A Kinder, Gentler Capitalism
BANR founder Ted Wachtel addresses how the Enterprise (or economics/business) facet of A New Reality might evolve.
A New Reality In Practice – Kortrijk, Belgium
BANR Creative Director Kerra L. Bolton details her impressions of restorative practices in Kortrijk, Belgium, as a New Reality already in practice.
A Restorative New Reality: Of Pies and Curmudgeons
Some respectful but passionate back-and-forth between BANR founder Ted Wachtel, and an old college pal, David Heekin, with widely disparate views. David expresses his doubts about Ted’s “pie in the sky” ideals and aspirations, and Ted responds in a restorative way.
BANR Video Sampler: Intro to Building a New Reality
These video posts provide a diverse sample of ideas comprising the Building A New Reality (BANR) movement.
Beyond The Schoolhouse
These posts address BANR founder Ted Wachtel’s attitudes toward education, developed through his experiences in a career as a traditional classroom history teacher and program administrator. Excerpted from his 2020 book, “Beyond the Schoolhouse,” now available in paperback and e-book formats.
Brett Hennig - The End of Politicians
Can we do democracy differently? Brett Hennig—founder of the Sortition Foundation and author of The End of Politicians: Time for a Real Democracy—not only thinks so, but is helping demonstrate how sortition—random selection of representatives—can improve how we choose our decision-makers, and do democracy differently.
Citizens’ Assemblies
A series of articles about the concept of choosing leaders using sortition through citizens’ assemblies, guaranteeing that the citizenry is represented in true democratic fashion.
Deliberative Democracy
Exploring the many ways in which the concept of Deliberative Democracy is woven tightly into the fabric of the way we envision Building A New Reality
One Woman’s Restorative Journey
A series of articles by freelance journalist and frequent opinion contributor to CNN, Kerra Bolton, sharing how her training in the basics of restorative practices changed some of her foundational thinking about what it means to be part of a community.
Restorative Culture in a New Reality
The BANR movement is built on the foundation of Restorative Practices. These posts address different facets of the way this philosophical DNA influences the way we approach the creation of A New Reality.
Restoring Detroit
A series of articles by freelance journalist and frequent opinion contributor to CNN, Kerra L. Bolton, on her experiences with the way restorative practices are transforming the American city of Detroit, from failure to fulfillment of its promise as an American city, with opening and closing comments by Ted Wachtel, editor.
School Is Optional
A series of excerpts from Kenneth Danford’s book, “Learning is Natural, School is Optional: The North Star approach to giving teens a head start in life.” The book details Danford’s founding of the North Star Self-Directed Learning Center, and its evolution as a successful alternative for teens who want to learn but don’t thrive in a traditional classroom atmosphere.
Student Government Reimagined
Adam Cronkright, co-founder and director of Democracy in Practice, highlights the organization’s work replacing student elections with lotteries in Bolivian schools, helping students learn early how they can directly impact their governments through Deliberative Democracy
The Power of Check-Ins
Author and business coach Richard Cohen explains the use of the restorative practice of check-ins in the workplace, based on his free, online resource, Check-In Success.
Top 8 Reasons for a U.S. National Citizens’ Assembly on Gun Violence
BANR founder Ted Wachtel applies the concept of citizens’ assemblies to an urgent need that the U.S. Congress avoids: gun violence, and how to prevent it.
True Representation
An exploration of the way political partisanship has warped the way democracy has evolved in America, and how “We, The People” can take back our governance by creating True Representation of actual citizenry.
