@cortico
Cortico is building a better way to listen. We help communities host recorded small-group conversations and make sense of what they're hearing in a way that’s actually usable. 501(c)(3) in collaboration with MIT’s Center for Constructive Communication
Today we're at the #StudentPowerSummit in Los Angeles, where student voice and civic power are front and center. These are young people reflecting on what it feels like to actually be heard.
Speech has been decoupled from consequence. AI now apologizes, persuades, and promises—without anyone accountable for the words. When language no longer binds a speaker, what happens to human dignity?
Cortico Cofounder Deb Roy's recent essay for @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Partners often tell us the same thing: something shifts in these conversations.
People feel connected, validated, and often less alone.
What makes it lasting is that those moments don’t end when the conversation does.
Take a few minutes to listen:
A day late but still worth sharing! In honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, we’re resurfacing this short audio medley from a pilot designed to surface the voices of modern fandom.
Listen in to women fans from around the world, in their own words, on sports culture and the women’s game.
The report is in!
We just published Cortico’s 2025 Impact Report, featuring stories and milestones from the past year across our partner network.
Thank you to everyone who is part of this work.
Check it out:
cortico.ai/news/2025-im...
There’s a lot right now that can make people feel powerless or isolated.
This is one small reminder that when you make room for real stories and perspectives, people surface solidarity, and a path forward.
Listen in 🎧
As the year winds down, we asked Cortico staff a simple question: what do you appreciate most about the work our partners do?
Here are a few of their reflections. Grateful for the care and curiosity that make this work possible!
Listening back on 2025, our partners proved again and again that sincerity AND scale are possible in the effort to better understand their communities.
Check out our final newsletter of 2025 & get inspired about what's possible when we build a better way to listen.
mailchi.mp/cortico/dec2...
Proud to share this insightful piece by our long-time collaborator, Director of Civic Engagement at the NYC Department of City Planning, Elizabeth Hamby.
Read on to dive into our most recent collaboration, the Cross Bronx Community Storybank, where resident voices are shaping the road ahead.
🔗 Year 2 Findings and Recommendations report here:
static1.squarespace.com/static/5f317...
🔗 Conversation portal with key insights and perspectives from small-group dialogue with 572 young people across Newark here: newarkyouthvoices.portal.cortico.ai
Newark Opportunity Youth Network's Year 2 Findings Report highlights the power of youth-led conversations in Newark.
This medley brings you into those conversations with young people talking honestly about disconnection and what they need from their schools.
You can hear more real voices and explore themes and insights from across conversations now at the Cross Bronx Community Storybank!
crossbronxstorybank.portal.cortico.ai
Over the past year, we teamed up with @nycplanning.bsky.social to record 20 conversations with more than 60 Bronx residents about life along the Cross Bronx Expressway—its history, its impact, and its future.
Understanding the past and shaping what’s next starts with community voice.
Hear young people’s real voices, then explore the full collection on the @frontlinepbs.bsky.social x Cortico conversation portal: youthvoices.portal.cortico.ai
What does AI mean to the next generation?
This summer we invited young people to share stories and have conversations about how artificial intelligence is influencing their lives and communities.
Panel - Designing Democratic Infrastructure for the AI Age.
Interesting mention of @cortico.bsky.social and how they scale sensemaking by enabling participants to annotate transcripts and highlight parts they agree with
A rare occasion: the whole Cortico team in one room.
Two days at the MIT Media Lab filled with conversation, laughter, a mild post-it explosion, and a few breakthroughs about what’s next for this work.
Feels good to practice what we preach, listening, together!
Public libraries are becoming hubs for youth-led civic dialogue.
Cortico, @carnegiecorp.bsky.social, and the American Library Association are launching the Teen Dialogue Accelerator—funding, tools, and training for 10 libraries nationwide.
Apply by October 13!
cortico.ai/news/apply-n...
Community voices shaping policy, young leaders sparking conversation, and a nationwide call to listen.
Check out our latest newsletter!
mailchi.mp/cortico/oct2...
Giving people a say in the decisions and narratives that shape their neighborhoods >>>
We teamed up with the NYC City Planning to capture 60 Bronxites’ lived experiences with the neighborhoods along the Cross Bronx Expressway.
Hear it for yourself!
crossbronxstorybank.portal.cortico.ai
Community conversations are being used to reconsider one of New York City’s most mythologized infrastructures. These conversations, analyzed w/ Cortico’s tools, are part of shaping what comes next for the Cross Bronx.
Check out the exhibition opening this Friday!
urbanomnibus.net/2025/08/exhi...
Led by the National Conference on Citizenship in partnership with Cortico and other civically aligned organizations, express interest in joining to bring these conversations to your community!
Sign up:
ncoc.org/join-the-ame...
As polarization seems to deepen and trust frays, we have a chance to pause and ask where we are headed.
That’s what The American Conversation Project is about: thousands of small-group conversations across the country, where people share their stories and imagine the future they want to build.
