#272 Fires In The West: Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano

September 18, 2020 Richard Davies

Massive wildfires in The West have burned through more than five million acres, forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, and spread smoke and air pollution across many states.

We discuss the causes of raging wildfires, including forestry management, climate, and the movement of people, as well as practical steps can be taken now to reduce the destruction to property and people's lives.

Our guests are Guardian journalists Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano, authors of the new book, “Fire In Paradise: An American Tragedy", a harrowing account of the most destructive wildfire in a century. Both Dani and Alastair reported extensively on the Camp Fire in 2018, and this year's megafires in California, Oregon and Washington.

#271 Radical Health for Pregnant Women: Ivelyse Andino

September 11, 2020 Richard Davies

“Tech For The Public Good” is supported by a grant from Solutions Journalism Network.

Technology is a double-edged sword, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Despite well-publicized threats from bots, hackers, government spooks and huge online firms, tech is often a force for public good

In this special episode on civic tech, we report on a local effort to promote better healthcare for those who need it most: the residents of America's poorest Congressional District: New York's 15th CD in The Bronx.

Ivelyse Andino is our guest. She's the founder and CEO of Radical Health, a minority-owned, Bronx-based health-equity social enterprise that uses technology, an app powered by artificial intelligence; and community conversations to help (among others) pregnant women and new mothers understand their health care rights.

#270 COVID Pandemic. How Philosophy Can Help: Eric Weiner

September 4, 2020 Richard Davies

Fears about COVID-19 can take an emotional toll, leading to a growing sense of worry and panic. We ask: How can philosophy help us cope with adversity in a pandemic?

We go in pursuit of wisdom and discovery with journalist and author Eric Weiner, author of the new book, "The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons From Dead Philosophers". This episode is a rollicking ride, as we follow in the footsteps of history’s greatest thinkers—from Epicurus to Nietzsche, Thoreau to Gandhi— who show us practical and spiritual lessons for today’s unsettled times.

Philosophy helps us as we struggle with disturbing questions raised by coronavirus. How to find a level of calm and certainty in an uncertain age? How do we endure tough times? There are no easy answers, but as with religious texts, philosophy helps us ask better questions.

#269 Renewing Work in America: Oren Cass

August 28, 2020 Richard Davies

The American worker is in crisis and faces a very uncertain future. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a deep recession and millions of layoffs.

Even before coronavirus— despite a decade of continuous economic growth— the percentage of Americans with jobs was well below normal levels. Many people had dropped out of the labor force, and gave up looking for work. For the first time in modern memory, life expectancy started to fall as substance abuse and obesity rates rose.

Our guest, conservative author Oren Cass, argues that we've abandoned the American worker, and pushed four-college at the expense of more effective solutions.

In his widely-praised book, "The Once and Future Worker", Oren argues that government policy should emphasize production, not consumption. His arguments were summarized in The Atlantic.

#268 It's So Hard To Change Our Minds: Eleanor Gordon-Smith

August 21, 2020 Richard Davies

Most people reject facts that cause them discomfort or don't line up with their view of the world. All too often emotion, not reason, informs our beliefs. Despite social media claims that #factsmatter, it's surprisingly difficult to use rational arguments to change minds.

"It's surprising how much we still put faith in rational argument," says our guest, Australian writer and philosopher, Eleanor Gordon-Smith. In this summer re-run episode from November, 2019, we take a fun, fascinating journey to the limits of human reason. Eleanor's book "Stop Being Reasonable. How We Really Change Our Minds," includes personal stories of successful persuasion that illustrate what most of us get wrong about rationality she says. Her latest book is, Illogical Stories: how to change minds in an unreasonable world.

The book and our podcast begin with Eleanor interviewing men who catcalled her in the street and made obscene gestures. Did she convince these guys to change their behavior? Find out what happened...

#267 America’s Voting Crisis. Charles Stewart, David Litt

August 14, 2020 Richard Davies

Joe Biden's selection of Kamala Harris to be his vice-presidential running mate is a reminder that the fall election season is about to start in earnest.

In this episode, we discuss solutions for America's voting crisis. People of all political persuasions have expressed concerns about holding an election in the COVID pandemic. President Trump made unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud. Many have protested the barriers faced by voters who find it difficult or nearly impossible to have their say in elections.

This podcast is produced with assistance from the Democracy Group podcast network. We feature groundbreaking interviews from "Democracy Works" podcast with elections expert, MIT political science professor, Charles Stewart, and former Obama speechwriter David Litt, who appeared recently on "Democracy Matters" podcast.

#266 Lessons From a Thousand Towns: Singer-Songwriter Dar Williams

August 7, 2020 Richard Davies

At a time of social distancing, limited travel and other restrictions to protect public health, we get a nostalgic reminder of the joy of journeys, and infinite variety of America's small cities and towns.

This episode was first published in 2018. Our guest, Dar Williams, has been called "one of America's very best singer-songwriters" by The New Yorker. A remarkably well-traveled musician, she tells us how towns and cities can turn themselves around.

"What I Found in a Thousand Towns: A Traveling Musician's Guide to Rebuilding America's Communities" is an impassioned account of the fall and rise of small American towns she cherishes. Dar chronicles practical success stories and challenges, delivering her message with hope and love.

"The opposite of division is not unity. It is collaboration," says Dar.

#265 Climate Alarm: Bad for the Environment? Michael Shellenberger

July 31, 2020 Richard Davies

Climate change is real, but it's not the end of the world, says our guest, science writer, Michael Shellenberger.

He argues in the controversial new book, "Apocalypse Never", that activists use alarmism to describe threats posed by rising levels of carbon in the atmosphere, and are harming the cause of environmentalism. His proposed solutions include support for carbon-free nuclear power, agricultural industrialization, urbanization, and technological innovation.

A self-described eco-modernist, Michael Shellenberger is an author, environmental policy writer, co-founder of Breakthrough Institute, and founder of Environmental Progress.

#264 Refugees and Migrants: Tolu Olubunmi, Leonard Doyle, Ahmed Badr

July 24, 2020 Richard Davies

One of the many impacts of COVID-19 is a sharp decline in travel. In many parts of the world, the virus led to a temporary hold on one of the greatest trends of the modern age: the mass movement of people— from tourists to migrants, expats, asylum seekers, refugees, and IDP’s, internally displaced people. An estimated 244 million people, or about 3.3% of the world’s population, were born in one country and now live in another.

Even before COVID hit, The Trump Administration reversed decades of US policy on immigration and refugees, imposing sweeping restrictions on admitting foreign workers, refugees, and students. Business groups sued the Administration over new limits on work visas. Universities and colleges objected to restrictions on foreign students. House Democrats passed a bill to reverse the restrictions.

Many see migration as a threat. But for others it’s an opportunity. On this show we re-visit interviews with advocate Tolu Olubunmi, Leonard Doyle the UN migration agency, IOM, and podcaster Ahmed Badr.

#262 Democracy Reform: Voters Not Politicians. Katie Fahey

July 10, 2020 Richard Davies

Gerrymandering, the partisan process of redrawing political maps to favor one political party over the opposition, is often used unfairly to take power away from many voters.

Voters Not Politicians is a highly successful grassroots campaign against gerrymandering in Michigan that began with a simple Facebook post by its young founder, Katie Fahey. The group took on party bosses, won a ballot initiative, and changed state law. This episode discusses how this campaign could be a model for others.

In 2018, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved a citizen-led ballot initiative to create an independent commission to draw up the state’s congressional and legislative maps. This week, a federal court threw out a second attempt by the state Republican Party to over-turn the result. Months from now a new state redistricting commission will be given the job of fairly drawing a legislative map.

#261 Generation Z. The Future of U.S. Democracy: Civics Unplugged

July 3, 2020 Richard Davies

America's four most powerful political leaders--President Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell-- are all in their mid-to-late seventies.

In this episode, we hear from four 16 to 18 year-olds about the future of American democracy, and why they're committed to working for positive change.

Zoe Jenkins, Emmy Cho, Thanasi Dilos, and Noor Mryan are among the 200 inaugural fellows of the new non-partisan, youth-led movement, Civics Unplugged. On July 4th, 2020, they are signing the Civics 2030 Declaration, part of a decade-long campaign to create a better world.

#260 The World's Best Healthcare Systems: Ezekiel Emanuel

June 26, 2020 Richard Davies

The U.S. spends far more money on healthcare than any other nation, but has the most confirmed COVID-19 cases. The lax response to the coronavirus crisis exposed many weaknesses in the system, which was less prepared for a pandemic than other nations.

In this episode, we look at what can be learned from other systems around the world. Our guest is the well-known oncologist, bioethicist, and healthcare expert, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, author of the new book, "Which Country Has the World's Best Healthcare?"

"Every country feels that their healthcare costs are high. Ours are stratospheric," Dr. Emanuel tells us. "Our drug costs are way higher than any other country, but every country is feeling pressure from drug costs."

#259 How Innovation Works and Why It Matters. Matt Ridley

June 19, 2020 Richard Davies

"The Covid-19 pandemic reveals that far from living in an age of incessant technological change, we have been neglecting innovation in exactly the areas where we most need it." So writes our podcast guest, best-selling author Matt Ridley.

We discuss the urgent concept raised in his latest book, "How Innovation Works, And Why It Flourishes in Freedom."

As Viscount Ridley, Matt was elected to the UK House of Lords in 2013. His TED Talk, "When Ideas Have Sex" has been viewed more than two million times. His books, including, "The Rational Optimist", have sold more than one million copies.

#258 Racism, Protests, Police Reform: Coleman Hughes

June 12, 2020 Richard Davies

The massive wave of protests in hundreds of towns and cities across America and in many other countries were sparked by outrage, pain and grief over the killing of George Floyd, and countless incidents of racism against African-Americans.

We've all been surprised by the events of the past few weeks. They've forced many of us to question our core beliefs about the political system, public morality, and the distribution of power. For this episode, we looked for someone who could talk about race from a personal, practical, and original viewpoint

Our guest is writer and podcaster, Coleman Hughes, a recent graduate of Columbia University, who has testified before Congress, and written articles for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Quillette, and other outlets. Coleman was recently named as a Manhattan Institute fellow.

#257 Special episode: Racial Injustice: KKKrossing The Divide. Daryl Davis

June 5, 2020 Richard Davies

The nation is again facing the deep pain of racial injustice. The recent killings George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor reverberated across the country, sparking widespread protests in many cities.

In this special episode, we share the latest podcast of "Let's Find Common Ground," a new series of episodes with public leaders that explore points of agreement in this divided time.

To gain some insight on what can be done to address discrimination and tensions between races, we speak with R&B and blues musician Daryl Davis, a black man who has spent the past 35 years on a remarkable quest of speaking with, and at times befriending, members of white supremacist groups. He has helped more than 200 KKK members to renounce their racist ideology.

#256: The Long Fix. Solutions for Healthcare: Dr. Vivian Lee

May 29, 2020 Richard Davies

The coronavirus crisis has reminded everyone that major reforms are needed to fix the flaws of the U.S. healthcare system. Beyond the huge expense and vast amount of waste, the quality of care varies wildly, and millions of Americans can't get care when they need it.

Physician and health care CEO Dr. Vivian Lee draws on her deep experience of the public and private sector to call for a pragmatic and sweeping set of reforms. They include ending the current fee-for-service model and improving price transparency.

We discuss the findings of her new book, "The Long Fix: Solving America's Health Care Crisis with Strategies that Work for Everyone."

#255 How Science Shapes Us. Ainissa Ramirez

May 21, 2020 Richard Davies

We look at scientists who learned to manipulate common materials such as steel, glass and silicon, and how their inventions shaped the human experience.

Our guest is scientist, storyteller and science writer, Ainissa Ramirez, author of the new book, "The Alchemy of Us, How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another."

We discuss the wonder of science, especially material science: What it is and why it’s a crucial part of all that is in us and around us.

#254: COVID Surprise: 7 Unexpected Changes. Jim and Richard

May 14, 2020 Richard Davies

The Coronavirus pandemic is the 21st century's biggest crisis to date: Worse than either 9/11 or the great recession. Jim and Richard discuss seven surprising things that we didn't know when the lockdowns began in March.

From the economy, politics and education to the deeply uneven impacts on people in different jobs and regions, we discuss the rapidly changing nature of the pandemic and its vast disruption to our world.

#253: Democracy Group Special Episode. Democracy Reform

May 8, 2020 Richard Davies

How will the COVID-19 pandemic change our democracy? Will we become more less divided? We discuss the challenges and opportunities of the current crisis with four podcasters who are all our colleagues in The Democracy Group podcast network.

Juleyka Lantigua-Williams, Cara Ong Whaley, Mila Atmos and Lee Drutman join Richard to talk about barriers to voting, civic engagement and equal access to the democratic system. They look at what the current crisis means for advocates of democracy reform.

Jim and Richard also discuss findings of this bonus episode produced for the Democracy Works network that deals with the response to the pandemic.