How Do We Fix It?

We are in a stunning moment for our country. A hoard of rioters invaded our nation’s seat of government to try to overturn an election. Many of them appear to have been motivated by false and inflammatory statements by President Trump, and under the sway of wild online conspiracy theories. In response, our leading tech platforms have tried to silence Trump and shut down many of the channels where his most extreme supporters communicate. Is this the correct approach? Should Congress and the Biden Administration impose new regulations on big tech companies? How should free speech be protected?We discuss these questions and more with Nadine Strossen, who has written, taught, and advocated extensively in areas of constitutional law and civil liberties. From 1991 to 2008, she was President of the ACLU— the nation's largest and oldest civil liberties organization."The First Amendment is only a constraint on the government's censorial power," Nadine tells How Do We Fix It? "Facebook and Twitter are themselves protected by the First Amendment in making editorial decisions."Recommendation: Jim is reading "Hamilton", the biography of Alexander Hamilton by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow.How Do We Fix It? is a proud member of the Democracy Group podcast network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just before the 2020 election, pundits predicted that Latino Americans would overwhelmingly vote for Joe Biden. And it’s true—Latino voters do tilt Democratic. But Donald Trump won a greater share of Latino votes in some states and large cities than he did in 2016. Because of decades of investment and political courtship, as well as a nuanced and varied cultural identity, the Republican party has had a much longer and stronger bond with Hispanics than many political commentators realize. In this episode, we speak with historian and Latino and Latina studies professor Geraldo Cadava about the findings of his recent book, "The Hispanic Republican".In the wake of the recent assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, we also look at the hazards of putting large groups of voters in a box or describing their political behavior in simple terms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The storming of the U.S. Capitol building by an angry mob of Trump supporters was a dark day in American history and a shock to people around the world. Images of looting and anarchy in the proud place where Congress has met for over 200 years, provoked profound despair and led many to question the stability of American democracy. The insurrection brought shame to President Trump, who incited a crowd to march on the legislative branch of government.In this special episode recorded the day after the chaos at The Capitol, we speak with political scientist Lee Drutman of New America, about the political causes of this violent outburst, and what reforms are needed to heal our democracy. "This has been a tremendous wake-up call for a lot of people," Lee told us. "We are really in a fight for the continuation of American democracy."Lee is the author of the book, "Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America", and co-host of the podcast, "Politics in Question". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the start of 2020, the world first became aware of COVID-19. This show looks at what we have learned about the global pandemic since then. In early February, Richard spoke face-to-face with epidemiologist Kylie Carlville of the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, during a visit to Melbourne, Australia. This recording was made just as scientists were beginning to understand the nature of the outbreak and before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.In the spring, we interviewed Samson Ellis of Bloomberg News about Taiwan's remarkable success in fighting the spread of the virus. In late December, the number of deaths in Taiwan from COVID was 7, with only 766 recorded cases. Total US cases were more than 18 million.In June, oncologist, bioethicist, and healthcare expert, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, explained the global lessons to be learned from the crisis. He wrote the recently published book, “Which Country Has the World’s Best Healthcare?”This episode also includes practical lessons about public healthcare from physician and CEO Doctor Vivian Lee. And we went in pursuit of wisdom and discovery with journalist  Eric Weiner, author of the new book, “The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons From Dead Philosophers". We discuss what ancient philosophy can teach us about living in a time of hardship.Recommendations: Richard's favorite book of 2020 was "Apeirogon", a novel by Irish writer, Colum McCann and the Netflix comedy series "Call My Agent." Jim recommends the subscription site substack.com, a site for independent thinkers who write newsletters on a wide range of topics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his ambitious climate plan, President-elect Biden promises that by 2050 the United States will reach net-zero carbon emissions.A groundbreaking new study from energy experts at Princeton University outlines five different pathways for how to reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, using existing technology, and at costs aligned with historical average spending on energy. The research is the first to quantify and map in specific detail the infrastructure that would be needed to achieve this goal.Our guests are Jesse Jenkins and Eric Larson, two principal investigators on the study. Jesse is an engineering professor, and Eric is a senior research engineer. Both work at Princeton's Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment and have conducted extensive research on ways to produce clean energy."We wanted to paint several different pictures that are quite different from each other to illustrate there are many different ways to get to net-zero," Eric tells us. The study makes it clear that while reaching this goal is challenging, it also would bring many environmental, public health and economic benefits, including millions of new jobs and less pollution. Recommendation: Jim has enjoyed watching "Fantastic Fungi", an entertaining and highly inventive documentary on Amazon Prime about a world that lives beneath our feet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Despite the tragedy, suffering and economic losses of COVID, there are silver linings for many families in the current crisis. Recent lockdowns have a bright side for teens. A new survey says they're spending more time with their parents, getting extra sleep, and suffering from lower levels of clinical depression.Our guest, New York psychoanalyst, parent coach, and author Erica Komisar, wrote in The Wall Street Journal "it has taken a pandemic to prove that it's possible to integrate work into our personal lives, as many millions of parents are now working from home. "Everyone wins— maternity-leave advocates who have been fighting for this arrangement for years, employers, mothers and children most of all." In lockdowns, Erica tells us, "children are getting a great deal more of their parents' time and attention and energy than they have previously.' In this episode, we also discuss why the findings of her book, "Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters" challenge both liberals and conservatives. We look at the case for extended paid maternity leave, and the potential emotional costs of daycare for infants and toddlers.Recommendation: Jim is listening to "Missing in Alaska", a podcast by journalist Jon Walczak about a 50-year-old mystery of a plane disappearance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a remarkable time for science. Vaccines to fight COVID-19 have been developed with surprising speed and are reported to be more than 90% effective against the virus.  Dramatic progress has also been made in the quest to overhaul and improve America's space program. Recent innovations and reusable rockets have dramatically cut the cost of space launches. Vaccine research and space innovation are examples of public-private partnerships between government and businesses. Neil deGrasse Tyson, America’s most prominent spokesman for science and the Director of New York City’s Hayden Planetarium, talks about the benefits to us all of having a cosmic perspective, the case for human space flight, and lessons learned from his best-selling book, "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry." We also discuss "We're Living in a New Space Age," in the new issue of Commentary Magazine, written by our co-host, Jim Meigs. A public-private partnership, with Elon Musk of Space X in a key role, is producing results, as "successive presidential administrations have backed NASA'S market-oriented innovators," writes Jim. Recommendation: Richard is watching "Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than ever, we need to fight fake news and misinformation by getting out of our filter bubbles. A bitterly contested election at a time of political paralysis and partisan bickering makes the case for change even more urgent.In this episode, we look at the groundbreaking work of AllSides.com, which shines a light on media bias by offering readers a selection of daily news stories from publications that tilt left, right or center.Our guests are AllSides founder and CEO John Gable, and the site’s director of product, Samantha Shireman.AllSides is an increasingly popular media destination with many millions of page views that aims to strengthen democracy with balanced news and diverse perspectives. Today's recommendation: Richard is reading "Apeirogon", a novel by the Irish writer, Colum McCann. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the days since the 2020 election, political distrust and anxiety have only deepened. But divided government and very narrow majorities for both parties in Congress might present an opportunity for bipartisan solutions on several major issues. President-elect Biden has talked about his vision of an America that is "unified, strengthened, and healed." In this episode we discuss the case for compromise with two Members of Congress, one Republican and one Democrat. Both are members of Problem Solvers Caucus, a group of 25 members of each party who work together across rigid partisan divides. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, the U.S. Representative for Virginia's 7th Congressional District, won a second term in an area narrowly won by Donald Trump. Two days after the election she spoke out against messaging used by progressives, telling fellow House Democrats that talk of socialism and defunding the police nearly led to her defeat.  Brian Fitzpatrick is a Republican Member of Congress, representing Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District. A moderate who distanced himself from Donald Trump, Fitzpatrick won re-election by a wide margin.Recommendation: Jim is reading the forthcoming book, "Inferno, The True Story of a B-17 Gunner's Heroism and the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History" by Joe Pappalardo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Days after the historic 2020 election, final results are still coming in. But some lessons of the vote are becoming clear. On this episode, our hosts, Richard and Jim, discuss the five lessons they learned. 1. The system is working - so far. Despite the slow pace of counting, election day was met with massive enthusiasm by voters from all sides.2. Reform opinion polls - They were wrong again. Polls in Florida, Texas and Wisconsin are among the worst examples. Many polls under-counted Trump voters.3. Stop Generalizing! The Latino vote is much more complex than many assume. Faulty generalizations are also made about the influence of money in campaigns. 4. The Woke Counter Rebellion Has Begun.Despite Trump’s unpopularity with moderates, he did better than expected. Many voters may be put off by violence in Portland, progressive calls to defund the police, and higher taxes. 5. Character Counts.  Joe Biden made this an election about character and decency. He understood the electorate better than most politicians.Jim and Richard have some lively disagreements, but they find common ground on some big election controversies.Recommendation: Richard is listening to "Uncivil War", the new album by blues singer, Shemekia Copeland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.