Our guest, 29-year-old Nick Troiano, Executive Director of Unite America, is a leading voice of the reform movement, who supports changes aimed at reducing gridlock, boosting voter participation, and finding common ground. "We are caught in a democracy that is spiraling in a very negative direction and the question before us is how do we break that," Nick tells us.

Are you depressed when you read the news? The media's rampant negativity, with a daily emphasis on outrage and crisis, is a form of mental pollution that misinforms the public, harms democracy, and leads a distorted view of the world.

"You Are What You Read", by Jodie Jackson, is a call for reform. Written by a non-journalist, the book looks at the psychological impact of reading endlessly negative news, and shows viewers, listeners and readers how to protect themselves and change their media diet. 

This show is released during the National Week of Conversation (April 5-13)— an annual event when people with diverse perspectives #ListenFirst to understand. 

At a time of information overload, social media silos and political paralysis, we look at how can all of us be better communicators. In this 200th episode, Richard and Jim share lessons they've learned about listening, asking questions and interviewing guests during nearly four years of "How Do We Fix It?"

Novelist and journalist John Lanchester's new book "The Wall", imagines a world dealing with catastrophic climate change. 

This is our first episode about a novel, which may help us understand with how individuals and society might react.  Would we panic and be even more fearful or xenophobic than we are today? Would older people, who failed to act on climate change before it was too late, face bitterness and blame from younger generations?

Isolation and loneliness have reached epidemic levels, resulting in a profound loss of social capital. Despite mass communications, the spread of technology and social media, a recent survey found 47% of Americans often felt alone, meaningful connections to others.

In this second episode with the author of the new book, "Love Your Enemies", social scientist and president of the American Enterprise Institute, Arthur Brooks, we discuss the need for a stronger sense of community, deeper friendships, and a curiosity for uncomfortable ideas.

Best-selling author and social scientist, Arthur Brooks, makes the case for something that is far more life affirming than mere tolerance and civility. He explains a new way to lead based not on attacking others, but on bridging national divides and mending personal relationships.

We discuss his response to America's crisis of political polarization and those who profit from making us miserable and tearing our country apart.

This episode features former Reuters correspondent, investigative journalist, and advocate Carey Gillam-- the author of “Whitewash —The Story of a Weedkiller, Cancer and the Corruption of Science.” Carey's book won the Rachel Carson book award from the Society of Environmental Journalists. 

Our guest is Tolu Olubunmi, host of the podcast, "A Way Home Together: Stories of the Human Journey". Tolu is a global advocate for migrants, refugees, and displaced people. She is a Dreamer, born in Nigeria, who now lives in The United States.

Our guest in this episode, Oren Cass, argues that we've abandoned the American worker, and pushed four-college at the cost of other, more effective, solutions.

In his widely-praised new book, "The Once and Future Worker",  Oren argues that government policy should emphasize production, not consumption.  His arguments were summarized   in The Atlantic.

Facebook turned 15 this month. The company has gone from being universally celebrated for changing the way we communicate, to a troubled adolescent with serious questions about its entire business model. We speak to Wade Roush, a technology journalist and podcast host, who is in the process of getting off Facebook.

Jim and Richard look at journalism's crisis and consider whether readers, viewers and listeners may be partially to blame. We also hear from Aron Pilhofer, professor of Journalism Innovation at the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University, and David Bornstein co-founder of Solutions Journalism Network.

In this episode, Philip K. Howard attacks the failed ideologies of Republicans and Democrats, and calls for a radical simplification of government to re-empower Americans in their daily choices. Philip is the author of several books, including the best-seller “The Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America” and, “Try Common Sense: Replacing Failed Ideologies of Left and Right.” 

With a simple Facebook post saying that she wanted to end partisan gerrymandering, Katie Fahey sparked the beginnings of an extraordinary grassroots campaign. Katie is in her late 20's. With neither connections nor deep pockets, she started Voters Not Politicians to change Michigan's State Constitution. 

All year long, the headlines were dominated by President Trump, from his abrupt decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, to his harsh descriptions of migrants and the long fight over a border wall.

But what were some of the other big takeaways from 2018: The surprising findings that may have a longer-term impact than the furious fights over the President's behavior and policies?

This episode, "8 for '18, looks at the growing power of women in politics and media, concerns about capitalism, rising debt, climate change, and why there's hope from the heartland and a strong case for optimism.

Joseph Luzzi, is a Dante scholar and professor at Bard College. In this episode he talks about the power of reading, he speaks from personal experience. When his 1st wife, Katherine was 8 1/2 months pregnant she was killed in a car accident. The doctors were able to save the baby and in the space of a few hours Luzzi became a widower and a father on the same day. Luzzi turned to Dante. In our conversation, Luzzi talks about how Dante and other books helped him learn how to live again.

Our guest is the respected scholar, Elizabeth Economy, Director for Asia Studies at The Council on Foreign Relations and the author of the highly praised book, "The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State.”