Why politics have an elitism problem with Hélène Landemore | ReThinking

Hélène Landemore is a political scientist at Yale who studies democracy. She has a radical idea for fixing politics: what if we replaced career politicians with citizen assemblies, filled with people chosen by lottery? In this episode, Hélène and Adam discuss the history of this idea, tracing back to Ancient Greece and the birth of democracy, as well as recent examples of countries and states that have tried this bold method of governance. Hélène responds to some common questions and concerns about citizen assemblies, and Adam breaks down some evidence supporting the notion that ordinary citizens may be more fit to serve and lead than professional politicians. Host & Guest Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/) Hélène Landemore (Website: https://www.helenelandemore.com/) Links Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593713982 Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

Hélène LandemoreguestAdam Granthost

Feb 10, 202636mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: February 10, 2026
Duration: 36m
Channel: Re:Thinking with Adam Grant
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Hélène Landemore is a political scientist at Yale who studies democracy. She has a radical idea for fixing politics: what if we replaced career politicians with citizen assemblies, filled with people chosen by lottery? In this episode, Hélène and Adam discuss the history of this idea, tracing back to Ancient Greece and the birth of democracy, as well as recent examples of countries and states that have tried this bold method of governance. Hélène responds to some common questions and concerns about citizen assemblies, and Adam breaks down some evidence supporting the notion that ordinary citizens may be more fit to serve and lead than professional politicians. Host & Guest Adam Grant (Instagram: @adamgrant | LinkedIn: @adammgrant | Website: https://adamgrant.net/) Hélène Landemore (Website: https://www.helenelandemore.com/) Links Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0593713982 Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters Follow TED! X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks Podcasts: https://www.ted.com/podcasts The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

SPEAKERS

Hélène Landemore
guest
Political theorist known for work on deliberative democracy, sortition, and citizens’ assemblies, including books such as "Open Democracy" and "Politics Without Politicians".
Adam Grant
host
Organizational psychologist and host of Re:Thinking, known for research and writing including New York Times pieces.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Re:Thinking with Adam Grant, featuring Hélène Landemore and Adam Grant, Why politics have an elitism problem with Hélène Landemore | ReThinking explores reimagining democracy through citizen lotteries, deliberation, and anti-elite governance reform Landemore challenges the assumption that politics requires professional elites (especially lawyers), arguing that ordinary citizens are statistically reasonable and already capable of agenda-setting and policymaking with proper support.

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