Imaging a Better Future. How Doomers Prevent Progress. James Pethokoukis

For much of its history, the United States kept the rest of the world at arm's length. What happened in the decades after the 1941 military strike on Pearl Harbor, and several years after the 9/11 attacks, could be seen as an aberration.The sudden, chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban takeover, and resulting humanitarian disaster may lead to another American foreign policy shift, plus a far greater reluctance to deploy U.S. forces overseas. While isolationism is derided by policy experts and global elites, this movement has a surprisingly enduring legacy. We examine it here.Charles Kupchan is a professor of international relations at Georgetown University and a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. "Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts to Shield Itself from the World" is his most recent book. We share extracts from an interview with Charles by Justin Kempf, host of the Democracy Group podcast, "Democracy Paradox"."Beginning in the 1990s, and then really picking up after 9/11, the United States overreached ideologically by thinking it could turn Iraq and Afghanistan into Ohio, says Charles. "Suddenly, I think, Americans said to themselves and to their leaders, ‘Wait a minute. Too much world, not enough America.’"Also in this episode: Jim and Richard share their views on the Afghan collapse and offer several solutions for American foreign policy.Recommendation: Jim is watching "Unforgotten", a widely-praised British crime drama television series, starring Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Baskkar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Aug 202127min

Successful politicians on the right and left often use anger and resentment to build support for their campaigns. "A lot of our politics is dignity politics," argues Stanford political scientist, Francis Fukuyama, our guest in this episode. "It's one group saying, 'look, you are not taking us seriously. You disregard our rights and we demand a different kind of world.'"We discuss whether identity politics are damaging our democracy at a time of deep polarization when many national and global institutions struggle to respond to growing challenges. "We have shifted from arguing about economic policies to arguing about identities," Fukuyama tells us. In his book, "Identity: The Demand for Dignity and The Politics of Resentment," he warns that unless we forge a clear understanding of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict. We discuss other solutions, including the need for more civics education, national service, and the benefits of universal healthcare and other policies that help all, instead of focusing on a single group.In the United States, “it’s better if both parties actually stick to broad social policy issues that they can argue about, rather than lining themselves up according to biological characteristics,” he says.We examine Fukuyama's provocative analysis of populism, nativism, white nationalism, radical Islam, and authoritarian tendencies that threaten to destabilize democracy and international affairs.Francis Fukuyama is probably best-known for "The End of History and the Last Man", published after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. His other major works include "The Origins of Political Order" and "America at the Crossroads" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Aug 202127min

In this special episode, Richard and Jim have an extended conversation around six solutions to help us manage the pandemic more successfully, and improve responses to future public health emergencies.1. Have a more realistic view of the virus. This includes understanding that the virus won't go away anytime soon. Clear, honest communication from the media and government health officials will help. 2. Restoring Trust. Greater transparency by public health officials and honesty about what is not known are two ways to improve understanding and trust.3. Improve access to care and medical literacy. 4. Focus on the severe cost of the pandemic to children. 5. Make it Harder for People to be Unvaccinated.Over 95% of new COVID-related hospital cases are among unvaccinated Americans.6. COVID will probably increase life expectancy: The virus has led to advances in mRNA vaccines and viral medicine. The pandemic will speed up and intensify research into other life-threatening illnesses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

6 Aug 202128min

America is facing a reading crisis, and this has profound impacts on how we engage with the world. The number of adults who read books for pleasure fell by more than 30% in less than 15 years. Researchers found that Americans watch TV three hours a day, but spend less than 30 minutes reading. "Reading is seeing the world through someone else's eyes," says our guest, Joseph Luzzi, Professor of Comparative Literature at Bard College. "I think of social media as a mirror. You look into it and your tastes and interests are reflected back on you. Literature is a prism. You look into it and you are engaged." Recent neuroscience research suggests fiction literature helps people develop empathy and critical thinking. The decline in reading and the popularity of social media may have profound impacts on democracy, feeding into our deep partisan division, and reinforcing extreme opinions.In this episode, we also discuss how reading Dante helped save Joseph after he became a widower and a father on the same day. We also learn about his 4-for-45 prescription for how reading literature can bring pleasure enlightenment to our daily lives.Learn more about Joseph Luzzi's monthly book group, books and public lectures here.Recommendations: In this episode, Jim and Richard reveal the books that had a profound impact on them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Juli 202122min

Our relationship with our stuff is broken. What was once fixed is often tossed into landfills. Repairs today are more expensive than the prices of many new clothes, gadgets, and household appliances.The U.S. has 5% of the world's population, but consumes about 30% of the world's resources and creates almost a third of the world's waste. Large manufacturers restrict the repair of their goods by limiting the availability of parts and repair information. Their policies sparked a consumer backlash and a growing right-to-repair movement. This week, The Federal Trade Commission said it wants to give consumers new rights to fix devices and limit "unfair anti-competitive restrictions" by manufacturers.Our guest, Sandra Goldmark, is a leader in the movement to demand better “stuff.” She doesn’t just want to help us clear away clutter—she aims to move us away from a throwaway culture, to teach us to reuse and repurpose more thoughtfully. We discuss her new book, "Fixation: How to Have Stuff without Breaking the Planet,” and the case for a circular economy. Sandra is a professor at Barnard College in New York and leads its sustainability program. She's also the founder of Fixup, a non-profit group that runs pop-up repair shops and advocates for making sure consumers have the right to fix the things they own— their stuff.Recommendation: Jim is an enthusiastic cyclist, and is impressed by rail-trail pathways— paved trails that follow the routes of old railways lines— and the movement that created them. He enjoys riding on the 750-mile Empire State Trail. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Juli 202127min

Democracies around the world are under threat from populist movements, demagogues, and dogmatic extremists who use disinformation, conspiracy theories, shaming, cancel culture, and other tactics to weaponize social media and challenge our ability to distinguish fact from fiction and truth from falsehood.In his new book, our guest, best-selling author, journalist, scholar, and public intellectual, Jonathan Rauch, offers a stirring defense of the constitution of knowledge— our social system of checks and balances that is crucial for turning disagreement into truth."This global network of people hunting for each others' errors is far and away the greatest human technology ever invented," Jonathan tells us in this episode of "How Do We Fix It?" The constitution of knowledge, he says, "is a global conversation of people looking for truth, and more especially, looking for the error."With a deep knowledge of history and politics, Jonathan arms listeners and readers with a better understanding of what they can do to protect truth and free inquiry from threats as far away from Russia and as close as your laptop and smartphone.Here's one of our favorite reviews of "The Constitution of Knowledge".Recommendation: Richard watched and much enjoyed "The Leopard", the 1963 Italian period drama by director Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, and Alain Delon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Juli 202133min

The spread of the Delta Variant is a rapidly growing threat to public health, especially in states with low vaccination rates. But cases of COVID-19 are still holding steady in regions where more than 60% of the adult population had at least one shot.The disparity comes at a time of triumph with increasing evidence that the vaccines offer extremely high rates of protection. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that regional differences in coronavirus vaccination rates could create "two types of America."Vaccine hesitancy is high in rural red states, in Black and Latino communities, and among many young people. In this episode, we hear again from Dr. Wrenetha Julion, professor and Associate Dean for Equity and Inclusion at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago. We also review the latest research on the Delta Variant and warnings of rising hospitalizations among unvaccinated Americans.Vaccine hesitancy "is a significant problem," says Wrenetha. "It stems from a long history of mistrust and mistreatment of African-Americans and other groups in healthcare systems and research. Unfortunately, those things stick in people's minds."We examine the impact of the Tuskegee experiment and look at Wrenetha's suggestions for building vaccine trust in marginalized communities.Recommendation: Jim is reading "Bag Man", by Rachel Maddow and Michael Yarvitz. The book and her podcast tell the astounding story of Vice President Spiro Agnew— his crimes, cover-ups, and downfall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Juli 202127min

Much of the West has just lived through one of the worst June heatwaves in decades. Many states could be in a drought all this summer. From California and Arizona to the mountain West, dangerous heatwaves are almost becoming the norm.The threat of more devastating wildfires prompted calls for reforms of the nation's fire management policies, and are a clear sign that the impacts of climate change are now being felt.We discuss the causes of raging wildfires, including forestry management, climate, and the movement of people, as well as practical steps that 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 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.Recommendation: Jim continues to feed his passion for birdwatching, reading "A Season On The Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration" by Ken Kaufman. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Juni 202127min