Where We Go Next

America isn't just a geographical location, or a mass of 330 million people living within a set of lines drawn on a map. America is the story it tells itself about itself. And adding new chapters feels natural enough - time marches forward, and so does a story. But what happens if, while expanding the scope of what's in front of us, we narrow the scope of what came before? Geneticist and cultural...

Why is patriotism increasingly a partisan issue, divided by party affiliation? Writer Siddak Ahuja has some theories on why certain political demographics are less patriotic than others. The Case for a Left Patriotism , by Siddak Ahuja Why Are Poor Americans More Patriotic Than Their Wealthier Counterparts? - The Guardian The Left Case Against Open Borders - American Affairs Journal The Road to So...

When we talk about ways to combat climate change and address our nation's energy needs, we consistently leave the safest, most reliable, and most efficient energy source out of the discussion altogether. Joining us this week is nuclear engineer Nick Touran, PhD, who happens to be an expert in that exact type of energy. whatisnuclear.com Bicycles for Our Minds , with Steve Jobs Nuclear Power May Ha...

When we talk about the "culture wars" - issues of identity, race, ethnicity, immigration, gender, sex, sexuality - we often don't fully understand why exactly we believe the things we believe. Fashion stylist and cultural commentator Ayishat Akanbi says true understanding can come from deep introspection, and she has the experience to back it up. The Problem with Wokeness , with Ayishat Akanbi The...

What if I told you that sometimes, being polite does more harm than good? That the niceties we use to grease the wheels of our daily interactions can actually hurt the very people we want to help, and slow the pace of progress? Writer and speaker Alexandra Hudson advocates for an alternative to politeness that has a long and storied history in American politics. The Value of Exercising Civility—in...

Our national conversation around childhood education usually revolves around or devolves into a sort of generic bifurcation of public vs private. But only when we really break a topic down into its constituent parts can we begin to see it more clearly. So what educational method might work best? Ray Girn and Matt Bateman of Higher Ground Education believe that the method they practice will best eq...

The working and wealthy classes in America are further apart than they've been in 60 years. Wages, wealth generation, savings - these are the obvious ones, but marriage stability and self-reported rates of wellbeing are also way down for blue collar Americans. "Deaths of despair" - from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism - number 150,000 a year, nearly all of them concentrated in working class...

If you were tasked with summing up the worldview of 50 million people, could you do it? Sounds a little ridiculous, right? Well, there are just about 50 million people in the "Black Community" in the United States, and it's not uncommon for Americans to speak about this "community" as if they had a single, unified voice. But that sort of language leaves a lot of worthwhile perspectives out of the...

If you've ever stopped yourself from saying something that you know is pretty innocuous, then you've experienced the chilling effect of a phenomenon known as "cancel culture." But what can happen when we stand up for the ability to think freely? And how can we improve our discourse so that all of us can feel comfortable speaking - and changing - our minds? Writer and musician Angel Eduardo has exp...

Humans are natural-born story machines. And those stories - those narratives - can help bring us closer together, or push us further apart. Today is Election Day, and we seem more divided than we have in a long time, largely because we can't seem to agree on a shared story. So how can we find one? Is that even possible? Shaun Cammack of The Narratives Project has some special insights on the power...

When we discuss groups of people, we often speak in terms of data - polls, graphs, percentages - and while this can offer us insight on the macro level, it leaves a lot of valuable, relevant information out. We're more than numbers, after all - we're individuals! So how can we temper our data sets with our personal, lived experiences? Professor and researcher Roderick Graham offers up a way to str...

What if America were split into racialized ethnostates? A “White” country and a “Black” one? Would we all be better off? Writer and HBCU professor Wilfred Reilly explains why racial nationalism is a dumb idea, and debunks some common misinformation about American race relations. Taboo: 10 Facts You Can't Talk About , by Wilfred Reilly No, There Is No Coming Race War , by Wilfred Reilly Rioting Ove...

Skin color is real, but what we call “race” - the way we categorize and limit people based on their appearance - is a fiction. Are we stuck with this falsehood forever? British journalist and television presenter Inaya Folarin Iman believes we can - and must - transcend race. The Equiano Project InayaFolarin.com We Can't Just Oppose Racism: We Must Transcend Race , by Inaya Folarin Iman Black Live...

As America continues to become more racially and ethnically diverse, and our concept of what it means to be American changes, how do we widen our tribe while maintaining a common narrative? Journalist Zaid Jilani shares his thoughts on the future of American identity. Identity Theft , by Zaid Jilani The Diversity Trap , by Zaid Jilani The Backchannel podcast , by Zaid Jilani and Leighton Woodhouse...

When it comes to the political, it's not unusual to agree to disagree. But when our modern discourse so often feels toxic, how can we be more agreeable in our disagreement? John Wood, Jr. of Braver Angels offers a path forward. There Are Evils Worse Than Racism , by John Wood, Jr. BraverAngels.org John's Twitter: @JohnRWoodJr ---------- Email: wherewegopod@gmail.com Instagram: @wwgnpodcast