How Do We Fix It?

Monsanto's controversial Roundup herbicide is the world's top-selling weed killer. But tens of billions of dollars in sales and profits are at stake because of questions about the safety of glyphosate, the product's key ingredient. Does Roundup cause cancer? Is it linked to cases of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma? Are GMO crops allies or enemies in the fight for a more sustainable environment?More than 11,200 lawsuits have been filed, claiming that Roundup causes cancer. A major trial is now underway in federal court in San Francisco. A 70-year-old California man alleges that he got sick because he used Roundup on his property for many years. The trial is hearing a range of opinions. This episode features former Reuters correspondent, investigative journalist, and advocate Carey Gillam-- the author of “Whitewash —The Story of a Weedkiller, Cancer and the Corruption of Science.” Carey's book won the Rachel Carson book award from the Society of Environmental Journalists. We report on the rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases in recent years, and examine calls for transparency, the need for independent, rigorous science, and why European regulators take a different view of pesticides and food safety than U.S. authorities.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn't waste any time getting started in Congress. The first-term Democrat boldly proposed The Green New Deal, one of the most ambitious policy proposals in decades.Precise details are fuzzy, but the broad strokes suggest that the Green New Deal calls on the federal government to ban virtually all fossil fuels, replace most cars and airplanes with trains and other forms of public transportation, build a smart electricity grid, strengthen trade unions, retrofit every building in the country, give everyone free college, free healthcare, and a guaranteed job.But would it prevent climate change? By including a series of highly ambitious left-wing proposals on economic and social policy, is the Green New Deal debate a distraction from constructive efforts to address carbon emissions, pollution and global warming?Our guest, Megan McArdle, is a Washington Post columnist and author of the book "The Upside of Down:Why Failing Well is the Key to Success." She writes about economics, finance and government policy. We discuss a series of proposed solutions, including a carbon tax, massive new government spending on research and development of promising green technologies, and ways to make renewable energy cheaper for consumers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Migration is an emotional, super-charged issue, sparking fierce debates, angry protests and influencing election results around the world. From President Trump's demand for a border wall to the long controversy over Brexit, migration is seen by many as a threat. But movement of people across borders is inevitable, and has always played a major role in economic growth and technological innovation. Today, global migration is at a record high-- up 50% in less than twenty years. An estimated 244 million people, or about 3.3% of the world’s population, were born in one country and now live in another. Often, solutions to the world's problems involve an unsexy truth: Better management. This episode looks at the need for safe, orderly and regular migration. The alternative to international cooperation is often violence and chaos, leading to great human suffering.Our guest is Tolu Olubunmi, host of the podcast, "A Way Home Together: Stories of the Human Journey". Tolu is a global advocate for migrants, refugees, and displaced people. She is a Dreamer, born in Nigeria, who now lives in The United States. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The climate change debate is heating up. Record numbers of people no longer see extreme climate as a distant  threat, but as a crisis that is unfolding right now. According to a Yale survey, "the proportion of Americans who are very worried about global warming has more than tripled since its lowest point in 2011." Despite opposition by activist groups, support for carbon-free nuclear power is growing among climate scientists and environmentalists as they search for ways to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.In this episode, Richard quizzes co-host Jim Meigs, who argues in the latest edition of City Journal that nuclear is the best source of clean, reliable and safe energy.We consider concerns about cost, nuclear waste, power plant safety, and look at what really happened after disasters at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. Jim explains why subsidies for wind and solar have led to the construction of more polluting natural gas plants, instead of no-emission nuclear facilities.Sources cited include an MIT study, "The Future of Nuclear Power", the research and advocacy group,Environmental Progress, and Jim's "City Journal" article. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The American worker is in crisis. Wages have stagnated for several decades. Despite nearly a decade of continuous economic growth and falling unemployment (as defined by official statistics), the percentage of Americans in the workforce is still well below normal levels. For the first time in modern memory, life expectancy has started to fall, as substance abuse and obesity rates rise. Our guest in this episode, Oren Cass, argues that we've abandoned the American worker, and pushed four-college at the cost of other, more effective, solutions.In his widely-praised new book, "The Once and Future Worker",  Oren argues that government policy should emphasize production, not consumption.  His arguments were summarized in The Atlantic."We've become obsessed with consumerism-- measuring everything in terms of consumers and living standards... In the process, we've forgotten that producing stuff is important too.Oren Cass is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. He worked previously the domestic policy advisor for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, and a management consultant at Bain & Company.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Life as a teenager is proving traumatic for Facebook. The social media juggernaut turned 15 this month. The company has gone from being universally celebrated for changing the way we communicate, to a troubled adolescent with serious questions about its entire business model. Critics say Facebook ignored hate speech on its site and played down destructive actions by internet trolls and other bad actors. More than two-thirds of American adults are Facebook users, but surveys show that many more of us are increasingly uncomfortable that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp-- all owned by the same parent company-- know so much about our private lives. Many of us have a conflicted relationship with social media. While disturbed about the lack of transparency and the invasion of privacy, we find it hard to walk away from friends, colleagues and family members who share photos, memories and much more on the world's biggest website.Our guest, "Soonish" podcast host and technology journalist Wade Roush, tells us he is in the process of getting off Facebook. He walks us through what this means and makes the case for why Facebook is not only much too big, but is also a threat to democracy. We examine the case of breaking up Facebook, look at its troubled role overseas, and consider what we can do to push back against the massive power of online tech giants. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The public's faith in journalism is at the lowest point in living memory. A recent Gallup poll for the Knight Foundation found that most U.S. adults said they personally have lost trust in the news media in recent years. More than 9 in 10 Republicans feel this way. The recent uproar over the rush to judgement and media coverage of the Covington Catholic story is the latest damaging controversy. “Boys in Make America Great Again Hats Mob Native Elder at Indigenous Peoples March,” was the first New York Times headline about what happened. But by the next day a much more complex picture began to emerge of what had happened. "The weekend began to take a long, bad turn for respected news outlets and righteous celebrities," wrote Caitlin Flanagan in a long and thoughtful analysis in The Atlantic about why the media "botched" the story.The news business is also reeling from years of job losses and budget cuts. Newsrooms at many local and regional newspapers have been decimated. More newspaper layoffs were announced in recent weeks, while many online journalists are losing their jobs at Buzzfeed and Verizon's media division. Jim and Richard look at journalism's crisis and consider whether readers, viewers and listeners may be partially to blame. We also hear from Aron Pilhofer, professor of Journalism Innovation at the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University, and David Bornstein co-founder of Solutions Journalism Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The longest-ever federal government shutdown and the flawed Presidency of Donald Trump are symptoms of something far deeper: Dysfunction in Washington.In this episode, Philip K. Howard attacks the failed ideologies of Republicans and Democrats, and calls for a radical simplification of government to re-empower Americans in their daily choices. Americans are a practical people, he says. They want government to be practical."Unfortunately, we got this idea in the 1960's that we could solve the problems of human fallibility by just telling everybody how to do everything," Philip tells us. "Rules are the ultimate dictator, and even worse, you can't yell at them."For more than a decade, Philip has been campaigning for a government that works. He is an expert on the effects of modern law and bureaucracy on human behavior. Philip is the author of several books, including the best-seller “The Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America” and, “Try Common Sense: Replacing Failed Ideologies of Left and Right” He’s the founder of Common Good, a nonprofit group with this mission statement "simplify government, put humans back in charge, and cut mindless red tape.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The terrible bloodshed in Syria, Yemen, and other countries at war capture global headlines. But the vast majority of killings in countries around the world are neither the result of warfare nor terrorism. Homicides by gangs, organized crime groups, paramilitary death squads, and ordinary people are the most common cause of violent deaths. More people have died in Mexico in recent years than in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Murder rates in four U.S. cities are higher than in Latin American centers known for their past violence. Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is our guest in this episode. Her new book, "A Savage Order: How the World's Deadliest Countries Can Forge a Path to Security", is an urgent look at how many countries, once overwhelmed by massive violence, have since recovered.What are the specific steps needed to reduce the hugely uneven impact of "privilege violence?" In this episode of "How Do We Fix It?" we look at the vital role played by middle class citizens, who worked to restore widespread trust in democracy and institutions of government that work to protect all of the people. Drawing on fifteen years of study and firsthand field research in many nations, Rachel Kleinfeld, tells us why some democracies are so violent, and how others have reclaimed security. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With a simple Facebook post saying that she wanted to end partisan gerrymandering, Katie Fahey sparked the beginnings of an extraordinary grassroots campaign. Katie is in her late 20's. With neither connections nor deep pockets, she started Voters Not Politicians to change Michigan's State Constitution. Hundreds of thousands of signatures were collected,. The movement pulled off a remarkable feat, winning a ballot measure that will create an independent citizen commission to decide the shape of congressional and state legislature districts. The goal was simple: voters - not politicians or lobbyists - would compromise and draw electoral maps that cannot favor one party or candidate. When the campaign needed money to print petitions and organize meetings, volunteers asked family and friends to contribute. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.