Between the Headlines

"I think the future holds a tremendous amount of promise. We just need to make sure that no one's left behind," says Stijn Broecke, Senior Labor Economist at the OECD Future of Work Initiative.

The Automation Revolution (or Fourth Industrial Revolution) is taking over a variety of human tasks. According to the OECD, 14% of jobs are at high risk of disappearing due to automation, while another third will be heavily affected. This episode explores responses to this development, from education and training to corporate regulation to creating a stronger social safety net. Stijn helps shift this conversation from existential musings to a practical set of steps for countries and governments to follow.

We aren't an authoritarian country, but after the Trump presidency, the 2020 elections, and ongoing attacks on fair voting, it seems that our democracy is pretty low-quality. Across the world, we've seen that presidents can gradually weaken a democracy, undermining the legitimacy of elections, opponents, and checks on their power.

In this episode, I discuss four dangerous attitudes and trends, and how they enable the subversion of democracy: political polarization, nationalism, white (majority) identity politics, and cynicism. I use examples from the Trump presidency to illustrate these effects, and provide some thoughts on how we can watch out for the health of our institutions going forward.

Let's take a step back from the breaking news and the fast-moving flashpoints to tell stories: stories about the people, the policies, and the patterns that are shaping society. Premiering October 14th and releasing weekly on Thursdays, Season 1 of Between the Headlines is bringing you conversations with experts and practitioners who have inside knowledge and uncovered perspectives of issues like gerrymandering, the post-automation economy, and American peace building. 

These voices reveal new problems and new responses. You cant understand the world without them. Please subscribe to between the Headlines on any major podcasting platform and look out for episodes starting October 14th.