How Do We Fix It?

Published: November 21st, 2019

“Tech For The Public Good” is supported by a grant from Solutions Journalism Network.

Technology is a double-edged sword. Despite well-publicized threats from bots, hackers, government spooks and huge online firms with their invasive algorithms, tech is often a force for public good.

In this special episode, we report on an innovative local effort to promote better healthcare for those who need it most: the residents of America's poorest Congressional District: New York's 15th CD in The Bronx.

Ivelyse Andino, founder and CEO of Radical Health, a minority-owned, Bronx-based health equity social enterprise that uses technology, an app powered by artificial intelligence, and community conversations to help black and brown pregnant women and new mothers understand their health care rights, build trust and develop self advocacy. 

According to US government statistics, black women are up to six times more likely to die from complications of pregnancy than white women. "The US is ranked as one of the most dangerous countries in the world to give birth if you are a black or brown woman," says Ivelyse. 

She compares the healthcare system to a MacDonalds. "You're in you're out. Here is all the things you need or you think you need and have at it."

Ivelyse was born and raised in The Bronx. She enjoyed a career in health tech, and trained oncologists on new drugs. Her life took a dramatic turn when her mother was diagnosed with cancer, which forced her to personally confront systematic disparities and failings of the healthcare system.

While reporting this episode we also spoke with several outstanding activists including Kaniya Samm who is a community organizer; and Alexis Del Rio, the co-founder of Bronx Móvil, a bilingual mobile harm reduction program.

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30 years ago this month the Berlin Wall came down, and Richard was there, reporting the story for ABC News. In those heady days of November, 1989, there was tremendous hope for the future of liberal democracy. In the next few years, most of Eastern Europe would emerge from the shackles of totalitarian communism.

But today, populism and nativism are on the rise in much of the world. Democratic institutions, civic norms, and a free press are all facing new challenges.

We speak with public affairs and political consultant Reed Galen, and look at whether the case for greater civility is overshadowed by the need to push back hard against the populists, and those who sneer at compromise, tolerance, reason, flexibility and other vital pillars of a functioning democracy.

"The Democrats are playing chess and Trump's eating the pieces," says Reed, who resigned from the Republican Party in 2016. "He will take your civility and squash you with it."

Further thoughts from Reed on civility here.

With this episode we start a new feature: Jim and Richard Recommend. We lift the curtain on what we're listening to, reading and watching. 

- Music: Singer-songwriter Belinda Carlisle.

- Movie: "Parasite" by Korean director Joon Ho Bong.

- Books: "Ill Winds: Saving Democracy From Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition and American Complacency by Larry Diamond, and "Golden Rice: The Imperiled Birth of a GMO Superfood" by Ed Regis.

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With today's furious political and cultural divisions, it's easy to shake our heads in exasperation at those who disagree with us. 

In this episode with Australian writer and philosopher, Eleanor Gordon-Smith, we take a journey to the limits of human reason. Her compelling new book, "Stop Being Reasonable. How We Really Change Our Minds," features six high-stakes personal stories of successful persuasion that illustrate what most of us get wrong about rationality. 

"Hearing the story of how somebody changes their mind is hearing the story of how they change their life," Eleanor tells us. "Why, when we know that changing our minds is as tangled and difficult and messy as we are, do we stay so wedded to the thought that rational debate is the way to go about it?"

The book and our podcast begin with Eleanor interviewing men who catcalled her in the street and made obscene gestures. Did she convince these guys to change their behavior? Find out what happened...

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Confused by Brexit? This episode looks back over the last 40 months since the shocking result of the Brexit referendum, when UK voters decided to leave the EU. We sort through the mess and misconceptions.

The political drama contains several acts: A December election has been called, and a new Brexit deal was reached in late October by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Union member states. But well over three years after the referendum, the UK Parliament has yet to agree to the terms of withdrawal. 

The December 12 vote could bring more confusion, with no party winning an overall majority. One the biggest hurdles is deciding what kind of Brexit voters actually want. 

For this episode, Richard traveled to London and spoke with Jill Rutter, senior research at the non-partisan think tank, UK in a Changing Europe. She writes frequently about Brexit and the UK's evolving relationship with the EU.

"The Prime Minister is very keen to be able to say he's got Brexit done," says Jill. But even though he has surprised people by being able to conclude a withdrawal agreement, he really hasn't got Brexit done."

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American democracy is in a moment of crisis. A new Gallup poll, released in late October, says a near-record-high 34% of Americans cite the government, poor leadership or politicians as the most important problem currently facing the U.S.

In this episode, we look at the work of a new online news site, The Fulcrum, which is focused exclusively on efforts to reverse the dysfunctions plaguing American democracy. 

"Our goal is to raise the level of awareness so people can understand what's wrong with the political system, and how they may go about getting involved to help make it better," says David Meyers, publisher and executive editor of The Fulcrum. 

We look at the controversy over voting rights, access to polling, the role of money in the American political system, gerrymandering, and how a group of volunteer hackers broke into all 100 voting machines they went after.

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Modern thought has been damaged by dogma and tribalistic click-bait. Social media and the fractured state of politics reward slick slogans and partisan anger while penalizing those who speak with intellectual honesty. 

Our guest, feminist writer and author, Meghan Daum, says instead of following the crowd we need to think for ourselves. While very supportive of the goals of the women's movement, she is also critical of the excesses of modern feminism. 

In this episode she makes the case for nuance and feeling conflicted about our own opinions. "I always say to my students, if you're not conflicted you're either lying to yourself or you're not very smart," she says.

Meghan is the author of "The Problem With Everything: A Journey Through The New Culture Wars". Her witty and rigorous new book is a personal account of "the conflicted and tortured state of liberalism generally and feminism in particular. But it is also a personal story of feeling existentially unmoored against the backdrop of a country falling apart." 

Meghan Daum is also a contributor to Medium. Her article, "Nuance: A Love Story" is here.

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American democracy is in crisis, with a coarsening of our national conversation and an erosion of public trust that threatens the guardrails of self-government. Many citizens feel dislocated, disempowered and believe that remote institutions and government don't listen to their needs and interests.

One way to bridge divides is to listen to a broader range of opinions, from people not like you.

Our guest is Pearce Godwin, founder and CEO of Listen First Project, which has 250 partner organizations who have joined the #ListenFirst movement as well as the thousands who have signed the Listen First Pledge.

Listen First sounds like a moderate idea, but "I think it really is radical," Pearce tells "How Do We Fix It?" Coming to conversations "with a spirit of curiosity is what will bring us to a place in which we are learning from one another and building greater connections, as opposed to throwing grenades and tearing each other apart."

The four key ingredients of a listen first conversation include listening to understand, being curious, suspending judgement, and maximizing a diversity of perspectives. More tips here.

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The furore over the decision by House Democrats to launch a formal impeachment investigation into President Trump will be the subject of heated debate for many months. In this episode we take a deeper look at leadership, and why good leaders are so vital to the future of our democracy, and for all organizations-- large and small. 

"In times of turmoil this is even more important," says our guest, Davia Temin, a highly experienced crisis manager, and leadership and communications coach. "Leadership is particularly important right now, because we are living in a very muddy universe."

In business and non-profit organizations, highly successful leaders have learned vital lessons about strategy, communication and ethics. We hear from Stephen Miles, a widely respected leadership coach and top-level succession planning executive. 

His deep understanding of what makes great leaders is featured in The Miles Group podcast series, "C-Suite Intelligence: Leadership Lessons From Coaches to the World's Top Performing Executives." This episode includes several extracts. Listen to the whole series, hosted by Richard Davies, here.

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Dementia provokes profound moral questions about our society and the meaning of life itself. How much are we connected to one another? In what ways are we distant and separated? What does it mean to have a self? How can we offer dignity to those who suffer from Alzheimer's and other forms of this terrible disease?

Worldwide around 50 million people have dementia. The US Centers for Disease Control estimates that the U.S. total is more than five million. The numbers are growing with the aging of the population. The incidence of Alzheimers increased more than 50% in the pst 15 years. People over the age of 85 are the largest growing share of the population.

British journalist and author Nicci Gerrard is our guest. Her father's long struggle with dementia led Nicci to investigate what the disease does to those who live with it and to their caregivers. She writes with deep wisdom, kindness and empathy in her new book, "The Last Ocean A Journey Through Memory and Forgetting."

In modern, developed nations, "we so value being young, healthy, vigorous, successful, purposeful, and autonomous," says Nicci. "In dementia all these things gradually unravel."

Following her father's death in 2014, Nicci Gerrard cofounded John's Campaign, which seeks to make care more compassionate for those who are vulnerable and powerless.

In this episode, we discuss her journey, what's she learned, and ways to improve dementia care, including the need for open an unrestricted visiting hours at hospitals-- still a controversial topic-- and dementia villages, a fairly new way to help people with memory loss improve quality of life. Here's a link to more information about Nicci's work and her book.

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With harsh rhetoric from President Trump, who wants strict new limits on refugees, asylum seekers and some other forms of immigration, to calls by several Democratic Presidential candidates to decriminalize all border crossings, the immigration debate is increasingly dominated by slogans rather than substance.

Hopes for a comprehensive and humane overhaul of U.S. immigration law have all but disappeared for now.

"The reality is illegal immigration has come to be THE conversation, says our guest, Andrew Selee, President of the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, which seeks to improve immigration policies through fact-based research. 

"Most immigration in the United States is legal immigration," he says. "What we're not talking about is that most people are legal immigrants, and that most people are coming Asia, rather than Latin America."

Also, he says: "immigrants on average have a higher education level than native-born Americans, which is something few of us realize."

In this episode, we unpack the myths about migration and look at potential solutions-- including ways to speed up the backlog of asylum cases, the benefits of a more merit-based system of legal immigration, and a path to legal residency for many of the millions of undocumented people now living in the United States.

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