How Do We Fix It?

We live in a time of suspicion and mistrust. What is this costing all of us in lost productivity, creativity and shared humanity? Isn't there a better way to design our organizations and systems? A recent Pew Research poll found that a majority of Americans believe that most people just look out for themselves, and that they would take advantage of you if they got the chance."We’ve internalized the assumption that humans can’t be trusted, and therefore, that we all need to be constrained and coerced into doing the right thing, pretty much all the time," wrote our guest, technology consultant, futurist and thinker Jerry Michalski, in a recent blog post.And yet, there are examples of systems designed from trust that work surprisingly well. - Anyone can edit and make changes to Wikipedia pages. Most of us rely on this open-source online encyclopedia for accurate information. - Micro loans go to people of very limited means, who should be terrible credit risks. But their default rates are lower than for conventional loans.  - Netflix has no limit on vacation time and days off. The only guidance to employees that they act ethically and Netflix’s Best Interests. - The international, self-supporting fellowship, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), is also highly successful group that is designed from trust. "It turns out that on average people are more trustworthy than we think they are," says Jerry. "Wikipedia has discovered this as have many, many other kinds of services." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most of America's deadliest mass killings have happened within the last ten years. The deaths of more than 30 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, have led to renewed demands for federal background checks and gun violence restraining orders, or "red flag" laws.America is also facing a growing crisis of violent extremism and white nationalist terrorism. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are under pressure to expand their investigations.In testimony before Congress, FBI Director Christopher Wray, said white supremacy poses a “persistent” and “pervasive” threat to the United States.In this episode, we look at a range of solutions, with the understanding that no single proposal is likely to lead to a dramatic reduction in domestic terrorism, mass shootings, gun homicides, or racial hatred.We hear from James Burnett, Editorial Director of The Trace, an independent news site that covers America's gun violence crisis. He explains that the U.S. has the highest homicide rate among all industrialized countries, but that only 2% of all deaths are in mass shootings. Critics of President Trump say his harsh language and repeated claims of an "hispanic invasion" have contributed to fear and violence. Bob Spitz, author of “Reagan: An American Journey” tells us about some important lessons to be learned from President Reagan’s style of leadership. And we repeat part of Gregg Easterbrook's argument on "How Do We Fix It?" that pretending everything is awful, when many things for most people have never been better, "keeps Americans in an endless state of depression and anxiety, preventing reforms such as gun regulation". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our democracy has become a punching bag. From Russian hacking and hate-filled tweets, to demands for impeachment and increasingly nasty political infighting, our public conversation is increasingly narrow, dispiriting and disempowering.According to Pew Research, trust in government is near historic lows. Most Americans believe that declining trust in our public institutions and in each other make it harder to solve key problems. A new poll says 75% of Americans say trust in government is shrinking, while 64% say this is also true for each other-- suggesting we have become more fearful and suspicious.Our guest, Debilyn Molineaux, Executive Director and co-founder of Bridge Alliance, says it's time to restore the nation's social contract. Her organization works to transform the political process by finding new and effective ways to bridge divides in our politics and among our families and local communities. Find out more in this episode.Bridge Alliance has more than 80 member organizations. Including All Sides, Common Good, headed by Philip K Howard, Living Room Conversations, Citizen University and Unite America… All groups we’ve interviewed on “How Do We Fix It?” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump's tweets that four minority Democratic congresswomen should “go back” to the countries they came from, and chants of "send her back" at his rally in North Carolina provoked outrage and disgust from his critics. American politics appear trapped in a spiral of toxic fury, and this angry mix may precisely match the pugilistic President's preference as he wades into the 2020 campaign.Our guest, opinion writer and author, Daniel Akst argues that Trump's clear, simple story on the economy, trade with China, and immigration that may appeal to many voters.Despite the President's negative poll ratings, and a chaotic White House, Democrats are having a miserable summer, with a stumbling frontrunner and the rise of the hard left. "They have found themselves in reaction to this horrible man moving ever further from any constraints on immigration of any kind, says Daniel. "I don't think that will play with the voters."  We discuss the crisis, look for solutions, and consider whether the quality of debate will improve when the Democrats pick their nominee. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Social media is under fire for how it threatens our society, our politics, even our mental health.Facebook, Google, Twitter and other tech giants are criticized for spying on us and using secret algorithms to push us toward extreme views.Civic Hall is a key player in a growing movement to use technology to better the world-- what people are calling "civic tech".Our guest, Micah Sifry, co-founder and President of Civic Hall, is a longtime advocate for transparency, better government, and using tech for social change. "The problems that we face as a society are not going to be solved by tech alone," he says. Most of the problem-solving work that we see and support at Civic Hall is, at most, 20% tech and 80% social." In this episode we highlight the work of several groups, including Code For America, which is on a mission to make government work in the digital age, and Ushahidi, an organization that builds tools to solve the world's biggest humanitarian and international development challenges. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colleges and universities can play a virtual role in the moral, intellectual and spiritual development of a student’s life. But there is a growing mismatch between the culture of many campuses, and the challenges young people will face in their careers, politics and personal lives.Author and columnist David Brooks suggested solutions in his stirring speech, “How a University Shaped My Soul”, given at the recent annual conference of Heterodox Academy. He spoke about the life lessons he learned as an undergraduate at The University of Chicago.“Our professors taught us intellectual courage. There is no such thing as thinking for yourself,” he said. “Even the words we think with are collective things, and most of us don’t think for truth, we think for bonding.”Brooks surprised his audience by praising students who challenge their professors, saying “on balance, it’s a good thing.”Since 2003, David Brooks has been an op-Ed columnist at The New York Times. He is an executive director at the Aspen Institute, a commentator on PBS Newshour, and author of the new book, “The Second Mountain." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will the Catholic Church's sexual abuse crisis ever end? Nearly 18 years since the Boston Globe's Spotlight investigation's shocking revelations, U.S. bishops and The Vatican still struggle to hold the church fully accountable for decades of criminal wrongdoing.Last year's Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report revealed that over 1,000 children had been abused by Catholic priests across six dioceses over seven decades. A new Pew Research Survey finds that a large majority of American Catholics think abuse by clergy is still happening. This episode looks at the crisis from a unique perspective. Maggi Van Dorn, a Catholic committed to healing the Church from the inside, hosts "Deliver Us", a frank and remarkable series of podcasts that spoke with survivors of abuse, advocates and church experts. "The Church is marred in a really ugly way," Maggi tells us. "As a member of this family, it's really incumbent on me to work for reform."We discuss solutions, such as the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, the campaign to get justice for survivors, calls for greater transparency, and a stronger role for women in the leadership of the Church. Listen to "Deliver Us" here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lot of politicians like to say that there are “two Americas,” but do any of them know what life is really like for the marginalized poor?We speak with journalist and photographer, Chris Arnade, about the forgotten towns and people of back row America. In 2011, Chris left a high-powered job as a bond trader on Wall Street, hit the road, and spent years documenting the lives of poor people, driving 150 thousand miles around the U.S.His new book is "Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America." In his many columns in The Guardian, Chris writes about broken social systems that have betrayed poor people on the margins of society. He speaks to us about drug addicts and prostitutes he met, and their faith, resilience and ties to community."I think if I had one suggestion to policy people, it would be get out of your bubble," says Chris. "I think when you blame a group of people for their behavior, without addressing the situation they find themselves in, then you are doing it wrong."In this episode we explore the stark division between elite, globalized "front row kids" in the media and knowledge industries, and most of the poor and working-class people in the back row. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"Twitter is like the crystal meth of social media," says our guest, University of Tennessee Law Professor, Glenn Reynolds, founder of the popular political blog, Instapundit.  Twitter "is addictive and ultimately unsatisfying."In this episode we look at why social media is poisoning our politics, journalism and relationships by stoking anger, fear, hyper-partisanship and distrust of others. We ask: "how do we fix it?" "Social media is addictive by design. The companies involved put tremendous amounts of thought and effort into making it that way, so that people will be glued to their screens," writes Glenn in his new book, "The Social Media Upheaval." In our podcast, he cites the work of Columbia University Professor Tim Wu, author of "The Curse of Bigness", who warns about the dangers of excessive corporate and industrial concentration. Glenn is sympathetic to calls to break up social media giants and reign in their political and commercial power.Among other solutions discussed are greater transparency, such as publishing details of algorithms used by Twitter, Facebook, Google and other big internet firms to keep us on their sites. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Climate change has never been a leading issue in a Presidential election campaign-- until now. A recent poll found that 82% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters said it’s “very important” that their party’s nominee supports taking “aggressive action” to reduce the effects of climate change.2020 could be the climate election. All of the leading Democratic candidates are calling for legislative action, and even many leading Republicans are changing their messaging and how they discuss pollution and the impact on climate.But the environmental politics can cut both ways. While the recent European Parliament election results were a win for green parties, Australia's conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison won a surprise victory, while resisting calls to sharply reduce carbon emissions and coal production.In this episode, we revisit our interview with for GOP Member of Congress Bob Inglis, who argues that while Donald Trump and fellow Republicans are part of the problem, they must be part of any solution. This small-government Christian conservative from South Carolina believes in a free-market answer to climate change. He supports a revenue-neutral carbon tax, combined with a cut in FICA - the fee paid by workers to pay for Social Security and Medicare.We are launching a Patreon supporters account. Please send us your thoughts about goodies we should offer and what you think is important about the show. Email daviescontent@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.