What Now? with Trevor Noah If I Ruled the World: Tressie McMillan Cottom Throws Down [VIDEO]
Jun 5, 2025
Tressie McMillan Cottom, a MacArthur fellow and best-selling sociologist, joins an insightful discussion on societal innovations. They tackle the challenges of 'shittification' in corporate culture, revealing how profit-driven motives impact employee well-being. The conversation humorously examines the complexities of public discourse, advocating for a balance between free speech and responsible communication. Cottom pushes for a national service requirement to nurture empathy and address the struggles of service workers, emphasizing the importance of human connection in today's society.
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Limit Online Word Contribution
- Limit people's monthly word count online to reduce overwhelming public discourse.
- Impose income-weighted fines for exceeding word limits to discourage excessive posting.
Limits Won't Stop Paid Influence
- Disinformation exploits binary memes to inflame societal divisions.
- Capping word counts won't stop influence bought by powerful entities or bots.
Politics Inspired Influencer Economy
- Political campaigns pioneered influencer economics later adopted by the music industry.
- Social media virality is often manufactured through paid influencers bypassing traditional media.