Making Peace Visible Why peace stories rarely make the nightly news
Paul Solman, a business, economics, and occasional arts reporter for the PBS NewsHour since 1985, is passionate about bridging the political and cultural divides that Americans face – between right and left, rich and poor, rural and urban, and others. He channels some of that passion into helping run a nonprofit called the American Exchange Project – a domestic exchange program where high school students from across the United States travel to spend a week getting to know and living alongside teens from way outside their own bubbles.
Last year, Solman reported a segment about the American Exchange Project and other efforts to counter polarization, as part of a series reflecting on what led up to the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol. But, he argues the TV news format presents major barriers to telling more stories about peace and reconciliation.
In this episode, Paul Solman and host Jamil Simon discuss why it's so difficult to tell peace stories on TV news. Also: how economic inequality factors into polarization, and the power of youth programs to promote the mindset that “we’re all in this together.”
Watch Paul Solman's Reports:
Political Polarization Prompts Efforts to Bridge the Gap
Why Louisianans blame government, not corporations, for pollution problems
Learn about the American Exchange Project at americanexchangeproject.org.
Follow Paul Solman on Twitter @paulsolman.
Making Peace Visible is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer is Faith McClure. The podcast is a project of War Stories Peace Stories. Follow us on Twitter @warstoriespeace.
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ABOUT THE SHOW
The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. Our associate producer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org
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