Similar to: The Ezra Klein Show

Rationale and Themes

Most of us would like to do our part to make a better world. But we feel helpless or scared to take any risks, or we get discouraged when our actions do not yield quick results.

Fanaticism and racism are on the rise. Volunteer rates are flat. Although turnout for recent elections ha generally been higher and the Black Lives Matter has been inspiring, overall, “idealism” and “hope” feel like naïve sentiments today. Hope for quick fixes through technological progress, protest movements, or elections seem a distant memory.

But what if our downhill slide toward environmental, social, economic, and political failure that feels almost inevitable could be averted? There are no panaceas but we can change our civic culture. We can appeal to “the better angels of our nature,” as Abe Lincoln put it. There ARE better ways to organize our lives and communities and economy. There’s ample circumstantial evidence in history; research on psychology, leadership, and other social sciences; as well as in our personal experiences of being part of high-functioning teams, families, and
communities.

The Show

This show will explore this terrain in detail. It will include segments for both the mind and heart, stories (from the past and present), and data. Unlike other shows, our goals are not merely to inform or entertain, but to be part of the network of people thinking and working on these issues to make a better world.

Each show will combine:

• Interviews with experts focused especially on the need to move beyond short-term quick fixes.
• Inspiring or thought-provoking national and local stories about nonprofit organizations, individuals, or groups.
• A segment produced by a civic group — high school, college, or community group or organization. It could be locally based or highlight a model from another community.
• Regular updates from the DC Tutoring & Mentoring Initiative and community projects like it.
• Opportunities to be the change by giving to or volunteering with specific organizations that may have been featured or mentioned on the show.

Ultimately, the goal is to help create a civic culture by providing a common narrative; a language for thinking about big questions, our roles and responsibilities as individuals; and a “common faith,” as John Dewey put it, that can sustain a 21st-century democracy.