How Do We Fix It?

With today's furious political and cultural divisions, it's easy to shake our heads in exasperation at those who disagree with us.  In this episode with Australian writer and philosopher,  Eleanor Gordon-Smith , we take a journey to the limits of human reason. Her compelling new book, " Stop Being Reasonable.  How We Really Change Our Minds," features six high-stakes personal s...

Confused by Brexit? This episode looks back over the last 40 months since the shocking result of the  Brexit referendum , when UK voters decided to leave the EU. We sort through the mess and misconceptions. The political drama contains several acts: A  December election  has been called, and a new Brexit deal was reached in late October by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Europ...

American democracy is in a moment of crisis. A new  Gallup poll , released in late October, says a near-record-high 34% of Americans cite the government, poor leadership or politicians as the most important problem currently facing the U.S. In this episode, we look at the work of a new online news site,  The Fulcrum , which is focused exclusively on efforts to reverse the dysfu...

Modern thought has been damaged by dogma and tribalistic click-bait. Social media and the fractured state of politics reward slick slogans and partisan anger while penalizing those who speak with intellectual honesty.  Our guest, feminist writer and author,  Meghan Daum , says instead of following the crowd we need to think for ourselves. While very supportive of the goals of the women's...

American democracy is in crisis, with a coarsening of our national conversation and an erosion of public trust that threatens the guardrails of self-government. Many citizens feel dislocated, disempowered and believe that remote institutions and government don't listen to their needs and interests. One way to bridge divides is to listen to a broader range of opinions, from people not like you. Our...

The furore over the decision by House Democrats to launch a formal impeachment investigation into President Trump will be the subject of heated debate for many months. In this episode we take a deeper look at leadership, and why good leaders are so vital to the future of our democracy, and for all organizations-- large and small.  "In times of turmoil this is even more important," s...

Dementia provokes profound moral questions about our society and the meaning of life itself. How much are we connected to one another? In what ways are we distant and separated? What does it mean to have a self? How can we offer dignity to those who suffer from  Alzheimer's  and other forms of this terrible disease? Worldwide around  50 million people  have dementia. The US Cen...

With harsh rhetoric from President Trump, who wants strict new limits on refugees, asylum seekers and some other forms of immigration, to calls by several Democratic Presidential candidates to decriminalize all border crossings, the immigration debate is increasingly dominated by slogans rather than substance. Hopes for a comprehensive and humane overhaul of U.S. immigration law have all but...

Kids are smart, strong, and at least as capable as their parents were at their age. So, when the crime rate is at a  50-year-low,  why does society insist on bubble-wrapping them? Why are we encouraged to protect children from minor cases of physical or mental discomfort? Why don’t we trust them to do things safely or successfully on their own? These questions about raising kids are...

From dating to switching jobs and managing retirement. We all manage risk. Want to get better at it? The best way to learn is to ask some of the real experts: Magicians, gamblers, big-wave surfers, horse breeders, and prostitutes. That's what economist, journalist and risk advisor  Allison Schrager  did. She's our guest in this episode. For people faced with risky decisions eve...

A trade war with China is a growing threat to U.S. influence and the global economy. What began more than a year ago with President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs has become an unpleasant  economic reality  for many American businesses.  Recently, the U.S. labeled China a “ currency manipulator. ” But Perhaps, an even larger long-term threat comes China’s aggressive espionage&nb...

Is the U.S. economy about to fall off a cliff? Declining growth, financial market jitters, and a growing rift between the U.S. and China are all fueling  fears of a recession. For the first time in 12 years, since shortly before the last recession, interest rate yields on 10-year government notes are lower than for short-term loans. This  inverted yield curve  is highly unusual...

We live in a time of suspicion and mistrust. What is this costing all of us in lost productivity, creativity and shared humanity? Isn't there a better way to design our organizations and systems?  A recent  Pew Research poll  found that a majority of Americans believe that most people just look out for themselves, and that they would take advantage of you if they got the chance. "We...

Most of America's deadliest mass killings have happened within the last ten years. The deaths of more than 30 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, have led to renewed demands for federal background checks and gun violence restraining orders, or "red flag" laws. America is also facing a growing crisis of violent extremism and white nationalist terrorism. The FBI and other law enforcement age...

Our democracy has become a punching bag. From Russian hacking and hate-filled tweets, to demands for impeachment and increasingly nasty political infighting, our public conversation is increasingly narrow, dispiriting and disempowering. According to Pew Research, trust in government is  near historic lows . Most Americans believe that declining trust in our public institutions and i...

President Trump's tweets that four minority Democratic congresswomen should “ go back ” to the countries they came from, and chants of " send her back " at his rally in North Carolina provoked outrage and disgust from his critics.  American politics appear trapped in a spiral of toxic fury, and this angry mix may precisely match the pugilistic President's preference as he wades into the...

Social media is under fire for how it threatens our society, our politics, even our mental health. Facebook, Google, Twitter and other tech giants are criticized for spying on us and using secret algorithms to push us toward extreme views. Civic Hall is a key player in a growing movement to use technology to better the world-- what people are calling "civic tech". Our guest,  Micah Sifry , co...

Colleges and universities can play a virtual role in the moral, intellectual and spiritual development of a student’s life. But there is a growing mismatch between the culture of many campuses, and the challenges young people will face in their careers, politics and personal lives. Author and columnist David Brooks suggested solutions in his stirring speech, “How a University Shaped My Soul”, give...

Will the Catholic Church's sexual abuse crisis ever end? Nearly 18 years since the  Boston Globe's Spotlight investigation 's shocking revelations, U.S. bishops and The Vatican  still struggle  to hold the church fully accountable for decades of criminal wrongdoing. Last year's  Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report  revealed that over 1,000 children had been abused by Catholic p...

A lot of politicians like to say that there are “two Americas,” but do any of them know what life is really like for the marginalized poor? We speak with journalist and photographer,  Chris Arnade , about the forgotten towns and people of back row America. In 2011, Chris left a high-powered job as a bond trader on Wall Street, hit the road, and spent years documenting the lives of poor people...

"Twitter is like the crystal meth of social media," says our guest, University of Tennessee Law Professor,  Glenn Reynolds,  founder of the popular political blog, Instapundit.  Twitter "is addictive and ultimately unsatisfying." In this episode we look at why social media is poisoning our politics, journalism and relationships by stoking anger, fear, hyper-partisanship and dis...

Climate change has never been a leading issue in a Presidential election campaign-- until now.  A recent poll found  that 82% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters said it’s “very important” that their party’s nominee supports taking “aggressive action” to reduce the effects of climate change. 2020 could be the climate election. All of the leading Democratic candidates are call...

Support for socialism is surprisingly strong, especially among young Americans, ages 18-29. According to  recent polls , they are more likely to have a positive view of socialism than capitalism. Despite socialist economic failures in Venezuela, Africa and Eastern Europe, today's promises of free health care, college loan debt forgiveness, mandatory stock ownership for employees, and guarante...

Human rights have rarely been at greater risk. President Trump and other world leaders are conspicuously silent about torture, the suppression of press freedom and threats to democracy. For the first time in many decades, the U.S. is led by a President who routinely praises foreign dictators, and rarely speaks up for democratic institutions.  From the imprisonment of journalists in Turkey and...

Is modern technology a force for good or evil? In many countries, digital repression, often powered by artificial intelligence, is a direct threat to freedom and the relationship between citizen and state. China has begun using AI to weaponize social media and mass surveillance in ways that give the Communist government incredible control over what Chinese citizens say and do—and even how they thi...