Patel has become Journalist in Residence at the International Fund for Public Interest Media since this episode was produced. She is referred to as Head of Programmes in this audio.  

"What I want all politicians to assert is the value of news media, even when it is at their own personal expense.”
 
In this episode, Khadija Patel,  the International Press Institute's Chairperson and International Fund for Public Interest Media's Journalist in Residence, discusses the dynamic between politicians and the media and what each side can do to better the relationship. 

Khadija is a well-known investigative reporter, one of the co-founders of the Daily Vox, and former editor in chief of South Africa’s well-known Mail and Guardian. 

Khadija's Book Recommendation: What Happened to You?, Oprah Winfrey and Dr Bruce Perry

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

"Small is no longer beautiful".  That's the message from Bring Back Our Girls and Transparency International co-founder Dr Obiageli "Oby" Esekwesili this International Women's Day.  "We need think about how we go for broke."

Dr Oby’s career is so varied and impressive that it’s hard to explain in a few lines.

She served as Nigeria’s Minister of Education and Minister of Solid Minerals, was appointed World Bank’s vice president for Africa and ran for president.

She also founded the political leadership incubator School of Politics Policy and Governance and the #FixPolitics initiative, in addition to sitting on the board of Women Political Leaders.

Dr Oby's Book Recommendation: The Good State by AC Grayling

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.

This guest impressed us so much that we gave her a job!

French-Tunisian revolutionary, politician and social entrepreneur Omezzine Khelifa was part of the 2011 revolution, ran for office and then served as an advisor to two ministers in her country's early post-revolution governments.

She started working for us as Executive Director of our flagship Apolitical Academy Global program in January.

In this episode recorded long before her employment with us, Omezzine gets candid about what her and her colleagues could have done better during Tunisia's transition to democracy. She says many post-revolution leaders lacked humility and employed a top-down approach, despite their protestor roots.

After growing frustrated with how new leaders were treating young people, Omezzine set up social impact organization Mobdiun to bring innovation to public policy with a mission to inspire youth-led change in Tunisia. 

This episode was produced at the 2022 Athens Democracy Forum in partnership with the Democracy and Culture Foundation.

Omezzine's book recommendation: In Tempo di Guerra, Conchita De Gregorio

Follow us on LinkedIn (Better Politics Foundation), Instagram (@betterpoliticsfoundation) and our site. Sign up to our weekly briefing for inspiration to help you build better politics.