Civic Quarterly Recommends

Winter has come and (finally) gone. As the birds begin to emerge and the flowers bloom, many of us will find ourselves spread across picnic blankets with dear friends. Here are some of the finest afternoon conversation starters, fresh from our book shelves and browser tabs.

Perusing finalists for the Knight News Challenge

The Knight Foundation wants to fund the best ideas for increasing civic participation through elections, but they need your help! Show your support for projects that strengthen our democracy and help create a more participatory future.

Watching VEEP

The counterweight to the obscene evil of House of Cards’ Frank Underwood, VEEP’s President Selina Meyer provides continuous chuckle-fodder as she goes about commanding the free world. Our HBO Go accounts are locked.

Reading “Controlling Internet Infrastructure”, a recent report from the New America Foundation

Become a better digital citizen by reading this fantastic primer on how and why the US Government is ceding control over DNS. Don’t know what that is? DNS is a more-or-less invisible system undergirding the internet’s architecture. It’s continued governance is essential for the net we know and love.

Eating peach cobbler, with or without ice cream

Can it be summer barbecue season already?

Reading The Utopia of Rules

Ever wonder why government is so complex? Why we require signatures to be both printed and signed? Or why it's so difficult to feel like you're interacting with a real human when you interface with government? Yeah, that.

Listening to the Longform podcast

The fine folks behind The Atavist and Longform.org host this weekly interview show covering the craft and careers of contemporary non-fiction writers. Recent topics include: reporting from a war zone, learning to make connections with the Islamic State through Twitter, and how boring it is to profile Shakira.

Reading “The Last Mile of Service Delivery”, by Mark Headd

In his inaugural post on the au courant civic tech news site Civicist, Mark provides a robust answer to the question “what is civic technology,” proclaiming “civic technology—technology we build together—is the future.” Of course, we agree!

Getting outside

We spend all day, and frequently most of the night, thinking about how we can design the civic experience to work for everybody but we can’t forget to take care of ourselves. Now that the flowers are blooming and the weather is warm, get offline and explore the place you call home!

The Civic Quarterly Editorial Board is proudly supported by folks like you. And coffee.