How Do We Fix It?
419 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 21 hours ago - ★★★★★ - 102 ratingsFrom politics to the personal, we're about solutions. Our weekly podcast features two friends and longtime journalists. Join Richard Davies (ABC News) and Jim Meigs (Popular Mechanics) as they challenge authors, experts and provocateurs in a search for positive, practical ideas. Guests include Alan Dershowitz, a noted legal scholar and defender of civil liberties; Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs" and Lenore Skenazy, founder of "Free Range Kids." Topics include politics, parenting, personal finance, human behavior and much more. "How Do We Fix It?" - a repair manual for the real world. Produced by DaviesContent
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Episodes
The Collapse of Local News and How to Rebuild Regional Journalism: Anna Brugman
April 19, 2024 10:15 - 23 minutes - 54.4 MBIn much of the country local news has collapsed, threatening civic pride and a sense of community for countless towns and cities. This dramatic change has also deepened America's divides. As our guest, journalist and public policy researcher Anna Brugmann explains in this episode, "the internet disrupted the local journalism model". Newspaper advertising revenue fell 80% since 2000. Thousands of local and regional publications closed. Most surviving newsrooms faced drastic cutbacks. Coverag...
Diversity Is Great. DEI Isn't. Amna Khalid and Jeff Snyder
March 22, 2024 10:00 - 35 minutes - 81.3 MBDiversity equity and inclusion: Sounds like a good thing in an incredibly diverse country such as ours, especially when teaching young people at American colleges and universities. But the DEI industry - or DEI Inc. — has arguably gone off the rails. There’s a big difference between the intentions behind a lot of diversity training and the results. We learn about the crucial difference between training and education, and hear the case against the Stop WOKE Act in Florida. History professor...
Politics: Majority In The Middle. Shannon Watson
March 08, 2024 11:00 - 29 minutes - 67.7 MBNews coverage of Super Tuesday and other party primaries focused mainly on base voters— Democrats and Republicans. But most Americans are actually on the political sidelines or somewhere in the middle. Many have a mix of conservative and liberal views. This episode is about them. Our guest is Shannon Watson, the Founder and Executive Director of Majority in the Middle. Her Minnesota-based non-profit group works to give voters and elected officials a place to gather outside the extremes. "We...
Changing Journalism: Boosting Trust in the News Media. Joy Mayer
February 09, 2024 11:15 - 26 minutes - 59.7 MBOnly four-in-ten Americans say they have a lot of trust in the news media. That's a big problem for our democracy, especially in this volatile presidential election year. While journalists are supposed to tell the truth and get the story right, just 35% of right-of-center voters have some trust in what they see on the news. Democrats and independents are much more likely to trust journalists, but Americans of almost all shades of opinion are skeptical of the journalists, not only questionin...
Ideas For Everyone: The Virtues of a Liberal Education. Roosevelt Montás
January 26, 2024 11:15 - 30 minutes - 68.9 MBWhat is the point of a good education? Do we need it to learn a narrow set of skills ro help us get ahead in the workplace, or should knowledge and learning to be used over a lifetime to acquire wisdom that enables us to think more deeply about our place in the world? This question has profound resonance at a time of angry divides over American politics and moral confusion at elite American universities. The President of Harvard, Claudine Gay, resigned after months of campus unrest and cont...
What Could Go Right? 2024 Predictions Show
January 12, 2024 11:00 - 26 minutes - 59.9 MBFrom the economy and prospects for a Biden vs Trump rematch to the future for global energy and artificial intelligence, Richard and Jim make their forecasts for 2024. And we re-visit our predictions from exactly a year ago and report on precisely how we did. "It's sort of like weather forecasters and opinion pollsters going back and owning up to their mistakes," says Richard. "I mean, who often do we see that!" Once again, Meigs and Davies make their best guesses about what's to come thi...
How to Escape The Identity Trap - Yascha Mounk (part two)
December 29, 2023 11:00 - 31 minutes - 72.8 MBWe continue our discussion with Yascha Mounk, one of the leading public intellectuals of our time. The subject is a hugely influential ideology that attempts to put racial, sexual and gender identity at the center of our social, cultural and political life. The "identity synthesis", Mounk argues, denies that members of different groups can truly understand one another and this stifles public discourse. In this podcast episode, we learn why an obsession with identity undermines social justic...
The Origins of Today's Identity Politics - Yascha Mounk (part one)
December 15, 2023 11:00 - 31 minutes - 72.1 MBHaving skewered right-wing populism and its demagogues in his two previous best-selling books, politics professor, writer, and podcaster Yasha Mounk turns now to the threat posed to liberalism from those progressives who champion "woke" identity politics. We discuss his latest, "The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power In Our Time." This episode— the first of two with Yasha Mounk — looks at the complex roots of a highly influential ideology based on personal identity— specifically race...
Imaging a Better Future. How Doomers Prevent Progress. James Pethokoukis
December 01, 2023 11:15 - 36 minutes - 82.9 MBYes, it's our 400th episode. But instead of looking back over the past eight-and-a-half years of our podcasts, we consider the future: How collective optimism or pessimism can have a huge impact on the economy, risk taking, and the acceptance of new technologies that spark growth and innovation. Our guest is scholar and journalist James Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute, author of "The Conservative Futurist: How To Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised." In this episode h...
Polarization Series: Bridging Divides at Braver Angels. Erica Manuel and Manu Meel
November 17, 2023 11:00 - 30 minutes - 69.2 MBAffective polarization in America – the gap between voters' positive feelings about their own political party or "side" and negative feelings toward the opposing party – has sharply increased during the past two decades. We speak with two leaders in local government and a nationwide students group about effective ways to bridge divides. Erica Manuel is CEO and Executive Director at the Institute for Local Government in Roseville, California. She has over 20 years of experience helping pub...
Polarization Series: The Soul of Civility. Alexandra Hudson
November 03, 2023 10:00 - 28 minutes - 65.6 MBIt's easy to look at the impacts of rigid polarization and blame our leaders and political parties, the media, or the education system. In this episode, we hear an argument that the first thing all of us should do is focus on what we can control: ourselves. We discuss how to learn to live with others despite deep divisions. All democracies need protests and debates to flourish. But we also need to respect ourselves and acknowledge the dignity of others. Alexandra Hudson is the author of t...
Polarization Series: The Keys to Good Conflict. Hélène Biandudi Hofer
October 20, 2023 10:00 - 28 minutes - 65 MBDestructive conflict aims to destroy the other side. But constructive conflict can be a force for good. In this episode we learn how good conflict helps move people beyond polarization, slogans, and angry tweets to a place where they can connect and grow— even as they strongly disagree. Hélène Biandudi Hofer says that when we have the vocabulary and basic skills to investigate conflict with curiosity, it can change everything. Journalists Hélène Biandudi Hofer and Amanda Ripley co-founded ...
Polarization Series: Is Social Media to Blame? Professor Chris Bail
October 06, 2023 10:00 - 34 minutes - 78.5 MBAlmost everyone has an opinion about the impact of social media on political polarization. Most of us believe that Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, YouTube and other sites have made our civic life more angry and divided. But how much of this is true? Are consumers as much to blame as the platforms themselves? 15 years ago, in the very early days of social media, many Americans had a much more positive view of this new technology. It was bringing friends and families together, opening up new sourc...
Polarization: My Side Is Wrong. Jim & Richard
September 22, 2023 10:00 - 26 minutes - 59.8 MBHave you ever been asked by a political opponent to describe what's wrong or weak about your own side's arguments? That's what Richard and Jim do here. This episode could have been ripped from a Braver Angels training seminar, but to our knowledge, no other podcast has tried this before. Liberal-leaning Richard takes on three hot topics, picked by Jim, where the left is wrong. Jim does the same thing for his side, discussing three examples picked by Richard. The ground rules are simple: No...
Polarization: Is America Too Fragmented? Rick Pildes and Lee Drutman
September 08, 2023 10:00 - 30 minutes - 70 MBWhy is American politics so dysfunctional? Is it because we are too polarized or too fragmented? Throughout this fall we will be exploring different aspects of polarization— arguably the most important threat to both effective governance and a stable democracy. This episode includes an edited recording of a lively conversation from the podcast, "Politics In Question", between Rick Pildes, Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law, and political scientist Lee Drutman, a senior re...
American Polarization: Political and Personal. Mónica Guzmán
August 25, 2023 10:15 - 29 minutes - 66.5 MBToxic polarization is "the problem that eats all other problems... It's the sludge at the base of everything else," our guest Mónica Guzmán tells us. In this really useful repeat episode from 2022, we learn how to fight back against the confusion and heartbreak of living with rigid divides. This show is a curtain raiser for a series we are doing this fall with funding from Solutions Journalism Network. We will be examining threats to our society from polarization and recent efforts to build...
A Bigger Tent for Democrats: Lanae Erickson
August 11, 2023 10:15 - 27 minutes - 62.9 MBWhy aren’t Democrats doing much better in elections for Congress and also in state races? We explore several reasons. One is that Democrats have been losing the support of many black, white and hispanic working class voters. We heard a forceful argument about that in "How Do We Fix It?" episode #389 with Ruy Teixeira. In this show we expand the argument and look at another group of voters often ignored by Democratic party leaders— Christians and especially Catholics who are among the larges...
The Fight to Save the Town: Michelle Wilde Anderson
July 28, 2023 10:00 - 37 minutes - 86.9 MBGlobalization, technology, devastating impacts from the foreclosure crisis and the opioid addiction have wreaked havoc on communities left behind by the modern economy. Some of these discarded places are rural. Others are cities or suburbs. Some vote blue, others red. Some are the most diverse communities in America, while others are nearly all white, all Latino, or all Black. In this episode we visit four cities and towns with deep poverty and gutted public services— where entire communit...
For the Love of Cities. Peter Kageyama
July 14, 2023 10:00 - 26 minutes - 61 MBWhy do we connect emotionally with some places and not others? Why does that matter? What does loving the place you live in have to do with healing the partisan divide? We explore these questions and hear about solutions from author, researcher and speaker Peter Kageyama. This shared episode is an edited version of a podcast released earlier this year by "Village Squarecast". Our show includes extracts from a speech delivered at a special meeting of The Village Square in Tallahassee, Florid...
Where Have All The Democrats Gone? Ruy Teixeira
June 30, 2023 10:00 - 32 minutes - 74.9 MBAmerican politics are evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. But our guest argues that it doesn't have to be this way. He tells fellow Democrats: "Given the problems the Republicans have, why aren't you beating the hell out of these people?" Political scientist and author Ruy Teixeira says that recent election results have been a lost opportunity as the left pursued identity politics instead of focusing on class. While more white college-educated voters have abandoned the Republi...
Should Money Be Free? Rethinking Interest Rates. Edward Chancellor
June 16, 2023 10:00 - 31 minutes - 72.3 MBEver since the 2008 financial crisis and recession, central bankers and most economists have agreed that it's good to keep interest rates as low as possible. Making it easy to borrow money very cheaply helps the economy recover from recessions and the COVID pandemic. But what if very cheap money has unintended consequences such as asset bubbles and bank failures, and benefits the haves much more than the have-nots of society? Our guest is financial analyst, journalist, and historian Edward...
The Middle 70%. In This Together: Bill Shireman
June 02, 2023 10:15 - 28 minutes - 65.5 MB"America is rigidly divided between red and blue." That's what we're constantly being told by pundits, politicians and media outlets, both left and right. But what if that wasn't quite true? On a surprisingly large number of issues, Americans agree on the broad outlines of public policy. Author, conflict mediator, and social entrepreneur, Bill Shireman makes the case that the middle 70% of the public should have a much greater say in who gets elected to make laws and decide policy. "All i...
AI Revolution: Disaster or Great Leap Forward? Nathanael Fast
May 18, 2023 10:15 - 29 minutes - 67.2 MBGenerative Artificial Intelligence has the power to transform lives and change our jobs. In this episode, we discuss the potential for good and bad from large, creative AI models such as ChatGPT. Our guest is Nathanael Fast, who serves as Director of the Neely Center for Ethical Leadership and Decision Making and Co-Director of the Psychology of Technology Institute. Professor Fast teaches in the MBA, Ph.D., and Executive Education programs at USC Marshall in Los Angeles. ChatGPT reached o...
US-UK Relations. Fit for a King? Richard and Jim
May 04, 2023 10:00 - 28 minutes - 65.9 MBThe Coronation of King Charles III promises to be very big on pomp and circumstance, but it may also play a leading role in healing divisions between post-Brexit Britain and the European Union. Leading EU officials will be in attendance at Westminster Abbey. This podcast shares a personal perspective on some of the momentous changes in the UK over recent years, and includes comparisons between the hot topics on both sides of The Atlantic. Our co-host Richard last lived in London in the 1970...
What's The Future of Journalism? Nikki Usher
April 20, 2023 10:15 - 27 minutes - 62.7 MBThe news media and journalists themselves are faced with a crisis of confidence and trust. The internet broke the old business model of locally-based newspaper reporting and replaced it with national opinion journalism written by and for well-educated metropolitan elites. Our guest is Nikki Usher, Associate Professor at the University of San Diego, who studies journalism, politics, tech, and power. Nikki's recent book is "News For The Rich, White and Blue: How Place and Power Distort Amer...
Let's Rebuild Local News: Anna Brugmann
April 06, 2023 10:15 - 27 minutes - 64.1 MBIn much of the country local news has collapsed, threatening civic pride and a sense of community for countless towns and cities. This dramatic change has also deepened America's divides. As our guest, journalist and public policy researcher Anna Brugmann explains in this episode, "the internet disrupted the local journalism model". Newspaper advertising revenue fell 80% since 2000. Thousands of local and regional publications closed. Most surviving newsrooms faced drastic cutbacks. Coverag...
Risky Business: More Bank Collapses Ahead? Allison Schrager
March 23, 2023 10:00 - 30 minutes - 69.4 MBRising interest rates and the end of easy money were two factors in the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and a subsequent stock market run on shares of regional banks. Questions were raised about the safety of the entire U.S. banking industry. We examine risk in banking, investing and the broader economy. Federal regulators faced harsh criticism for the latest bank failures. Progressives blamed politicians who eased regulations on medium-sized and small banks. Some on the righ...
Ukraine: Why The War With Russia Has Changed The World: Marci Shore
March 09, 2023 11:00 - 31 minutes - 72.6 MBThe people of Ukraine are facing down a military giant. Their unity and bravery in the bloody, cruel year since the Russia invasion are an inspiration to the rest of the world. Instead of talking about politics or the state of the war, we consider the battlefield of ideas. Above all this show is an attempt to put the war into context: What’s at stake for Western democracy, and what space does Ukraine fit in our history? We speak again with Marci Shore, professor of European cultural & int...
Ukraine and the Wider Conflict. Values at Stake: Jacob Mchangama
February 23, 2023 11:00 - 27 minutes - 62.1 MBBy any measure this has been a momentous week for global politics. President Biden’s surprise trip to Kyiv, his “freedom” speech in Warsaw, the visit of China’s top diplomat to Moscow, and Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend Russian participation in the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. are all signs of deepening big-power tensions. This coincides with the first anniversary of the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War Two. In the early hours of February 24 last year ...
Avoiding Debt-Ceiling Disaster: Chris Low
February 08, 2023 23:32 - 33 minutes - 77.6 MBThe last time the U.S. faced a major showdown over the debt ceiling was a decade ago. Much like today, House Republicans insisted on spending cuts before they would vote to raise the amount of money the government could borrow. Then-President Obama and now-President Biden said they would not negotiate. Who will blink first? Nearly all economists and financial experts say that a debt default would have extremely serious consequences for the everyday economy and America's place in the world...
Anti-Racism: The Pro-Human Approach. Bion Bartning
January 26, 2023 11:00 - 33 minutes - 75.9 MBSixty years ago in his most famous speech, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of his vision of an America transformed. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," he said. Was this an argument for a color-blind society, or should racism be thought of as structural and systematic? Ibram X. Khendi, author of the best-selling book, "How To Be An AntiRacist", argue...
Pushing Back Against Polarization: The Village Square. Liz Joyner
January 12, 2023 11:15 - 33 minutes - 77 MBOne way to help solve America's polarization crisis is to hang out with someone not like you. Someone who sees the world differently or comes from a cultural background, social class, racial or ethnic group other than your own. While social media, political elites and national news outlets profit from polarization, the rest of us do not. This episode looks at one highly successful local initiative to push back against the conflict entrepreneurs who want to make us angry, fearful and divided...
What Will We Fix in 2023? Jim & Richard's Predictions
December 29, 2022 11:15 - 30 minutes - 69.4 MB2022 was another year of COVID-induced anxiety with widespread worries about democracy, polarization, climate change and threats to democracy. But in this new year special Richard and Jim say we have reached peak fear. America may well be calming down and headed towards a new sense of normal. Our co-hosts throw caution to the wind with a series of fresh outside-the-box forecasts for the twelve months to come. We make predictions about the retreat of COVID, the outlook for inflation, and the...
The Costs of Culture Wars: Curiosity at Risk. Deborah Appleman
December 15, 2022 11:15 - 33 minutes - 77.5 MBIn some ways, our culture is less tolerant and more fragile than it once was. The teaching of literature in schools and colleges is often caught in the crossfire of the culture wars. Support for canceling books and authors by the illiberal left and demands to ban books from the reactionary right have led to the removal of important literature from classrooms and libraries. In this episode author and literature professor, Deborah Appleman mounts a rousing case for teaching troubling texts i...
Our Electricity Grid is Surprisingly Fragile: Meredith Angwin
December 01, 2022 11:00 - 31 minutes - 71.3 MBEvery day Americans take the reliable supply of electricity for granted. Except during severe storms, we rarely, if ever, think that the lights might not turn on in the morning. But in some parts of the country, consumers face the threat of rolling blackouts, and sudden surges in the price of electricity. Nearly two years ago, nearly 300 people died when the Texas power grid partially failed during a winter cold snap. California came close to a grid collapse last summer. And New England mig...
Democracy: The Voters Verdict. Layla Zaidane and David Meyers
November 17, 2022 11:15 - 33 minutes - 77.2 MBWe have a 2022 post-election show with a twist. Instead of focusing on which party is up or down, we open the hood and examine the engine of our democracy. Voters delivered a clear verdict: Most election deniers were defeated as many voters, especially independents, split their ballots, and shunned the extremes. Our guests are Layla Zaidane, President and CEO of Millennial Action Project— the nation's largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers— and David Meyers, founding Executive ...
Fixing the Housing Affordability Crisis. Ed Glaeser
November 03, 2022 10:15 - 28 minutes - 64.6 MBNo other issue has greater potential for common ground than America's housing affordability crisis. Progressives and conservatives alike agree that for far too many Americans there is a critical shortage of available homes. Since COVID erupted in 2020 the costs of apartment rentals and homes to buy have soared. According to the real estate firm Zillow, average U.S. home prices doubled in the past decade. In recent months mortgage rates went up to levels not seen in nearly two decades. With ...
Homecoming: The Case for a Post-Global World with Rana Foroohar
October 20, 2022 10:15 - 30 minutes - 70.7 MBFor much of the past fifty years, American political leaders of both parties have assumed that globalization and free trade would lead to more opportunity, higher living standards and increased business efficiency. But our guest, author and Financial Times columnist, Rana Foroohar, argues that with supply chain disruptions and growing economic insecurity in much of the world, the long reign of globalization is coming to end. A shift to more resilient and local businesses is now at hand. We ...
They Changed Our Minds. Alina Chan and Jonathan Rauch
October 14, 2022 10:15 - 28 minutes - 65.8 MBHow do you tell the difference between truth and lies? The answer involves a careful process of seeking knowledge that may contradict our long held beliefs. In this episode, our hosts share two conversations with expert guests who changed Jim and Richard's minds about how they approach topics central to our understanding of politics, science, and society. Journalist and scholar Jonathan Rauch is the author of the best-selling book, "The Constitution of Knowledge". He makes a stirring case ...
Junk Science in the American Criminal Justice System. M. Chris Fabricant
September 29, 2022 10:15 - 30 minutes - 69.8 MBNo one will ever know how many innocent people have been sent to prison because of junk science and flawed forensics. In this episode, we hear from Innocence Project attorney M. Chris Fabricant about how America’s broken and racist criminal justice system often relies on bogus scientific evidence for convictions. Chris is the author of the new book, “Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System.” Best-selling writer John Grisham calls it an “intriguing and beautifully crafted book...
Clean, Green, Affordable Energy: Jim Meigs
September 16, 2022 10:15 - 31 minutes - 71.2 MBEnergy prices have skyrocketed this year. Rolling blackouts are still a threat in California, and as winter approaches Europe is facing a full-blown crisis that may cause widespread suffering, factory closures and a deep recession. Angered by the West's support of Ukraine, Russia has shut down supplies of natural gas that European nations had relied on for decades to heat homes and run industry. The EU, United Kingdom and others are now scrambling to find new supplies and reassure their cit...
Richard and Jim's Quick Announcement
September 09, 2022 10:15 - 2 minutes - 5.25 MBStarting this week we will publish new shows every other Thursday. After seven plus years of being a weekly podcast, Jim and Richard decided that we need a little more time and love to make and share each new show. We will also be sharing more details on our newsletter sent to friends and free subscribers of our podcast. You can sign up for regular updates right here on the website. Unlike substack and other independent publications, our solutions journalism podcast is entirely free. If y...
Trump, Power Politics, Populism & Democracy. Darrell West
September 02, 2022 10:15 - 35 minutes - 80.7 MBThe recent controversy about the seizure of classified government documents at Mar-a-Lago is only the latest example of outrage over former President Trump's behavior, and the responses to it. But the forces shaking American democracy didn't begin with Trump's arrival on the political scene. We learn why populism, polarization and other threats to public institutions will likely last for the foreseeable future. Our guest, Darrell West, vice president of Governance Studies at the Brookings ...
Democracy Reform: Ranked-Choice Voting. Rob Richie
August 26, 2022 10:15 - 28 minutes - 65.4 MBRanked-choice voting (RCV) is a promising way to boost electoral turnout, reduce polarization, and cut the public cost of running elections. This relatively new reform is now being used in 55 states, cities and counties. In August, Alaska implemented ranked-choice voting for the first time since a 2020 referendum revamped its elections. Our guest, Rob Richie, President and CEO of FairVote, makes the case for how it works and why RCV is a viable way to improve electoral politics. Right now...
Democracy Reform: Propositions & Ballot Initiatives. Jenna Spinelle
August 19, 2022 10:15 - 25 minutes - 59.3 MBThe promise and perils of direct democracy are at the heart of the debate over voter propositions and ballot initiatives. They have emerged as one way that citizens in more than two dozen U.S. states can vote directly on policy and bring issues they care about to their fellow voters. This episode is inspired by the recent podcast series, "When The People Decide", from The McCourtney Institute for Democracy. The show's producer, writer and host, Jenna Spinelle, tells the stories of some rema...
What Personal Passion and Purpose Bring To Our Lives
August 12, 2022 10:15 - 27 minutes - 62.6 MBWorld-renowned author and scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson became fascinated with astrophysics when he was a teenager. Best-selling science writer Mary Roach is known for her quirky humor and wide-eyed curiosity as she explores the often bizarre science of human behavior. This episode includes six unique perspectives about passion, purpose, and meaning in our own lives. Investment advisor and wealth manager Karen Firestone shares a story about a chance encounter with advice columnist Ann Lan...
Framing Is Vital For Survival. Kenneth Cukier and Francis de Véricourt
August 05, 2022 10:15 - 27 minutes - 61.9 MBFrom pandemics, populism and climate change, AI and ISIS, inflation and growing tensions with China and Russia, we are faced with enormous challenges— some of which threaten our existence. In this episode we discuss how we are all influenced by our personal perspectives and prejudices— our frames— and how we can use mental models to see patterns, solve problems and go beyond a narrow lens of red vs. blue or "us" vs. "them." Our guests are Kenneth Cukier, deputy executive editor of "The...
Common Ground. The People vs. Congress: JP Thomas, Gail Hoffman
July 29, 2022 10:15 - 29 minutes - 67.3 MBAmerican voters are deeply dissatisfied with the government in Washington. They feel shut out of Congressional deliberations. We discuss a promising new initiative that helps engage citizens much more directly in the work of Congress and state legislatures. While Congressional gridlock has reached a new high, groundbreaking new research that we report on in this episode shows that the American people are far less polarized than elected officials. There is extensive bipartisan common ground ...
The Fight to Save Discarded Places: Michelle Wilde Anderson
July 22, 2022 12:59 - 37 minutes - 86.7 MBNeighborhood, local and regional inequality has been overlooked too long. In this episode we visit four cities and towns with deep poverty and gutted public services— where entire communities are struggling to hold on. Our guest is Michelle Wilde Anderson, a professor of property, local government and environmental justice at Stanford Law School. Her new book is "The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America". "We have given up on many of these places", Michelle tells us. Disca...
The Science of Polarization. Peter Coleman
July 15, 2022 10:15 - 28 minutes - 64.4 MBThe January 6th hearings are a reminder of the impact of hatred for the other side and toxic polarization. We are rigidly divided by our politics, Facebook and other social media sites, and by news media. Nearly half of us have stopped talking with someone about political topics as a result of what they said in person or online. Our culture of contempt is dividing us all and making America ungovernable. How do we use science and proven methods to reduce toxic polarization and push back agai...