The Complexity of Trying to Help the World

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I think nuclear power to me is an amazing example of this, where as I understand it, people in the environmentalist movement who really care about the environment, fought nuclear power so hard that they basically screwed over the environment. But even that idea is complicated because with nuclear, you know, the IAEA says that if we are to get to a zero carbon emission world by 2050,. We'll have to have nuclear in the mix, but it's only going to be about 10%. That to me is like a cautionary tale of the world's too complicated to just assume you know the right answers.

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Besides the need to attract attention, what are some other drivers behind the news media's tendency to "catastrophize the normal"? To what extent does paltering take place on the politically left and right ends of the new media spectrum? Should journalists try to be as objective and unbiased as possible, or should they strive to make a difference in the world by highlighting particular issues that are important to them? Is the US on the verge of a civil war? Are prophecies of civil war self-fulfilling? Is it (and should it be) okay to reference certain taboo phrases by saying them explicitly? To what extent do journalists pull their punches because they fear angering the wrong crowd?

Mike Pesca is host of The Gist, the longest running daily news podcast in history, consistently ranked in Apple's Top 20 Daily News charts. During his 10 years as a correspondent for NPR, Mike guest hosted All Things Considered and the news quiz Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. His work has been featured on This American Life, Radiolab, and Planet Money. He has frequently appeared on MSNBC, CNN, and The PBS Newshour, and written for The Washington Post, The Guardian, GQ, Slate, and Baseball Prospectus. Listen to Mike on The Gist, or follow him on Twitter at @pescami.

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