How Do We Fix It?

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. Zoë 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. The movement's first annual summit began with Commence 2030, a launch platform and celebration of Gen Z "civic superheroes" who are working on a decade-long set of projects and initiatives aimed at bringing a brighter future for our country's democracy. Senator Cory Booker, Andrew Yang, Steve Balmer, Audrey Tang, the digital minister of Taiwan, and The Rock, retired pro-wrestler Dwayne Johnson, all spoke at the online event. Recommendation: Richard is reading "Why We're Polarized", by Ezra Klein. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 Jul 202029min

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."In his book, Dr. Emanuel profiles 11 healthcare systems around the world. From Taiwan to Germany, Australia to Switzerland, healthcare providers tackle a global set of challenges, in pursuit of better healthcare solutions. Recommendation: Our producer, Miranda Shafer, is reading the novel, Writers and Lovers, by Lily King. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Jun 202024min

"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.Matt Ridley argues that we need to change the way we think about innovation, to see it as a bottom-up, incremental process, rather than a top-down event that develops according to plan. He also explains the fundamental difference between innovation and invention."Trial and error is the secret sauce of innovation," Matt tells us. "Again and again and again if you talk to great innovators they stress the importance of trial and error." We also look at how to improve public policy to allow innovation to flourish. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jun 202028min

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."If we are just going to live in what's comfortable you might as well not think at all", says Coleman, in response to chants, demands and slogans at Black Lives Matter demonstrations."When your pride becomes tied up in identity the temptation becomes irresistible to lie about any fact that doesn't paint your group in a positive light, and then we lose touch with enormous issues."In this episode, we discuss police corruption, crime and punishment, and racist attacks in communities of color.Recommendation: Richard is following The Fulcrum, a digital news organization, focused on efforts to reverse dysfunctions in American democracy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Jun 202039min

The nation is again facing the deep pain of racial injustice. The recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor reverberated across the country, sparking widespread protests in many cities. These cases were only the latest on a very long list of attacks and murders of African-American men and women. They resulted in public outrage, some violent incidents, and many calls for police reforms.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."We have to ask ourselves the question: do I want to sit back and see what my country becomes, or do I want to stand up and make my country become what I want to see," Daryl tells us. "I've chosen the latter. And so you have to get into the thick of it."As a race conciliator and lecturer, Davis has received numerous awards and is often sought by CNN, MSNBC, NPR and other media outlets as a consultant on race relations and white supremacy. For more information, visit www.DarylDavis.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Jun 202034min

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.""The silver lining of the COVID 19 is that we've seen a rapid shift to alternative ways of caring for people," says Dr. Lee. Tele-medicine and technology can help lead to better access and healthcare for everyone.Recommendations: Richard gives his thumbs up toTV series: "State of Happiness" and "Halt and Catch Fire" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Mai 202030min

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.Ainissa shares her love of science and tells us stories of the woman who sold time, why the brevity of the telegram influenced newspapers and the writing of Ernest Hemingway, and how a woman chemist exposed the use of Polaroid cameras to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. We also discuss the teaching of science and technology. "STEM education right now is in the business of making people who can code, says Ainissa. "I think we should be in the business of making good people."Recommendation: "The Alchemy of Us", by Ainissa Ramirez is a warm and engaging book about the innovations that have a profound influence on our everyday lives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Mai 202025min

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:1. Early assessments about coronavirus turned out to be wrong. We now have a much better idea of how COVID-19 is spread and who's at greatest risk.2. Re-opening the economy is going to be much more difficult than expected.3. Cars and suburbs are here to stay: how the pandemic may change the way we live and work.4. Get ready for sweeping changes in higher education.5. The need for efficient government is much greater than we imagined.6. The military will play a vital role in recovery and prevention of future pandemics.7. Our notion of citizenship and sacrifice will fundamentally change.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Mai 202023min