35 min listen
A love letter to democratic institutions
FromDemocracy Works
ratings:
Length:
42 minutes
Released:
Sep 27, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
The problems of disinformation, conspiracies, and cancel culture are probably familiar to many of our listeners. But they're usually talked about separately, including on this show. In his new book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, Jonathan Rauch ties these threads together and shows how they contribute to a larger problem of a departure from facts and truth in favor of feelings and falsehoods. The book reaches back to the parallel eighteenth-century developments of liberal democracy and science to explain what he calls the “Constitution of Knowledge”—our social system for turning disagreement into truth. The institutions that Rauch describes as "reality-based communities," universities, media, government organizations, and the courts, need our support now more than ever as they face attacks from illiberal forces across the political spectrum. But are the problems on the left and the right really the same? Rauch argues they are. Michael Berkman and Chris Beem consider that equivalency after the interview.Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer of The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more.Additional InformationThe Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of TruthKindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free ThoughtJonathan Rauch on TwitterRelated EpisodesHow democracies can win the war on realityAndrew Sullivan on democracy's double-edged swordJonathan Haidt on the psychology of democracyHow conspiracies are damaging democracy
Released:
Sep 27, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Middle America, Part 2: Grassroots organizing and rebooting democracy: Last week, we heard from Salena Zito about the segments of middle America who supported Donald Trump after voting for Barack Obama. This week, we talk with another Pittsburgh resident, Lara Putnam, about a different version of Middle America — the college-educated, middle-aged suburban women who have dusted off the organizing skills honed through decades … Continue reading Middle America, Part 2: Grassroots organizing and rebooting democracy → by Democracy Works