How Do We Fix It?

The 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, p...

In 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 8...

Rising 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 ba...

The 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...

By 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 co...

The 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 deb...

Sixty 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 though...

One 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...

2022 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 for...

In 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 au...

Every 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 p...

We 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 Proje...

No 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...

For 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...

How 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 schola...

No 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 J...

Energy 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 h...

Starting 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. Unli...

The 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 wi...

Ranked-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...

The 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...

World-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 w...

From 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 l...

American 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 sho...

Neighborhood, 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...