How Do We Fix It?

Support for socialism is surprisingly strong, especially among young Americans, ages 18-29. According to recent polls, they are more likely to have a positive view of socialism than capitalism.Despite socialist economic failures in Venezuela, Africa and Eastern Europe, today's promises of free health care, college loan debt forgiveness, mandatory stock ownership for employees, and guaranteed income look increasingly attractive to a large group of voters in the U.S."Seriously debating socialism gets us talking about a good society really is and the philosophical, economic and political foundations that underlie it," wrote economist Emily Chamlee-Wright this month in The Wall Street Journal.While believing that "competitive and open markets are the answer", Emily tells us in this episode that the debate over socialism allows us to challenge the flawed system of crony capitalism and discuss fundamental moral questions about how our economy is organized.Emily Chamlee-Wright is President and CEO of The Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Human rights have rarely been at greater risk. President Trump and other world leaders are conspicuously silent about torture, the suppression of press freedom and threats to democracy. For the first time in many decades, the U.S. is led by a President who routinely praises foreign dictators, and rarely speaks up for democratic institutions. From the imprisonment of journalists in Turkey and Egypt, widespread torture and killings in Syria, to probable genocide in Myanmar and the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, the worst human rights offenders are able to act with complete impunity. Today's heads of government are "morally weak, shortsighted, mediocre, and no longer willing or able to defend human rights," says this week's "How Do We Fix It?" guest, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the former U.N. Human Rights chief. We find out why it wasn't always this way.In this episode, we look at the need for greater media coverage of human rights, and learn more about some of the world's bravest defenders of the oppressed, including U.N. humanitarian staff who are on the ground in some of the world's most dangerous and difficult places.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is modern technology a force for good or evil? In many countries, digital repression, often powered by artificial intelligence, is a direct threat to freedom and the relationship between citizen and state.China has begun using AI to weaponize social media and mass surveillance in ways that give the Communist government incredible control over what Chinese citizens say and do—and even how they thinkThe Road to Digital Unfreedom: How Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Repression" is the title of a groundbreaking research paper in the Journal of Democracy by Steven Feldstein, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Steve is a Professor at Boise State University and our guest for this episode. "What's surprising to me is just how a few governments are using surveillance to get inside almost every kind of action they might be interested in from certain individuals," Steve tells us. We discuss the coordinated use in China's Xianjong province of DNA readers, facial recognition images, and wifi "sniffers" that can look into laptops and mobile phones. Steve discusses the role of U.S. tech companies in spreading surveillance technology and why this may be a threat to democracy and human rights around the world.Link to article: "How Artificial Intelligence Systems Could Threaten Democracy."Link to article: "Half of the U.S. is Registered in Police Facial Recognition Databases, and They're Completely Unregulated." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angry rhetoric, narrow partisanship, and leaders who appeal only to their base are all reasons why American politics is in urgent need of reform.By huge majorities, the public has a negative view of Congress and believes the system is broken.Our guest, 29-year-old Nick Troiano, Executive Director of Unite America, is a leading voice of the reform movement, who supports changes aimed at reducing gridlock, boosting voter participation, and finding common ground. "We are caught in a democracy that is spiraling in a very negative direction and the question before us is how do we break that," Nick tells us.Among his solutions:- End gerrymandering. Independent commissions, not partisan legislators, would decide the shape Congressional districts.- Ranked-choice voting. Instead of choosing just one candidate, voters would have the option of ranking candidates according to their preference.- Reform primary rules, and allow independents to vote in party primaries.- Campaign finance reform. Allow small donors to have more influence at the expense shadowy "dark money" special interest groups.- Encourage support for The Problem Solvers Caucus and other bipartisan coalitions in Congress and state legislatures.- Voting reform. Expand polling hours, and legalize early and at-home voting.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From dating to switching jobs and managing retirement. We all manage risk. Want to get better at it?The best way to learn is to ask some of the real experts: Magicians, gamblers, big-wave surfers, horse breeders, and prostitutes. That's what economist, journalist and risk advisor Allison Schrager did. She's our guest in this episode.For people faced with risky decisions every day, making the right choices can be the difference between success or failure, and in some cases, life and death. Allison is the author of the new book "An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Learn About Risk." She visited Nevada's Moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel, hung out with paparazzi who stalked celebrities, spoke with movie makers in Hollywood, and went to a risk conference for surfers in Hawaii as part of her extensive research for the book.We learn basic lessons about human psychology as well as hedging, diversification, leverage and insurance. "You take risks to get what you want in life, and you're never going to get what you want without taking risks," says Allison. An Oscar Award-winning documentary is mentioned: "Free Solo," about Alex Honnold's attempt  to become the first person to climb the face of America's most famous rock, the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, without a rope. Also, learn more about Allison's firm, LifeCycle Finance Partners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you depressed when you read the news? The media's rampant negativity, with a daily emphasis on outrage and crisis, is a form of mental pollution that misinforms the public, harms democracy, and leads a distorted view of the world."You Are What You Read", by Jodie Jackson, is a call for reform. Written by a non-journalist, the book looks at the psychological impact of reading endlessly negative news, and shows viewers, listeners and readers how to protect themselves and change their media diet. "We need learn about how problems are being solved, issues being resolved for the sake of our souls," says Jodie in her YouTube video, promoting her book."This is not a call for us to ignore the negative, but rather to not ignore the positive," Jodie tells us. "The most important thing from this research showed that learning about solutions can make us feel more empowered." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At a time of information overload, social media silos and political paralysis, how can all of us be better communicators? In this 200th episode, Richard and Jim share lessons they've learned about listening, asking questions and interviewing guests during nearly four years of "How Do We Fix It?"It's been a fun run, and many more episodes are being planned in the weeks and months come. This week, we discuss the show's origin story and how we've leveraged the intimacy of podcasting to change some of the questions we ask guests and how we record each conversation. We include extracts from past shows to illustrate how to ask better questions. There's also a short blooper real: Examples of questions that should not have been asked!This episode includes some hallmarks of constructive conversations: Focus on facts and evidence, acknowledge and listen to evidence that contradicts your position, and be respectful. Using humor and humility, establishing eye contact, asking brief follow-up questions are also useful techniques. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novelist and journalist John Lanchester's new book "The Wall", imagines a world dealing with catastrophic climate change. Fear of rising sea levels and desperate migrants fleeing from uninhabitable lands have led to the building of a giant concrete wall around an entire island nation that is very much like the U.K.In the novel, Joseph Kavanagh, a new Defender, has one task: to protect his section of the Wall from the Others, the desperate souls who are trapped amid the rising seas outside and are a constant threat. Failure will result in death or a fate perhaps worse: being put to sea and made an Other himself.This is our first episode about a novel, which may help us understand with how individuals and society might react to a world where average annual temperatures have warmed by about 9 degrees F (2 degrees C).Would we panic and be even more fearful or xenophobic than we are today? Would older people, who failed to act on climate change before it was too late, face bitterness and blame from younger generations?"I think it's psychologically very difficult to imagine what climate change would be like," John tells us. It's a very difficult subject to look straight at.. It's not the thing we can get our heads around and easily process." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isolation and loneliness have reached epidemic levels, resulting in a profound loss of social capital. Despite mass communications, the spread of technology and social media, a recent survey found 47% of Americans often felt alone, meaningful connections to others.In this second episode with the author of the new book, "Love Your Enemies", social scientist and president of the American Enterprise Institute, Arthur Brooks, we discuss the need for a stronger sense of community, deeper friendships, and a curiosity for uncomfortable ideas."Without a competition of ideas, which is also known as disagreement, we get stagnation and mediocrity," Arthur tells us. "We don't need to disagree less, we need to disagree better."In this episode, we also discuss the impact of social media on community and status, and what's behind the recent college admissions cheating scandal.This is a joint episode of "How Do We Fix It?" and "Half-Hour of Heterodoxy" podcasts. Jim and Richard are joined by co-host, Deb Mashek, Executive Director of Heterodox Academy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast is an urgent, radical, yet practical response to the crisis of political polarization that is tearing America apart. Instead of mere tolerance and civility, we discuss how and why we should love our enemies.A response is needed to our culture of contempt, where many think of those who they disagree with as bad people. Millions are organizing their social lives and curating their news and information to avoid hearing viewpoints different than their own.The Outrage Industrial Complex-- angry politicians, cable TV and talk radio pundits, campus activists and Twitter trolls-- profits out of making us miserable and wrecking public life. An exhausted majority of Americans is tired of how divided we've become. This show looks at how to fix it.In his new book, "Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America From the Culture of Contempt", best-selling author and social scientist, Arthur Brooks, makes the case for something that is far more life affirming than mere tolerance and civility. He explains a new way to lead based not on attacking others, but on bridging national divides and mending personal relationships."You increase anxiety and stress in your own life when you treat somebody else with contempt," Arthur tells us. "The reason why I talk about love your enemies is because I believe that contempt in our society today is not just a terrible thing that we do, it's also a habit that we're engaged in."The episode is a joint production with "Half Hour of Heterodoxy". Deb Mashek, Executive Director of Heterodox Academy is our co-host. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.