Skip to main content

Making Disagreement Useful Again

Democracy works better when we understand each other. Vote on the questions defining our era — then see where people genuinely agree, where they divide, and which ideas can bridge the gap and inform better decisions.

Browse freely without an account. Sign up free or sign in to save your Big Questions progress, votes, and personalised recap. · Trusted by individuals, organisations and governments globally

Discussion visualisation showing opinion clusters and consensus
140+ news sources curated 8,600+ discussions Global community No ads · No tracking Open source
Guided civic journey

What do you actually believe?

8 themes. At least 56 policy statements to start — more added as participants contribute. Vote on the issues that define our era, then see where humanity agrees, where it divides, and what might bridge the gap.

8
Big themes
56+
Statements
11
Editions

Not the right edition? Choose yours below.

Or choose an edition

  • Climate & planet
  • AI & technology
  • Economy & work
  • Health & care
  • War & security
  • Democracy
  • Society
  • Education
What voting reveals

We group people by how they vote, not who they are

Our machine learning finds patterns across thousands of votes — surfacing three kinds of insight you won't find anywhere else.

Consensus
Where society broadly agrees
"Access to reliable, unbiased news is essential for a functioning democracy."
Agreement across all groups 84%

This statement was agreed by participants across all political clusters.

Bridge Idea
Unites opposing groups
"Politicians of all parties have failed to honestly explain the trade-offs of their policies to voters."
Left cluster
76%
agree
Right cluster
79%
agree

Bridge ideas resonate strongly across groups that otherwise disagree — rare common ground.

Genuine Division
A real fault line worth addressing
"The state should guarantee a minimum income for every citizen, regardless of employment status."
62% agree 38% disagree

Genuine divisions show where deeper democratic deliberation is needed — not just counting votes.

Examples from real discussions on this platform. Your vote changes what society sees. Explore all discussions →

How it works

Three steps. Takes under five minutes to start.

1

Join a discussion or journey

Browse discussions on news topics, or take the Big Questions Journey — at least 56 statements across 8 themes, growing as participants contribute their own.

2

Vote on statements

Agree, Disagree, or Unsure on each statement. Add your reasoning if you want. Respectful by design — and anonymous if you prefer.

3

Discover insights — and share them

See consensus, bridge ideas and genuine divisions. Then share the results with the communities, organisations, or policymakers who need to hear them.

Three daily ways to engage

Vote on the day’s question. Read the day’s news. Pressure-test your own ideas in a five-minute game.

2 minutes a day

The Daily Question

One carefully chosen question every day. Vote, share your reasoning, then see how others responded. Over time, this creates a longitudinal view of how public opinion evolves.

Today's question

"French cultural exception policies should be extended to AI-generated content and digital platforms."

5 questions weekly by default · Adjust frequency anytime

The news you need. Zero noise.

The Daily Brief

3–5 stories daily, vetted for civic impact, analysed for partisan spin, and explained in plain language. Multi-source coverage with left/centre/right breakdown. No ads. No outrage.

Today's brief 14 Jul 2026
Lead Story 8 sources

Trump Administration Approves OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Launch

Why this matters

For tech developers: access to advanced AI models may accelerate innovation. Globally: this could set new standards for AI deployment and regulation.

Policy & Governance 2 sources

Ukrainian Drone Strikes Result in Casualties in Moscow

Policy & Governance 3 sources

Andy Burnham Set to Become UK Prime Minister

Economy & Business 1 sources

Youth Employment Challenges in Africa Highlighted

Science, Tech & Environment 2 sources

SoftBank's Son Predicts $5 Trillion AI Investment Needed

Read full brief

Free to read · 140+ sources across the spectrum →

5 minutes a day

Tradeoffs

You're in charge. A crisis lands on your desk — and every path forward costs something real. Cut spending and lose public trust. Borrow now and burden the next generation. Build fast and fracture communities. Five turns to govern. What kind of leader do you become?

Today's scenario Media & democracy

The Feed

Daily scenarios · Builds your streak · Links to real discussions

We draw from 140+ trusted sources across the spectrum

News, analysis, think tanks, and podcasts—curated for quality journalism

Left & Centre-Left
The Guardian The New Yorker The Atlantic The Intercept ProPublica New Statesman Slow Boring Brookings The News Agents
Centre
BBC News Financial Times The Economist Bloomberg Axios Lawfare MIT Tech Review Al Jazeera SCMP Semafor The Rest Is Politics Acquired
Centre-Right & Right
The Dispatch Reason The Spectator National Review The Free Press City Journal Cato Institute First Things All-In Podcast Triggernometry

News/Analysis Podcast Bias ratings from AllSides | See all 140+ sources

Voices that inspired this

"The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing the human race — those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it."
Portrait of John Stuart Mill, philosopher and author of On Liberty
John Stuart Mill

Philosopher, On Liberty, 1859

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Portrait of Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist
Margaret Mead

Cultural Anthropologist

Join the conversation

Real discussions happening right now.

Healthcare Featured

How should we improve the NHS?

Give specific details of what could be done and how? Give examples of what is not working with proposed solutions. How could we leverage technology whilst also ensuring privacy?

United Kingdom
Geopolitics

What could the changes in oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz mean for our economy and energy policies?

By Jonathan Saul ATHENS, May 27 (Reuters) - An oil products tanker operated by Chinese shipping group COSCO was in the process of crossing through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, after two crude tankers sailed in the past day, although oil traffic overall was still limited, shipping data showed. Before the war on Iran began on February 28, shipping traffic through the Strait averaged 125 to 140 daily passages. Due to the conflict, 20,000 seafarers remain stranded inside the Gulf on board hundreds of ships

Global

Have a question society should answer?

Start a discussion and see where people actually stand — or run a structured programme for your community.

Fund the mission

Everything is free. It stays that way because of our subscribers.

A Personal Brief subscription funds our open source civic platform — and gives you a custom daily digest from your own sources in return.

Choose your own sources — RSS, Substack, PDFs

AI synthesis from multiple sources, on your schedule

Your subscription directly funds free civic participation for all

Start 30-Day Free Trial

From £4.99/month · No credit card required to trial

For organisations

Publisher, NGO, government, or researcher?

Society Speaks powers structured deliberation, citizen consultation, and civic journalism for organisations across the globe. Embed discussions, commission programmes, and connect your audience to what they actually believe.

See how it works