13 | Holly Burd: Why Random Citizens Might Govern Better

What if the fairest way to fix a city is to hand the hard decisions to random citizens?Holly Burd spent her early career as a Marine Corps Arabic linguist in Iraq and Afghanistan, turning raw intelligence into packages for decision makers. Now she's a data scientist and civic organizer in Chicago asking a sharper question: who actually gets heard?Bob and Holly react live to the numbers on veteran and active-duty voting, the push for a Chicago city charter, and the research on whether citizens' assemblies truly represent the people they serve. Along the way, Holly does exactly what this show is about. She questions the chart.If you've ever wondered whether your voice changes anything, this conversation makes the case that data and curiosity still can. Listen now.Timestamped Highlights[00:02:19] From Marine Corps Arabic linguist to car sales to data science: Holly’s unlikely path[00:06:56] Why translating intentions matters more than translating the data[00:07:47] Bob’s case that whoever prepares the data makes the first real decision[00:09:24] When collecting evidence starts to feel like justifying decisions already made[00:15:35] Veterans for All Voters and the push for ranked choice voting and open primaries[00:16:14] Curious data: why veterans out-register and out-vote non-veterans[00:20:29] The flip side: why active-duty troops vote far less than civilians[00:21:51] Holly on never once being invited to vote while in uniform[00:23:23] What a city charter is, and why Chicago doesn’t have one[00:27:30] Sortition explained: a stratified random sample of citizens solving problems together[00:31:10] Bob plays naysayer: are citizens’ assemblies really representative?[00:34:39] The kleroterion: how ancient Athens randomized its juries in public[00:36:43] The moment the guest questions the host’s chart, and why that’s the point[00:38:39] Figuring Out FOIAs and getting the shy people into the room[00:44:41] Data poisoning: what happens when people flood the trackers with fake profiles[00:49:58] Why curiosity disappears when we’re scared, and how to bring it backMentioned ResourcesPolitics Without Politicians by Hélène LandemorePeople vs. Politics (documentary)Veterans for All VotersDemocracyNextScientific American on citizens' assembly selectionFederal Voting Assistance ProgramOregon Citizens' Initiative Review (Healthy Democracy)Illinois House Bill 5282Quantum Shore ChicagoProtonCode PinkJosh BurgessAbout the GuestHolly Burd is a Marine Corps veteran, data scientist, civic organizer, and the founder of HollyTech LLC in Chicago. She served as a Marine Corps Arabic linguist with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, then worked as an intelligence and geospatial analyst and systems engineer before returning to school for data science. Today she builds civic data tools and works on veteran civic leadership, election reform, and representative civic assemblies. Every Monday evening she meets people at Chicago City Hall to help them understand how their local government works.🔗 Website | Substa