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 t...
May 02, 2019•30 min•Ep. 203
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. Alli...
Apr 25, 2019•27 min•Ep. 202
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 d...
Apr 18, 2019•23 min•Ep. 201
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...
Apr 11, 2019•24 min•Ep. 200
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 a...
Apr 04, 2019•23 min•Ep. 199
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 friends...
Mar 29, 2019•19 min•Ep. 198
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 Comple...
Mar 21, 2019•24 min•Ep. 197
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 ...
Mar 15, 2019•24 min•Ep. 196
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, ret...
Mar 07, 2019•23 min•Ep. 195
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
