How Do We Fix It?

After the recent storming of the US Capitol and the loss of both the White House and U.S. Senate, it's tempting to believe that civil war will break out among Republicans— a party deeply split between traditional conservatives and Trump-supporting populists.

We decided to find out what two young Republicans say about the future of their party, and the need to confront those who believe in conspiracy theories and are nostalgic for a return to a mythical past.  

Our guests are Danielle Butcher and John Olds. Danielle, who was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 List, co-founded the American Conservation Coalition, a non-profit group that backs free-market solutions for environmental problems. John Olds, Executive Director of Gen Z GOP, is a Republican activist and senior at George Washington University.

Both Butcher and Olds are outspoken critics of Donald Trump. They believe that Republicans must develop constructive policies on climate change, racial inequities and student debt. Both support market incentives to solve a range of problems.

Recommendation: Jim Meigs is reading The Federalist Papers, 85 essays written in the 1780's by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison. 

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Even before coronavirus led to social distancing, widespread working from home, and lockdown restrictions, loneliness was becoming a defining condition of the twenty-first century. Today, this pandemic of pain and isolation is far worse. 

One of many recent polls found that more than three in five Americans say they are lonely, with more and more people reporting feeling like they are left out, poorly understood, and lacking companionship. Other surveys overseas have similar findings.

Our guest, the British economist, Noreena Hertz, is the author of "The Lonely Century: How to Restore Human Connection in a World Pulling Apart." Her new book, published February 2, is a personal and deeply-researched investigation into the roots of the loneliness epidemic, how the pandemic and the 2020 election exacerbated the problem, and what we can do to come together. 

"Loneliness levels have significantly and not surprisingly increased during the pandemic, particularly among the young, women, and people of low income", Noreena tells us. 

In our interview, we discuss the importance of the workplace in enhancing community, the need to reinvigorate our neighborhoods, and how governments and private enterprise can react to the increase in loneliness and alienation. We also learn more about the link between loneliness and the rise of right-wing populism.

Recommendation: Richard and Jim frequently use Wikipedia, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Wiki co-founder, Jimmy Wales, is the guest on a recent episode of "the Economist Asks" podcast, hosted by Anne McElvoy.

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We are in a stunning moment for our country. A hoard of rioters invaded our nation’s seat of government to try to overturn an election. Many of them appear to have been motivated by false and inflammatory statements by President Trump, and under the sway of wild online conspiracy theories. In response, our leading tech platforms have tried to silence Trump and shut down many of the channels where his most extreme supporters communicate. 

Is this the correct approach? Should Congress and the Biden Administration impose new regulations on big tech companies? How should free speech be protected?

We discuss these questions and more with Nadine Strossen, who has written, taught, and advocated extensively in areas of constitutional law and civil liberties. From 1991 to 2008, she was President of the ACLU— the nation's largest and oldest civil liberties organization.

"The First Amendment is only a constraint on the government's censorial power," Nadine tells How Do We Fix It? "Facebook and Twitter are themselves protected by the First Amendment in making editorial decisions."

Recommendation: Jim is reading "Hamilton", the biography of Alexander Hamilton by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow.

How Do We Fix It? is a proud member of the Democracy Group podcast network.

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Just before the 2020 election, pundits predicted that Latino Americans would overwhelmingly vote for Joe Biden. And it’s true—Latino voters do tilt Democratic. But Donald Trump won a greater share of Latino votes in some states and large cities than he did in 2016. Because of decades of investment and political courtship, as well as a nuanced and varied cultural identity, the Republican party has had a much longer and stronger bond with Hispanics than many political commentators realize. 

In this episode, we speak with historian and Latino and Latina studies professor Geraldo Cadava about the findings of his recent book, "The Hispanic Republican".

In the wake of the recent assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, we also look at the hazards of putting large groups of voters in a box or describing their political behavior in simple terms.

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The storming of the U.S. Capitol building by an angry mob of Trump supporters was a dark day in American history and a shock to people around the world. Images of looting and anarchy in the proud place where Congress has met for over 200 years, provoked profound despair and led many to question the stability of American democracy. 

The insurrection brought shame to President Trump, who incited a crowd to march on the legislative branch of government.

In this special episode recorded the day after the chaos at The Capitol, we speak with political scientist Lee Drutman of New America, about the political causes of this violent outburst, and what reforms are needed to heal our democracy. 

"This has been a tremendous wake-up call for a lot of people," Lee told us. "We are really in a fight for the continuation of American democracy."

Lee is the author of the book, "Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America", and co-host of the podcast, "Politics in Question".

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At the start of 2020, the world first became aware of COVID-19. This show looks at what we have learned about the global pandemic since then. 

In early February, Richard spoke face-to-face with epidemiologist Kylie Carlville of the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, during a visit to Melbourne, Australia. This recording was made just as scientists were beginning to understand the nature of the outbreak and before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

In the spring, we interviewed Samson Ellis of Bloomberg News about Taiwan's remarkable success in fighting the spread of the virus. In late December, the number of deaths in Taiwan from COVID was 7, with only 766 recorded cases. Total US cases were more than 18 million.

In June, oncologist, bioethicist, and healthcare expert, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, explained the global lessons to be learned from the crisis. He wrote the recently published book, “Which Country Has the World’s Best Healthcare?”

This episode also includes practical lessons about public healthcare from physician and CEO Doctor Vivian Lee. And we went in pursuit of wisdom and discovery with journalist  Eric Weiner, author of the new book, “The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons From Dead Philosophers". We discuss what ancient philosophy can teach us about living in a time of hardship.

Recommendations: Richard's favorite book of 2020 was "Apeirogon", a novel by Irish writer, Colum McCann and the Netflix comedy series "Call My Agent." Jim recommends the subscription site substack.com, a site for independent thinkers who write newsletters on a wide range of topics.

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In his ambitious climate plan, President-elect Biden promises that by 2050 the United States will reach net-zero carbon emissions.

A groundbreaking new study from energy experts at Princeton University outlines five different pathways for how to reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, using existing technology, and at costs aligned with historical average spending on energy. The research is the first to quantify and map in specific detail the infrastructure that would be needed to achieve this goal.

Our guests are Jesse Jenkins and Eric Larson, two principal investigators on the study. Jesse is an engineering professor, and Eric is a senior research engineer. Both work at Princeton's Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment and have conducted extensive research on ways to produce clean energy.

"We wanted to paint several different pictures that are quite different from each other to illustrate there are many different ways to get to net-zero," Eric tells us. The study makes it clear that while reaching this goal is challenging, it also would bring many environmental, public health and economic benefits, including millions of new jobs and less pollution. 

Recommendation: Jim has enjoyed watching "Fantastic Fungi", an entertaining and highly inventive documentary on Amazon Prime about a world that lives beneath our feet.

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Despite the tragedy, suffering and economic losses of COVID, there are silver linings for many families in the current crisis. Recent lockdowns have a bright side for teens. A new survey says they're spending more time with their parents, getting extra sleep, and suffering from lower levels of clinical depression.

Our guest, New York psychoanalyst, parent coach, and author Erica Komisar, wrote in The Wall Street Journal "it has taken a pandemic to prove that it's possible to integrate work into our personal lives, as many millions of parents are now working from home. "Everyone wins— maternity-leave advocates who have been fighting for this arrangement for years, employers, mothers and children most of all." 

In lockdowns, Erica tells us, "children are getting a great deal more of their parents' time and attention and energy than they have previously.' 

In this episode, we also discuss why the findings of her book, "Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters" challenge both liberals and conservatives. We look at the case for extended paid maternity leave, and the potential emotional costs of daycare for infants and toddlers.

Recommendation: Jim is listening to "Missing in Alaska", a podcast by journalist Jon Walczak about a 50-year-old mystery of a plane disappearance.

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We live in a remarkable time for science. Vaccines to fight COVID-19 have been developed with surprising speed and are reported to be more than 90% effective against the virus. 

Dramatic progress has also been made in the quest to overhaul and improve America's space program. Recent innovations and reusable rockets have dramatically cut the cost of space launches. Vaccine research and space innovation are examples of public-private partnerships between government and businesses.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, America’s most prominent spokesman for science and the Director of New York City’s Hayden Planetarium, talks about the benefits to us all of having a cosmic perspective, the case for human space flight, and lessons learned from his best-selling book, "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry."

We also discuss "We're Living in a New Space Age," in the new issue of Commentary Magazine, written by our co-host, Jim Meigs. A public-private partnership, with Elon Musk of Space X in a key role, is producing results, as "successive presidential administrations have backed NASA'S market-oriented innovators," writes Jim.

Recommendation: Richard is watching "Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds."

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More than ever, we need to fight fake news and misinformation by getting out of our filter bubbles. A bitterly contested election at a time of political paralysis and partisan bickering makes the case for change even more urgent.

In this episode, we look at the groundbreaking work of AllSides.com, which shines a light on media bias by offering readers a selection of daily news stories from publications that tilt left, right or center.

Our guests are AllSides founder and CEO John Gable, and the site’s director of product, Samantha Shireman.

AllSides is an increasingly popular media destination with many millions of page views that aims to strengthen democracy with balanced news and diverse perspectives. 

Today's recommendation: Richard is reading "Apeirogon", a novel by the Irish writer, Colum McCann.

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