How Do We Fix It?

How will the COVID-19 pandemic change our democracy? Will we become more less divided? We discuss the challenges and opportunities of the current crisis with four podcasters who are all our colleagues in  The Democracy Group  podcast network. Juleyka Lantigua-Williams ,  Cara Ong Whaley ,  Mila Atmos  and  Lee Drutman  join Richard to talk about barriers to...

Tens of millions of  Americans have filed  for unemployment benefits since the coronavirus outbreak began. Well over one-in-four people have suffered a moderate or severe financial setback in recent weeks.  Consumer confidence  is plunging. In this episode we look at the  best ways to cope  with a sudden drop in income.  Beverly Harzog , the personal finance and...

Much of what we took for granted, including daily routines, have been upended during the coronavirus pandemic. At a time when many have new questions about our personal values, traditions and lifestyles, this could be a teachable moment. Social media may have been helpful in convincing people about the need for social distancing, wearing masks and other recent changes. "It really did allow norms t...

Everybody is asking, how did the U.S. and most other nations get the coronavirus pandemic so wrong?  Taiwan was a rare exception . Health officials and the democratic government of this island state sprang into action in the final days of 2019, and tried to warn the world of COVID danger. Despite being just 80 miles from the coast of China and with a huge amount of travel back and forth...

The great  Alaskan earthquake  on Good Friday, March 27th, 1964, was surprising, and the lessons from the response are helpful in understanding how we respond to the COVID pandemic today. "The earthquake overwhelmed people the way the strongest emotions do,"  wrote our guest, Jon Mooallem  recently in The New York Times. "It was pure sensation, coming on faster than the in...

The coronavirus pandemic has lead many to fear, panic, anger, profound loneliness and isolation. Realizing that we are all in this crisis together, how can we cope in a more hopeful and creative way? "We need to make a fundamental choice that the only way we get through this is if we act and engage as a community together," says  Rich Harwood , President and Founder of  The Harwood Insti...

Why did the U.S. and most other nations around the world do such a poor job of preparing for and reacting to the global COVID-19 pandemic? After all, we had earlier outbreaks, from HIV-AIDS to SARS, MERS, H1N1 and the Ebola virus. In his widely viewed  2015 Ted Talk , Bill Gates warned that "if anything kills more than ten million people in the next few decades, it's most likely to be a highl...

Coronavirus has changed all of our lives. We are in the middle of a massive social experiment. This show is first in a series of episodes that will attempt to make sense of the massive psychological, social, economic and political upheaval the pandemic will have on us all. We start this week with loving relationships. Social distancing will physically separate us from friends and family members wh...

Bans on plastic bags and straws and expensive campaigns to recycle plastic waste are  popular with voters . They give us a sense that the government is acting to protect the environment. Our guest,  John Tierney , been a columnist for the New York Times and is a contributor to City Journal. He has been studying wastes and recycling for decades. His conclusion ? “Recycling has t...

The rapid spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 is a reminder of the vital need for truthful information, co-operation and kindness. Rumors, hype and fear can make a growing crisis much worse than it already is.  We decided to re-release an episode from 2019 on the case for trust: Why designing systems that are based on trust can improve public safety, and lead to better economic, soci...

Bernie Sanders is the early frontrunner for the Democratic Presidential nomination. In this episode with economist Emily Chamlee-Wright, we look at why support for socialism is on the rise, and where this ideology comes from. According to  recent polls of young Americans, ages 18 to 29, they are more likely to have a positive view of socialism than capitalism. Despite socialist economic failu...

It's rare to meet someone who has re-thought some of his deepest convictions. In this episode, we go on a journey with one of America's leading public intellectuals,  Jerry Taylor,  President and Founder of the  Niskanen Center , who describes himself today as a "radical moderate" who has moved away from the libertarianism of his earlier years. We focus on climate change. Jerry says...

Voter turnout is much lower in the U.S. than in many other democracies around the world. In this episode, we look at an innovative initiative to use the internet to boost the number of voters in every election.  "Our mission" says the non-profit group Democracy Works "is to make voting a simple, seamless experience for all Americans, so that no one misses an election."  A lot of people w...

With tens of thousands of cases, hundreds of deaths, and no known cure, the  new coronavirus  that emerged in China has been declared a  public health emergency  by the World Health Organization. In this episode of “How Do We Fix It?” we look at the world’s response to the rapid spread of the 2019-nCoV virus, consider the best ways to deal with the outbreak, and hear the latest...

The Iowa caucuses and forthcoming Presidential primary season are another reminder that the two big parties have a stranglehold on American politics. But it doesn’t have to be this way. More voters identify as independents than as Republicans or Democrats. Our guest,  Lee Drutman , senior fellow at New America and author of “ Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop ”, makes...

When Detroit went bust in 2013 it was the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in American history. During the Motor City's fifty years of decline, population fell from nearly 2 million people to just under 700,000.  Today, Motown is on the rebound.  Media reports  called the restructuring of massive debt by a partnership between city and state government, business leaders and the ph...

All too often news headlines and social media are dominated by disasters, wrongdoing and fear mongering: All the stuff that’s going wrong.  How can we nurture the positive side of human nature? Renewing democracy will be impossible unless we start to rebuild trust in each other. The  Convergence  Center for Policy Resolution uses deep knowledge and proven methodology to connect peop...

The U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Suleimani sparked immediate fears of war. The risks of a disastrous miscalculation are obvious, from goading Iran into speeding up its nuclear weapons program, to a forced withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and the re-emergence of ISIS. But the audacious attack against Iran's most experienced military strategist may weaken the regime an...

If independent podcasts are to prosper and survive in this era of growing commercialization, big media, and multi-million dollar podcast investments, we need to grow our community: Share, collaborate and promote groups, individuals and podcasters who share many of our goals. In this first "How Do We Fix It?" episode of 2020, we include recent interviews with leaders and supporters of  Bridge...

Liberal democracy, free speech and freedom of the press are under attack in many parts of the world. Two of the most insidious threats are from conspiracy theories and the growing global reach of China's dictatorship. In this episode we discuss two interviews from " Democracy Works ", a podcast series from The  McCourtney Institute  at Penn State University about what it means to li...

Anti-semitism is on the rise in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Jews are the targets. Democracy and free speech are also among the casualties.  6 people died this week in Jersey City, New Jersey, in  a shootout  at a kosher supermarket. The two gunmen appear to have been  motivated by anti-semitism  and anger against the police. Britain's Labour Party has been...

Many environmentalists believe that the world needs to use less energy, end the focus on economic growth, and return to a simpler lifestyle. The Breakthrough Institute argues the opposite. In this episode, we look at the ecomodernist movement that promotes technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges. Ted Nordhaus  is a leading global thinker on energy,...

Many of us are spending much of the Thanksgiving holiday with the children we love. In this episode we consider vital role of play, and what it does to expand a child's creativity and resilience. Urban sociologist  Tamara Mose  is an Associate Professor at Brooklyn College, and author of " The Playdate : Parents, Children and the New Expectations of Play." She tells us about the strength...

Published: November 21st, 2019 “Tech For The Public Good” is supported by a grant from Solutions Journalism Network . Technology is a double-edged sword. Despite well-publicized threats from bots, hackers, government spooks and huge online firms with their invasive algorithms, tech is often a force for public good. In this special episode, we report on an innovative local effort to promote better...

30 years ago this month the Berlin Wall came down, and Richard was there, reporting the story for ABC News. In those heady days of November, 1989, there was tremendous hope for the future of liberal democracy. In the next few years, most of Eastern Europe would emerge from the shackles of totalitarian communism. But today, populism and nativism are on the rise in much of the world. Democratic inst...