In this episode, we speak to Professor Carolyn Hendriks about democracy, representation, political trust and decision making and what's happening in local communities. Democracy is under strain as the legitimacy of representatives is questioned and public trust declines. The rise of populism is changing the way many think about democracy and democratic representation, while new forms of leadership emerge. ---Professor Carolyn Hendriks is one of the leading thinkers on democracy and governance, including participatory democracy, public deliberation, and representation. Her most recent book is Mending Democracy: democratic repair in disconnected times. Recently, she was awarded a very prestigious Australian Research Council Future Fellowship to continue her work on representative democracy.  Sharon Bessell is a Professor of Public Policy and Director of both the Children’s Policy Centre and the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy. Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, a physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.