ReConsider

Why are referendums ending up so different from how polls suggest?From Brexit to the FARC peace deal, there have been some shockers in referendums: the polls have very much gone one way, and the results another.So what the heck is going on? In this episode, Xander and Erik talk about how polling works, how it might be going so wrong, and what oddities are going on with direct democracy versus the representative stuff we're used to.

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A 55-year-old civil war may be about to come to an end. The government of Colombia and FARC have hammered out a big, complicated, icky peace deal, and it's going to referendum on October 2nd. The consequences for Colombia, the geopolitics of the Western Hemisphere, and other civil conflicts could be huge. It's something you should know about, and we'll give you the context to be up to speed.

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What if you decided to immerse yourself in the opposite political narrative to what you know?That's just what Stephanie did. She lives surrounded by liberal news media and friends, and she decided to spend a few months reading and listening only to Fox News, to understand what's missing from her own narrative.The results are awesome.

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Everything's falling apart! The breakdown of multilateral institutions! Anti-establishment candidates are popping up everywhere! Russia is escalating! China! Syria! Turkey! Terrorism!What's it all look like in the long-term?

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The Party Conventions have come and gone. Each of the two major parties has made their case to America that their candidate is fit to lead. What's the takeaway for the country? What are the underlying strategies of each party and what groups are they trying to win? What do each of them, and the convention system in general, mean for the future of the US?

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UNCLOS has ruled on China's claim to the South China Sea and China is totally on board with it. Just kidding! Now the fun begins. The Philippines sued China about its territorial claims in the South China Sea and won--basically, the UN said that China's claims to the territory are total BS because the rocks in the South China Sea aren't real islands.China has (not surprisingly) said that they're not going to follow the judgment (despite being a cosigner of UNCLOS). Now there's a bit of a crisis: how can the world enforce the ruling? Sanctions? Military?And what happens if major world powers begin openly flouting international law? What happens to those institutions and international world stability? It's a scary thought.

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Anti-ISIS forces have scored a string of victories recently, and lots of people haven't heard about them. Why do we hear about the defeats, but not the victories? How can we get the full picture?

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After busting some myths about US education performance and its causes, we interview renowned SF Teacher of the Year Lana Corda to understand some of the challenges facing one of the toughest school districts in the country. We learn a lot about the on-the-ground details about some of the barriers to improving student performance.

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How's the US education system performing relative to other countries? How can we improve our own performance?

There are many opinions and narratives about what to do, and in this episode, Xander and Erik dive into the data to understand which hold water, and which are swept away by facts.

Check out sources on the companion post page!

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Welp: it happened! Britain had its referendum, and they're leaving the European Union. What the heck happens next? What are the short- and long-term consequences, and what is the UK going to do?

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