How Do We Fix It?

Anti-lock brakes make many motorists drive faster. Introducing helmets and face masks in football raised the risk of concussions. Financial regulators and central bankers played a role in creatingconditions that led to the 2008 mortgage meltdown.The illusion of safety can lead to reckless behavior.These fascinating insights are part of "Foolproof - Why SafetyCan Be Dangerous and How Danger Makes Us Safe", the recentlypublished book by Greg Ip, chief economics commentator at The WallStreet Journal."Life is about risk," Greg tells us in this episode of "How DoWe Fix It?" When we believe the world is safe, it affects ourbehavior. "Many positive things happen from taking risks and weshould not let the pendulum swing all the way to the other side -trying to eliminate all risks from our lives."Our collective aim to make life safer comes into conflict withthe equally strong desire to make things bigger and morecomplicated. It is in our nature to safeguard our world - and yetsometimes, more often than we realize, protections end up being thethings that threaten our safety and well-being.Accidents will always happen, says Greg. Among the solutions hecalls for are safe spaces: allowing banks to fail without takingdown the entire financial system and creating flood plains that allrivers and coastal waters to rise without creating havoc in nearbycommunities.Greg argues for a balance between independence, risk and safety.Regulate too much and we reduce the opportunities for innovationand create a sense of potential complacency. "Black swan" eventsare inevitable. Our systems of governance and rule-making shouldrecognize that we cannot plan for every eventuality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before The U.S. and other nations can be successful againstIslamic State (ISIS) and other global jihadists, we must understandthe difference between Islam and Islamism. That's the argument fromour guest on this week's episode, Maajid Nawaz."It happens to be that today we are dealing with an insurgencythat's rising and growing within my own Muslim community," he says.It doesn't help to deny it."A Sunni Muslim and a former Islamist fundamentalist, who isfounding chairman of the London-based counter-terrorism foundation,Quilliam, Maajid makes a powerful argument for freedom, toleranceand respect.He says that President Obama and many other liberal-mindedpoliticians and journalists have been reluctant to call Islamistideology by its proper name. "Here's where people become paralyzedby political correctness," he argues. "We are unable to say'Islamist extremism' as distinct from Islam the religion.""I call this the Voldemort affect," citing the villain in theHarry Potter books and movies. Maajid compares the refusal to speakout against Islamists to those in the novels who were so petrifiedby Lord Voldemort's evil that they simply called him "he who mustnot be named.""We're not talking about Islam the faith we're talking aboutpoliticalization of the faith."Maajid Nawaz is author of the book “Radical: My Journey Out ofIslamist Extremism.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We'd like to think that science should exist outside of politics and researchers follow the truth wherever it goes. But the ideal of rational non-ideological science is under attack at many colleges and universities, says our guest, Alice Dreger. An historian who studies human sexuality and the ethics of medical research, Alice is the author of the provocative new book, "Galileo's Middle Finger." "I'm really looking at how activists go after scientists who have ideas that the activists don't like - usually about human identity," she tells us. Unsurprisingly perhaps, this show includes explicit content, including a description of a sex act. But the main focus is about the threat to academic freedom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the dry prairies of Southeast Oregon by members a small militia group is the most recent chapter in the very long-running dispute over land in The West. Our guest is environmental historian Nancy Langston, author of “Where Land and Water Meet. A Western Landscape Transformed.” In some western states the Federal Government owns more than half the land. This set the stage for impassioned arguments between ranchers, conservationists, corporate interests, local communities and native American tribes. All have a role to play. As for the seizure of government property, "there is very, very little local support for the militia's tactics for this kind of violent anarchy," Nancy Langton told us on this episode. "They have nothing to do with this region and I don"t think there are many local ranchers or anybody else in the community who approve of their methods." But there is considerable support for changing the way federal lands are managed and giving local interests a greater role. Some believe that land should be turned over to state and local control. Langston says collaboration and respect for different interests are the only ways to solve the disputes. We examine the arguments in this "Fix It" episode and suggest solutions. The Malheur example is more important than the case of the Hammonds, the two Harney County ranchers who were sent back to prison. The argument is part of a national debate over increasing federal government power, especially during the past 40 years, since new environmental regulations were established by the Nixon Administration. The occupiers claimed that government discriminated against local ranchers, who use federal land for cattle grazing. Is there merit to their argument, or do ranchers get over-generous subsidies from taxpayers to raise livestock on the public's land? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's easy to make resolutions to improve our lives, but how do we boost our chances of following through? The first two guests on this New Year's Resolutions special are Dave McRaney of the podcast, "You Are Not So Smart" and Dr. Peter Whybrow,Director of the Semel Institute at U.C.L.A., author of The Well-Tuned Brain: Neuroscience And The Life Well Lived."Dave dives in to confirmation bias, when we seek out information that confirms our world view, rather than challenging ourselves with the truth. Peter says we often make short-term choices that conflict with our best long-term interests.Instant gratification is often the enemy of a balanced budget. Beverly Harzog lived through her own personal crisis of bad debt and now helps people repair their credit. She explains how she got into credit card debt and how you can get out of it. She has more helpful information at her website, BeverlyHarzog.comFarnoosh Torabi, host of the popular podcast, "So Money,"gave us creative ideas on how to make more money and preserve your wealth by being your own best financial advocate.Many people make major mistakes when purchasing home, life, auto or health insurance. While some don't have enough coverage, others buy duplicate insurance.  Laura Adams, host of the "Money Girl" podcast and a spokesperson for insurancequotes.com says the cost of term life insurance may be much cheaper than you think.If you plan to buy or rent a home in 2016, Nela Richardson, Senior Economist with the real estate website, Redfin, has some useful tips.  Jeff Koyen, Editor-in-Chief of talks about the importance of getting enough sleep. He gives us some creative ideas on improving our sleeping lives.All of the sound bites in this episode are from earlier shows.  Check out our menu of guests a howdowefixit.me Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to get of sense of what we're about, this highlights show may be a good place to start. We've put together a "best of" podcast that reflects our values and makes the argument for why we're worth listening to. From Episode 4, released in June, reformer Philip K. Howard made the case for better government and simpler, shorter laws, instead of all the red tape and tangled mess that we have today. In his Ted Talk lecture and his latest book, “The Rule of Nobody,” Philip argues passionately for legal and government reform. Not many parents can say their lives were changed by an uneventful subway ride. Lenore Skenazy, our guest in Episode 20, tells us about the uproar that followed her decision to let her 9-year-old son ride the subway on his own.  Her column about it led to the movement, "Free Range Kids."Other guests on this highlights show include Hara Marano of Psychology Today, who says there's a mental health crisis on American college campuses and Greg Lukianoff spoke to us in September. His groundbreaking article in The Atlantic alerted us to why trigger warnings are part of a threat to free speech at colleges.Mike Rowe of "Dirty Jobs' and "Somebody's Gotta Do It" fame on CNN made the case for a change in emphasis in education, giving greater pride of place to training and knowledge about skilled trades occupations.  Our best of 2015 also includes an excerpt from Episode 13, a show every parent should listen to. Elizabeth Green, author of "Building a Better Teacher," argues for teacher training reform and understanding the importance of the craft of teaching. University of Tennessee Law Professor Glenn Reynolds who runs the popular blog, Instapundit.com, was on Episode 10, talking about his proposal for a revolving door surtax. The aim is reduce influence peddling by current and former government officials in Washington D.C.  All of our guests came armed with thoughtful, constructive and independent ideas with the aim of making the world a better place. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We love our smartphones, tablets, and laptops. But what is the explosion in mobile technology doing to our brains?Our guest, Professor Abigail Baird,is a developmental psychologist,expert on the teenage brain and mother of two young children. She says technology has great benefits, but also could have a negative impact on our conversations, memory and social life. The brain's craving for novelty - for constant stimulation and instant gratification - makes our tech toys seem irresistible. So how do we put balance in our lives?Abigail's fixes include time-out zones and no-screen places and events. Parents, she says, "should consider what is best for their families. For instance, I love the idea of 'no phone in the car.'"Another tip for parents is to beware of tethering - when college students sometimes call home at least several times a day."Hard as it is for parents, once kids head off to college, they really need to rely on their interpersonal networks at school, not calling home." Another fix: "As adults we have to set good examples to our children and not get too attached to our own screens." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From angry scenes over Halloween costumes at Yale to protests against racism at the University of Missouri, student activism is back.  More than at any time since the late 1960's, America is in the middle of a wave of college unrest.  To what extent do students today have genuine grievances? Are at least some of them rebels without a cause - angry because their feelings have been hurt?  “Step by step colleges are being transformed into something more akin to mental health wards rather than citadels of learning,” says our guest, Hara Marano, Editor at Large of Psychology Today and author of the book, "A Nation of Wimps".   While calls for greater diversity among college professors are an important cause, Marano tells us of fundamental changes in the student population.  "Rising numbers of students are breaking down with anxiety and depression, self-mutilation, burning, cutting, binge drinking to obliterate all of their anxiety," says Marano. "Even the slightest disappointment pitches them into crisis mode." "The American College Mental Health Association has been documented rises in all of these conditions." Many students "get so distressed so readily." Are many young people over-protected and even narcissistic, demanding protection from ideas and concepts they find too uncomfortable to listen to?  This episode digs into these questions, suggesting fixes for colleges and parents.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Paris to San Bernardino, terrorist attacks have sparked an outcry from many politicians in Europe and the U.S. - including calls for new controls on immigration, refugees and the free movement of labor across national borders.The leading Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, called for a total and complete ban on Muslims entering the United States.Our guest in episode 29, Peter Coy, Economics Editor for Bloomberg Businessweek, makes a strong case for more - not less - immigration, as well as a greater exchange of ideas across the boundaries that divide us."One of the treasures of democracy is freedom of thought, freedom of action, freedom of movement," says Peter. "In putting up walls we actually lose what we treasure the most." The 28-state European Union has been a triumph for economic growth and a peaceful transition from the wreckage of World War 2."You can drive from France into Switzerland without even pumping the brakes at the border," Peter told us. "This has been hugely beneficial to Europe, creating a single Europe with more trade, wealth and commerce than we would have." Europe is the top destination for U.S. exports, but many economists see a big cost to the economy and to our culture from erecting new barriers in the name of safety. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can we get more sleep? If you have at least seven hours of interrupted sleep each night, consider yourself very lucky indeed. Problems with sleep are remarkably widespread. Many millions of adults and children either don't spend enough time in bed or suffer from sleep disorders, resulting in illness, obesity, depression, mood swings and loss of creativity.Our guest is Jeff Koyen, Editor-in-Chief of Van Winkle's, a new website "obsessed with sleeping, waking and everything in between. He shares the stories of scientists, artists, travel writers, child-care experts and many others who have a great deal to tell us about how we do - and don't - sleep."Sleep is a very complicated issue that touches probably everyone you know. It's not just adults," says Jeff. "We're talking about teenagers have sleep issues, even children."Smartphones, tablets and other devices have made the problem even worse. "Ten years ago, five years ago you were not taking your phone with you to bed."We look at fixes and what science tells us about how to get a better night's sleep. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.