The small town of Newtown developed an unusual and charming system for selecting its mayors—drawing names from a hat like a lottery, ensuring that power rotates among the community's citizens rather than concentrating in the hands of a few ambitious politicians. pplpod examines this unconventional democratic experiment, exploring how and why communities might choose to randomize leadership selection. This episode reveals how different approaches to democratic governance can create very different political cultures and relationships to power. Newtown's lottery system challenges assumptions about how we should select leaders.

Key Topics Covered:

• Random Selection and Democratic Theory: Drawing lots for office has historical precedent in democratic theory and practice, challenging as ...