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 mil...
Feb 28, 2019•21 min•Ep. 194
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 g...
Feb 21, 2019•27 min•Ep. 193
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 ...
Feb 15, 2019•29 min•Ep. 192
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 o...
Feb 07, 2019•25 min•Ep. 191
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 Ne...
Jan 31, 2019•25 min•Ep. 190
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 p...
Jan 25, 2019•26 min•Ep. 189
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 cent...
Jan 17, 2019•32 min•Ep. 188
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 ...
Jan 10, 2019•26 min•Ep. 187
In a year of crazy politics, disdain for the views of experts, and deep partisan divisions, we look beyond anger and fear stoked by cable TV, talk radio and social media to learn eight deeper lessons of where we are today and in what direction we are headed. Here are the eight “Fix It” takeaways as we head into 2019. Warning: Some are hopeful! 1. “Women just aren’t going to take it anymore.” We discuss the growing power of women in politics, entertainment and hear why workplace programs to stop ...
Dec 28, 2018•25 min•Ep. 186
America is facing a reading crisis. According to a government survey the number of adults who read for pleasure has fallen by more than 30% in less than 15 years. Another recent study found that Americans watch an average of three hours of TV a day, compared to less than half-an-hour spent reading. "Reading is seeing the world through someone else's eyes", says Professor Joseph Luzzi of Bard College , our guest in this episode. "Social media is a mirror," says Joseph. "You look into it and your ...
Dec 21, 2018•24 min•Ep. 185
The high stakes show-down between the U.S. and China on tariffs, trade and cyber security threatens to disrupt the global economy. Growing tensions were temporarily put on pause during a recent meeting at the Group of 20 summit between President Trump and China's leader Xi Jinping. But many long-term challenges remain. Relations with China are the most important foreign policy issue. The Trump Administration imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods and has pushed back against China's tra...
Dec 13, 2018•26 min•Ep. 184
What you think is true doesn't necessarily line up with reality. From the heated debate over gun violence deaths to our views about violent crime and global poverty, many of us have serious perception gaps. Democracy can be damaged when public opinion is out-of-step with the facts. The opioid epidemic is often in the headlines and was recently declared a public health emergency. But did you know there's another substance that kills far more people every year? Another example: massacres at school...
Dec 07, 2018•29 min•Ep. 183
The opioid and heroin epidemic has caused massive destruction suffering and pain. After rising for many decades, America’s life expectancy rate has dropped for the past two years in a row. Nearly 50 thousand Americans last year were the victims of opioid overdose deaths-- twice the rate of other wealthy nations. But now, because of impressive initiatives to tackle the crisis, there are small glimmers of hope. The death-rate might be starting to fall. This month, a New York Times report highlight...
Nov 28, 2018•23 min•Ep. 182
Artificial intelligence will lead to sweeping changes in our society, economy and relationship with work. China has suddenly caught up with The United States and will exercise much greater technological power in the future. "We will not have to do routine jobs anymore," says our guest, Kai-Fu-Lee. "AI will take over in the next 15 to 20 years all the routine jobs that we have and work efficiently and essentially for free and 24/7 with no complaints." This creates both daunting and exciting chall...
Nov 23, 2018•20 min•Ep. 181
Just in time for Thanksgiving, we speak with best-selling author and "immersive journalist" A.J. Jacobs about his extraordinary gratitude project and brand new book, "Thanks a Thousand". He decided to say "thank you" to every single person involved in producing his morning cup of coffee. "It turned out to be thousands of people," A.J. tells us. "I thanked the barista, the lid designer and the coffee bean farmer, but also the truck driver who delivered the beans. The idea is to show the interdepe...
Nov 15, 2018•26 min•Ep. 180
What are the most inspiring, exasperating, unique, important, and first-in-our-lifetime results from the Midterm Elections? In this special edition, Jim and Richard give their Quick Fixes take on how American voted. We discuss: Donald Trump's turnout gift, why the economy played a far larger role than election analysts admit; the serious problems that now face both Republicans and Democrats, the insidious impact of gerrymandering, how celebrities failed to motivate voters, and why the handwringi...
Nov 08, 2018•21 min•Ep. 179
How can America recover from hatred , distrust and resentment that have lead to deep divisions , the fraying of our civic institutions and even violence, such as the recent Pittsburgh synagogue shooting ? This episode, recorded at ReCity in Durham, North Carolina, is the third in our renewing democracy podcasts, where we report on collaborative efforts to promote respect and bridge divides. The idea behind this series is that if we’re going to pull back from the political precipice, it’s going t...
Nov 01, 2018•31 min•Ep. 178
Polarization is tearing us apart. Bullying and bluster are two of the most common ingredients in American democracy. How can we renew democracy and restore the sort of trust that is essential for governance? This episode looks at the constructive and energetic responses of two local and national groups in Minnesota. We visit a Living Room Conversation discussion on race at Minneapolis Community and Technical College , and speak with the co-founder of Better Angels , Bill Doherty , a University o...
Oct 26, 2018•30 min•Ep. 177
American democracy is in crisis and politics have become weaponized with name calling and personal attacks. Trust in national institutions and the media is at an all-time low. Congress and The Supreme Court are much more likely than in the past to cast predictable party-line votes. As a nation we are failing to make creative solutions, based on compromise. This episode is the first of three to report on local efforts that push back against the toxic impact of tribalization and political polariza...
Oct 18, 2018•25 min•Ep. 176
Never before in living memory has America been so deeply divided, and this paralysis threatens to weaken and corrode democracy. Ideological silos have become much more common among both conservatives and liberals. One opinion poll says 7 in 10 Americans believe that our politics have reached a dangerous low point. And most say the climate is a new normal— not temporary. This is the first of four “How Do We Fix It?” episodes leading up to the Midterm Elections that discuss local and national atte...
Oct 11, 2018•23 min•Ep. 175
At a time of fractured politics and failed leadership, what lessons can be learned from Ronald Reagan-- one of the most significant presidents in our history? Considered a dangerous outsider by critics when he was elected in 1980, he appeared to be enthralled with happy endings and disinterested in many of the finer details of economic and social policy. And yet America's fortieth president presided over an economic boom and successful peace talks with the Soviet Union that helped lead to the en...
Oct 04, 2018•29 min•Ep. 174
A recent poll finds that two-thirds of Americans often or occasionally get news from social media. But many consumers are highly skeptical of the information they see on Facebook and other sites, expecting it to be "largely inaccurate." Now a new company, Newsguard, uses journalism to fight the epidemic of false stories, misinformation and outright propaganda, helping readers to navigate through online news sites. Newsguard's web browser extension rates websites that appear in searches on their ...
Sep 27, 2018•24 min•Ep. 173
Are identity politics ruining democracy? National and global institutions are in a state of decay, and identity fuels much of today's debates in America and across the world. On the right, Donald Trump seized on the grievances and resentment of white working class voters and others who felt let down by the impact of globalism and technology. On the left, social and political movements based on gender, sexual identity, race and ethnicity play an increasingly large role. "The problem with our poli...
Sep 20, 2018•29 min•Ep. 172
In recent decades, business strategy has been built on the idea that we must compete to win. But what if the competitive model of business is now broken? In today’s interconnected, digital world, strategies to create competitive advantage may be holding us back— with a negative impact on the workplace and the economy. In his new book “ Collaborative Advantage: How Collaboration Beats Competition as a Strategy for Success ". British marketing and business consultant Paul Skinner presents Collabor...
Sep 14, 2018•25 min•Ep. 171
At the recent funeral for Republican Senator John McCain, former Presidents and leaders of both parties paid tribute to his belief that America "is a nation of ideals, not blood and soil." In the farewell statement to the country he loved, Senator McCain described our democracy as “325 million opinionated, vociferous individuals.” The funeral was a rare, and perhaps passing moment of bipartisan unity and friendship at a time of bitter partisan division. In this episode, we look at some of the ro...
Sep 04, 2018•35 min•Ep. 170
Tyson talks about the possibility of intelligent life on other planets, tackles science deniers on the right and left, and explains why we should invest more in pure science. Tyson also discusses his book, "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.” "What's curious to me is you have the liberal community claiming the (moral) high road ...against the science deniers of the right with regard to global warming and evolution in the classrooms... as though they are somehow untainted by non-scientific think...
Sep 02, 2018•23 min•Ep. 169
Neil deGrasse Tyson , America’s most prominent spokesman for science and Director of New York City’s Hayden Planetarium , talks about the benefits of a cosmic perspective, the case for manned space flight and much more in this first part of our wide-ranging conversation. We also discussed Tyson's book, " Astrophysics for People in a Hurry ." Richard and Jim met Tyson at his offices at The American Museum of Natural History . While insisting he is not an advocate for manned space flight, Tyson sa...
Aug 30, 2018•23 min•Ep. 168
The national suicide rate rose 28% from 1999 to 2016, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2016, alone, 45,000 people took their own lives. This year's suicides of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and fashion designer, Kate Spade , focused new attention on the crisis. Why is the U.S. suicide rate as high as it was one hundred years ago? What are proven ways to save lives and reduce depression and chronic anxiety? Our guest is Dr. Richard Friedman , a professor of clinic...
Aug 23, 2018•25 min•Ep. 167
Was Donald Trump's election a one-off event, or did it represent a fundamental realignment of American politics? Washington-based political experts wrongly called the 2016 election, and our guest, Salena Zito , author of "The Great Revolt" , argues that they keep blowing it today. Democrats who ignore the concerns of those who went for Obama in 2012, but then backed Trump four years later, do so at their peril. We examine the spread of populism that is reshaping American politics on the right an...
Aug 13, 2018•28 min•Ep. 166
From ancient times to the present day, women and men have brought meaning to their lives through storytelling. Before the invention of the printing press, ancient societies passed on the knowledge and wisdom of one generation to the next through oral history. Today, no other medium is as intimate and personal as podcasting. We are the town criers of our time. In this "Quick Fix" episode, Richard and Jim discuss the future of podcasting-- an industry that faces both opportunities and challenges. ...
Aug 02, 2018•15 min•Ep. 165
