Civil Squared

Outside of a global pandemic, there’s a lot of general frustration with how our healthcare system works. It’s not surprising that the pressures of the pandemic put incredible stress on an already fraught system. So, what did we do in response to that pressure? Did we learn anything from that pressure that we can take into making our healthcare system function better moving forward? 

Our guest on the podcast today, Courtney Joslin, a resident fellow at R Street, came on the show to talk about what we learned from COVID-19 about providing better healthcare in a crisis and beyond. Dr. Jennifer Thompson spoke to her about what different states and the federal government changed in response to COVID-19, vaccine passports, and where we go from here. 

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Through 2020 and entering into 2021, our society has faced some pretty spectacular challenges. Many of them brought on by COVID-19. Some of them brought on by challenges we’ve created for ourselves through decisions we made generations ago, the consequences of which are now coming to a head.  

Younger Americans face challenges in employment, housing, and health that previous generations did not and all of us are faced with the problems of hyperpolarization and coming back from the wreckage of a global pandemic.  

Our guest on the podcast today, policy fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and demographer Lyman Stone, is a student of the data. Dr. Jennifer Thompson spoke to Lyman about the trends he has observed in how our society faces challenges and the lessons we can learn about how to respond in the face of problems and come back as a flourishing, healthy society.  

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In our increasingly divided society, speaking your mind is costly. Saying what you think could cost you relationships, it could cause you to lose your reputation and the respect of your social circles, or your livelihood. It’s easy to see why many of us choose to keep our mouths shut, rather than risk spreading possibly controversial thoughts around. But what damage do we do to ourselves and to society when we make this a habit? 

Our guest on the podcast, Dr. Rishi Joshi talks to Jennifer Thompson about the risks of speaking your mind and why he believes you have a duty to do it anyway. This duty, Rishi argues, is for the good of your community, but also, more importantly, for yourself.   

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Vaccines are being rolled out on a broader scale and there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but what happens when we come out of it? What have we learned about conversation from COVID-19 as we’ve all been separated physically? How will what we’ve experienced change how we go about conversation face to face, post pandemic?

Dr. Jennifer Thompson sat down with Liz Joyner, Executive Director of the Village Square and Jeremy Garson, In House Counsel and Chief of Staff, the Bridge Alliance about these questions and more. They share their experience working in the civil discourse space.

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What does unity require in a country full of diverse opinions and experiences? Are there values that unite Americans, no matter who they are and what they believe? What do we need to do to bridge even our most difficult divides?

Dr. Jennifer Thompson talked with Samar Ali, Co-Chair, Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy and found of Millions of Conversations about what it means to be American in 2021 and how we pursue unity in an increasingly polarized society. She shares her experience in international conflict resolution and grass roots community conversations, and talks about the importance of respectful discourse.

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Most people have complaints about the internet, and specifically social media. They fear that social media companies are censoring people with their views, or on the other hand, not censoring dangerous views enough. And both views have latched on to one law as the solution to their social media woes, Section 230.

Dr. Jennifer Thompson talked with Shoshana Weissmann, senior manager of digital communications and policy fellow at R Street about what Section 230 is and if getting rid of it is helpful or hurtful to an internet where discourse can flourish. She shares her experience as a policy advocate and also how she uses the internet for her health and hobbies and what Section 230 means to everyday users of the internet.

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Education is more than just an issue of policy. It’s a transformative experience that contributes to a flourishing life. That’s the view of our guest this week, Derrell Bradford, executive vice president of 50can. An advocate for education reform for decades, Derrell works with people of all political ideologies to help ensure that every child has access to a quality education, no matter their zip code.

Dr. Jennifer Thompson talked with Derrell about the value of education for individuals, but also for society. He shares his take on the attack on the Capitol as a failure of education and what we can do to make a difference in education in our own communities.

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Viewpoint diversity is the sort of idea that sounds good on paper, but in practice, few of us like to embrace. We don’t like to hear ideas we think are wrong and certainly rarely think about why those ‘wrong’ ideas are important to discuss. Our recent guest does research on the importance of viewpoint diversity, teaches a course on the topic, and also consults with businesses that want to create an environment that encourages diverse perspectives.

Dr. Jennifer Thompson sat down with Dr. Ilana Redstone, associate professor of sociology at the University of Illinois, to talk her about her work on the value of viewpoint diversity and the challenges of discussing a variety of views on sensitive topics, like race and issues related to identity. Ilana shares her experiences in the classroom, helping students navigate dialogue and gives us important examples of mistakes we might avoid in trying to have sensitive conversations ourselves. 

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Through the course of 2020, we talked to lots of experts, authors, and thoughtful people about issues from the value of political engagement, to the role of civil society in solving our deepest problems, and everything in between. We pulled together the best ideas we heard this year that are applicable into 2021 and beyond. Take a listen and if you find one particularly valuable, you might enjoy the rest of that episode too! 

Show Notes