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The tech revolution bureaucracy desperately needs

Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode Move fast…and fix democracy?

Government feels stuck on dial-up. Political advisor Jennifer Pahlka explains how smarter tech—and less red tape—could finally speed it up.

About Jennifer Pahlka

Jennifer Pahlka is the founding board chair of the Recoding America Fund, and a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center and the Federation of American Scientists. She served as U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer under President Obama and helped found the U.S. Digital Service. She also served on the Defense Innovation Board under Presidents Obama and Trump. At the start of the pandemic, she also co-founded U.S. Digital Response, which helps government meet the needs of the public with volunteer tech support. She is the author of Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Phoebe Lett and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Web Resources

Related TED Bio: Jennifer Pahlka

Related TED Talk: Can math help repair democracy?

Related TED Playlist: Democracy

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Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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