What Could Go Right? 2024 Predictions Show

With harsh rhetoric from President Trump, who wants strict new limits on refugees, asylum seekers and some other forms of immigration, to calls by several Democratic Presidential candidates to decriminalize all border crossings, the immigration debate is increasingly dominated by slogans rather than substance.Hopes for a comprehensive and humane overhaul of U.S. immigration law have all but disappeared for now."The reality is illegal immigration has come to be THE conversation, says our guest, Andrew Selee, President of the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, which seeks to improve immigration policies through fact-based research. "Most immigration in the United States is legal immigration," he says. "What we're not talking about is that most people are legal immigrants, and that most people are coming Asia, rather than Latin America."Also, he says: "immigrants on average have a higher education level than native-born Americans, which is something few of us realize."In this episode, we unpack the myths about migration and look at potential solutions-- including ways to speed up the backlog of asylum cases, the benefits of a more merit-based system of legal immigration, and a path to legal residency for many of the millions of undocumented people now living in the United States. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Syys 201927min

Kids are smart, strong, and at least as capable as their parents were at their age. So, when the crime rate is at a 50-year-low, why does society insist on bubble-wrapping them? Why are we encouraged to protect children from minor cases of physical or mental discomfort? Why don’t we trust them to do things safely or successfully on their own?These questions about raising kids are tackled in this episode of "How Do We Fix It?" We consider practical solutions for parents and schools."Treating kids as physically and emotionally fragile is bad for their future, and ours," says our guest, Lenore Skenazy, founder of Free Range Kids and President of Let Grow, a group that helps schools set-up unstructured free play before and after school hours.A recent study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology found that rates of depression among teenagers rose nearly 60% since 2009. The number of young people seen in emergency rooms who had attempted suicide or reported having suicidal thoughts doubled between 2007 and 2015."What Let Grow is trying to do is change behavior, because once a parent sees a kid do something independently...the parents are so overjoyed with seeing their kid blossoming they are rewired," says Lenore. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Syys 201925min

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. Allison is the author of the new book "An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Learn About Risk." She visited Nevada's Moonlight Bunny Ranch brothel, hung out with paparazzi who stalked celebrities, spoke with movie makers in Hollywood, and went to a risk conference for surfers in Hawaii as part of her extensive research for the book.We learn basic lessons about human psychology as well as hedging, diversification, leverage and insurance. "You take risks to get what you want in life, and you're never going to get what you want without taking risks," says Allison. An Oscar Award-winning documentary is mentioned: "Free Solo," about Alex Honnold's attempt to become the first person to climb the face of America's most famous rock, the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, without a rope. Also, learn more about Allison's firm, LifeCycle Finance Partners. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Syys 201927min

A trade war with China is a growing threat to U.S. influence and the global economy. What began more than a year ago with President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs has become an unpleasant economic reality for many American businesses. Recently, the U.S. labeled China a “currency manipulator.” But Perhaps, an even larger long-term threat comes China’s aggressive espionage offensive that is playing out in behind-the-scenes as of the U.S. and China struggle for global dominance.Our guest is Elizabeth Economy, a senior fellow and director of Asia studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Her most recent book, “The Third Revolution: Xi Jinpeng and the New Chinese State”, explains the background to recent dramatic changes inside China.She is among a distinguished group of China specialists who once favored engagement with Beijing, but are now calling for the United States to take a more forceful approach as China attempts to undermine democratic values. "Managing this relationship is essential," says Elizabeth. "It cannot allowed to it to spiral down too far." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Elo 201927min

Is the U.S. economy about to fall off a cliff? Declining growth, financial market jitters, and a growing rift between the U.S. and China are all fueling fears of a recession.For the first time in 12 years, since shortly before the last recession, interest rate yields on 10-year government notes are lower than for short-term loans. This inverted yield curve is highly unusual and the latest sign that a sharp slowdown could happen soon."The inverted yield curve has accurately predicted seven out of the last seven recessions in the past half century, says our guest, award-winning financial journalist and best-selling author Diana Henriques. In this episode we look at the risks of a recession and constructive ways to handle it. These include:- "A calming voice from the cockpit." The need for wise leadership and strong communication skills from The White House.- Experienced financial regulators who know what to do in a crisis.- Greater attention from big business to the needs of stakeholders, not just shareholders. "A modern economy and financial system plugged in to global financial systems is a complex, delicate machine," says Diana. What's needed is "somebody watching it that knows what they're doing... how to explain what's happening and what plans they have to explain it to the public in a way that's credible and understandable."Protecting yourself in case of a recession... link.More on Diana Henriques books and media engagements... here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Elo 201925min

We live in a time of suspicion and mistrust. What is this costing all of us in lost productivity, creativity and shared humanity? Isn't there a better way to design our organizations and systems? A recent Pew Research poll found that a majority of Americans believe that most people just look out for themselves, and that they would take advantage of you if they got the chance."We’ve internalized the assumption that humans can’t be trusted, and therefore, that we all need to be constrained and coerced into doing the right thing, pretty much all the time," wrote our guest, technology consultant, futurist and thinker Jerry Michalski, in a recent blog post.And yet, there are examples of systems designed from trust that work surprisingly well. - Anyone can edit and make changes to Wikipedia pages. Most of us rely on this open-source online encyclopedia for accurate information. - Micro loans go to people of very limited means, who should be terrible credit risks. But their default rates are lower than for conventional loans. - Netflix has no limit on vacation time and days off. The only guidance to employees that they act ethically and Netflix’s Best Interests. - The international, self-supporting fellowship, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), is also highly successful group that is designed from trust. "It turns out that on average people are more trustworthy than we think they are," says Jerry. "Wikipedia has discovered this as have many, many other kinds of services." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Elo 201926min

Most of America's deadliest mass killings have happened within the last ten years. The deaths of more than 30 people in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, have led to renewed demands for federal background checks and gun violence restraining orders, or "red flag" laws.America is also facing a growing crisis of violent extremism and white nationalist terrorism. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are under pressure to expand their investigations.In testimony before Congress, FBI Director Christopher Wray, said white supremacy poses a “persistent” and “pervasive” threat to the United States.In this episode, we look at a range of solutions, with the understanding that no single proposal is likely to lead to a dramatic reduction in domestic terrorism, mass shootings, gun homicides, or racial hatred.We hear from James Burnett, Editorial Director of The Trace, an independent news site that covers America's gun violence crisis. He explains that the U.S. has the highest homicide rate among all industrialized countries, but that only 2% of all deaths are in mass shootings. Critics of President Trump say his harsh language and repeated claims of an "hispanic invasion" have contributed to fear and violence. Bob Spitz, author of “Reagan: An American Journey” tells us about some important lessons to be learned from President Reagan’s style of leadership. And we repeat part of Gregg Easterbrook's argument on "How Do We Fix It?" that pretending everything is awful, when many things for most people have never been better, "keeps Americans in an endless state of depression and anxiety, preventing reforms such as gun regulation". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Elo 201928min

Our democracy has become a punching bag. From Russian hacking and hate-filled tweets, to demands for impeachment and increasingly nasty political infighting, our public conversation is increasingly narrow, dispiriting and disempowering.According to Pew Research, trust in government is near historic lows. Most Americans believe that declining trust in our public institutions and in each other make it harder to solve key problems. A new poll says 75% of Americans say trust in government is shrinking, while 64% say this is also true for each other-- suggesting we have become more fearful and suspicious.Our guest, Debilyn Molineaux, Executive Director and co-founder of Bridge Alliance, says it's time to restore the nation's social contract. Her organization works to transform the political process by finding new and effective ways to bridge divides in our politics and among our families and local communities. Find out more in this episode.Bridge Alliance has more than 80 member organizations. Including All Sides, Common Good, headed by Philip K Howard, Living Room Conversations, Citizen University and Unite America… All groups we’ve interviewed on “How Do We Fix It?” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1 Elo 201925min