A conversation about the silent war between safety and sovereignty. We explore how comfort disguises itself as freedom, how the pursuit of ease dulls the instinct to question, and how quiet submission becomes the new obedience. It is a reflection on the trade we make between risk and rest and what that exchange reveals about the modern human condition.

In this episode of The Social Contract, we explore the paradox of democracy in the 21st century: cherished yet fragile, admired yet under siege. From declining youth faith in democratic values to the rise of authoritarian nostalgia, we confront what happens when trust—the lifeblood of democratic societies—begins to erode.

Is democracy failing to deliver, or are we failing democracy?

With insights from thinkers like Yuval Noah Harari and Aristotle, we examine how individualism, institutional decay, and polarisation are reshaping the relationship between the citizen and the state. Can we renew the promise of democracy for a generation raised in algorithmic echo chambers? Or has the “will of the people” become too volatile to govern?

Join us as we dissect the difference between apathy and antipathy, the importance of accountability, and why the ballot box is no longer enough to keep democracy alive.

We’ve built machines that can think, speak, paint, and even persuade. But as artificial intelligence accelerates beyond our wildest predictions, one question looms larger than ever: is AI humanity’s greatest invention—or the last one we’ll ever make?

In this episode of The Social Contract, we navigate the razor’s edge between innovation and consequence. From mass automation and job displacement to algorithmic bias and the ethics of machine-made art, we explore whether AI is empowering society—or quietly reshaping it in ways we can’t yet control.

Can we govern something we barely understand? Who bears the moral weight when an algorithm harms? And is AI creativity truly “creative”—or just remixing the past at lightning speed?

Join us as we discuss whether artificial intelligence is our most powerful ally—or a mirror reflecting our deepest flaws.