The Renovator | Danielle Allen | Substack

Not Exactly a Love Story: Federal Power Meets State Control

It’s February 14, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup.

6 hrs ago • Beth Fukumoto

Why Democracy Shouldn’t End at the Office Door

The Strange Contradiction of Living as Citizens but Working as Subjects.

18 hrs ago • Malcolm Salter

We Have Reached Bottom

When a racist meme becomes civic sacrilege

Feb 12 • Anne-Marie Slaughter

The Renovator Community

Big announcements! Let's activate The Renovator Community!

Feb 10

The AI for Liberty & Democracy

Claude has a Constitution!

Feb 10 • Aidan Fitzsimons

The Democracy Renovation Agenda

Why Democracy Shouldn’t End at the Office Door

The Strange Contradiction of Living as Citizens but Working as Subjects.

18 hrs ago • Malcolm Salter

We Have Reached Bottom

When a racist meme becomes civic sacrilege

Feb 12 • Anne-Marie Slaughter

The Renovator Community

Big announcements! Let's activate The Renovator Community!

Feb 10

The MEGA(lomania) Movement

Here’s what I see in our politics right now:

Feb 4 • Danielle Allen

Democracy and the Media: Make the Vessel Visible

Why has our democracy taken this weird shape? Look at the glass it’s been poured into.

Jan 29 • Michael Larabee

Pretti, Good, and Liberty

What can each of us do?

Jan 26 • Danielle Allen

Finding the Loyal Opposition

The bipartisan nucleus of a Loyal Opposition already exists

Jan 20 • Danielle Allen

Talking About Love, Part II: Love and Power

How “Moderates” (Like Me) Can Redeem Their Sins

Jan 15 • Anne-Marie Slaughter

Democracy in the States

Not Exactly a Love Story: Federal Power Meets State Control

It’s February 14, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup.

6 hrs ago • Beth Fukumoto

Federal Force, State Friction: Elections, Enforcement, and Funding

It’s Saturday, February 7, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup.

Feb 8 • Beth Fukumoto

Ballots and Backlash: States Tighten Rules as ICE Sparks a Counter-Movement

We’ve finally reached the end of a very long week and the first (?!) month of 2026.

Jan 31 • Beth Fukumoto

Siege Politics & People Power: Minnesota's Resistance, America's Test

It’s Friday, January 23, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup.

Jan 24 • Beth Fukumoto

Tech & Democracy

The AI for Liberty & Democracy

Claude has a Constitution!

Feb 10 • Aidan Fitzsimons

Rewiring Democracy Now

A new kind of political engagement emerges in Japan

Jan 11 • Bruce Schneier and Nathan E. Sanders

AI Supports Legislation By the People, For the People

A new Massachusetts online hub connects legislators with communities.

Jan 8 • Joanna Kenty

Can The Pope + Steve Bannon Save Us From AI Acceleration?

The plot has thickened— Tech & Democracy's greatest hits are back in this Roundup

Dec 12, 2025 • Aidan Fitzsimons

Democracy 101

Gold Medals and American Unity: The Surprising Civic Power of Sports

Sports might be one of the last places Americans still practice being a “team.” And we are about to witness it again as the Winter Olympics commence.

Feb 5 • Shared America - Conor Gaughan

Civic Education News Roundup: Talking about ICE, engaging students in local government, and big grant awards.

Events, articles, and news related to civic education.

Jan 27 • Joanna Kenty

Why Should I Care About the Semiquincentennial?

A User-Centered U.S. 250th – and Beyond – for the Youth Wave.

Jan 25 • Caroline Klibanoff

What Higher Ed Owes to Veterans

Excluding veterans from elite institutions undermines democratic ideals.

Jan 17 • Eric Hartman

Renovator Features

Questions for Leaders: A Self-Examination

Thinking creatively about the choices open to us, and our responsibility to stand up for our values.

Feb 7

Mamdani's Bold Experiment in Participatory Democracy

NYC's mayor seems to be trying to achieve what Barack Obama never could: turning his campaign movement into a de facto arm of his government

Feb 1 • Gideon Lichfield

Democratic Divinity

Perhaps the most important image in American literature

Dec 25, 2025 • Aidan Fitzsimons

The Unitary Executive Is About to Get Turbo-Charged

The Supreme Court appears headed toward a ruling that goes most of the way to a full-blown unitary-executive regime.

Dec 10, 2025 • Harry Litman

Recent posts

Federal Force, State Friction: Elections, Enforcement, and Funding

It’s Saturday, February 7, 2026, and time for your Democracy in the States: Weekly Roundup.

Feb 8 • Beth Fukumoto

Questions for Leaders: A Self-Examination

Thinking creatively about the choices open to us, and our responsibility to stand up for our values.

Feb 7

Gold Medals and American Unity: The Surprising Civic Power of Sports

Sports might be one of the last places Americans still practice being a “team.” And we are about to witness it again as the Winter Olympics commence.

Feb 5 • Shared America - Conor Gaughan

The MEGA(lomania) Movement

Here’s what I see in our politics right now:

Feb 4 • Danielle Allen

Mamdani's Bold Experiment in Participatory Democracy

NYC's mayor seems to be trying to achieve what Barack Obama never could: turning his campaign movement into a de facto arm of his government

Feb 1 • Gideon Lichfield

Ballots and Backlash: States Tighten Rules as ICE Sparks a Counter-Movement

We’ve finally reached the end of a very long week and the first (?!) month of 2026.

Jan 31 • Beth Fukumoto

The Renovator

The Renovator

The Renovator is a Substack for everyone who wants to help renovate our democracy.

The latest from

Beth Fukumoto

Not Exactly a Love Story: Federal Power Meets State Control

Malcolm Salter

Why Democracy Shouldn’t End at the Office Door

Anne-Marie Slaughter

We Have Reached Bottom

Aidan Fitzsimons

The AI for Liberty & Democracy

Danielle Allen

The MEGA(lomania) Movement

Michael Larabee

Democracy and the Media: Make the Vessel Visible

Joanna Kenty

Civic Education News Roundup: Talking about ICE, engaging students in local government, and big grant awards.

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