Fair Point

In this episode of Fair Point, Robert Talisse, a professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University and the author of Sustaining Democracy: What We Owe to the Other Side, joins us to discuss the paradox at the heart of democracy. Dr. Talisse writes about a problem at the heart of democracy, that we’re supposed to fight for what we believe is just and simultaneously treat the people who disagree with us as our equals. Those two duties pull against each other constantly, and his work is about how we navigate that tension without abandoning either obligation. Together, we examine what we owe to our fellow citizens, why being right doesn’t entitle us to power over those who are wrong, and why voting still matters even if your vote might not change the outcome.

In this episode of Fair Point, Mark Torres, lead engineer at Northwestern's Center for Enlightened Disagreement, joins us to discuss AI's effect on the future of civil discourse and polarization. Northwestern's center, much like Fair Point, brings together researchers from political science, psychology, and technology to answer the critical question: how can we disagree better? Mark works on the tech side of this question. He studies how the algorithms behind social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X portray the worst side of the people we disagree with. Recently, he's been researching whether an algorithm could optimize for a more healthy portrayal of the other side while still keeping people engaged. Together, we examine why our feeds show us different versions of reality, how AI is changing what we can trust online, and what a social media platform built for civil discourse would look like.

Dr. Tania Israel, professor of counseling psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and author of Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide, joins us for a conversation on dialogue across political difference. Together, we examine how polarization shapes the way we see one another, and what it takes to move from suspicion and frustration toward curiosity, empathy, and real connection.

In this episode of Fair Point, Will Kaback, a senior editor at Tangle, joins us to discuss nonpartisan journalism and how to navigate an increasingly polarized media landscape. Tangle is a news organization that presents left-leaning and right-leaning arguments side by side before offering its own independent take, a format built to address the bias of modern political media. Together, we examine what honest, balanced journalism actually looks like, how readers can filter out bias in their news consumption, and the extent to which polarization in this country stems from the media systems built around us.

In this episode of Fair Point, Dr. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor and historian of education at the University of Pennsylvania, joins us to discuss the importance of free speech and how to tackle disagreement. Dr. Zimmerman studies how schools and universities handle disagreement, free speech, and democratic values. He is the author of several books on education controversies, including Free Speech: And Why You Should Give a Damn, and he writes frequently about how institutions prepare students for public disagreement. Together, we examine what has made people increasingly fearful of expressing their views, how social media shapes what we feel safe saying, and the role of education in defending students' right to free speech.