Where We Go Next

What does it mean to be vulnerable at scale? To go out on a limb and lay bare not just one's opinions, but the private details of a life? The most effective political writing often exists at the intersection of quantitative data and personal anecdote. A writer's argument - if it is to convince - must accurately speak to the external reality we all share while inviting us to understand the author's internal experience that provides the emotional anchor. Writer and political commentator Andrew Sullivan has gathered his essays from the last 31 years - a record of joys, sorrows, missteps and victories - all written down, in public.Out on a Limb: Selected Writing, 1989 - 2021, by Andrew SullivanThe Weekly Dish, by Andrew SullivanIntimations Pursued: The Voice of Practice in the Conversation of Michael Oakeshott, by Andrew SullivanWhat Andrew Sullivan Taught Me About Michael Oakeshott, by Giles FraserAlone Again, Naturally, by Andrew Sullivan (Originally appeared November 28, 1994, in The New Republic)Nighthawks (1942), by Edward HopperNew York Movie (1939),by Edward HopperAutomat (1927), by Edward HopperThe End of Gay Culture, by Andrew SullivanAndrew's Twitter: @sullydish----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

“Black” is not a synonym for “poor.” But one could be forgiven for thinking that it were based on the way so many people talk about race in this country. The majority of Black Americans are in the middle class or above, yet the national imagination often seems to struggle to reflect this reality. And those who are living in poverty are often the last ones to tell their own stories. Bertrand Cooper writes about the importance of being accurate in our descriptions of our impoverished communities, and the need for representation that reflects the nuances of class that exist within this thing we call "race."Who Actually Gets to Create Black Pop Culture?, by Bertrand CooperIs it Possible for Black Creatives to Exploit the Poor? w/ Damon Young & Bertrand Cooper - Bad Faith podcastRacecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life, by Karen and Barbara FieldsBlacks See Growing Values Gap Between Poor and Middle Class (2007) - Pew Research CenterThe Devastating Effects of Concentrated Poverty, by Ta-Nehisi CoatesArchitecture of Segregation, by Paul JargowskyNeighborhood Income Composition by Household Race and Income, 1990 - 2009 - StanfordBlack Boy Fly, by Kendrick Lamar (YouTube)Identity Theft, by Zaid JilaniBlack Jeopardy with Tom Hanks - SNL (YouTube)Roger Ebert Speaks Out at a Better Luck Tomorrow Screening - YouTube1,000 True Fans, by Kevin KellyInequality Is High Within the Black Community, by Bertrand CooperBertrand's Twitter: @_BlackTrash----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

When was the last time you were really, truly curious about something? Something new, different, foreign, uncomfortable, even? And not just a passing glance, or a quick perusal, but a deep, active interest that takes you places you never thought you'd go? Director of Digital & Storytelling at Braver Angels Mónica Guzmán believes that for us to better understand our world and each other we must be intentionally, proactively curious.Braver AngelsNorthwest Newsmakers - CrosscutThe Science Behind Road Rage, by Ryan FanSpeak or Be Spoken For - TEDx Talk by Mónica GuzmánHow to Make Seattle Your Own in 10 Easy Steps - Mónica GuzmánThe Evergrey - a newsletter all about SeattleHow The Evergrey Fosters Community in Ever-Growing Seattle - Seattle MetHow The Evergrey Bridged Political Divides in Washington and Oregon - Gathermoniguzman.comMonica's Twitter: @moniguzman----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Policing - as both an action and a concept - has been on the front page and at the front of many of our minds over the last several years, as we've reexamined our assumptions around its utility and purpose. When is law enforcement actually needed? When does it go too far? And what does good policing look like? Criminology professor and former Baltimore police officer Peter Moskos has combined his academic training with on-the-ground experience to try and answer those very questions.Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District, by Peter MoskosBroken Windows, by George Kelling and James WilsonWalking in a Police Officer's Shoes: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Moskos - YouTubeGhettoside: A True Story of Murder in AmericaNeighborhoods and Police: The Maintenance of Civil Authority, by George Kelling and James StewartTwo Shades of Blue: Black and White in the Blue Brotherhood, by Peter MoskosIn Defense of Flogging, by Peter Moskoscopinthehood.comPeter's Twitter: @PeterMoskos----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

The first episode of Where We Go Next was recorded just over a year ago. We've talked about a range of subjects since then - from nuclear power, to mRNA vaccines, from Maslow's hierarchy of needs to Montessori's method, just to name a few. But a recurring theme of the podcast - guest after guest - has been identity. How do we understand ourselves and how do we understand one another? How do we create a diversity that strives for common ground while respecting the very things that make us who we are? How do we speak truth to the power of our ego when it threatens to get in the way of progress? Bestselling author and founder of the Moral Courage Project Irshad Manji shows others how to have the courage to do exactly that.Don't Label Me: How to Do Diversity Without Inflaming the Culture Wars, by Irshad ManjiMoral Courage ProjectMoral Courage ED - Diversity Without DivisionIrshad Manji on Firing Line, with Margaret Hoover - VideoWhy the Writer Richard Rodriguez Refuses to Be Put Into a Box - American Magazineirshadmanji.comIrshad's Twitter: @IrshadManji----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Should a storyteller's identity define what stories they're allowed to tell? Does our sex, race, or sexuality set the boundaries around either the fictions we can dream up or the nonfictions we investigate and explore? Filmmaker Nadia Gill is speaking out against a worrying trend within her industry that suggests storytelling might be better off if we all simply kept to "our own."Encompass FilmsSoul Deep, by Encompass FilmsClimbing Out of Disaster, by Encompass FilmsLast Call For The Bayou, by Encompass FilmsWho Are you to Tell That Story?, by Nadia Gill"Decolonize" the Documentary?, by Nadia GillBabies - TrailerCartel Land - TrailerWhores' Glory - TrailerThe Act of Killing - TrailerCutie and the Boxer - TrailerDonald Trump Made Inroads in South Texas This Year. These Voters Explain Why. - Texas TribuneNadia's Twitter: @Egypxican----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

What happens when you're suddenly thrust into the spotlight at the intersection of two of the most pressing topics of our day - the criminal justice system, and the COVID-19 vaccine? Emergency medical physician Dr. Hasan Gokal found himself in the middle of a firestorm after he spent one fateful evening trying to do the right thing.The Vaccine Had to Be Used. He Used It. He Was Fired. - The New York TimesCleared of Accusation He Stole Vaccine, Dr. Hasan Gokal Wonders if His Reputation Will Recover - Houston ChronicleDr. Hasan Gokal on The View - YouTubeHow Israeli Hospitals Administered Leftover Vaccine Doses - Twitter@gokalmd----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Being a "heterodox thinker" often involves being exceedingly content with a whole bunch of people disliking you. Sometimes it's people to the Right of you, then people to the Left, and folks who were your strongest allies two days ago may suddenly hate your guts next Thursday. This is not to say that people who are consistently in one camp aren't principled - far from it. It's more that all of that "going against the grain-ing" can be rather... draining. Author and podcast host Meghan Daum shares what drives her to keep speaking about so many unspeakable things.The Unspeakable with Meghan Daum - SubstackThe Problem with Everything: My Journey Through the New Culture Wars, by Meghan DaumThe State of American Friendship: Change, Challenges, and Loss - SurveyI Don't Know What To Think Anymore: A Few Words From Your Host - The Unspeakable PodcastNuance: A Love Story, by Meghan DaumI Left New York for Greener Pastures — and a Puppy, by Meghan DaumSelf Care: A Novel, by Leigh SteinThey Shall Not Grow Old, a documentary by Peter JacksonThe Delve podcast, with guest Meghan Daummeghandaum.comMeghan's Twitter: @meghan_daum----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

It's good to push yourself to think differently - to reexamine your priors, question your beliefs, and change your mind. But it's not enough to switch from Right to Left, or Left to Right, or from Heterodox Pepsi to Heterodox Coke. Introspection is a train without a station - something that should keep going. Writer and YouTube host Brittany Talissa King returns to discuss the sometimes difficult but rewarding task of remaining a work in progress.2 Perspectives, Let's Talk - Live Show with Kimi Katiti - #AmericanShadeDarkHorse Podcast with Brittany Talissa King and Bret WeinsteinFree Black Thought, by Brittany Talissa King for Tablet MagazineA Panel Discussion on Critical Race Theory - #AmericanShadeBlack Like Them, by Malcolm Gladwell for The New YorkerBrittany Talissa King on MediumBrittany's Twitter: @KingTalissa----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

While the United States is now recovering from a year of death, disease, and economic destruction, we still don't know exactly where or how Covid-19 actually began. Molecular biologist Dr. Alina Chan has spent the last year investigating the true origins of the virus, long before it was politically convenient to do so.COVID-19 CoV Genetics - Global Lineage SurveillanceCoronavirus: Facebook Reverses Ban on Posts Claiming COVID-19 Came From Chinese Lab - South China Morning PostMore Questions Than Answers On COVID-19 Origin - The Mehdi Hasan ShowMany Scientists Still Think The Coronavirus Came From Nature - NPRGain of Function Research - WikipediaAlina's Twitter: @ayjchan----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Have you ever found yourself so gripped in the throes of a conflict - with a friend, a family member, some stranger online - that you're blinded by a kind of rage that feels like it could overtake you at any moment? Have you found yourself questioning the other person's sanity, baffled as to why they would ever believe what they believe? Then you've experienced what is known as High Conflict. Bestselling author and investigative journalist Amanda Ripley has spent the last several years figuring out why we get trapped in this kind of conflict, and how we can work together to find our way out.High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, by Amanda RipleyThe Least Politically Prejudiced Place in America, by Amanda RipleyResetting the TableA Guide to Divorce Mediation, by Gary FriedmanNational Association for Community MediationFind Mediators at Mediate.comamandaripley.comAmanda's Twitter: @amandaripley----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

What does it mean to have luck? Good luck, or bad? Is luck something that only happens selectively, or is our entire existence a kind of luck that we've had zero control over? And if that's true - what does it mean for our society? What does it say about our educational system, our criminal justice system, and how we treat and empathize with each other? What does it mean for our world if all of us are exactly where we are due only to pure chance? Aaron Rabinowitz, host of the Embrace the Void podcast, grapples with the philosophical and moral implications of that hypothesis.Moral Luck, by Thomas NagelStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Moral LuckEmbrace the Void - 186 Starmanning with Angel Eduardo Pt. 1Embrace the Void - 183 Moderate Conservatism with Stephen DauseThe Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael SandelEmbrace the Void - 044 Moral LuckEthical Realism in a Universe Without Free Will, featuring Aaron Rabinowitz - Skeptics in the PubEvery Rubin Report Ever - FreedomToons36 Arguments for the Existence of God, by Rebecca Newberger GoldsteinPhilosophers in SpaceEmbrace the Void's Twitter: @ETVPod----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

How do we define our "tribes"? That's a word that gets thrown around a lot these days - political tribes, ideological tribes, religious tribes, national tribes... it's just tribalism all the way down. Tribalism, factionalism - whatever you want to call "strong loyalty to one's own social group" - has been with us forever, and we'll never be rid of it. But we can redefine and expand our tribes to include more people, and decrease the animosity we may feel toward our "outgroups." Writer and filmmaker Jay Shapiro has been thinking a great deal about how to do just that.Who Gets to Wear the Hat?: Replacement and Representation, by Jay Shapiro (companion essay to this episode)Opposite Field - a film by Jay ShapiroAre Humans Hard-Wired for Racial Prejudice? - Los Angeles TimesPolitical Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations, by Amy ChuaI Can Tolerate Anything Except the Outgroup, by Scott AlexanderYour Roots Are Showing, by Razib Khan"50% of the 5,000 pilots we train in the next decade to be women or people of color." - United AirlinesDeficit Gives a Tarnish to Golden Gate Bridge - The New York TimesFrom “Is” to “Us” the Words That Define Impeachments, by Jay ShapiroMoral Saints, by Susan WolfDilemma Podcast - hosted by Jay Shapiro----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

How often do you think about how you access the internet? Not in the general sense, but the actual act of accessing it: the descriptive text you read underneath an item for sale, the buttons you click or tap to signal an intent or complete an action, or an input field to type a credit card number, select a country or state, or scroll through a set of dates. This is the stuff that, for many of us, fades away as we aimlessly look at memes or news stories. But it's important. Vital, even. Jennison Asuncion, LinkedIn's Head of Accessibility Engineering Evangelism, dedicates his time to ensuring that the digital world is accessible to everyone.Episode Transcript - Accessible PDFGlobal Accessibility Awareness DayAccessibility Camp Bay AreaWeb Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) - Wikipedia#a11yWebAIMAgile Web Development - Comprehensive Overviewjennison.caJennison's Twitter: @Jennison----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

If there's anything we've learned over the last year, it's that it's not enough to get important information right - you have to communicate that information successfully, too. Because if the data you need to share isn't being heard by the very people that need to hear it, it may as well not exist! Social media consultant and communication specialist Sarah Mojarad teaches and advocates for effective science messaging.Communicating Science on Social Media, by Sarah Mojarad (YouTube)10 Facts About Americans and Coronavirus Vaccines - Pew ResearchA Year of U.S. Public Opinion on the Coronavirus Pandemic - Pew Research"Food Science Babe" - InstagramOnline Harassment: Death by 1,000 Tweets, by Sarah MojaradFirst Draft NewsRAND ResearchSarah's Twitter: @Sarah_Mojarad----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

How do you know what's true, and what's false? What's right, or wrong? How do you know... what you know? You likely heard all of it somewhere, and for you to hear it, somebody had to say it. Because for us to be able to figure out what's true - in order to form a more perfect union - we must be able to speak with one another, freely. Greg Lukianoff, President and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, fights against speech restrictions being enacted in the very institutions that should be bastions of free expression.Foundation for Individual Rights and ExpressionState of the Law: Speech Codes - FIREPapish v. Board of Curators of the University of Missouri (1973)Innovation in the Collective Brain, by Michael Muthukrishna and Joseph HenrichWhat Is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? - American Psychological AssociationTypes of Distorted Automatic ThoughtsHow Americans Became So Sensitive to Harm, by Conor FriedersdorfKindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought, by Jonathan RauchEugene V. Debs' Canton Speech (June 18th, 1918)Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression at Yale (1974)Nicholas Christakis Yale Confrontation (2015)Greg's Twitter: @glukianoff----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

The vaccines are here, and they're amazing. But there's still so much pessimism and confusion about how effective these vaccines actually are, which ones are "best," and what anyone can actually do after they've been vaccinated. This is a special episode, to get you justifiably excited about the rest of the year, and your life going forward. Share it with friends and family who are doubtful or scared, because Dr. Monica Gandhi, Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief in the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases, and Global Medicine at UCSF, has the credentials and the knowledge required to prescribe some much-needed optimism.Follow Monica: @MonicaGandhi9How Do mRNA Vaccines Work? Here's What You Should Know - Johns Hopkins YouTubeHow the Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Works - The New York TimesUniversity of Pennsylvania mRNA Biology Pioneers Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Enabled by their Foundational Research - Penn Medicine----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

These days, when we hear the phrase "growing up," it tends to mostly reference the growth in inches and feet. But for a child to a grow up, they don't just need to physically grow, they need to grow mentally and emotionally as well. The recent cultural normalization of what is colloquially referred to as "helicopter parenting" has brought with it ever-hovering adults and minute-by-minute-scheduled weekdays and weekends, which have significantly stunted that growth. Lenore Skenazy, Co-founder and President of Let Grow, shares both data and anecdotes that help to illustrate exactly why children need the freedom to grow independent.Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone, by Lenore SkenazyI Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone. I Got Labeled the ‘World’s Worst Mom.’ by Lenore SkenazyMother May I? by Lizzie WiddicombeLearn How the Let Grow Project Can Help Kids with Anxiety, Let Grow YouTubeLet GrowThe Let Grow ProjectLet Grow Play ClubFree Range KidsRaising Independent Kids - FacebookLenore's Twitter: @FreeRangeKids----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Children need adults. They need them for guidance, for discipline, for inspiration, and of course, formal education. But often when we talk about education, our attention is almost exclusively focused on those adults. What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? What are they doing too much or too little of, and how can we stop them? And we too often lose sight of how the children are actually performing. Michaela Community School founder and headmistress Katharine Birbalsingh shares how her staff have gone about providing underserved children the ability to change their stars.Michaela Community SchoolThe Power of Culture: The Michaela Way, edited by Katharine BirbalsinghControversial Michaela Free School Delights in GCSE Success - The GuardianSuccess Academy Charter SchoolsThe Butterfly of Freedom, by Edward MonktonMichaela student achieves perfect GCSE scores - TwitterKatharine's Twitter: @Miss_Snuffy----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

In John Rawls' 1971 book, A Theory of Justice, he offers a thought experiment known as the Veil of Ignorance. Behind this veil, no knows who they are. They don't know their race, class, age, sex, privileges, disadvantages, or even their personality. Only once they step through the veil will they know their place in society. But before they take that step, they are tasked with designing it - its laws and its structures, its benefits and punishments. Imagine yourself behind the veil. How would you construct the world, if you weren't sure of your own place within it? Samuel Weiss, Executive Director of Rights Behind Bars, has a deep understanding of what certain corners of our society look like when that veil goes unconsidered.Rights Behind BarsPrison Policy Initiative - Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment, by Shane BauerThe Jailhouse Lawyer's HandbookACLU National Prison ProjectPrison Law OfficeCivil Rights CorpsRight Behind Bars' Twitter: @RightsBehind----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Social distancing has separated us from the ones we care about, and cut us off from the day-to-day lives we've so long known. The mental and emotional toll of this prolonged isolation has been excruciating for many. But can we find a silver lining? May we use this time to become better friends and better partners, even fuller versions of ourselves? Humanistic psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman offers insight into how we may overcome life's struggles through continued growth and even, potentially, transcendence.The Psychology Podcast with Scott Barry KaufmanTranscend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, by Scott Barry KaufmanSailboat Metaphor, by Scott Barry KaufmanTranscend with Scott Barry Kaufman, interviewed by physicist Sean Carroll - The Psychology PodcastMaslow’s hierarchy of needs: Updated for the 21st century, with Scott Barry Kaufman for Big ThinkThe Science of Self-Transcendent Experiences with David Yaden - The Psychology PodcastHumanistic Psychology - WikipediaJiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)scottbarrykaufman.comScott's Twitter: @sbkaufmanScott's Instagram: @scottbarrykaufman----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Society has got you figured out: they talk about you like they know you, like you're part of a collective. They take a group, and pair it with either an adjective or a noun. "White this." "Black that." There's too many of "you," and too few of "them." You talk like this long enough, and it can be easy to slip into a way of thinking about other people that makes them sound so different from you, and you lose sight of the fact that they're really... not. Motivational speaker and author Rahmaan Mwongozi has written extensively about his journey to discovering our human commonalities.Talking $#!t podcast, with Rahmaan MwongoziInner Demons: Blazing A Path To Happiness, by Rahmaan MwongoziTalking $*** About Life, Parenting, Sacrifice and Work w/ My Mother - Talking $#!t podcastWe Need a Second Great Migration, by Charles M. Blow via The New York Times“My N****s” & “White People," by Rahmaan Mwongozi223 w/ Van Lathan - "Productive Disagreements and Common Ground" - The Fifth Columnrocsworld.com@TheRocsWorld----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Why does nothing seem to make sense, anymore? Why do all of our important words seem so slippery, and our definitions ever harder to define? What is a liberal? What really is a conservative? And what does 'liberalism' - the philosophy that undergirds the foundation of American society - actually mean today? Writer and filmmaker Jay Shapiro has spent much of his life trying to figure out society's most confounding dilemmas.Criticizing Freedom: Food First, Philosophy Later, by Jay ShapiroS02E17: Atheistic Search for God - Dilemma PodcastTalking $*** About Tech, Capitalism, Culture, & Philosophy - Talking $#!t Podcast"Tiger got to hunt, bird got to fly;" - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's CradleDogs' Eyes Evolve to Appeal to Humans - BBC NewsWalden, by Henry David Thoreau"God is dead." - Friedrich NietzscheWhy We Drive: Toward a Philosophy of the Open Road, by Matthew B. CrawfordAfter Riding With Spanish Speakers, White Commuters Favored Anti-Immigration Policies - Big ThinkChesterton's Fence: A Lesson in Second Order Thinking, by Shane ParrishEthics Explainer: DeontologyEthics Explainer: ConsequentialismAin't Nobody's Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society, by Peter McWilliamsThe Actual Abortion Debate, by Jay ShapiroFundamental Attribution Error - Ethics UnwrappedThe Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? by Michael SandelOn Directing Film, by David MametOriginal Position (Veil of Ignorance) - John Rawls"Abby Singer" - Filmmaking slang for 'Second to last shot of the day'Optimistic Nihilism - KurzgesagtThe Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World, by David DeutschHow to Build a Dyson Sphere - KurzgesagtThe Fermi Paradox - Wait But Whywhatjaythinks.com----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Climate change is a pressing issue that requires both our attention and our action. But why does so much of modern environmental activism seem to come from one side of the aisle? The American Conservation Coalition's Quill Robinson offers a conservative case for solving climate change.American Conservation CoalitionTrump Is Out of Touch With Republican Voters on Climate Change, by Quill RobinsonMarket-Based Strategies - Center for Climate and Energy SolutionsHow an Alzheimers 'Cabal' Thwarted Progress Towards a Cure, by Sharon BegleySolar's Future Is Insanely Cheap, by Ramez NaamThe Nature ConservancyThis Japanese Shop is 1020 Years Old. It Knows a Bit About Surviving Crises - The New York TimesStop Blaming Climate Change for California’s Fires, by Michael ShellenbergerIt's Time for the American Climate Contract, with Quill RobinsonQuill's Twitter: @QuillRobinson----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Racism is real. Its devastating historical effects can still be felt today, and the misguided and harmful beliefs that we've inherited from previous generations can have a profound impact on how we see and treat one another. The anti-racist movement is a response to these injustices, and anti-racism training has sprung up across private and public businesses. But is there only one way to do anti-racism training, or to be anti-racist? Theory of Enchantment founder Chloé Valdary has spent the last several years developing a compassionate alternative.Theory of EnchantmentTED: How Love Can Help Repair Social Inequality, with Chloé ValdaryThe True and Only Heaven, by Christopher LaschThe Omni-Americans: Some Alternatives to the Folklore of White Supremacy, by Albert MurrayJames Baldwin & Nikki Giovanni, a conversationSaudadeShadow and Act, by Ralph EllisonA Prayer for Owen Meany, by John IrvingOn the Shortness of Life, by SenecaChloé's Twitter: @cvaldary----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

America isn't just a geographical location, or a mass of 330 million people living within a set of lines drawn on a map. America is the story it tells itself about itself. And adding new chapters feels natural enough - time marches forward, and so does a story. But what happens if, while expanding the scope of what's in front of us, we narrow the scope of what came before? Geneticist and cultural commentator Razib Khan shares how America's rich, complicated, and multi-ethnic history is at risk of being flattened by modern narratives.Your Roots Are Showing, by Razib KhanIn God We Trusted, by Razib KhanThe Utility of White-Bashing, by Reihan SalamThe Consolations of Free Thought, by Razib KhanThe Original Chinese Man, by Razib KhanJustin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow, a movie review by Roger EbertRazib Khan's Unsupervised Learning - Substackrazib.comRazib's Twitter: @razibkhan----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Why is patriotism increasingly a partisan issue, divided by party affiliation? Writer Siddak Ahuja has some theories on why certain political demographics are less patriotic than others.The Case for a Left Patriotism, by Siddak AhujaWhy Are Poor Americans More Patriotic Than Their Wealthier Counterparts? - The GuardianThe Left Case Against Open Borders - American Affairs JournalThe Road to Somewhere by David Goodhart – a Liberal’s Rightwing Turn on Immigration - The GuardianHow Race Politics Liberated the Elites - UnHerdThorstein Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class—A Status Update - QuilletteA Left-Right Populist Agenda to Take Jobs Back From China, by Siddak Ahuja----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

When we talk about ways to combat climate change and address our nation's energy needs, we consistently leave the safest, most reliable, and most efficient energy source out of the discussion altogether. Joining us this week is nuclear engineer Nick Touran, PhD, who happens to be an expert in that exact type of energy.whatisnuclear.comBicycles for Our Minds, with Steve JobsNuclear Power May Have Saved 1.8 Million Lives Otherwise Lost to Fossil Fuels, Scientific AmericanRadiation Dose Chart, XKCDSpontaneous Generation (Flies From Meat), Wikipedia3 Reasons Why Nuclear Energy Is Awesome, KurzgesagtA Brief History of Tiny Nuclear Reactors, Popular MechanicsFloating Nuclear Power Plant, Popular MechanicsNick's Twitter: @whatisnuclear----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

When we talk about the "culture wars" - issues of identity, race, ethnicity, immigration, gender, sex, sexuality - we often don't fully understand why exactly we believe the things we believe. Fashion stylist and cultural commentator Ayishat Akanbi says true understanding can come from deep introspection, and she has the experience to back it up.The Problem with Wokeness, with Ayishat AkanbiThe Importance of Free Speech, with Ayishat AkanbiThe Problem with Cancel Culture, with Ayishat AkanbiAyishat Akanbi with Coleman Hughes, on Conversations with ColemanAyishat Akanbi with David Fuller, on Rebel WisdomAyishat Akanbi: 'My problematic ideas are my favourite ones', The Guardianayishatakanbi.comAyishat's Twitter: @Ayishat_Akanbi----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

What if I told you that sometimes, being polite does more harm than good? That the niceties we use to grease the wheels of our daily interactions can actually hurt the very people we want to help, and slow the pace of progress? Writer and speaker Alexandra Hudson advocates for an alternative to politeness that has a long and storied history in American politics.The Value of Exercising Civility—in Both Oikos and Polis, by Alexandra HudsonBowling Alone at Twenty, by Alexandra HudsonWhat's the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon? - How Stuff WorksFundamental Attribution Error - WikipediaCivility and the Challenge of Ordered Liberty, by Alexandra HudsonDaryl Davis: The Black Musician Who Converts Ku Klux Klan Members - The GuardianThe Universal Declaration of Human RightsAlexa, Teach My Child to Be Polite, Please, by Alexandra Hudsonalexandraohudson.comAlexandra's Twitter: @LexiOHudson----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Our national conversation around childhood education usually revolves around or devolves into a sort of generic bifurcation of public vs private. But only when we really break a topic down into its constituent parts can we begin to see it more clearly. So what educational method might work best? Ray Girn and Matt Bateman of Higher Ground Education believe that the method they practice will best equip children to flourish as adults. Higher Ground EducationThe Goals of Montessori Education, with Ray GirnQ & A with Matt BatemanA Day in the Life at Michaela, Britain's Strictest SchoolRay's Twitter: @raygirnMatt's Twitter: @mbateman----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

The working and wealthy classes in America are further apart than they've been in 60 years. Wages, wealth generation, savings - these are the obvious ones, but marriage stability and self-reported rates of wellbeing are also way down for blue collar Americans. "Deaths of despair" - from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism - number 150,000 a year, nearly all of them concentrated in working class communities. And many of these problems begin in childhood and compound into adulthood. What's causing so many of our children to fall so far behind, and why do today's elite seem to care so little? Writer and researcher Rob Henderson has experience living in both worlds, and has dedicated much of his time to finding the answers.How I Went From Troubled Foster Kid to Scholar at Yale and Cambridge, by Rob Henderson‘Luxury Beliefs’ Are the Latest Status Symbol for Rich Americans, by Rob HendersonThorstein Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class—A Status Update, by Rob HendersonEverything I Know About Elite America I Learned From ‘Fresh Prince’ and ‘West Wing’, by Rob HendersonSubscribe to Rob's Newsletter on SubstackRob's Twitter: @robkhenderson----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

If you were tasked with summing up the worldview of 50 million people, could you do it? Sounds a little ridiculous, right? Well, there are just about 50 million people in the "Black Community" in the United States, and it's not uncommon for Americans to speak about this "community" as if they had a single, unified voice. But that sort of language leaves a lot of worthwhile perspectives out of the conversation. Writer and YouTube host Brittany Talissa King shares her story of embracing the complex and often contradictory opinions that can exist within any "community."American Shade - Brittany's YouTube ChannelFree Black Thought: The Case for Heterodoxy in Views on Race, by Brittany Talissa KingOur Skin Problem: America's Toxic Bias of Color, by Brittany Talissa King#AmericanShade with Brittany KingThe Case for Black Optimism, by Coleman HughesAmi Horowitz: Are Voter ID Laws Racist?Brittany's Twitter: @KingTalissa----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

If you've ever stopped yourself from saying something that you know is pretty innocuous, then you've experienced the chilling effect of a phenomenon known as "cancel culture." But what can happen when we stand up for the ability to think freely? And how can we improve our discourse so that all of us can feel comfortable speaking - and changing - our minds? Writer and musician Angel Eduardo has experience doing both.A Letter on Justice and Open Debate - Harper's MagazineI'm a Nobody. The Harper's Letter was for Me, by Angel EduardoWhy Keeping Your Beliefs to Yourself Is Immoral, by Angel Eduardo3 Tips for Having Difficult Conversations, by Angel Eduardoangeleduardo.comAngel's Twitter: @StrangelEdweird----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Humans are natural-born story machines. And those stories - those narratives - can help bring us closer together, or push us further apart. Today is Election Day, and we seem more divided than we have in a long time, largely because we can't seem to agree on a shared story. So how can we find one? Is that even possible? Shaun Cammack of The Narratives Project has some special insights on the power and pliability of our cultural and political narratives.The Narratives ProjectKenosha Shooting: Narrative Evolution, by Shaun CammackAncient Chinese Descriptions of "Daqin" (Roman Empire)Wait But Why: The Fermi Paradox, by Tim UrbanShaun's Twitter: @shaunjcammack----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

When we discuss groups of people, we often speak in terms of data - polls, graphs, percentages - and while this can offer us insight on the macro level, it leaves a lot of valuable, relevant information out. We're more than numbers, after all - we're individuals! So how can we temper our data sets with our personal, lived experiences? Professor and researcher Roderick Graham offers up a way to strike a balance.roderickgraham.comThinking Critically About Lived ExperiencesThe Hard Bigotry of Soft Racism, by Roderick Graham@roderickgraham----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

What if America were split into racialized ethnostates? A “White” country and a “Black” one? Would we all be better off? Writer and HBCU professor Wilfred Reilly explains why racial nationalism is a dumb idea, and debunks some common misinformation about American race relations.Taboo: 10 Facts You Can't Talk About, by Wilfred ReillyNo, There Is No Coming Race War, by Wilfred ReillyRioting Over a Narrative, by Wilfred ReillyWilfred's Twitter: @wil_da_beast630----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

Skin color is real, but what we call “race” - the way we categorize and limit people based on their appearance - is a fiction. Are we stuck with this falsehood forever? British journalist and television presenter Inaya Folarin Iman believes we can - and must - transcend race.The Equiano ProjectInayaFolarin.comWe Can't Just Oppose Racism: We Must Transcend Race, by Inaya Folarin ImanBlack Lives Matter UK: An AnthologyInaya's Twitter: @InayaFolarinInaya's Instagram: @InayaFolarinIman----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

As America continues to become more racially and ethnically diverse, and our concept of what it means to be American changes, how do we widen our tribe while maintaining a common narrative? Journalist Zaid Jilani shares his thoughts on the future of American identity.Identity Theft, by Zaid JilaniThe Diversity Trap, by Zaid JilaniThe Backchannel podcast, by Zaid Jilani and Leighton WoodhouseZaid's Twitter: @ZaidJilani----------Email: [email protected]: @wwgnpodcast

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