How Do We Fix It?

At a time of social distancing, limited travel and other restrictions to protect public health, we get a nostalgic reminder of the joy of journeys, and infinite variety of America's small cities and towns.This episode was first published in 2018. Our guest, Dar Williams, has been called "one of America's very best singer-songwriters" by The New Yorker. A remarkably well-traveled musician, she tells us how towns and cities can turn themselves around. "What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities" is an impassioned account of the fall and rise of small American towns she cherishes. Dar chronicles practical success stories and challenges, delivering her message with hope and love."The opposite of division is not unity. It is collaboration," says Dar.We discuss the power of positive proximity and how working on local projects together can bring different parts of a community together. Dar speaks of the strength of weak ties and why they help build networks of people who act as stewards for the places that they love. From improving police-community relations in Gainesville, Florida, to the revival of Beacon, New York, we learn of many examples of how communities can succeed and thrive.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Climate change is real, but it's not the end of the world, says our guest, science writer, Michael Shellenberger.He argues in the controversial new book, "Apocalypse Never", that activists use alarmism to describe threats posed by rising levels of carbon in the atmosphere, and are harming the cause of environmentalism. His proposed solutions include support for carbon-free nuclear power, agricultural industrialization, urbanization, and technological innovation. This episode provoked a lively debate. Richard disagrees with the tone and some of the arguments made here. Jim is more supportive. But both of our hosts agree that discussing tough issues with plenty of room for conflicting opinions is an important part of what we do. A self-described eco-modernist, Michael Shellenberger is an author, environmental policy writer, co-founder of Breakthrough Institute, and founder of Environmental Progress.  Recommendation: Richard is reading "In This Together" by Bill Shireman and Tramell Crow, and is following the work of EarthX, a series of conferences that bring together environmental activists, corporate leaders and researchers interested in a more sustainable future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the many impacts of COVID-19 is a sharp decline in travel. In many parts of the world, the virus led to a temporary hold on one of the greatest trends of the modern age: the mass movement of people— from tourists to migrants, expats, asylum seekers, refugees, and IDP’s, internally displaced people. An estimated 244 million people, or about 3.3% of the world’s population, were born in one country and now live in another.Even before COVID hit, The Trump Administration reversed decades of US policy on immigration and refugees, imposing sweeping restrictions on admitting foreign workers, refugees, and students. Business groups sued the Administration over new limits on work visas. Universities and colleges objected to restrictions on foreign students. House Democrats passed a bill to reverse the restrictions.Many see migration as a threat. But for others it’s an opportunity. On this show we re-visit interviews with advocate Tolu Olubunmi, Leonard Doyle the UN migration agency, IOM, and podcaster Ahmed Badr.Tolu Olubunmi, hosted the podcast series, "A Way Home Together: Stories of the Human Journey". She is a global advocate for migrants, refugees, and displaced people. She is a Dreamer, born in Nigeria, who now lives in The United States.Leonard Doyle is a former journalist, and head of media and communications at the UN migration agency IOM. He spoke with Richard about global migration trends, and the need for a better understanding of immigrants and refugees.Ahmed Badr is a 21-year-old author, social entrepreneur and former Iraqi refugee. He is the host of the new podcast series, "Resettled", and founder of Narratio, a digital platform that highlights the creative work of young people across the world.Recommendation: Jim is watching the TV series, Never Have I Ever, airing on Netflix. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve all canceled something. Whether it’s a subscription, a vacation, or a date, cancelling or erasing a person? It seems so brutal. So unforgiving and final.It’s no surprise that cancel culture began on social media. Supporters say they are targeting people, companies and institutions for endorsing systems of racism, inequality, and bigotry. Opponents of cancel culture argue that this form of shaming causes personal injury, stifles debate and is a chilling threat to free speech.In this episode, we speak with opinion columnist Megan McArdle of The Washington Post, who wrote the recent article, "The Real Problem With Cancel Culture." She is also the author of "The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success.” We also discuss the Harper's Letter on open debate, signed by more than 150 academics, journalists and intellectuals, and the resignation of opinion journalist Bari Weiss from The New York Times."One of the arguments you get into is that cancel culture isn't real because there've always been things you couldn't say," Megan tells us. "But now the things you couldn't say are in a much wider range of topics, and a much broader range of things about those topics that you can't say."Recommendation: Richard recommends the news website allsides.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gerrymandering, the partisan process of redrawing political maps to favor one political party over the opposition, is often used unfairly to take power away from many voters. Voters Not Politicians is a highly successful grassroots campaign against gerrymandering in Michigan that began with a simple Facebook post by its young founder, Katie Fahey. The group took on party bosses, won a ballot initiative, and changed state law. This episode discusses how this campaign could be a model for others.  In 2018, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved a citizen-led ballot initiative to create an independent commission to draw up the state’s congressional and legislative maps. This week, a federal court threw out a second attempt by the state Republican Party to over-turn the result. Months from now a new state redistricting commission will be given the job of fairly drawing a legislative map.This episode of "How Do We Fix It?" received funding from Solutions Journalism Network, a non-profit group that trains and connects journalists to cover what's missing in today's news: solutions, and how people are responding to problems.  Recommendation: Jim is reading "Midnight In Chernobyl" by Adam Higginbotham.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America's four most powerful political leaders--President Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell-- are all in their mid-to-late seventies. In this episode, we hear from four 16 to 18 year-olds about the future of American democracy, and why they're committed to working for positive change. Zoë Jenkins, Emmy Cho, Thanasi Dilos, and Noor Mryan are among the 200 inaugural fellows of the new non-partisan, youth-led movement, Civics Unplugged. On July 4th, 2020, they are signing the Civics 2030 Declaration, part of a decade-long campaign to create a better world.  The movement's first annual summit began with Commence 2030, a launch platform and celebration of Gen Z "civic superheroes" who are working on a decade-long set of projects and initiatives aimed at bringing a brighter future for our country's democracy. Senator Cory Booker, Andrew Yang, Steve Balmer, Audrey Tang, the digital minister of Taiwan, and The Rock, retired pro-wrestler Dwayne Johnson, all spoke at the online event. Recommendation: Richard is reading "Why We're Polarized", by Ezra Klein. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. spends far more money on healthcare than any other nation, but has the most confirmed COVID-19 cases. The lax response to the coronavirus crisis exposed many weaknesses in the system, which was less prepared for a pandemic than other nations.  In this episode, we look at what can be learned from other systems around the world. Our guest is the well-known oncologist, bioethicist, and healthcare expert, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, author of the new book, "Which Country Has the World's Best Healthcare?""Every country feels that their healthcare costs are high. Ours are stratospheric," Dr. Emanuel tells us. "Our drug costs are way higher than any other country, but every country is feeling pressure from drug costs."In his book, Dr. Emanuel profiles 11 healthcare systems around the world. From Taiwan to Germany, Australia to Switzerland, healthcare providers tackle a global set of challenges, in pursuit of better healthcare solutions.  Recommendation: Our producer, Miranda Shafer, is reading the novel, Writers and Lovers, by Lily King. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"The Covid-19 pandemic reveals that far from living in an age of incessant technological change, we have been neglecting innovation in exactly the areas where we most need it." So writes our podcast guest, best-selling author Matt Ridley.We discuss the urgent concept raised in his latest book, "How Innovation Works, And Why It Flourishes in Freedom."As Viscount Ridley, Matt was elected to the UK House of Lords in 2013. His TED Talk, "When Ideas Have Sex" has been viewed more than two million times. His books, including, "The Rational Optimist", have sold more than one million copies.Matt Ridley argues that we need to change the way we think about innovation, to see it as a bottom-up, incremental process, rather than a top-down event that develops according to plan. He also explains the fundamental difference between innovation and invention."Trial and error is the secret sauce of innovation," Matt tells us. "Again and again and again if you talk to great innovators they stress the importance of trial and error." We also look at how to improve public policy to allow innovation to flourish. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The massive wave of protests in hundreds of towns and cities across America and in many other countries were sparked by outrage, pain and grief over the killing of George Floyd, and countless incidents of racism against African-Americans.We've all been surprised by the events of the past few weeks. They've forced many of us to question our core beliefs about the political system, public morality, and the distribution of power. For this episode, we looked for someone who could talk about race from a personal, practical, and original viewpoint Our guest is writer and podcaster, Coleman Hughes, a recent graduate of Columbia University, who has testified before Congress, and written articles for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Quillette, and other outlets. Coleman was recently named as a Manhattan Institute fellow."If we are just going to live in what's comfortable you might as well not think at all", says Coleman, in response to chants, demands and slogans at Black Lives Matter demonstrations."When your pride becomes tied up in identity the temptation becomes irresistible to lie about any fact that doesn't paint your group in a positive light, and then we lose touch with enormous issues."In this episode, we discuss police corruption, crime and punishment, and racist attacks in communities of color.Recommendation: Richard is following The Fulcrum, a digital news organization, focused on efforts to reverse dysfunctions in American democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The nation is again facing the deep pain of racial injustice. The recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor reverberated across the country, sparking widespread protests in many cities. These cases were only the latest on a very long list of attacks and murders of African-American men and women. They resulted in public outrage, some violent incidents, and many calls for police reforms.In this special episode, we share the latest podcast of "Let's Find Common Ground," a new series of episodes with public leaders that explore points of agreement in this divided time.  To gain some insight on what can be done to address discrimination and tensions between races, we speak with R&B and blues musician Daryl Davis, a black man who has spent the past 35 years on a remarkable quest of speaking with, and at times befriending, members of white supremacist groups. He has helped more than 200 KKK members to renounce their racist ideology."We have to ask ourselves the question: do I want to sit back and see what my country becomes, or do I want to stand up and make my country become what I want to see," Daryl tells us. "I've chosen the latter. And so you have to get into the thick of it."As a race conciliator and lecturer, Davis has received numerous awards and is often sought by CNN, MSNBC, NPR and other media outlets as a consultant on race relations and white supremacy. For more information, visit www.DarylDavis.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.