Maija Setälä, Professor of political science at the University of Turku, shares her perspective as both a political theorist and an experimental political scientist on the question of the relation between empirical and normative research in (deliberative) democracy, but also on her successful experience as a member of an expert committee responsible for proposing a new direct democratic institution in Finland. This interview was recorded in Grindelwald, Switzerland, on January 19, 2017. Interview and jingle by Alice el-Wakil. Music “Sunday Lovers” by Monday Night Fever.