What Could Go Right? 2024 Predictions Show

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.Juleyka is the creator and executive producer of the Peabody-nominated 70 Million, a documentary podcast about criminal justice reform.Cara is Associate Director of James Madison University's Center for Civic Engagement and co-host of "Democracy Matters".Mila is executive producer and host of the civic engagement podcast, "Future Hindsight".Lee is co-host of "Politics In Question", a podcast about how our institutions are failing us and ideas for fixing them. A senior fellow at New America, Lee is an author, researcher and political commentator.Jim and Richard also discuss findings of this bonus episode produced for the Democracy Works network that deals with the response to the pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Touko 202030min

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. "The safest thing to do with a stimulus check is to put it in your emergency fund just in case you need it for groceries or monthly essentials," says Beverly. We also discuss debt consolidation, controlling impulse buying, and negotiating with credit card companies. Recommendation: Jim has been watching the new remote episodes of Saturday Night Live. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Huhti 202022min

Much of what we took for granted, including daily routines, have been upended during the coronavirus pandemic. At a time when many have new questions about our personal values, traditions and lifestyles, this could be a teachable moment.Social media may have been helpful in convincing people about the need for social distancing, wearing masks and other recent changes. "It really did allow norms to be transmitted very very quickly," says our guest, Amherst College psychology professor Catherine Sanderson.In this episode we also discuss Catherine's research into the psychology of inaction and the themes of her new book, "Why We Act. Turning Bystanders Into Moral Rebels." Why is bad behavior, from sexual harassment to political corruption frequently tolerated? Why do many of us fail to intervene when we're needed? "Moral rebels seem to be comfortable with standing up and calling out bad behavior, even if they're in a group setting in which other people are staying silent. And even when it may be terribly hard to do so for the rest of us," Catherine tells us.Fix It recommendation: Richard is watching "Firing Line With Margaret Hoover" on PBS TV. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Huhti 202024min

Everybody is asking, how did the U.S. and most other nations get the coronavirus pandemic so wrong? Taiwan was a rare exception. Health officials and the democratic government of this island state sprang into action in the final days of 2019, and tried to warn the world of COVID danger.Despite being just 80 miles from the coast of China and with a huge amount of travel back and forth to the mainland, Taiwan was remarkably well prepared. The outbreak was kept to a minimum. "Taiwan knows that it is on its own," says our guest, Samson Ellis, Taipei Bureau Chief at Bloomberg News. "It does not have the backup of the World Health Organization or the World Bank... and that's why Taiwan backs itself up and is very cautious when it comes to issues like this."This episode looks at how technology, contract tracing, advance planning, and buy in by citizens all contributed to Taiwan's success. Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO, and a bizarre controversy over the agency's leader is also discussed.Recommendation: Jim is reading the 1971 Annie Dillard Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Huhti 202025min

The great Alaskan earthquake on Good Friday, March 27th, 1964, was surprising, and the lessons from the response are helpful in understanding how we respond to the COVID pandemic today."The earthquake overwhelmed people the way the strongest emotions do," wrote our guest, Jon Mooallem recently in The New York Times. "It was pure sensation, coming on faster than the intellect's ability to register it." A big theme of Jon's new book, "This Is Chance!" is how the citizens of Anchorage almost instantly became "a wave of unofficial first responders." Despite officials' fears of panic, looting and violence, many people rose to the occasion, with countless acts of kindness. The crime rate plummeted, just as it has in recent weeks in New York.The story also includes a riveting account of the role played by local KENI radio reporter Genie Chance. The personal messages that she passed on from the local police and fire station spread vital information and helped local citizens make sense of the disaster they were living through. Recommendations: Jim is listening to the music of singer-songwriter, Jon Prine, who died recently of COVID-19. He also recommends the TV miniseries, "Devs", on FX, written and directed by Alex Garland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

10 Huhti 202030min

The coronavirus pandemic has lead many to fear, panic, anger, profound loneliness and isolation. Realizing that we are all in this crisis together, how can we cope in a more hopeful and creative way?"We need to make a fundamental choice that the only way we get through this is if we act and engage as a community together," says Rich Harwood, President and Founder of The Harwood Institute. His group teaches and coaches people in local communities to move forward by bridging divides and creating a culture of shared responsibility. "The more we step forward to take these kind of actions to reduce polarization and connect with one another, the greater sense of control we will begin to feel again over our ability to shape our lives," says Rich. The Harwood Institute was called in to help the people of Newtown, Connecticut after the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.The group says in its mission statement that "we bring people on the front lines of creating change in communities to challenge conventional assumptions, learn together, inspire one another and strengthen our collective ability to be a force for good." Recommendations: Richard is listening to the new podcast by Joe Biden. He's also looking forward to Andrew Yang's forthcoming podcast, "Yang Speaks". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Huhti 202027min

Why did the U.S. and most other nations around the world do such a poor job of preparing for and reacting to the global COVID-19 pandemic? After all, we had earlier outbreaks, from HIV-AIDS to SARS, MERS, H1N1 and the Ebola virus.In his widely viewed 2015 Ted Talk, Bill Gates warned that "if anything kills more than ten million people in the next few decades, it's most likely to be a highly infectious virus." We knew about the danger, but failed to act. This episode looks at why humans are so bad at preparing for the future and how we can improve our thinking. Marketing strategist, Mark Earls, has studied behavior change for many years. He's the author of "Herd: How to Change Mass Behavior by Harnessing Our True Nature", and "Copy Copy Copy". Mark is now writing a new book, "Memories of Our Future."When we plan for what's ahead "we should consider multiple futures", says Mark. This doesn't usually happen, and "we find it much easier to have a simple story about how we got here. We overstate our confidence in the causality."Recommendations: Jim is now reading "Pacific", by Simon Winchester, a biography of the Pacific Ocean region and its role in the modern world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Maalis 202024min

Coronavirus has changed all of our lives. We are in the middle of a massive social experiment. This show is first in a series of episodes that will attempt to make sense of the massive psychological, social, economic and political upheaval the pandemic will have on us all.We start this week with loving relationships. Social distancing will physically separate us from friends and family members who don't live in our homes, but it will bring us closer to our spouse, partner and children. How will this challenge our loving relationships? To what extent is this crisis an opportunity to draw closer to those we love?We explore these ideas with Susan Page, a relationship and couples expert. Her Latest book is called “Why Talking Is Not Enough”. She says couples are "going to learn skills of tolerance, acceptance and adapting to each other," especially now while we are in isolation.In this episode, recorded in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, we also look at how U.S. and Mexican societies differ in how people interact in public and with their families. Susan has lived in Mexico for years and travels extensively in her role as an art collector, gallerist and Director of the highly regarded San Miguel International Writers' Conference and Literary Festival. This week's reading recommendation: "Rules of Civility", a novel by Amor Towels. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Maalis 202028min