Churchill said “Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms.” Is he right? This episode begins with the rise of Athenian Democracy…and what became of it when demagogues started to arise. Other great philosophers, such as Plato, Kant, and Hamilton, weigh in on whether current American democracy is the best we can do. We examine the great variation in “democracies” today, from Russia to America to Venezuela, and discover that it is the details of democracy that make all the difference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 3: Democracy, Idiocracy, Kakistocracy, Oh My!

We will determine our global future. Civilizations rise and fall because they either solve their existential challenges…or they don’t. How do we choose wisely? Listen as physician, researcher and Army veteran Dr. Rob Cohen and other cutting-edge thinkers help illuminate a path out of our crises of democracy, demography, and demoralization. Mavericks are needed now: heed the call with Democrises. It’s either darkest before the dawn…or before it’s totally black. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News & Politics

Sociobiologist and futurist Rebecca Costa worked in Silicon Valley for four decades at the cutting edge of technology before moving on to study why civilizations collapse. Her books describe a grave concern for our modern world: that when societies become too complex for average people, they abandon rational solutions in favor of irrational and unproductive beliefs. We discuss how technology like artificial intelligence may be the key to avoiding a collapse, or at least a radical correction. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 13 -- BONUS: Interview with Dr. Rebecca Costa, Author and Sociobiologist

A Type-I civilization is a planetary civilization that harnesses enough energy from its parent star to achieve sustainability. We discuss the energy requirements to achieve Type-I status on Earth, and it's not as much as you think. After some astronomy, philosophy, and history, we show how the three global Democrises must be overcome in the next few decades if we are to achieve Type-I status. The fact that we haven't detected any signs of intelligent life in the universe -- any Type-I or Type-II civilizations -- ominously suggests that the nature of intelligent life may be to destroy itself. But we can chart a different course. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 12 -- BONUS: What is a Type-I Civilization?

Our nation and world are in crisis, far more than we care to admit. Our problems are accelerating, and our institutions are not performing up to the task. Just because we have the world's best car (and do we?), we have obvious defects that we must improve. In our season finale, we present institutional solutions to solve gerrymandering, campaign finance, and electoral reform. We tell the story of New Zealand, which overcome minority rule by a brash right-wing populist, through maturely pursuing electoral reform. It won't be easy, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 11: Institutional Solutions to Our Democrisis

Financial Times columnist Ed Luce wrote in 2012 that the hollowing out of the American middle class meant that America's trajectory was worse than it looked. He recognized "America First" in the Tea Party. Now, he notes that the "Latin-Americanization" of the American economy (widening inequality) has led to the election of a Latin-American style populist. We examine reasons that things have gotten so much harder in the last 30 years in America, and invoke lessons from Britain, France, and Germany. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 10: Interview with Ed Luce, Author and Financial Times Columnist

Tribalism has mortally afflicted humanity since tribes evolved eons ago, and today it threatens to tear down many nations.  We know why we’re tribal, but how do we solve it, aside from civil war?  William Shakespeare offers one solution.  John Nash offers another.  General Petraeus offered a third.  Let’s put them all into one theory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 3: Democracy, Idiocracy, Kakistocracy, Oh My!

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