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

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.

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

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."

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

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.

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#252: Covid Crisis: Your Money Matters. Beverly Harzog

Tens of millions of Americans have filed for unemployment benefits since the coronavirus outbreak began. Well over one-in-four people have suffered a moderate or severe financial setback in recent weeks. Consumer confidence is plunging. In this episode we look at the best ways to cope with a sudden drop in income.

Beverly Harzog, the personal finance and credit card expert at US News and World Report, is our guest. She's the author of five bestselling personal finance books.

From keeping your credit score intact to claiming all the benefits you're entitled to; we look at urgent ways to weather the storm at a time of unprecedented economic crisis.

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