How Do We Fix It?

Affective 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 public, private and nonprofit organizations implement innovative policies to provide strong leadership, advance climate resilience, support economic development, engage communities, and drive positive change.Manu Meel is CEO of BridgeUSA, a student-led nonprofit organization that creates spaces at colleges and high schools for open discussion among students about political issues. BridgeUSA began in 2016 at the universities of Notre Dame, CU-Boulder and UC Berkeley in response to growing polarization on campus.  Erica and Manu were interviewed by our co-host Richard Davies at the 2023 Braver Angels Convention in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Both of them played leading roles at the cross-partisan gathering of Democrats, Republicans and independent citizens. Braver Angels is part of the growing movement of bridging organizations, who are finding new ways to push back against rigid and dehumanizing political divides. Many young people on college campuses are "just scared to say what's on their minds, and walking on eggshells," Manu tells us. He blames "the loudest voices" for silencing open discussion. "This is not a problem of the majority," he says. "It is a problem of the loudest voices imposing their closed-mindedness on an exhausted majority."Both Erica and Manu insist they're hopeful that the crisis of polarization can be successfully overcome. "I'm hopeful because not a single person I've talked to has said why on earth would you do that? Why on earth would you talk to someone on the other side? Why on earth would you want to treat someone like a human being with dignity?" Erica tells Richard.Recommendation: Jim recommends Commentary Magazine, a monthly publication of conservative "non-Trumpy" opinion. He writes its tech commentary and is a frequent guest on Commentary's daily podcast.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It'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 the new book, "The Soul of Civility", and an adjunct professor in philanthropy at Indiana University. She argues that civility is a key solution for polarization and a breakdown in social order. In her writing she examines how civility—a respect for the humanity of others—transcends political disagreements. Civility, she writes, is not a technique, but a disposition: "a way of seeing others as beings endowed with dignity and inherently valuable."The divided state of the world "is a timeless problem. It's an intractable problem, but there's no policy solutions or simple cure," Lexi tells us. "It requires constant vigilance on behalf of each of us. That's humbling."We learn about the crucial difference between outward politeness, polish or poise, and civility which requires constant internal work and the application of true character. We individually have the power to improve and change, Lexi says. Her book looks at arguments for civility from the ancient times until the present day.Recommendation: Richard recently read "The Spinning Heart" by the Irish writer Donal Ryan. This short, powerful novel set in a small town in Ireland in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse. People are left without work, with routine and meaning in their lives. Each short chapter is from the vantage point of a different speaker who has been wounded — by the economy as well as by their parents, their lovers, by life. The book is funny and poignant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Destructive 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 Good Conflict, which works with news organizations, non-profits, elected officials, educators, religious leaders, and others to lean into conflict in a constructive, productive way. Hélène developed and managed the Solutions Journalism Network’s Complicating the Narratives project. She trained more than a thousand journalists across 125 newsrooms throughout the world."I believe story is the most underutilized and under-appreciated thing to help people understand those we disagree with and who are vastly different from ourselves," she tells us. In this podcast, we hear about the specific tools, skills and vocabulary Hélène uses to help people respond to disagreements without sliding into contempt.Co-hosts and Richard come to this subject from very different places. While Richard says he "sometimes falls into a trap of trying to avoid conflict and ignoring that it's a needed part of life." Jim responds: "I like a good argument. I think it's healthy and kind of exciting sometimes to have a difference of opinion, especially with a good friend."This episode and others about polarization are funded in part by a grant from Solutions Journalism Network. Richard is one of this year's Complicating The Narratives Fellows.This week's recommendation: Jim is an enthusiastic listener to the podcast, "The Rest Is History", hosted by historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Almost 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 sources of information, and that was viewed as a good thing.We discuss the surprising findings of research into social media and polarization with Professor Chris Bail, founder of the Polarization Lab at Duke University. He’s the author of the 2021 book, “Breaking The Social Media Prism.” Bail studies political tribalism, extremism, and social psychology using data from social media and research from computational social science.This show was recorded during a week of chaos on Capitol Hill, right after the historic ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz who led the push to remove McCarthy, is one of a new generation of performative politicians, known more for their huge social media followings than their ability to get things done.Both Democrat and Republican hardliners are among those who have used Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to push politics to the extremes. Compromise is considered a dirty word by these politicians. Working out the complex, time-consuming details of legislation is hardly the stuff of clicks or headlines.In this episode we complicate the current social media narrative, learning more about algorithms, and user responses to them. This show is part of our podcast series on polarization, funded in part with a generous grant from Solutions Journalism Network. This non-profit group is about to celebrate its 10-year-anniversary.Recommendation: Richard enjoyed going to the movies recently and seeing "Past Lives", the latest film by Korean-Canadian- American playwright, Celine Song. Richard also gives a thumbs up to "The Morning Show" on Apple TV. Both feature the work of actress Greta Lee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have 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 "your-side-ism". When describing the failings of their own side neither host was allowed to criticize their opponents. If they do, a loud bell rings. Listen to find out how many times the darn thing goes off!The six topics are: - Liberals try to do too much and as a result their policies backfire. - Conservatives fail to challenge populism, Donald Trump, and stand up for democracy. - The left hugely underestimates the cost of their spending programs. - The right ignores the huge increase in public debt. - Liberals are too quick to decide that anyone who disagrees with them is not only misinformed but evil. - Too many Conservatives deny the reality of climate change.One big failure in American politics is that neither side understands the other. Both Democratic and Republican voters have major misconceptions about what supporters of the other party actually believe. This weakens the arguments of both, and has a dire impact on public policy making and the quality of debates.Issues discussed by Richard and Jim include homelessness in California, recent changes in the Republican Party, the alarming rise in government deficits and debt, and the changing nature of the conservative debate over climate.Among articles mentioned in this podcast are Jim's writing about The New Green Right and Against The Wind about problems with wind energy and coverage about homelessness in The Atlantic and New York Times.Recommendation: Richard read the new book by Richard Haass: "The Bill of Obligations— The Ten Habits of Good Citizens".This podcast is the third episode of our series on American polarization funded in part with a grant from Solutions Journalism Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why 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 research fellow at the New America Foundation.Lee has been a guest on several previous episodes of "How Do We Fix It?". Author of the book, "Breaking the Two Party Doomloop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America", Lee is known as an advocate for proportional representation with ranked-choice voting, arguing that it would reduce political polarization and minimize the risks of democratic backsliding. Rick is skeptical of this analysis, and argues that "the most pervasive and perhaps deepest challenge facing virtually all Western democracies today is the political fragmentation of democratic politics." He has written widely about this topic. Thank you to our friends at "Politics In Question", who have given us permission to share their interview. Both "Politics In Question" and "How Do We Fix It?" are members of The Democracy Group, a network that shares political podcasts about democracy, civic engagement and civil discourse.This episode is part of a fall series made with support and funding from Solutions Journalism Network — a non-profit training and advocacy organization. SJN trains journalists to focus on what the news misses most often: How people are trying to solve problems and what we can learn from their successes and failures. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Toxic 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 national movement to bridge divides.Monica is a bridge builder and author of the highly-praised book "I Never Thought Of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times". She serves as a Senior Fellow for Public Practice at the national depolarization organization, Braver Angels.This interview contains surprises. One of them, says Monica, is that "the anger and the rage that we see out there that defines our division doesn't actually exist that much on the one-to-one level,"She argues that the best tool we can use to have successful conversations with those we disagree with is our own curiosity. We also learn about Monica's personal story as the loving liberal daughter of Mexican immigrants who strongly supported Donald Trump. We hear how Mónica discovered ways to overcome divisions that hurt our relationships and society.In this episode, Monica discusses how we can put our natural sense of wonder to work, finding the answers needed to work with people,rather than score points against them. Bridging the gap involves asking questions that help you get across the difficult divides that are causing so much pain in our families and communities.We also learn about the work and practice of Braver Angels and its current campaign, "Rise For America." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why 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 largest group of swing voters. This is a shared podcast with "Talkin' Politics and Religion Without Killin' Each Other". Their show and ours are members of the Democracy Group podcast network, Our guest is Lanae Erickson, Senior Vice President at Third Way, a center-left think tank that champions pragmatic liberal ideas. She spoke earlier this year with Talkin' Politics and Religion's host, Corey Nathan. Thank you, Corey, for giving us permission to share an edited version of a rich and thoughtful conversation. We hear from Lanae about why she's a pragmatic progressive. She argues that the only way America can make lasting progress on major issues is to include different sides in a debate. We learn why so many elected officials and activists treat public policy as an all or nothing proposition. "I would say we should try to get what we could done, and then do it again, do it again and do it again, instead of holding out and making the perfect the enemy of the good," she told Corey Nathan.As Senior Vice President for Social Policy & Politics at Third Way, Lanae tackles hot-button issues like immigration, abortion, religious liberty, education and guns. Previously, Lanae served as a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Her commentary has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Politico and PBS NewsHour. Lanae is also principal second violinist in Washington DC's Capital City Symphony. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Globalization, 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 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 recent book is "The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America"."We have given up on many of these places", Michelle tells us. She describes discarded America as "giant parts of many states that have not found their foothold in the 21st century economy." Discarded America is "a term that describes active decision making."Her book describes the fallout from decades of cuts to local government amidst rising segregation by income and race. She reports on efforts to revive four communities— Stockton California, Lawrence Massachusetts, Josephine County Oregon, and Detroit.The focus is on local activists, community leaders, elected officials and others who have poured their heart and soul into fighting for the places where they live. In these places and others some of the most basic aspects of local government services have been dismantled.This podcast was first published last year and is a companion piece to "How Do We Fix It?" episode #390— "For the Love of Cities" with Peter Kageyama.In this episode we learn about brave and innovative efforts to cope with years of falling tax receipts in many communities that were hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, and decades of economic decline as jobs and entire industries moved offshore or to other parts of the country.As always with our podcast, there is also a focus on solutions, as we discuss examples of civic pride and rebuilding.Michelle Wilde Anderson book Review: "Building Back Better— One Community at a Time (New York Times).Recommendation: Richard watched the FX drama series, "The Old Man", starring Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Amy Brenneman and Alia Shawkat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why 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, Florida.Peter Kageyama is the author of For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between People and Their Places, the follow up, Love Where You Live: Creating Emotionally Engaging Places and his latest, The Emotional Infrastructure of Places. He loves cities and is the former President of Creative Tampa Bay, a grassroots community change organization and the co-founder of the Creative Cities Summit, an interdisciplinary conference that brings citizens and practitioners together around the big idea of ‘the city.’"The mutual love affair between people and their place is one of the most powerful influences in our lives, yet rarely thought of in terms of a relationship," says Peter. "As cities begin thinking of themselves as engaged in a relationship with their citizens, and citizens begin to consider their emotional connections with their places, we open up new possibilities in community, social and economic development by including the most powerful of motivators—the human heart—in our toolkit of city-making." In this episode we learn about the importance of "high touch" local entrepreneurs and local innovators who send "love notes" to the places where they live.Peter shares creative initiatives and speaks of the work of local innovators and public artists. Examples mentioned here include the transformation of Times Square's public space in New York City, The Bean (Cloud Gate) in Chicago, and the Grand Rapids Lip Dub.A warm thankyou to Liz Joyner, President and CEO of The Village Square for giving us permission to share this episode. Village Square is a non-profit organization based in Tallahassee, Florida. It "builds community in our hometown across the ideological, racial, ethnic and religious divisions that have deepened so dramatically in our nation and that have prevented us from addressing the challenges we face together. Hometowns with strong and deep relationships are communities that thrive." Learn more here. "How Do We Fix It?" and "Village Squarecast" are proud members of The Democracy Group podcast network of shows covering democracy, civic engagement and civil discourse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

American 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 Republicans in the past decade, Democrats have lost ground among white and hispanic working class voters. "That's a fundamental question that Democrats should be confronting, but don't," he tells us.Ruy Teixeira is among America's best-known political thinkers. He's a senior fellow at The American Enterprise Institute, where he writes and does research about changing party coalitions and the future of electoral politics. He calls himself a social democrat.He is co-author with John Judis of "The Emerging American Majority" that was published two decades ago. The highly influential book argued that Democrats would gain a lasting advantage in twenty-first century America. But the party has not made significant gains. Their next book, out this fall, is called "Where Have the All Democrats Gone?: The Soul Of The Party In The Age of Extremes".In this episode we hear about a wake-up call for Democrats. Teixieira argues for a return to policies of growth, prosperity and economic abundance that enabled the left to dominate American politics in much of the second half of the last century. Recommendation: Richard has read James Wilson's critically acclaimed and profoundly moving book "The Earth Shall Weep: A History of Native America." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever 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 Chancellor, author of the new book, "The Price of Time, The Real Story of Interest". Edward specializes in financial crises— bubbles, crashes and panics. He uses examples from history to challenge conventional wisdom about near-zero interest rates, and walks though his arguments in a relatable way."If you reduce the cost of borrowing, you will increase the amount of debt," Edward tells us. "Is it socially just to get large numbers of people into debt that they can't pay, to get them to buy cars they can't afford?"The idea of charging interest on loans has been around as long as civilization. In ancient Mesopotamia they invented interest before humans learned how to put wheels on carts. Yet throughout history interest or usury has been considered immoral by religious leaders and even philosophers. Edward Chancellor offers a robust defense of the need for interest rates. "Interest is the difference in value of something over time," he explains. "You could say it's the exchange rate between the present and the future."We recorded this episode at the headquarters of The Manhattan Institute in New York. Thank you to Brianna Mangat for recording our conversation and to everyone who made this podcast possible.Recommendation: Jim is a frequent listener to The Glenn Show, a podcast about race, inequality and economics in the US and throughout the world with Professor Glenn Loury. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"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 it takes is a small number of folks who are aware of how we're being gamed to build a bridge between the political left and right, Bill says. "We need a relatively small percentage of voters who will not divide the way we are triggered to divide," Bill argues that the media and political industry make money and gain power by dividing Americans and making us mad at the other side."The middle 70%" does not necessarily mean moderates. Bill calls them "the silenced majority of us who are common-sense, reality-based voters who can work out our differences." Some are conservatives or progressives, while others have a mix of opinions on social and economic issues. The House of Representatives vote for the debt ceiling bill is an example of what Bill is talking about. Despite furious denunciations by legislators on the progressive left and Freedom Caucus right, the compromise bill passed by an overwhelming margin. President Biden and House Republican leaders quietly worked together. More about Bill Shireman: Host of the podcast series "A Moment of BS Bill Shireman Disrupts the Dividers". President of Future 500, where he invites Greenpeace, ExxonMobil, Rainforest Action Network, Mitsubishi and other corporate and environmental leaders to work together.Bill co-chairs the Donor Roundtable and its citizen recruitment initiative, In This Together.He's the author of seven books. The most recent is "In This Together: How Republicans, Democrats, Capitalists and Activists are Uniting to Tackle Climate Change and More.Bill teaches leadership and negotiations at the Berkeley Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley.Recommendation: Richard listened to and was moved by the documentary podcast series "The Witch Trials of JK Rowling", hosted by Megan Phelps-Roper. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Generative 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 over 100 million active users within two months of its release. Consumers have used it to write essays, take tests, crack jokes and write poetry in response to questions or prompts. We raise the questions we need to ask about rapidly changing forms of artificial intelligence. Should we be scared or excited… or both?With calls for new regulation, even from the industry itself, policy makers and the public need to gain a fuller understanding of the AI revolution. This episode introduces listeners to the meaning of large language models and generative AI.Nate Fast argues that if we want to understand and improve the future, we’ll need to focus on the adoption of technology and how AI, social media and other platforms shape human psychology. Recommendation: Jim has been listening “The Spear”, from The Modern War Institute at West Point. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 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's and 80's. During late March and April he returned, spending a month there.Richard tells us that forty years ago London was "darker, smellier, poorer, louder and less orderly than the great city of today." He shares examples that illustrate this shift, as well as discussing the great impact of Brexit on the UK economy and politics. Jim and Richard examine the special relationship between the US and UK plus similarities and differences in debates over cancel culture, populism, immigration and abortion.The 2016 Brexit vote that led to the UK's withdrawal from the EU has not been the disaster that many had forecast. But the British economy is losing ground compared to other leading nations of Europe. Growth is flat and a small recession is forecast for later this year.  Compare this with Ireland— still inside the EU— where the economy has been growing at more than twice the European average. The Irish growth rate may be as high as 8% this year.Recommendations: Refreshed after his recent trip, Richard urges listeners, if possible, to head overseas for at least a week or two. Travel is not only a tonic for the soul, but also broadens our political and cultural perspectives. During his trip, Richard read two fine books about the world-class city: "London: A Short History", a short, fluid and lively account by E.N. Wilson, and the much longer "London: The Biography", by Peter Ackroyd. Both give the reader a rich sense of London's very long and layered story.Anti-recommendation: Jim urges listeners to be very skeptical about the accuracy of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot. While researching an article for The Manhattan Institute recently, Jim came across potentially alarming examples of made-up quotes and magazine articles that were cited but never actually written. Jim discusses the crucial differences between search engines and new forms of AI. This article in The New York Times looks at how ChatGPT can fabricate information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, politics, tech, and power. Nikki's recent book is "News For The Rich, White and Blue: How Place and Power Distort American Journalism".In our conversation we look at the loss of place in American journalism, the gap between "news haves and have-nots", and how technology can be used to challenge old journalistic models and lead to new ways of delivering news to audiences that have been poorly served in the past.For decades the polling firm Gallup has been asking Americans: "How much confidence and trust do you have in the news media?" In the 1970's more than two-thirds of the public said they had a great deal or a fair amount of confidence. Today, the proportion is down to one-third. Most Americans distrust what they read, see, or hear from news outlets. A minuscule 7% of Americans have "a great deal" of trust and confidence in the media.We ask how do we fix it? and how journalists can gain a better understanding of why so many readers, viewers, and listeners believe that they tell lies or simply don't care about the truth.In this episode, we hear about efforts by The Los Angeles Times and Philadelphia Inquirer to reassess their roles in the community. We also learn about growing non-profit regional news organizations such as The Voice of San Diego and the Connecticut Mirror. Jim and Richard also discuss the work of the online platform Substack. Recommendation: Richard enjoys listening to the podcast series, "Rumble Strip", produced and hosted by Erica Heilman. This extraordinary show was profiled in The New Yorker and won a 2021 Peabody Award for the episode, "Finn and The Bell". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 80% since 2000. Thousands of local and regional publications closed. Most surviving newsrooms faced drastic cutbacks. Coverage of all kinds of local events— from city hall, school board meetings and football games to local businesses and zoning decisions — disappeared.First, Craigslist displaced print-based classified ads. Then Google, Facebook and other online firms became the main source of consumer advertising. We discuss the impact on local journalism. In recent decades, the news we read and listen to has largely shifted from local reporting to often highly polarizing national opinion journalism.In the first of two episodes on the changing face of the news media, we look at the retreat of local journalism and discuss solutions. These include non-profit media and changes in for-profit business models. Today, many newspapers get more revenue from subscriptions and fundraising drives than from advertising. We ask: how sustainable are these initiatives?Anna Brugmann is policy director for the advocacy organization, Rebuild Local News. According to her group, since 2004, as the U.S. population has grown, the number of newsroom employees has dropped by 57%."By almost every metric by which you measure a healthy community and a healthy democracy, the trends are in the wrong direction when local news leaves," says Anna. "In the past twenty years more than two thousands newspapers have closed in The United States."Recommendation: Jim is listening to a lot of podcasts since he unplugged his TV and stopped watching broadcast and cable news. Among his current favorite podcasts is "The Reeducation With Eli Lake". The show "challenges the common narratives the mainstream media and others push". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 bank failures. Progressives blamed politicians who eased regulations on medium-sized and small banks. Some on the right claimed that DEI — Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — distracted SVB from focusing on risk management. Our guest is economist and risk expert Allison Schrager, author of "An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk". She also writes frequently for Bloomberg Opinion and City Journal. This episode looks at the causes of the recent bank panic and the current outlook for the financial industry."Safety is the foundation of finance and it is also how we price risk," Allison tells us in this episode. Everyone assumes that holding government-backed securities is safe. "But long-duration bonds are very sensitive to changes in bond yields." If interest rates go up, "bond prices on long-dated securities go down a lot." SVB was heavily invested in these securities. But many of its depositors, including tech firms and venture capitalists, were highly sensitive to rate rises. In mid-March, despite reassurances from top executives, SVB's depositors pulled their money out. It was a sudden online version of an old-fashioned bank run.We look at potential solutions and hazards for investors and the economy, including the perils of inflation, the dangers of groupthink, why investors and bank executives should feel some pain when an institution fails, and the need for risk management that takes a broad range of economic possibilities into account. Allison recently wrote this about why Silicon Valley is facing rising threats to its business model. The latest column for Bloomberg cautions savers and investors: don't make the same mistake as SVB with your 401k.Recommendation: Richard plays this word game almost every day: Spelling Bee, a somewhat addictive game from The New York Times.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Ukraine fit in our history? We speak again with Marci Shore, professor of European cultural & intellectual history at Yale University. She first appeared on "How Do We Fix It?" a year ago. In 2018 she received a Guggenheim Fellowship for her current book project, a history of phenomenology in East-Central Europe, tentatively titled “Eyeglasses Floating in Space: Central European Encounters That Came about While Searching for Truth.” Her most recent book is “The Ukrainian Night: An Intimate History of Revolution”. This show is a companion piece to episode #380 with Jacob Mchangama.We hear a very thoughtful, passionate account of the war. "These are my friends and colleagues who are being slaughtered," Marci Shore tell us."That is first and foremost why the war is so personal for me." She describes the war as "the decisive end of what Francis Fukuyama had called the end of history."Marci is Jewish, and a well-known scholar of Eastern Europe in the post-Soviet era. As a young child she listened to elderly relatives who had once been victims of Tsarist pogroms— riots aimed at expelling and killing Jews and other members of ethnic or religious groups in a region that includes present-day Ukraine. She tells us why "Ukraine has emerged as a subject and not an object in world consciousness."In this episode we also discuss the work of The Reckoning Project— a coalition of human rights activists, journalists and archivists who are using the power of story-telling and legal accountability to document truth. The project has uncovered evidence and is conducting first-person interviews about Russian abuses and cruelty in occupied parts of Ukraine. Recommendation: Jim is looking at the extraordinary work of photojournalist Lynsey Addario and others who risk their lives to capture vital moments during the wars. Her work photos have been published by The New York Times. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 coincides with the first anniversary of the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War Two. In the early hours of February 24 last year Putin’s tanks rolled across Ukraine’s borders.Our podcast guest is well-known human rights advocate, Jacob Mchangama, CEO of the Danish think tank Justitia, and author of the recent book, “Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media”. We discuss the Ukraine war's broader implications for fundamental values that are a vital part of the growing struggle between the West autocratic powers.One of the biggest surprises of the past year has been the strength of European and American support for President Zelenskyy and Ukraine.“I’m very heartened by it,” says Mchangama. “It’s a good antidote to a decay of the West and complacency of democracies narrative that has been driving some of the authoritarian backlash.”“Even a year in, there still seems to be solid support in many countries for the Ukrainian cause and for continuing to supply them with the means to defend themselves and hopefully decisively turn the tide.”Today, it could well be argued that Joe Biden is the first cold war President since Ronald Reagan. In this episode, we learn why free speech is so vital to oppressed groups and racial minorities. We examine the recent "free speech recession", and how to ensure that young people are better equipped to deal with misinformation on social media and the internet.Recommendation: Richard has recently watched and enjoyed three movies on the big screen in theaters. They are: "Everything Everywhere All at Once", the British film "Living" and the Irish movie "The Banshees of Inisherin". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 debt default would have extremely serious consequences for the everyday economy and America's place in the world.We look at the massive U.S. debt mountain, which has leverage in the current game of chicken, and discusses why both political parties are so reluctant to get serious about the debt. Our guest, fixed income specialist, and economist, Chris Low of FHN Financial comes up with potential fixes.This show is an explainer— ideal for anyone who wants to learn about the crisis and understand the fundamental difference between debt and annual deficits. We look at reasons for the huge increase in government red ink in recent years, which include the impact of the COVID pandemic, and recovering from the 2008-9 financial crisis.U.S. debt is an astonishing six times what it was in 2000— the largest it's ever been compared with the size of the economy. The Government hit the $31.4 trillion legal limit last month, forcing a potential crisis. By law, the ceiling must be raised or the U.S. will fail to pay some of its debts. If this happens, a recession or worse could be one of the consequences."If you miss a payment it is a default," Chris Low tells us. "The U.S. credit rating would go from the second highest possible to the lowest possible overnight."A default "would be painful, and that pain would be felt by every business, every consumer, every household that borrows."Recommendation: Richard has just read "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter." During their conversation at the end of the show, Jim says "death cleaning" is a terrible way of describing a sensible practice. Richard suggests that "streamlining" might be easier on the ear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 thought of as structural and systematic? Ibram X. Khendi, author of the best-selling book, "How To Be An AntiRacist", argues that "the most threatening racist movement" is the drive for race-neutrality. Our guest, Bion Bartning, argues that instead of emphasizing our common humanity, the approach of Kendhi and others lumps people into simplistic racial groupings.Bartning founded the non-profit group, The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR). In its mission statement, FAIR calls for "advancing civil rights and liberties for all Americans, and promoting a common culture based on fairness, understanding and humanity.""Really, we should be anti-racism, the ideology, and not anti-racist, the individual," Bartning tells us. He calls for a pro-human approach. "There is a burning need to reaffirm the core principles of the civil rights movement... integration, healing divisions and moving forward together as one people." He says that in recent years a different form of anti-racism has emerged that goes against these ideas.Bartning launched FAIR after pulling his two children out of one of New York City's most prestigious private schools because he thought that the new anti-racist curriculum was encouraging kids to look at themselves and others primarily through the lens of race and see the world in a pessimistic, grievance-oriented way. We discuss his personal story and ideas in this episode.Recommendation: Richard has just read and thoroughly enjoyed John Steinbeck's beloved 1962 memoir, "Travels With Charley, In Search of America" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 to push back against the conflict entrepreneurs who want to make us angry, fearful and divided.Our guest is Liz Joyner, founder and President of The Village Square, a non-profit based in Tallahassee, Florida, dedicated to reviving civic connections across divisions inside American communities. For the past 17 years she's been the leader of an organization that describes itself as "a nervy bunch of liberals and conservatives who believe that dialogue and disagreement make for a good conversation, a good country and a good time"Most of us live in neighborhoods and among friends who think like us, especially about politics. That’s a problem because not only are we divided, but don’t understand the other side. The number of people who say our country is headed in the wrong direction has remained very high throughout most of the past decade.Liz believes that with the help of food and a sense of humor all kinds of people can be in the same room. They don't have to agree, but in many cases she says, Americans are not as divided as we think. "We disagree in soundbites that professional polarizers are working to divide us over, but in paragraphs we agree way more than we think we do," she tells us.As for the polarizers? "l think they're playing us all, and we ought to be done with them," Liz tells us. The Village Square has organized dozens of public events, ranging from a few dozen people to audiences of more than a thousand breaking bread and enjoying a lively conversation.Recommendation: Jim is reading "The Matter of Everything" by physicist and science communicator Dr. Suzie Sheehy. The book is a journey through the experiments that not only unlocked the nature of matter and shaped our understanding of the cosmos, but also changed the way we live.Bonus Recommendation: Jim enjoys listening to The Glenn Show podcast with economist Glenn Loury. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 forecasts for the twelve months to come.We make predictions about the retreat of COVID, the outlook for inflation, and the migration crisis on the southern border that threatens havoc for the Administration. Hear what could happen next in Ukraine's war against Russian aggression. We also look closely at China's new struggles with COVID, street protests, and slowing growth.In a special section on technology and science, we focus on stunning advances in cancer and Alzheimer treatments plus new innovations in AI and the likely impact of ChatGTP, the app that's just been released to the public and is already raising ethical issues for schools, universities, and employers.We promise to release a scorecard of how we did at the end of the year. Is Jim right when he says there is a real likelihood of a new energy crisis in 2023?Is Richard's forecast about the 2024 Presidential race on target?Jim and Richard also share their year-end hopes for the new year and recommendations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 author and literature professor, Deborah Appleman mounts a rousing case for teaching troubling texts in troubling times. "Our classrooms need to remain a space where critical thinking is taught, tolerance from different viewpoints is modeled, and the sometimes-harsh truth of our history and literary heritage are not hidden," she says. Her latest book is "Literature and The New Culture Wars."Professor Appleman taught high school English for nine years before receiving her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She is chair of Educational Studies at Carleton College. Her recent research has focused on teaching college-level language and literature courses to the incarcerated.We discuss how free speech and free thinking are under assault from puritans from the right and the left. We examine the costs to curiosity as well as to open and free inquiry— so essential to a thriving democracy. We look at the impact of the recent global pandemic on teaching and education. "Life is tough. Life is hard and full of bumps and bruises,' Professor Appleman tells us. "You can't hide the hurt of life from young people. Literature is not life but it can be in some ways a preparation for what life has to offer us.""Doing no harm does not mean causing no discomfort for students. Learning requires cognitive dissonance. Learning requires that you are off-balance both psychologically and emotionally sometimes....It's in disequilibrium that we learn."Read more here from Pamela Paul of The New York Times. She wrote this year about the impact of book bans on the publishing industry: "Parents, schools and readers should demand access to all kinds of books, whether they personally approve of the content or not. For those on the illiberal left to conduct their own campaigns of censorship while bemoaning the book-burning impulses of the right is to violate the core tenets of liberalism. We’re better than this."Recommendation: Richard has read "This Is Happiness" by Niall Williams and set in a remote village in Ireland. Richard calls the novel "enchanting and wonderful."  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 partially failed during a winter cold snap. California came close to a grid collapse last summer. And New England might be in big trouble this coming winter. Energy analyst, author, and chemist, Meredith Angwin, is our guest in this episode of "How Do We Fix It?" Her latest book is “Shorting the Grid: The Hidden Fragility of our Electric Grid.”  In recent years, our podcast co-host Jim Meigs has written extensively on energy, and says it's a bad idea to shut down nuclear power plants that supply large amounts of reliable energy and aren't dependent on the weather.   But the threatened electricity grid crisis is not just about how we make power—it’s how we deliver power to users. For big chunks of the country that system has changed radically in recent decades. Reforms that were meant to make our energy system more competitive backfired. The fragile gird matters more than at any time in memory for three reasons: - The need to decarbonize energy production to limit the future impacts of climate change. - Modern technology requires a big increase in electricity output.- The geopolitical clash over energy has grown more intense and violent since Putin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.We also discuss why it's not enough to add more solar panels, wind turbines and hydro-electric power to the system. We need new and improved transmission lines to move all that power.Recommendation: Richard is watching "Extraordinary Attorney Woo", a South Korean TV series about a brilliant rookie attorney who has autism spectrum disorder.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Project— the nation's largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers— and David Meyers, founding Executive Editor of the democracy newsletter, The Fulcrum.In the days before the election, the media was full of warnings, and perhaps some hyperbole, about the perilous state of American democracy. Both of our guests and podcast co-hosts agree that many of the results were reassuring for the guardrails of the electoral system."I think when the dust settles we're going to feel pretty good about this election," Layla told us. "Things went really well," said David. "The continued use of voting-by-mail and early voting has gone a long way towards making sure more people had the opportunity to vote and not wait in very long lines."We also examine the arguments over Ranked-Choice Voting, open primaries, and the need for a quicker vote account in some states where results took well over a week to come through.In their conversation after the interview, Jim and Richard debate voting-my-mail, early voting, reforming the primaries, and how to encourage states to make improvements in vote tabulation. Richard favors limited action by Congress, but Jim is vigorously opposed to any federal reforms or interference in how states conduct their elections.Recommendation: Richard is reading "Broken News. Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back", by political journalist Chris Stirewalt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 in the past decade. In recent months mortgage rates went up to levels not seen in nearly two decades. With the growing possibility of a recession in the near future, there is no shortage of pessimism in the housing market today.We discuss solutions to the housing mess with Harvard University economist Ed Glaeser, author of "Rethinking Federal Housing Policy: How to Make Housing Plentiful and Affordable", "Survival of the City: Living and Thriving in an Age of Isolation" and many other books. Among the topics raised: The role played by zoning and environmental regulations in limiting homebuilding, Long-standing local resistance to new housing, The potential for pre-fabricated building to sharply reduce the cost of construction, Why giant companies face far few hurdles to business growth than many small neighborhood firms, and recent moves by some urban politicians on the left to support plans by developers to build new homes, even if much of it is neither subsidized nor fully affordable.  "The whole COVID era has been a spectacular time for housing price increases," Glaeser tells us. The shortage of homes for sale is one reason. So is rising demand for additional space as millions more people work from home. Another cause is "the longer-term dysfunction of our housing markets in failing to produce enough supply."Recommendation: Jim is reading "How The World Really Works" by Canadian professor Vaclav Smil, author of more than forty books on topics including energy, environmental and population change, food production and nutrition, technical innovation, and public policy.A special thank you to The Manhattan Institute and Director of Marketing Aaron Ricks for help with producing and recording this episode.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 long reign of globalization is coming to end. A shift to more resilient and local businesses is now at hand. We discuss the reporting and findings in the brand new book, "Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World.""I think the pendulum of the old way is tapped out," Rana tells us. "Cheap money is over. Cheap labor from China is largely over. Cheap energy from Russia is definitely over."The war in Ukraine and the political and economic chaos that followed have brought the fragility of the global economic and political system into sharp relief. We discuss the argument that our economy is far too financialized and that this is leading to greater mistrust, vast inequality and more populist autocrats. As we do in all of our shows, we hear potential solutions. Rana argues that place-based economics and a wave of technological innovations now make it possible to keep investment and wealth closer to home. She makes the case that our economic system needs to be transformedRecommendation: Jim is thoroughly enjoying "Fly on the Wall", a podcast with Saturday Night Live alumni Dana Carvey and David Spade. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 scholar Jonathan Rauch is the author of the best-selling book, "The Constitution of Knowledge". He makes a stirring case for the social system of checks and balances used by scientists, lawyers, business leaders, and researchers to turn disagreements into verifiable facts. Alina Chan is a Canadian molecular biologist specializing in gene therapy and cell engineering at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she is a postdoctoral fellow. Chan is the co-author of "Viral: The Search for the Origin of COVID-19."When she and several other scientists raised the possibility that the SARS CoV2 could have escaped from a lab, Chan's research was dismissed by many leading scientists and mainstream journalists. Some declared that her work was "a conspiracy theory." But Chan continues to ask crucial questions. The world needs to know the true origins of the pandemic in order to prevent the next dangerous virus from causing a future pandemic. A full and open investigation was never done.Both of our interviews underline the need for nuance, curiosity and open-minded approaches to the world's great problems. The "global network of people hunting for each others' errors is far and away the greatest technology ever invented," Rauch tells us. The constitution of knowledge, he says, "is a global conversation of people looking for truth, and more especially, looking for error."Recommendation: Richard is reading "Broken News" by political journalist Chris Stirewalt. This new book provides a crisp, passionate, well-judged argument of how the media rage machine divides America. Reporters in newsrooms are incentivized to write news stories that are full of emotion and anger. These reports very often get the most clicks and social media attention. This emphasis on anger and rage has polluted journalism, Stirewalt argues. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Justice System.” Best-selling writer John Grisham calls it an “intriguing and beautifully crafted book that …illustrates how wrongful convictions occur.”We explore the urgent need to fix the system and improve the quality of evidence presented in courtrooms. Independent crime labs are among the solutions that we discuss.“Jurors go into court with the expectation that there will be scientific evidence available, and that this evidence will be conclusive. This is just not the reality at all,” Chris tells us.We learn that forensic “experts” call themselves scientists but the current system lacks safeguards that keep science objective. Worse, this very questionable discipline has been corrupting the American justice system since at least the 1970s.Chris Fabricant is the director of strategic litigation for the Innocence Project— a remarkable legal organization that works to free prisoners jailed for crimes they did not commit. Over three decades, the Innocence Project has freed more than 300 unjustly convicted prisoners. And more than 40% of those cases involved the misuse of forensic evidence.In this episode, we hear about cases of people wrongly convicted, many of them on death row. The interview begins with the remarkable and tragic case of Eddie Lee Howard, who spent 26 years in prison insisting that he was innocent. He was finally freed early last year after his murder conviction was overturned after a years-long legal defense by The Innocence Project.Recommendation: Richard and Jim both read and recommend “Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World”, by Simon Winchester. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 homes and run industry. The EU, United Kingdom and others are now scrambling to find new supplies and reassure their citizens that the crisis can be contained. In this episode we discuss efforts to reduce carbon emissions and consider why the outlook for affordable energy has deteriorated.Our podcast co-host Jim Meigs is the expert source for this episode. He argues that shutting down nuclear power plants, having unrealistic expectations of solar and wind production, and ignoring years of threats from Russia have all contributed to the energy crisis.Earlier this year, Jim joined the Manhattan Institute as a senior fellow and a contributing editor of City Journal. His recent commentary for the magazine, "The Green War on Clean Energy", makes the case that progressives and socialists in the environmental movement have waged a fight against technology that would cut carbon emissions.Jim says that "nuclear energy is the only technology to dramatically reduce America's carbon footprint." We consider the case for and against this view. We examine promising new technologies such as carbon capture and improved battery storage. And we look at the Republican ridicule of ambitious attempts to fight climate change, and consider whether conservative views about the need for action are fundamentally changing.Recommendation: Richard has just read "Land: How The Hunger For Ownership Shaped The Modern World", by Anglo-American author and journalist, Simon Winchester. This 2021 book received glowing reviews.may  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Unlike substack and other independent publications, our solutions journalism podcast is entirely free. If you'd like to support us, please go to our funding page at Patreon. Since we started "How Do We Fix It?" seven years ago both hosts have become even busier. Richard works as a consultant, producer or host of other podcasts and writes a column for The Fulcrum, a daily online newsletter about bridging divides and democracy.Jim was recently given the honor of being a senior fellow and contributing editor of City Journal at the Manhattan Institute. Next week we'll release a new podcast episode based on some of his latest research and reporting on energy.As always, thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 will likely last for the foreseeable future. Our guest, Darrell West, vice president of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., is the author of "Power Politics: Trump and the Assault on American Democracy." He's the author of 19 books on American politics and has won several prestigious awards for his writing. In this episode we discuss why the grievances exploited by Trump that existed well before he became president, the threat of extreme authoritarianism, the role played by technological and social media, and Darrell West's constructive advice for protecting people, organizations and the country from challenges to democracy. Our lively conversation also looks at the systemic causes of current threats to American democracy, procedural justice, and a reason-based society. Jim and Richard also debate Darrell West's analysis of the challenges that we all face.Recommendation: Jim is reading "The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War 1" by Lindsey Fitzharris. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, 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, he says, we are in this "incredibly intense winner-take-all environment" in most states. Ranked-choice voting could change the equation. Instead of picking just one candidate, voters rank as many candidates as they want in order of choice: first, second, third and so on. If your first-choice candidate is in last place, your vote counts for your highest-ranked candidate who can win by getting more than 50%. RCV removes voters' concerns that their favored candidate could split the vote.  Alaska and Maine now use RCV for all presidential and congressional elections. Beginning in 2023, Hawai will use it for some federal and local elections. Open primaries and ranked-choice voting will be on the ballot this November in Nevada. The vast majority of Americans live in landslide districts. To make elections more competitive, Rob is also calling for multi-member congressional districts. Both reforms, he tells us, would lead to "a more representative and functional Congress" that would "regain legitimacy" with voters.RCV is now winning support among Democrats and Republicans. In 2021 it was used for the first time to elect Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City and in the Republican primary for the Governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin. Numerous cities, counties and states are actively considering Ranked Choice Voting.In their conversation, Richard and Jim debate the merits and drawbacks of RCV. Richard embraces it wholeheartedly, while Jim cautiously supports using it in primaries, where the current system can lead to more extreme candidates being selected by their parties. Recommendation: Richard urges voters to read and share The 2022 Midterm Elections Participation Guide, just published by Citizen Connect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 The McCourtney Institute for Democracy. The show's producer, writer and host, Jenna Spinelle, tells the stories of some remarkable people who have organized initiative campaigns across the country. We speak with her about the history of ballot measures, including California's Prop 13 in 1978, and more recent efforts to expand Medicaid.Ballot initiatives are "a very powerful tool that citizens have, particularly when there is broad support for change to an existing policy or law", Jenna tells us. Over the past four decades in California and elsewhere the political establishment has been frequently shaken by the results.In this episode we hear about the story of Desmond Meade, the voting rights activist who led a winning ballot initiative to change Florida’s constitution to give people like him — with past felony convictions — the right to vote. Desmond is Executive Director of The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which led the campaign that resulted in America’s largest expansion of voting rights since the civil rights era. We also speak about Katie Fahey, the democracy activist who led the successful grassroots effort  to ban partisan gerrymandering in Michigan.  At "Voters Not Politicians", she organized thousands of volunteers who collected over 425,000 voter signatures for Proposal 2, a ballot initiative amending the state constitution to create an independent redistricting commission. We also spoke at length with Katie in episode #262.Recommendation: Jim is reading "Junk Science and the American Criminal Justice System" by M. Chris Fabricant. In their regular conversation at the end of the show, Jim and Richard discuss their skepticism of proposed federal ballot initiatives. Our podcasts are part of the Democracy Group podcasts network. "How Do We Fix It?" is a production of DaviesContent. We are supporting members of Bridge Alliance Education Fund. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 wealth manager Karen Firestone shares a story about a chance encounter with advice columnist Ann Landers, who gave her a new understanding of risk vs. reward. Obstetrician-gynecologist Rose Gowen speaks about her mission to get her small city with a large obesity problem to exercise more and eat better food. Emily Esfahani Smith, author of "The Power of Meaning", talks about her passion for learning from strangers. Long-distance trucker Finn Murphy reveals a long-time love of America's roads and highways.What we share today was sparked by our guests who bring deep intellect, emotion, and enthusiasm to the microphone as they reflect on what excites and moves them about their work and fields of expertise. All of us can learn from their wisdom as we seek ways to lead more fulfilling lives and make a difference to others in huge and tiny ways. This episode was first recorded in 2017. Recommendation: Jim has been thoroughly enjoying the new 2022 Netflix series, "Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 lens of red vs. blue or "us" vs. "them."Our guests are Kenneth Cukier, deputy executive editor of "The Economist" and Francis de Véricourt, professor of management science at the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin. Both are co-authors of "Framers. Human Advantage in an Age of Technology and Turmoil." This innovative book shows how framing is not just a way to improve decision-making in an age of algorithms and machine learning, but also a matter for survival at a time of upheaval.Real-world examples of how framers changed the world include: The rapid rise of #MeToo, which went viral on Twitter after the actress Alyssa Milano tweeted a request to her followers: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Successful, innovative responses to Covid-19 were made by the governments of New Zealand and Taiwan. Recently, the Federal Reserve was forced to change its inflation frame before beginning a series of interest rate hikes. In our interview we learn why the advice to "think outside the box" is useless, and how to understand the role of mental models in our own daily lives.Recommendation: Jim and Richard suggest a puzzle: The New York Times Spelling Bee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 shows that the American people are far less polarized than elected officials. There is extensive bipartisan common ground on a surprising range of controversial issues— from abortion and immigration to the environment and law enforcement. Our guests are Gail Hoffman, President of The Hoffman Group, a public affairs strategist and consultant for the Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland, and Voice of the People. She has served in federal and state government, including in the Clinton White House and in the U.S. Justice Department under Attorney General Janet Reno. JP Thomas is Voice of the People's Director of External Relations, and an organizer and government relations professional, who develops campaigns and strategies to promote the use of public consultation to consult citizens on key public policy issues."When you actually look at the things that need to be done to fix things in this country, the degree of agreement and commonality is remarkable," Gail tells us. The debate in Congress is not a reflection of the American people and where they stand and the American people know that." The Program for Public Consultation has developed detailed policymaking simulations that put citizens in the shoes of a policymaker. They get a briefing on policy options under consideration and evaluate the pros and cons of an issue and then make recommendations. We walk through this process and discuss how this detailed research is profoundly different from traditional polls and surveys of voters.  This effort to "put the public back in public service" was recently featured in The New York Times.Recommendation: Richard enjoyed the hit movie "Top Gun: Maverick". We discuss the impact of the film's enormous success at the box office. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Town: Reimagining Discarded America"."We have given up on many of these places", Michelle tells us. Discarded America is "a term that describes active decision making."She reports on efforts to revive four communities— Stockton California, Lawrence Massachusetts, Josephine County Oregon, and Detroit.The focus is on local activists, community leaders, elected officials and others who have poured their heart and soul into fighting for the places where they live. In these places and others some of the most basic aspects of local government services have been dismantled.We learn about the devastating impact of the foreclosure crisis, opioid addiction and long economic decline as jobs and entire industries moved offshore or to other parts of the country.As always with our podcast, there is also a focus on solutions, as we discuss examples of civic pride and rebuilding.Book Review: "Building Back Better— One Community at a Time (New York Times).Our Recommendation: Richard is watching the FX drama series, "The Old Man", starring Jeff Bridges, Jon Lithgow, Amy Brenneman and Alia Shawkat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 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 against conflict entrepreneurs? This episode presents a way forward.We repeat this episode with Peter Coleman, who is a leading expert on intractable conflict and sustainable peace. Peter is a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University and director of the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. Peter's new book is "The Way Out. How to Overcome Toxic Polarization."We discuss research on how deeply divided societies can and do change. We learn more about the role you can play to navigate these times most effectively – as well as what to look for in groups and organizations in your community that are already at work making America more functional again.In this episode, Peter praised the work of the Bridging Divides Initiative, a group that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States. The initiative supports efforts to grow and build local community resilience throughout elections and other periods of heightened risk, laying the groundwork for longer-term efforts towards reconciliation.Recommendation: Jim is listening to the podcast series, A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs, a history of rock from 1938 to 1999, hosted by Andrew Hickey.aWjyPCPZFrs0sg4bAoNd Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inflation is through the roof. Stocks are through the floor. Most economists say that a recession is likely to hit soon or is already here. Add to this the economic impact of the Ukraine invasion, an entitlements crisis with the possible bankruptcy of Medicare and Social Security trust funds in the coming years, and today's weird housing market. In this episode, we discuss all these, plus the tough choices now facing the Federal Reserve, political dysfunction in Washington, disruption of global supply chains, and the roots of the inflation crisis.Our guest is Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle, the author of "The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well is the Key to Success." "The biggest issue is getting the political will to act like grownups," Megan tells us."We used to have one party that would try to keep taxes reasonable... and the other party would keep the spending down to match the taxes. Now we're in a situation where everyone gets in and wants to spend all of the money without any regard to discipline."Also, learn about what Richard's brother knew about Just-in-Time Production, and Jim's Dad understood about monetarism.Recommendation: Jim is reading "Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle", by critic and journalist Jody Rosen. She examines the bicycle’s past and peers into its futureHelp us spread the word about our podcast. Here's Our Patreon account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In recent weeks the great American divide grew again. Explosive revelations from the House January 6th Hearings and Supreme Court decisions on abortion, guns and the EPA's ability to limit carbon emissions from power plants are further examples of where the middle has been weakened. On many media platforms nuance is replaced by taunts and jeers. Our nation is trapped in high conflict. Both sides are paralyzed by fear and anger as they demonize and misunderstand the actions and motivations of the other. The bitter national narrative of "us versus them" is a threat to democracy and stops Congress and other public institutions from working together to build a better world.Best-selling author and investigative journalist, Amanda Ripley, is our guest in this repeat episode. She is well-known for her writing in The Atlantic, Time, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. We discuss her groundbreaking book, “High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out."Amanda argues that good conflict can teach us to be better people, who are capable of solutions as they move past misunderstandings. Many are trapped in high conflict, which is threatening to tear us apart, creating an even deeper crisis than we have now.We discuss "conflict entrepreneurs"— cable TV personalities, talk radio hosts, and politicians from both left and right — who profit from making us angry and fearful."Most Americans want out of this high conflict," Amanda tells How Do We Fix It? "They very much want to see a different way of disagreeing among their politicians and the news media. They are frequently tuning out of politics and the news, which is a big problem, but totally understandable."Recommendation: Jim enjoyed watching "Long Strange Trip", a highly-praised documentary about the rock band, the Grateful Dead. TV viewers can watch it on Amazon Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 55 million people have dementia. The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that the U.S. total is nearly six million cases. The numbers are growing with the aging of the population. The incidence of Alzheimer's increased more than 50% in the past 15 years. People over the age of 85 are the largest growing share of the population.British journalist and author Nicci Gerrard is our guest. Her father's long struggle with dementia led Nicci to investigate what the disease does to those who live with it and to their caregivers. She writes with deep wisdom, kindness, and empathy in her new book, "The Last Ocean A Journey Through Memory and Forgetting."In modern, developed nations, "we so value being young, healthy, vigorous, successful, purposeful, and autonomous," says Nicci. "In dementia all these things gradually unravel."Following her father's death in 2014, Nicci Gerrard cofounded John's Campaign, which seeks to make care more compassionate for those who are vulnerable and powerless.In this episode, we discuss her journey, what's she learned, and ways to improve dementia care, including the need for open an unrestricted visiting hours at hospitals-- still a controversial topic-- and dementia villages, a fairly new way to help people with memory loss improve quality of life. Here's a link to more information about Nicci's work and her book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

History was made on January 6th, 2021, yet nearly 18 months later we are still coming to terms with what happened before and during the attack on the U.S. Capitol. In this episode, Richard and Jim discuss what's been revealed by the House Select Committee that continues to investigate the disturbing events of that day.We include excerpts from statements by Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D) and Vice-Chair Liz Cheney. Our discussion looks at the controversy over how the Committee was formed and how its findings will be viewed by voters, elected officials, legal analysts and historians. The first Select Committee hearing was aired during prime time on a Thursday night. While much of it was solemn and deliberative, there were moments of theater and passion. In their discussion, Jim and Richard share their different views of whether or not the work of the Committee has been as effective as it should have been.  Recommendation: Jim has been re-reading the dystopian novel "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury.This episode also includes a promotion for another fine podcast— "The Purple Principle". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The appalling carnage in Uvalde, Texas, Buffalo, New York, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and other communities across the country is a deeply painful source of grief, outrage, and national shame. Since 2009 more than 2500 people have been killed or wounded in 277 mass shootings in The United States— more than the number of U.S. military personnel killed in hostile action in Afghanistan over the same period.But as horrible as they are, mass shootings represent a small percentage of overall firearms-related deaths. In 2020 — the latest year for which numbers are available — more than 45 thousand Americans were killed in shootings, including accidents and suicides. That’s more than the number of deaths on roads and highways.In this episode we look at some ways to reduce the huge toll. Our guest is Dr. Patrick Carter, a professor of emergency medicine and health behavior at the University of Michigan, and a leading expert on firearm injury prevention. He argues that instead of endless debate, we need to think of gun deaths "as a public health issue and a science issue." Then we can make real progress, he argues.Key soundbites:05:13 We should think about the crisis of gun-related fatalities "not just as a single thing, but of a multi-faceted problem with lots of potential solutions: From engineering— how we construct guns and firearms safes— to how we change behavior around how people own and use guns, to how we address populations that are particularly high-risk and shouldn't own guns or shouldn't have access to guns when they are in crisis."05:40 "I really think we can change the direction of firearm deaths and we have done that with cars... with drownings in this country. We've done that with all types of injury-related issues."20:30 "I don't think you can solve this problem with the science-based approach I've talked about without engaging the people who own guns... We need to understand what things will change behaviors and to do that we need to engage with firearms owners around common-sense solutions."Recommendation: The weekly online newsletter by conservative writer David French. He is also a contributing writer at The Atlantic. Richard says he often disagrees with David, but finds his writing to be respectful and even kind towards liberals and others who see the world in a different light. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"There is one and only one social responsibility of business," Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman famously declared more than 50 years ago. It is “to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase profits so long as it.. engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” Times have certainly changed, especially in the past two decades. Today, corporate leaders and brands know that they can't always follow Friedman's advice, and are expected to step forward and contribute to solving crises facing society. But there are often hazards in doing so. Walt Disney, Delta Airlines, and Larry Fink, Chairman, and CEO of BlackRock, have all faced harsh criticism for their public stands.We discuss the hazards and opportunities for corporations and their leadership with the author, researcher, and facilitator Elizabeth Doty, Director of the Erb Institute's Corporate Political Responsibility at the University of Michigan. She suggests constructive ways for businesses to play a key role in countering hyperpartisanship and other divisions in society. "Companies are on the receiving end of a lot of criticism," Elizabeth tells us. "We felt they needed a place to get foresight for companies to dig into what's behind these complaints." In our podcast, we hear ways businesses can benefit society and themselves with a constructive forward-facing, deliberative approach. When confronting divisive issues, corporations should consider how to "raise the quality of the argument rather than pick a side in the argument", says Elizabeth.In a statement on its website, the Taskforce says: "Unfortunately, many executives operate without an integrated view of their firms’ engagement with governing or electoral processes, or clear principles to ensure transparency, accountability and responsibility. As we have seen in 2020, in an environment of polarization and distrust, inattention to CPR can increase reputational risk, destabilize the civic and business environment, threaten the credibility of other efforts and undermine the positive systemic changes society needs."Learn more here. The Taskforce invites business leaders, academics and others with an interest in this topic to get involved.Recommendation: Jim is enjoying "Walking the Floor" a music podcast hosted by Chris Shiflett, lead guitarist of The Foo Fighters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Myths are widely seen as little more than lies. We're constantly told by experts in media and society that myths are for debunking and even ridicule.Yet despite clear evidence frequently presented by doctors, journalists and scientists, many of us believe in legends and myths.  In this episode of "How Do We Fix It?", we explore the power of myths and legends: Why they are essential in making sense of life. Bestselling author of "The Swerve", "The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve" and other books, Harvard Humanities professor Stephen Greenblatt, is our guest. Using the origin story of Adam and Eve and other accounts in The Bible, we discuss the enormous appeal of foundation stories to raise questions about human existence and explain our fears, desires and morality. At their best popular legends and myths can bring our communities together and improve cooperation and understanding. But at their worst they can promote hatred and lead us to believe in dangerous fantasies. "Some are good for us, while others are not. But it's often difficult to sort out which ones are in each category," says Professor Greenblatt. Note: this interview was first published in 2017. Recommendation: During and after his trip to Florence, Richard has been listening to lecture series about the Italian Renaissance. They include the Great Courses series by Professor Kenneth Bartlett. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to be a winner? Is it simply about “crushing it” or hitting your targets at work? Do you always have to come first?In this episode, we get a new definition of winning and success from former British Olympic rower, Cath Bishop, who competed in three Olympics and won a silver medal. Today Cath works in leadership development and has spent years thinking deeply about what it means to be successful in life. Her new book is “The Long Win: The Search for a Better Way to Succeed”. Cath spoke with audio journalist Ashley Milne-Tyte, host of the winning podcast, “The Broad Experience”, about women and the workplace. Here we share part of her episode with Cath.In the second half of this episode, Richard also has a conversation with Ashley about the insights she’s learned during the first decade of reporting for her podcast. We hear about racism and sexism in the workplace and how men can help women achieve true equality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elon Musk is the richest person in the world and the most interesting business leader of his time. Disruptive and innovative, Musk has already revolutionized two giant industries— autos and aerospace. His planned purchase of Twitter will turn him into a power player in a third: social media.In this episode we look at what Elon Musk and his team achieved with SpaceX and share part of our 2121 interview with journalist Eric Berger, senior space editor at the science and tech news site, Ars Technica. Eric wrote the book "Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched Space." We also hear from our co-host Jim about his Commentary Magazine article, "Can Elon Musk Save Twitter?" We learn more about the risks and obstacles involved in buying the digital public square that Musk plans to take private. With SpaceX, Musk pioneered the use of reusable rockets, drastically cut the cost of launches and made space exploration much more interesting to people around the globe. He turned Tesla into the world's most successful electric car company. He is also founder of the tunnel drilling firm Boring Company, and co-founder of the neuro-technology firm Neuralink and Open AI, an artificial intelligence research lab."He's very demanding of pretty much everyone around him," says Eric Berger. "If you go to work for Elon Musk you better expect to work very hard and deliver, and with him you are going to get the chance to do great things."Recommendation: Both Jim and Richard explain why they are active Twitter users.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.