EP 34: The Constitution of Knowledge

How do we arrive at truth? Tara's guest on the podcast today argues that it is through reality-based communities — in government, media, the law, and science and academia — which collectively determine truth through trial and error, rules and norms, and discussion and debate. All together, he calls this system “the constitution of knowledge.”

But this system is under threat, he says, from both the right and the left. On the right, through the flooding of the public sphere with what's called a "fire hose of falsehoods." And on the left, through cancel culture. (You can find his useful cancel culture checklist here.)

Jonathan Rauch is a journalist and author in Washington, D.C. He’s a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. His latest book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth.

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com