Civic Tech Chat: Recent Episodes
Ryan Koch
Civic Tech Chat is a podcast about the civic technology movement. We seek to harness the power technology has to improve the delivery of public services to people everywhere.
We're joined by Amanda Renteria (https://codeforamerica.org/people/amanda-renteria/) CEO of Code for America (https://codeforamerica.org). We dive into a conversation about what's needed to make 'good' government forms and we let you know about a neat event coming up on 9/30/2025 called FormFest(https://formfest.org/). Register for the event here: https://formfest.org/register/ .Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Brett Ferrin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-ferrin-8504b8346/) VP of Sales at Traffic Logix. Together we have a conversation about how technology and data can be used to proactively improve traffic safety. If you're into data, urban planning, or transportation, this is an episode for you.Resources and Shoutouts:- Traffic Logix: https://trafficlogix.com/- Vision Zero: https://www.cdc.gov/transportation-safety/vision-zero/index.htmlMusic Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're talking about experimentation in government services with two experts from Nava Labs, a philanthropically funded part of Nava PBC: Genevieve Gaudet (Director) and Martelle Esposito (Partnerships and Evaluation Manager). Learn about their approach to experimentation, leveraging data, and how they advocate for adoption.Resources and shoutouts- Keep up with the Nava Labs team (make sure to select the "Nava Labs" checkbox): https://www.navapbc.com/nava-newsletter- Nava PBC website: https://www.navapbc.com- Nava Labs’ work, including the AI tools for Caseworkers project: https://www.navapbc.com/labs- AI appropriateness checklist: https://www.navapbc.com/toolkits/ai-public-sector-challenges- Feel free to reach out to the Nava Labs team any time at labs@navapbc.com
We're joined by Ami Yares (https://www.amiyares.com/) songwriter and Executive Director of Build a Bridge (https://buildabridge.org), a non-profit that focuses on transforming lives through art-making, and by Shannon, a User Experience designer with over 20 years experience including time across 3 Federal agencies. We'll talk about their initiative called We the Songwriters (https://www.wethesongwriters.org), which connects federal employees with songwriters to share their stories.Resources and Shoutouts:- Friends of USAID Playlist (https://open.spotify.com/artist/33NtIX8ae3eovd3AQtMEKO?si=S2IhqKRHSFqAA1xKH3Ts8Q&nd=1&dlsi=54817e06c5dd427b)- Song: USAID (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlFaXtVW4VM)Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Amanda Renteria (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-renteria/), CEO of Code for America to discuss their upcoming Summit event. We'll cover a bit about the event itself, the state of the civic tech ecosystem, and the impact that event could have on the space.Resources and shoutouts- https://codeforamerica.org- https://summit.codeforamerica.org/Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Our host, Ryan Koch, does a breakdown of infinite scrolling. We talk about what this design technique is, why it gets used, and the potential effects it could have on folks using applications.Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Mike Gifford (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgifford), Open Standards and Practice Lead at CivicActions (https://civicactions.com/). We'll dig deep into what it takes to build accessible web services and why that effort is so important.Resources and Shoutouts:- Accessibility Chapter of the Web Almanac (https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2024/accessibility)Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We reach back into the archives to re-release episode 84. In it we were joined by Marina Nitze (https://twitter.com/MarinaNitze) to talk about their book Hack Your Bureaucracy (https://www.hackyourbureaucracy.com/). We discussed tactics you can use to get things done in all sorts of organizational environments.Resources and Shoutouts:- Hack Your Bureaucracy (https://www.hackyourbureaucracy.com/)- Recoding America (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61796680-recoding-america)- Power to the Public (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55421550-power-to-the-public)Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Sarah Schacht (https://smartercivic.squarespace.com/), Senior Data Fellow at Data Foundation and author of a new report called Innovation Fellowship Career Outcomes. We'll dive in and talk about this report, their research, and the innovation fellowship space.Resources and Shoutouts:- Innovation Fellowship Career Outcomes (https://contact-us-a9fb0e.zapier.app/)Music Credit: - Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Aure Schrock (https://aschrock.com/), academic editor and writing coach at their company Indelible Voice and author of the book Politics Recoded. We'll talk about the book and their insights on Code for America, a technology forward non-profit in the civic technology space.Resources and Shoutouts:- Politics Recoded https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262549455/politics-recoded/- Indelible Voice http://indeliblevoice.com/- Code for America https://codeforamerica.org/Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Christopher Whitaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwhitaker/), Executive Director of the Alliance of Civic Technologists (ACT) (https://www.civictechnologists.org/) to talk about the organization and it's upcoming membership drive. ACT seeks to fill the vacuum left by the sunsetting of the old Code for America Brigade Network program. We'll talk about how the volunteer space, how they plan to operate in it, and their vision for the future.### Resources and Shoutouts:- Alliance of Civic Technologists (https://www.civictechnologists.org/join)- ACT Discord (https://discord.gg/EM6ywtMhkP)##### Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Brian Whittaker (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bwhtt/) to talk about their work with Humans of Public Service (https://humansofpublicservice.org/). A non-profit that shares the human stories of public servants.Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Our host Ryan Koch (https://linkedin.com/in/kochryan) gives a quick briefing about the Crowdstrike outage. We talk about why you should care about it, what happened, as well as a couple of lessons we can take from the event.### Resources and Shoutouts:- Cost Estimate- What is Crowdstrike?- Why does Crowdstrike have kernel access?- Crowdstrike preliminary incident review- Fix instructions- Join us on Discord##### Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Greg Jordan-Detamore (https://www.gregjd.com/) to talk about digital services in operations, how applying civic tech practices happen where resources are constrained, and overcoming differing language choices.Resources and Shoutouts:- Greg's substack (https://civicinsighter.com/)- Recoding America (book) (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61796680-recoding-america)- The Fifth Risk (book) (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46266188-the-fifth-risk?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_14)- The Mindset Mentor (podcast) (https://robdial.com/podcast/)- Slow Boring (blog) (https://www.slowboring.com/)
In this episode, our host Ryan Koch demystifies Generative AI and large language models, discussing their potential, risks, and ethical implications. We confront misinformation, privacy issues, and explore questions around authorship and economic impacts. This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking a balanced understanding of these pivotal technologies.
We're joined by[Marina Nitze(https://twitter.com/MarinaNitze) to talk about their book Hack Your Bureaucracy(https://www.hackyourbureaucracy.com/). We'll discuss tactics you can use to get things done in all sorts of organizational environments.### Resources and Shoutouts:- Recoding America (book)(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61796680-recoding-america)- Power to the Public (book)(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55421550-power-to-the-public)
We're pulling one out of the archives to start off 2023!This time we talk discovery sprints! We're joined by Jenn Noinaj (https://www.linkedin.com/in/actuallyjenn/)} and Kathryn Jurick(https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynjurick/), authors of the United States Digital Service guide to discovery sprints. We'll chat about what these are, how they're run, and how they can help.### Resources and Shoutouts:- USDS Discovery Sprint Guide(https://sprint.usds.gov/)
We are joined by James O'Brien, CX Lead at Seam Social Labs(https://www.seamsociallabs.com/our-team ) for a conversation about community engagement, including chats about inclusion, co-creation, bias, and the power of language.### Resources and Shoutouts:- Winning on Purpose (book)(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58090620-winning-on-purpose)- Frankenstein (book)(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein)
We are joined by Jeremy Hartman(https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyhartman2022/), VP of Venture Forward and Community Engagement at GoDaddy(https://www.godaddy.com/)to talk about accessibility and sustainability on the web.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- The Accidental President (book)(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35106890-the-accidental-president)
- Venture Forward(https://www.godaddy.com/ventureforward/)
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We are joined by Mike Gifford(https://twitter.com/mgifford, Senior Strategist at Civic Actions(https://civicactions.com/)to talk about accessibility and sustainability on the web.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/40864002-a-psalm-for-the-wild-built
- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57094295-termination-shock
- https://radioopensource.org/
- https://longnow.org/
We are joined by Joseph Tajaran (https://www.linkedin.com/in/tajaran/), organizer and Brigade Captain of Code for Chicago (https://codeforchicago.org), to chat about what it takes to lead a sustainable volunteer organization.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Chicago UX Book Club (https://www.meetup.com/UXChicago/)
- The Conscious Creative (book) (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49098420-the-conscious-creative)
- Design Justice (book) (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51151807-design-justice)
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol(http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Monkey_Warhol/Lonely_Hearts_Challenge/Monkey_Warhol_-_Tumbleweeds)
We are joined by Max Ghenis (https://twitter.com/MaxGhenis), co-founder of Policy Engine https://twitter.com/ThePolicyEngine) for a conversation about ways technology can help folks understand the impact of public policy proposals.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- I, Daniel Blake (film)(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5168192/){
- What we owe the future (book)(https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59802037-what-we-owe-the-future)
We are joined by Aidan Feldman(https://twitter.com/aidanfeldman), freelance technologist and former Technology Director at Technology Transformation Services at GSA(https://twitter.com/GSA_TTS) to dive into a conversation about the space where human centered concepts meet with devsecops.
Resources and shoutouts: - https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/curb-cuts/ - https://blog.thepete.net/blog/2019/10/04/hello-production/ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wIvXfhWpx0
We are joined by Jordan Burris (https://twitter.com/JordansRules), Senior Director of Public Sector Product Market Strategy at Socure(https://www.socure.com/) and former Chief of Staff at the US Office of Management and Budget to talk about digital identity and the impact it can have on the delivery of public services.
Resources and Shoutouts: - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/public-sector-future/id1552507257
We are joined by Amanda Renteria (https://twitter.com/AmandaRenteria), CEO of Code for America (https://codeforamerica.org) to talk about their new program, the Safety Net Innovation Lab and the impact it could have on government services.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- https://codeforamerica.org/news/audacious-project-investment-to-launch-safety-net-innovation-lab/
We are joined by Federal Chief Information Officer Clare Martorana (https://www.linkedin.com/in/claremartorana/), United States Digital Services Administrator Mina Hsiang (https://www.linkedin.com/in/minahsiang/), and Nava Chief Delivery Officer Jodi Leo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodi-leo-7a21777/). We dive into a conversation about the importance of effective government services delivery and how an executive order focused on customer experience may impact that space.
Join us on Discord (https://discord.gg/hECzBJh)
Resources and Shoutouts: - https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/12/13/executive-order-on-transforming-federal-customer-experience-and-service-delivery-to-rebuild-trust-in-government/ - https://www.usajobs.gov/ - https://www.usds.gov/apply - https://www.navapbc.com/careers/
We are joined by Adam Probolsky (https://twitter.com/AdamProbolsky), President of Probolsky Research to talk about opinion research and how it can be used effectively by policy makers.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- https://www.ocregister.com/2020/09/20/adam-probolsky-sees-polls-as-the-bridge-between-the-public-and-policymakers/
- https://www.probolskyresearch.com
We are joined by Nava co-founders Rohan Bhobe(https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbhobe/) and Sha Hwang (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shashashasha/) for a conversation about their experiences responding to a crises and facing the challenges of building sustainable technology, processes, and partnerships afterward.
Join us on Discord! https://discord.gg/hECzBJh
Resources and Shoutouts: - https://civictech.chat/2021/06/how-covid-impacted-local-government - https://www.navapbc.com/case-studies/prioritizing-research-to-quickly-serve-people-during-a-crisis.html - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/the-secret-startup-saved-healthcare-gov-the-worst-website-in-america/397784/ - https://www.navapbc.com/case-studies/Supporting-Veterans-During-the-Pandemic-with-Virtual-Tele-Hearings.html
Ryan Koch (https://twitter.com/ryan_koch) chats with us a bit about dark patterns, a set of deceptive techniques that are often used in the design of technology products and services. We'll talk about what they are, why they are important, as well as what the government is trying to do about it.
Join us on Discord: https://discord.gg/hECzBJh
Resources and Shoutouts: - Shining a Light on Dark Patterns: https://academic.oup.com/jla/article/13/1/43/6180579?login=false - What are dark patterns and how are they tricking me?: https://www.raconteur.net/technology/dark-patterns/ - Dark pattern types: https://www.darkpatterns.org/types-of-dark-pattern - WaPo piece about Google lawsuit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/01/24/google-location-data-ags-lawsuit/ - Princeton and UChicago study: https://webtransparency.cs.princeton.edu/dark-patterns/ - FTC enforcement policy statement: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1598063/negative_option_policy_statement-10-22-2021-tobureau.pdf
For our first episode of 2022 we go back into the archives and re-release an episode from October 20th, 2020. The original description follows below!
Civic Design Consultant and author Cyd Harrell joins us for a conversation about their new book A Civic Technologist's Practice Guide{, which seeks to be a grounding document in the space.
🎧 Listen
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Slow Ideas
- Inclusive Design for a Digital World
- Disability Visibility{
- So you want to reform democracy
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We are joined by Ariana Soto to talk about the Civic Innovation Corps, a program that connects recent graduates of two or four year institutions, bootcamps, and certificate programs to government service through a 10 week paid internship.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Join us for a conversation about the motivations and constraints involved with volunteering in civic tech! We're joined by Jill Bjers, Nehemiah Dacres, Marianne Miranda, and Matt Zagaja} for a live show that happened during the 2021 Code for America Brigade Congress.
Join us on Discord
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
During this episode we dive into a conversation about the Code for America volunteer network. We'll talk through conversations they've been having at the grassroots level to refocus their efforts and answer some key questions around values, purpose, and future steps. We're joined by the following folks at different stages of the conversation: - Em Burnett - Janet Michaelis - Jennifer Miller - Rene Joy - Tim Leisman - Yeti Aberra
Join us on Discord
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Network ReVisioning Proposal
- Effort announcement
- 2021 Brigade Congress{:target="_blank"}
- Civic Tech Chat Live Show info for 10/16/2021
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by folks from the Center for Employment Training Immigration and Citizenship Program (CET-ICP) and Code for San Jose to talk about the Citizen and Immigration Information Tool they've built together. From CET-ICP we hear from their Director, Monica Limas, as well as Valdo Drozdek, a technology and outreach specialist. From Code for San Jose we chat with their Director of Frontend Engineering, Joey Richardson.
Join us on Discord
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We talk a bit about the Silenced No More act, a bill that passed the California legislature on September 3rd. We'll cover what it seeks to do, the problem space it covers, and why it's a salient topic.
Join us on Discord
Resources and Shoutouts:
- California State Senate Floor Analysis of the bill
- Washington Post coverage of the bill
- Law firm blog post on the bill
- Press release from introduction
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Lorin Camargo and Sofía Corona, Co-Directors of Code for All join us for a conversation about their organization's upcoming summit event. We'll talk about what it's all about, how they go about organizing it, and how they address some of its key challenges.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Dr. Karina Rider joins us to talk about research they've done focused on civic tech organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. We'll talk through their findings, the way systems around us impact involvement in civic tech, and more.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Ryan Kochtalks facial recognition technology and its role in government. We'll chat through what it's all about, some action happening in the policy space, and why this topic is salient.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Ryan Koch talks Right to Repair. We'll chat through what it's about, why it's important, and some legislation that's out there being considered.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/07/14/president-bidens-right-to-repair-order-needs-strengthening-to-aid-consumers/
- https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/S4104
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/93y3np/new-york-senate-passes-electronics-right-to-repair-legislation
- https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/07/09/executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7m8mx/john-deere-promised-farmers-it-would-make-tractors-easy-to-repair-it-lied
- https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/deere-headlights
- https://morelle.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-joe-morelle-introduces-fair-repair-act
- https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4006/committees
- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/aug/02/why-right-to-repair-matters-according-to-a-farmer-a-medical-worker-a-computer-store-owner
- https://www.ifixit.com/Right-to-Repair/E-waste
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Wietse Van Ransbeeck, CEO of Citizen Lab drops by the podcast for a conversation about democracy and civic participation. We'll also cover a bit about the role technology may play in both.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Mark Funkhouser,former Mayor of Kansas City and owner of Funkhouser and Associatesjoins us for a conversation the impact COVID-19 has had on state and local government. We'll also dive into a conversation about Federal policy response and what those relief funds mean for governments.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Amy J Wilson, author of Empathy for change joins us for a conversation about how empathy drives change, helps work environments, and impacts the world around us.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
This time we talk discovery sprints! We're joined by Jenn Noinaj and Kathryn Jurick, authors of the United States Digital Service guide to discovery sprints. We'll chat about what these are, how they're run, and how they can help.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- USDS Discovery Sprint Guide{:target="_blank"}
Music Credit: [Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol](http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Monkey_Warhol/Lonely_Hearts_Challenge/Monkey_Warhol_-_Tumbleweeds
Gabe Gumbs, CIO of Spirionand host of the Privacy Please Podcastjoins us to talk about data privacy. We'll cover some policy, compliance, and talk a bit about the right to be forgotten.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Hello folks! Below you'll find the original description for the first episode we ever released. It was this day three years ago that this adventure started. So let's sit back, listen, and take stock in how far we've all come since then.
Our inaugural episode features a panel discussion with Kristi Leach, an independent Design Researcher and Information Architect, Tom Dooner, a Developer Evangelist for Code for America, and Cyrus Sethna, a Digital Services Expert with the United States Digital Service. We'll talk about what Civic Tech is, where the movement stands, and how you can get involved.
Web Resources mentioned in the episode
- Code for America Brigade: brigade.codeforamerica.org
- Code for America Public Interest Tech Job Board: jobs.codeforamerica.org
- Open Uptown: uptown.codes
- 💪🖥🇺🇸: usds.gov
- Build With Not For: buildwithnotfor.wordpress.com
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Matt Scott, creator of Let's Care joins us to talk about their experiences as a story teller and community builder. We'll talk about their craft, the ways empathy can lead to connection, and the lessons they've learned along their path.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Empathy for Change{:target="_blank"}
- Brene Brown
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Adam Robertscreator of the GameplayReviewUK Youtube channel joins us to talk about space. We'll chat about how they make use of the video platform to share knowledge about space exploration and its history, how they seek to make that information more accessible, and what it's like to be a content creator.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Lara Stephenson of Code for Australia joins us to talk about the Digital Maturity Indicator, a model which seeks to help organizations measure, benchmark, and improve the way they use digital technologies.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Digital Maturity Indicator
- Public Digital HQ
- Code for Australia Blog
- Code for All Blog
- Dumbo Feather Magazine
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Leah Bannon leads an AMA featuring Georgia Bullen and [Maya Wagoner](https://twitter.com/mayawagon, authors of the More Than Code report.
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Civic Design Consultant and author Cyd Harrell joins us for a conversation about their new book A Civic Technologist's Practice Guide, which seeks to be a grounding document in the space.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Slow Ideas
- Inclusive Design for a Digital World
- Disability Visibility
- So you want to reform democracy
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
This is the second of two episodes where we'll talk to folks who are leading organizations trying to make civic involvement easier despite the constraints of COVID-19. For this one, we're joined by Maria Yuan to chat with us about their platform IssueVoter which seeks to inform folks about Congress and empower them to connect with its members.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We sit down with Amanda Renteria, the CEO of Code for America, an organization that seeks to improve the delivery of government services, whether through its programs or its nationwide volunteer network. We'll talk about the organization, their vision for it, a bit of public policy, and even how the organization is trying to weather the times we are living in.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
This is the first of two episodes where we'll talk to folks who are leading organizations trying to make civic involvement easier despite the constraints of COVID-19. For this one, we're joined by Bhavini Patelto chat with us about their platform Be the Change which seeks to facilitate connections between constituents and state legislators.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Be The Change
- Blink - Malcom Gladwell{:target="_blank"}
- Grit - Angela Duckworth
- The Transportation Research Board
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
RoadBotics Co-Founder Benjamin Schmidt joined us to talk road infrastructure. How do governments make decisions about its management? How might data play a role in that? These questions and more will be answered throughout this episode.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
United Stats Digital Services Engineering Director Lisa Chung joined us to talk engineering culture, hiring diversity and inclusion, and vendor best practices. We had the chance to sit down and learn from her in March as she was taking on this leadership role.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Lina Patel of Code for Australia and Nao Myoshu of Code for Japan join us for a conversation about Tech for Non Tech, a Code for All educational program. We'll talk about what the program is, why it exists, and dig into the details of how it's been shared across the network.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Emily Paul joins us for a conversation about their work as a TechCongress fellow in the area of forensic algorithms. We'll cover that topic area as well as the work they did with Representative Mark Takano to put together the Justice in Forensic Algorithms Act of 2019.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- The New Jim Crow
- New America Publications
- Route Fifty Newsletters
- Data and Society
- Upturn Publications
- Justice in Forensic Algorithms Act of 2019
- Convicted by Code
- We Keep Us Safe
- Pleasure Activism
- Emergent Strategy
- Normal Life
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Leah Bannon, Mohith Rao, and Ryan Kochsit down with returning guest Emily Fong(they appeared on episode 16). We'll talk about the work they're doing in the space where finance and civic tech meet, their community organizing efforts, and their product management practice.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We sit down with Shannon Sartin, to learn about their path to becoming a leader in the health care technology space. We'll learn from her experiences, chat through strategies for running teams, and more.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Join Leah Bannon, [Mohith Rao](https://twitter.com/localtechsupp}, and Ryan Koch as they record a live episode streamed on the Twitch platform. They'll discuss a number of topics including the responsibility tech companies have over their platforms, how regulations and agencies interact with large corporations, the inner workings of Code for America Brigade management, and even some sci-fi-esque public policy.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Facebook let's politicians lie on platform article
- FTC Commissioner Chopra dissent about Google and COPPA
- Propublica Article about IRS-Turbotax decision{:target="_blank"}
- Code for America Summit
- San Francisco Digital Service is hiring
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Kelly Taylor, Director of the Colorado Digital service joins us to talk about how the agency came to be, the merits of the digital services model, as well as lessons learned along the way.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Colorado Digital Service
- Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule (Paul Graham)
- O'Reilly Government 2.0 Blog
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Kent Wyatt, co-founder of Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) returns to the podcast. We'll get into how their organization is working to help push government forward, check in on what's been happening over the past year or so, and talk about some trends they've seen along the way.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We are joined by Clark Richey, Chief Technology Officer at FactGem to talk about how organizations handle data, how it might be made useful for a wider audience, and about their experience in this field.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- FactGem{:target="_blank"}
- Data Architecture Summit (Chicago){:target="_blank"}
- O'Reilly Strata Data Conference (New York){:target="_blank"}
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol{:target="_blank"}
We are joined by Gwendolyn Washington, Director of Pro Bono at Rising for Justice, Kelli Shewmaker, Community Outreach Lead with Code for DC, and Charles Landau, volunteer on the Rising for Justice <> Code for DC project. We'll talk about this partnership, the National Day of Civic Hacking, National Expungement Week, as well as some of what goes into building software like this.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We are joined by Dr. Stephen Kleinschmit, Director of a new Civic Analytics Masters program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. We'll talk about how this program came to be, it's relationship with civic tech, and explore some details about the program itself.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Master of Science in Civic Analytics
- The Journal of Public and Non-Profit Affairs
- GovLove Podcast
- ChiHackNight
- Academics of PA Podcast
- UIC Public Administration Twitter
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol{:target="_blank"}
We are joined by three panelists for this episode, including, Asim Ishaq Khan , Deputy Director of Projects at KPITB (http://www.kpitb.gov.pk/), Emcet Oktay Tas, Senior Social Development Specialist at the World Bank (https://www.worldbank.org/), as well as Sheba Najmi, Founder and Executive Director at Code for Pakistan (http://codeforpakistan.org/). We'll be talking about the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Innovation Fellowship, which was formed by a partnership of their organizations.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Innovation Fellowship(http://codeforpakistan.org/programs/fellowship/_
- Jen Palhka's Ted talk(https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_pahlka_coding_a_better_government)
- From Poverty to Power (https://oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/)
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol(http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Monkey_Warhol/Lonely_Hearts_Challenge/Monkey_Warhol_-_Tumbleweeds)
We are joined by User Experience Designer Shannon McHarg and Content Strategist Ryan Johnson, who both work at the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, an agency within the United States Department of the Interior. We'll talk about an open source project they both contribute to called Maine Ballot.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Maine Ballot
- Don't Make Me Think
- UK Digital Service
- Digital Transformation at Scale
- How to Make Sense of Any Mess
- Natural Resources Revenue Data
- Heydon Pickering
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We are joined by two folks from the City of Austin, Texas including Fara Muscadin, Director of the Office of Police Oversight and Marni Wilhite Head of Product, Communications and Technology Management. We'll engage in a conversation about some work they've been doing to improve the way public feedback about the police there occurs.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Email Austin's Office of Design and Delivery
- Email Austin's Office of Police Oversight
- Freakonomics Podcast
- The Lab @ DC podcast
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We are joined by David Homes, Director of Engineering over at the United States Digital Service. Our conversation will cover a number of topics including technology accessibility, interacting with partners and translating business rules into code, and the mentorship and development of engineers.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Join USDS
- Civil Rights Data Collection
- School Diversity Report
- US Web Design System
- Section 508 Compliance Site
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Our host Ryan Koch presents a short briefing on the topic of Election Security. This includes a discussion on a report released recently by Stanford University, as well as a couple oft forgotten weak links in election infrastructure security.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
A little while back Civic Tech Chat hit it's first year of existence. For this special episode, Veronica Young and Leah Bannon join us for a retrospective conversation looking at the past year in civic tech. We'll find out things that went well, things that didn't go so well, and what lessons they've learned around the way
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Ryan takes us on a quick dive back into the world of Net Neutrality. We'll discuss the Save the Internet Act of 2019 and what it intends to accomplish.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Text of Save the Internet Act of 2019
- University of Maryland Public Policy School Poll
- Civic Tech Chat Episode 17
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We talk with Genevieve Gaudet Senior Designer at (Nava)[https://twitter.com/NavaPBC]. The conversation focuses around the idea of humane tech and how it interacts with the social safety net. You don't want to miss it.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Our host, Ryan Koch talks internet privacy. What is it? Where do we stand? What is this California law that goes into effect this year? Tune in to find out.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by Madeline Hung, Co-Founder of The Good Country an effort to create a digital country based on shared values. We'll engage in a conversation about how their mission, values, and how the organization operates.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We sit down with Alma Rangel, from Codeando Mexico to talk community organizing, responding to crises, and the state of civic tech in Mexico.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
This episode features Dawn McDougall, Senior Advisor and former Executive Director of Code for Philly. We hop into a discussion about what it means for Civic Tech to be a movement and we gain some insight into how Code for Philly does community organizing.
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
This episode features Leah Bannon, founder of Tech Rebalanced and Product Manager at the United States Digital Service. We talk about her path to becoming a thought leader in the civic tech movement and dig into the weeds of doing product management in government.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
This episode features Ray Berg, Software Developer at Braintree and Organizer for the Chicago Python Users Group (Chipy). Ray runs a free mentorship program through that community that allows folks to power up their skills using the Python ecosystem. We'll learn about how to be better mentors and mentees and about how that program operates.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Episode 20! This time we feature a conversation with Derek Eder, Founder of both DataMade, a civic tech focused company and Chi Hack Night, a civic tech volunteer organization in Chicago. We talk through what it's like to engage in civic entrepreneurship.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We welcome Aaron Snow, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Digital Service Canadian Digital Service. We'll learn from his experiences leading civic tech organizations in two different countries.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
For this episode we talk to Cyrus Sethna about their journey into civic tech. Cyrus works in the United States Digital Service and is an avid member of Code for DC. We delve into that story, truths he's discovered along the way, and we learn about something called 'The National Day of Civic Crafting.' You won't want to miss this one.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Our host Ryan Koch discusses the issue of Net Neutrality. We explore this complex topic talking through what it is, who the players are, and where it stands today.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- FCC Publishes Full Text Of Net Neutrality Rules
- Comcast and Level 3 in Netflix net-neutrality spat
- Washington becomes first state to pass net neutrality protections into lawn
- Kavanaugh on net neutrality: U.S. Telecom Association v. Federal Communications Commission
- Survey: Consumers Favor Strong Net Neutrality Rules
- Overwhelming Bipartisan Majority Opposes Repealing Net Neutrality
- From 22 state attorneys general to Mozilla, net neutrality supporters have asked a court to reject the FCC’s recent repeal
- Battle for the Net
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We sit down with (Chris Kuang)[https://twitter.com/chris_kuang], (Emily Fong)[https://twitter.com/emolyfong], and (Frankie Devanbu)[https://twitter.com/FrankieDevanbu] of Coding it Forward, a civic technology fellowship program put together by students, for students.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Coding It Forward Website
- NYT Piece: Why America’s Black Mothers and Babies Are in a Life-or-Death Crisis
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We're joined by a panel of folks from Open Savannah for a conversation about how their brigade started, how they communicate, and how they approach community organizing.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We dive into a discussion with Drake Hougo and Sean O'Bannon Co-Founders of Pulse, a platform meant to help improve civic engagement between consitutents and legislators.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We engage in a conversation with Kalen Gallagher, School Board Member, and candidate for the San Jose City Council. We talk policy, civic tech, inclusion, and what it's like to be a candidate for office.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
This week we talk to Amenity Applewhite, Product Manager with the City of Austin. We chat about traversing through skill learning, facing adversity, and modernizing services delivery at the city.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
This week we talk to Kent Wyatt founder of Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) about the 'why' that drives him forward, the ELGL organization, and the GovLove podcast. This podcast swap seeks to help build bridges between the local government professional community and the civic tech movement.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Civic Tech Chat was at The Code for America Summit in Oakland California! This week we feature a series of 18 interviews with folks at the event. We talk about what they're working on, what civic tech means to them, and critically... what brigade sticker they fancy.
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
We'll take a listen to a lightning talk that our host Ryan Koch gave at the Code for America Summit in Oakland California last Friday (06/01/2018). The talk is focused on the idea of citizen technologists running for office making use of Ryan's own story as an example. It hopes serve as a point of inspiration for folks like you to take on a run of your own.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Ryan, our host, discusses the K-12 Computer Science Framework a community driven policy guide for education policy. We'll talk at a high level about what it is, why it's important, what's in it, and how it can inform policy makers.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Kevin Carter, Digital Service Expert with the United States Digital Service (USDS) joins us at the Pentagon. We'll engage in a discussion about how customer and employee experience concepts can be combined to improve government services for agencies across government.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Dan Pink Article
- President's Management Agenda
- Move.mil
- USDS Fall 2017 Report to Congress
- USDS Digital Services Playbook
- User Research Is Not Illegal, Uncle Sam (Erie Meyer)
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Nehemiah Dacres, Open Source advocate and Captain of the OpenSTL Code for America joins us for a chat about Open Source licenses. We'll learn about their varying types as well as why they can be useful for your projects.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- OpenSTL
- Data.gov
- Code.gov
- Technology Review Algorithms are actually making inequality worse
- Open Source Initiative
- The Cathedral and the Bazaar
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Amanda Damewood (https://twitter.com/AmandaDamewood), Human Centered Design Coach, drives a chat about Human Centered Design and how you can harness it as your secret super power.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- [Ideo] (https://www.ideo.org)
- [+Acumen] https://www.plusacumen.org
- [International Design in Government Community] (https://designnotes.blog.gov.uk/2017/12/11/growing-the-international-design-in-government-community/)
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Andrew Schrock, Communication Post Doctoral Fellow at Chapman University, joins us to converse about Innovation Teams and how they fit into the Civic Tech movement.
Resources and Shoutouts:
- Perspectives Innovation Teams, Mundane Innovation, and the Public Good : https://www.epicpeople.org/innovation-teams-mundane-innovation-and-the-public-good/
- Andrew Schrock's Website [http://aschrock.com/] (http://aschrock.com/)
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol
Tom Schenk, Jr.(https://twitter.com/tomschenkjr), Chicago's Chief Data Officer, joins us to discuss the role of open data in civic tech. Our host questions Schenk on the virtues of the Chicago Data Portal(https://data.cityofchicago.org/) and examines the role data plays in building a stronger, more transparent government.
Resources and Shoutouts: - Chicago Open Data Portal: data.cityofchicago.org/ - Chi Hack Night: chihacknight.org - Open Uptown: http://openuptown.us - Executive Order: https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/narr/foia/open_data_executiveorder.html - Chicago Github: https://github.com/chicago - Chicago Python User Group: http://www.chipy.org/ - OpenGrid: https://chicago.opengrid.io/opengrid/ - WasMyCarTowed: http://wasmycartowed.com - SweepAround: https://sweeparound.us - Sunlight Foundation: sunlightfoundation.com/
Music Credit: Tumbleweeds by Monkey Warhol http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Monkey_Warhol/Lonely_Hearts_Challenge/Monkey_Warhol_-_Tumbleweeds
This is the to the first of our series of breakdown talks. These sessions are meant to summarize various civic technology concepts. Our subject today is Open Data.
Resources and Shoutouts:
Project open data: https://project-open-data.cio.gov/ Data.gov: https://www.data.gov/open-gov/ Sunlight Foundation: https://sunlightfoundation.com/ My building doesn’t recycle: http://mybuildingdoesntrecycle.com/ Govlab: Nepal Earthquake case study: http://odimpact.org/case-nepal-earthquake-recovery.html Cincinnati Open Data Portal: https://data.cincinnati-oh.gov/ Chicago Open Data Portal: https://data.cityofchicago.org/ Chi Hack Night: https://chihacknight.org/
Host Ryan Koch introduces Civic Tech Chat and outlines topics for the upcoming podcast on public service technology.
Our inaugural episode features a panel discussion with Kristi Leach, an independent Design Researcher and Information Architect, Tom Dooner, a Developer Evangelist for Code for America, and Cyrus Sethna, a Digital Services Expert with the United States Digital Service. We'll talk about what Civic Tech is, where the movement stands, and how you can get involved.
Web Resources mentioned in the episode
-Code for America Brigade: https://brigade.codeforamerica.org/ -Code for America Public Interest Tech Job Board: https://jobs.codeforamerica.org/