#59 Why the Human Touch Still Matters: Steve Hilton

July 13, 2016 Richard Davies

When is the last time you called a big company or government agency and after two or three rings, a real live human being answered the phone and said: "Hello, how can I help you?"

From big data, automation, complex algorithms, and giant corporations to massive government bureaucracy, we've lost the human touch. Everyday life often seems increasingly impersonal.

Our guest, Steve Hilton, argues for radical change. The former senior policy advisor to ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron has co-authored "More Human: Designing a World Where People Come First." The book is a clarion call for reform of government, law, education, welfare and business systems.

#1 Fix It Shorts. Solutions for Laws & Crazy Red Tape: Philip K. Howard

May 25, 2016 Richard Davies

It's the biggest issue of the Presidential campaign that the candidates are not talking about: bloated government and the poor delivery of services.

From very long TSA airport security lines to the dysfunction at your local DMV, our interactions with government can be extremely frustrating. Exceedingly complex rules and laws make things even worse.

For decades, Philip K. Howard has been a leading voice on how to streamline government and make it work for all of us. His latest book is "The Rule of Nobody: Saving America From Dead Laws and Broken Government." He's the founder of the good-government group, Common Good.

In this 12-minute episode of "Fix It Shorts," Philip gives alarming examples of how regulations have programmed officials and politicians of both parties to follow rigid rules that often leave very little room for human judgement.

#45 The Case for Children's Free Play: Lenore Skenazy

April 6, 2016 Richard Davies

You can't have too much of a really good thing. That's why we decided to invite Lenore Skenazy,founder of Free Range Kids, to make a welcome return to "How Do We Fix It?" She was a guest on an earlier show.

Lenore is the passionate and playful campaigner, who says most American kids don't have nearly enough unstructured free time, when they can be curious and engage the world on their own terms.

"Free time is unsupervised time," Lenore tells us. "It's not a parent sitting there saying 'oh, that was really good, or try it this way.' Sometimes you've got to do things that are really bad and try it the wrong way, because that's the creative process."

Lenore says parenting styles have changed in the past 30 years, especially for many urban and upper-middle classes Moms and Dads. Risk avoidance seems more important than stimulating a child's imagination.

"Think back on your own childhood. Your parents loved you and they let you go. And it's a new thing not to give children any freedom."

From the Free Range Kids statement of where it stands: "Fighting the belief that are children are in constant danger from creeps, kidnapping, germs, grades, flashers, frustration, failure, baby snatchers, bugs, bullies, men, sleepovers and/or the perils of the non-organic grape."