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7 episodes with knowledge a defense
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2 episodes with knowledge a defense
2 episodes with knowledge a defense
2 episodes with knowledge a defense
2 episodes with knowledge a defense
2 episodes with knowledge a defense
2 episodes with knowledge a defense
2 episodes with knowledge a defense
Peter talks with Jonathan Rauch about two of his books, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth and Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy.
Why would religion be necessary for a liberal democracy to function fully as intended? What benefits does Christianity provide to society in tandem with democracy that would collapse if either of those pillars failed? Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and also the author of several books and articles across various publications. His latest book is titled Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy.Greg and Jonathan discuss the declining influence of Christianity in America, the historical symbiosis between religion and liberal democracy, and how that relationship has shifted over time. They explore the rise of alternative spiritual movements and the consequences of shifting toward a more secular society. Jonathan explains his concepts of thin Christianity, sharp Christianity, and thick Christianity, and the benefits of thick Christianity as exemplified by the Latter Day Saints. They also examine the political polarization within Christianity and the effects it is having on the makeup of the church.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:The core message of Jonathan's book[15:10] You've probably seen this in academia. They look at religion as the sum total of sociology plus demography and political leanings. Those things matter, but theology matters more. The Bible matters, and that remains within Christianity, a fundamental groundwork that it's hard to shop your way out of. I mean, you can. Of course, there's some pretty wackadoodle Christianity out there, but most mainstream Christianity is rooted in certain teachings, and those do provide some important ethical principles. The core message of my book is that the three most important central principles to Christianity, according to Christians, are also three core principles of liberal democracy. And you don't have to believe in Jesus to see that they're true and to see that they're important.Is America ungovernable without Christianity?[04:47] Religion is fading as part of American life. And that's great because religion is divisive, and it's dogmatic, and we'll just all get along better without it. I have never been so wrong. It turns out the founders told us this, but I forgot it, that Christianity, religion generally, but in the US that means Christianity- that especially means white Christianity, is a load-bearing wall in our democracy. And America is becoming ungovernable in significant part because Christianity is failing.The crisis of authority[36:22] Barna, which is a Christian research group, did a big survey of pastors a couple years ago. They asked if pastors had seriously considered quitting in the last year. 42% said yes. And the number three reason after, I can't remember number one and two though, were obvious, like low pay and high stress.Number three was politics.Why Christianity and liberalism need to support each other.[39:29] Liberalism needs that sense of rootedness and groundedness, that attention to higher transcendent things and core values and scriptures that are 3000 years old or 2000 years old, depending. It needs those things precisely because it is always changing and always churning.Show Links:Recommended Resources:ChristianityFriedrich NietzscheStrange Rites: New Religions for a Godless WorldJohn Stuart MillAlexandre LefebvreImmanuel KantChristian NationalismAmerican Heretics: Religious Adversaries of Liberal OrderLouis P. SheldonFamily Research CouncilBarna GroupEvangelicalismDavid FrenchEquality UtahRussell D. MooreTim KellerGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at Brookings InstitutionJonathanRauch.comProfile on WikipediaLinkedIn ProfileSocial Profile on XHis Work:Amazon Author PageCross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with DemocracyThe Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of TruthThe Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free ThoughtDenial: My 25 Years Without a SoulGay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for AmericaThe Outnation: A Search for the Soul of JapanIndex of Articles
Has Signalgate triggered a credible resistance movement to Trump 2.0? Brookings scholar and Atlantic columnist Jonathan Rauch isn't particularly optimistic. He discusses the emerging resistance from law firms, media, and some religious groups, while expressing concern about Trump potential defiance of Supreme Court orders. Rauch observes that the opposition to Trump's authoritarianism remains fragmented, but believes that eventually counter-organization will develop, though he remains uncertain whether it will happen quickly enough to be effective.Five Key Takeaways from the Rauch Interview* Patrimonial Governance: Trump's administration operates on what Rauch describes as a patrimonial model where loyalty to Trump is paramount, with officials trying to "work toward the Führer" by anticipating his desires rather than awaiting orders.* Institutional Breakdown: Rauch believes the U.S. has moved from a three-branch to effectively a two-branch government, with Congress largely absent as a check on executive power.* Fragmented Resistance: Opposition to Trump remains disorganized, with Rauch noting that resistance is forming but suffering from a collective action problem where institutions (law firms, universities, think tanks) are being picked off individually.* Supreme Court Concerns: Rauch predicts Trump may openly defy a Supreme Court order in his second term, which would represent an unprecedented constitutional crisis.* Religious Politics: Despite writing a book on Christian politics, Rauch sees no cracks in evangelical support for Trump, though he does believe some religious groups might eventually respond to extreme measures like deportations or humanitarian crises.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Brookings Institute's 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. His many Brookings publications include the 2021 book “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth”, as well as the 2015 ebook “Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy.” Other books include “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50” (2018) and “Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America” (2004). He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Everyone wants love and community in a fractured world. What happens when they are lost? Host Curtis Chang and Pete Wehner, a columnist for The Atlantic and former White House staffer, explore the deep sense of political, cultural, and spiritual exile felt by many Americans. Reflecting on Pete's journey from shaping policy during 9/11 to breaking from the Republican Party over Donald Trump, they discuss the challenges of shifting identities while staying true to one's convictions. Drawing from the Psalms, cognitive psychology, and Christian history, they offer a vision for engaging culture and finding new purpose amid political disillusionment and feelings of living in exile, even in the place you call home. This episode revisits a past conversation to examine cognitive dissonance and the pursuit of truth in times of uncertainty. Send written questions or voice memos for “Ask Curtis” episodes to: askcurtis@redeemingbabel.org Get a 25% discount when you buy The Art of Disagreeing by Gavin Ortland at thegoodbook.com with code: GOODFAITH Resources From This Episode: Psalm 126 (New Living Translation) Winston Churchill's Painting as a Pastime A Short History Of The Dardanelles Campaign The GOP and the Birther Trap (article) by Pete Wehner Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Jonathan Rauch's The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth Jeremiah 29 (New Living Translation) Makoto Fujimura's Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life Mark Labberton's talk: The Deep Work of a New Creation Mark Labberton's talk: Beauty in Exile Rodney Stark (books) Russell Moore clip: “Jesus is a hood ornament” 2 Corinthians 5 New Living Translation More From Pete Wehner: Read Peter Wehner's latest article: MAGA Has Found a New Model Peter Wehner's The Atlantic opinion pieces Peter Wehner at The Trinity Forum Follow Us: Good Faith on Instagram Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter) Good Faith on Facebook Sign up: Redeeming Babel Newsletter
What is the hidden influence of Christianity in American society—and what happens if it disappears? Host Curtis Chang sits down with Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and author of Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy, to explore how Judeo-Christian values have shaped democracy and what their decline means for our political and social landscape. They discuss the rise of fear within the evangelical church, political polarization, and make the case for Christian virtues as a stabilizing force at the heart of the American republic. Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, it's important to understand why Christianity's influence extends far beyond the church—and why its disappearance could reshape the future of democracy. Send written questions or voice memos for “Ask Curtis” episodes to: askcurtis@redeemingbabel.org Get a 25% discount when you buy The Art of Disagreeing by Gavin Ortland at thegoodbook.com with code: GOODFAITH Resources from this episode: Jonathan Rauch's 2003 The Atlantic article Let It Be Jonathan Rauch's Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy The rise of the AfD in Germany France holds off the far right Pew Research: Modeling the Future of Religion in America James Madison and religious freedom Can the Religious Right Be Saved? by Dr. Russell Moore Dr. Timothy Keller: Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? Learn more about The After Party More From Jonathan Rauch: Read the latest article by Jonathan Rauch: One Word Describes Trump Jonathan Rauch's The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth Jonathan Rauch's work at the Brookings Institute Jonathan Rauch's The Atlantic articles Follow Us: Good Faith on Instagram Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter) Good Faith on Facebook Sign up: Redeeming Babel Newsletter
Jim talks with Jonathan Rauch about the ideas in his book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. They discuss the epistemic crisis, Plato's Theaetetus, Trump & propaganda techniques, the Constitution of Knowledge as a framework for epistemics, the "marketplace of ideas" metaphor, the reality-based community, the personal-institutional spiral, the social funnel of knowledge, social media's impact on epistemics, advertising vs subscription models, meme space pollution, the anti-vax movement, the importance of free speech to the gay rights movement, recommendations for defending truth, supporting institutions, speaking out against misinformation, maintaining viewpoint diversity, and much more. Episode Links The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, by Jonathan Rauch Plato's Theaetetus Heterodox Academy JRS EP273 - Gregg Henriques on the Unified Theory of Knowledge Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, by Renée DiResta Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy, by Jonathan Rauch Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, published in 2021 by the Brookings Press, is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, a spirited and deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order.
”I grew up thinking that Christianity was basically cruel and hypocritical.” “The core teachings of Jesus align very well with the core teachings of James Madison.” “That's why we need Christianity. It's not because we don't have reason to fear. It's because we do.” —Jonathan Rauch, from the episode We're at a crossroads, where Christianity and secularism in America are both operating at cross-purposes, and both need a critical reassessment of their role in democratic public life. In his new book, Jonathan Rauch “reckons candidly with both the shortcomings of secularism and the corrosion of Christianity.” He “addresses secular Americans who think Christianity can be abandoned, and Christian Americans who blame secular culture for their grievances.” Jonathan Rauch is senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of several books, including The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth and his latest book (under discussion in this episode), Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy. Follow him on X @jon_rauch. He is also a celebrated essayist, a contributing writer for The Atlantic, and a recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. In this episode Mark Labberton and Jonathan Rauch discuss: Republican virtue What Jesus and James Madison have in common The political idolatry of secularism The differences between the thin church, sharp church, and thick church The political orientation of the church in exile Tyrannical fear The Morman church's example of civic theology “of patience, negotiation, and mutual accommodation” The promise of power in exchange for loyalty About Jonathan Rauch Jonathan Rauch is senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of several books, including The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth and his latest book (under discussion in this episode), Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy. Follow him on X @jon_rauch. Show Notes Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth Reasonable, civic mindedness “Graciousness toward a faith you don't share.” “Of course I knew I was Jewish. I also knew that the idea of God seemed silly to me. I just never, never could believe it.” The Rev. Dr. Mark McIntosh 2003 Atlantic article: “The dumbest thing I ever wrote” celebrating secularism in America (”Let It Be,” The Atlantic, May 2003) “ It turned out that when Christianity started to fail, people started looking for substitutes, because they were looking for a source of identity and values and transcendent meaning.” Political idolatry of secularism “A major reason the country is becoming ungovernable is because of Christianity's crisis. We can no longer separate the two, and that's why I, a very secular person, am writing a book about Christianity.” “Moving away from the teachings of Jesus…” “The core teachings of Jesus align very well with the core teachings of James Madison.” Mark's description of his father: “ My dad used to save certain neck veins for the discussion of religion because he felt like it was something that should be avoided, at that time, at all costs, particularly its most zealous kind. And his primary critique was that what religious people do is that they take great things and make them small. … What shocked me when I became a Christian was this discovery that Jesus and my dad had this same theme in common, that Jesus often objected to the small making of various religious authorities of his day.” “God's capacious grace, creativity, purpose, and love” Will the church live in its identity as followers of Jesus? “Christianity is a load-bearing wall in our liberal democracy.” “Republican virtues” (not the party): lawful, truthful, civic education, tolerant, pluralistic Christianity's role in upholding the unprecedented religious freedom “When Christians begin demanding things that are inconsistent with those core values, that makes everything else in the country harder.” “The thin church is a church that blends into the surrounding culture and it becomes diluted.” “The sharp church is … where the church takes on the political colorations of the surrounding environment, aligns itself with a political party.” Divisive and polarizing “The third is the thick church. And there, the challenge is that you want a church to be counter cultural. You want it to have a strong sense of its own values. Otherwise, it's just not doing the work. So it needs to ask a lot of its followers. It needs to give a lot back in exchange. That's what sociologists mean by, by thick communities and groups. At the same time, it needs to be reasonably well aligned with our constitution and our liberal democratic values.” Church of fear Fear of demographic decline Cultural fear and losing the country to the woke Left Fear of emasculation Plain old political fear: “Our side needs to win.” Fear as a major theme of the Bible Fear of God as “the beginning of wisdom” “A communion of unlike people. … A workshop in which the character of God … is meant to be learned.” Immaturity and lack of wisdom in the church “The chief defense of the faith in the world that Jesus died and rose is that unlike people find communion with one another in a union that only Jesus Christ's death and resurrection could actually accomplish.” “Tyrannical fear”—a drive for dominance “Fear is part of the human condition. Yet what's so countercultural about Christianity, is its teaching that you can't be governed by that fear. You can't let it run your life and go around in a state of panic. And that Jesus Christ himself had lots to be fearful of, as we know from the end that he came to, and yet comported himself in this calm and dignified way, did not let fear triumph over him. That's why we need Christianity. It's not because we don't have reason to fear. It's because we do.” “Fear casts out love.” Trump administration['s] … demonstration of a capacity to have literally no compassion, no empathy.” The paradigm of Exodus versus the paradigm of exile Isaiah 58: “ Now as strangers in a strange land in Babylon, I'm going to ask you: Who are you now? Who do you trust now? Who are you going to put the full weight of your life on now?” “Exilic Church” “ Christianity is not about owning the country or winning in politics.” “It can't be a coincidence that at a moment when (at least) white Protestantism in the United States is obsessed with political influence and has mortgaged itself to the least Christlike figure possibly in American political history (in any case, right up there) that its numbers are shrinking catastrophically.” “The irony of the cross always is this self emptying power.” [Trump] is saying, “I will give you power, and in exchange, you will give me unquestioning loyalty.” Comparing Trump's transaction (at Dordt University in Iowa) “If you vote for me, you will have power” with the temptation of Christ in the desert: “All of this will be yours if you bow down to me.” Transactional relationship with power The Mormon church's “ civic theology … of patience, negotiation, and mutual accommodation” Jesus: “Don't be afraid, imitate Jesus, and forgive each other.” Madisonian liberalism: “Don't panic if you lose an election, protect minorities and the dignity of every individual, and don't seek retribution if you win, share the country.” “When Gandhi was asked what he thought of Western civilization, he said, ‘It would be a good idea.'” Black church and MLK Jr.—”emphasis on Reverend” “You accept the stripes and the crown of thorns. You turn the other cheek.” Profoundly counterintuitive countercultural example Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment magazine and Fuller Seminary.
Trust a gay Jewish atheist to defend the value of American Christianity. In his new book Cross-Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy, the Brookings scholar and gay marriage activist Jonathan Rauch argues that Christianity plays a vital role in sustaining American democracy. He points to the Mormon Church (LDS) as a model for balancing religious beliefs with democratic pluralism, contrasting their approach with white evangelical churches that have become increasingly intolerant of democracy. Rauch suggests that Christianity's core teachings of fearlessness, egalitarianism, and forgiveness align more with James Madison's democratic vision than with MAGA politics, and argues that secular liberals should work to make civic spaces more welcoming to people of faith.Here are the 5 KEEN ON takeaways from our conversation with Rauch:* As a gay Jewish atheist, Rauch makes the counterintuitive argument that Christianity is essential for American democracy, suggesting that as religious participation declines, society loses important communal bonds and values that help sustain democratic institutions.* Rauch points to the Mormon Church (LDS) as a model for how religious institutions can balance conservative theological beliefs with democratic pluralism - opposing same-sex marriage internally while supporting legal protections for it in civil society.* He identifies three core Christian teachings that he believes align with democratic values: "don't be afraid," egalitarianism (treating people as ends in themselves), and forgiveness - arguing these are more consistent with James Madison than with the MAGA movement. * Rauch contends that the decline of mainstream Christianity has led people to seek substitute religions in ideologies like "wokeness," MAGA, and QAnon, which he argues don't provide the same social or political benefits as traditional religious institutions.* While remaining personally atheist, Rauch advocates for secular liberals to be more accommodating of religion in public life, suggesting that the "culture wars" approach of both evangelical Christians and militant secularists threatens democratic stability.* JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, published in 2021 by the Brookings Press, is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, a spirited and deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. In 2018, he published The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, a lauded account of the surprising relationship between aging and happiness. Other books include Denial: My 25 Years Without a Soul, a memoir of his struggle with his sexuality, and Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America, published in 2004 by Times Books (Henry Holt). His most recent ebook is Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy (Brookings, 2015). Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, economics, gay marriage, height discrimination, biological rhythms, number inflation, and animal rights. His multiple-award-winning column, “Social Studies,” appeared from 1998 to 2010 in National Journal. Among the many other publications for which he has written are The New Republic, The Economist, Reason, Harper's, Fortune, Reader's Digest, Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Public Interest, National Affairs, The Advocate, The Daily, and others.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting the daily KEEN ON show, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy interview series. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
In this episode, we welcome back Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. Jon joined us to discuss his new book, Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy. We dive deep into the intersection of faith, democracy, and civic engagement (that's our jam!), exploring how American Christianity has shifted in recent years and what that means for the future of our democracy. We also discuss the aftermath of the 2024 election, the rise of political tribalism, and the role of faith in shaping a more just and stable society. What We Discuss How Jonathan Rauch's perspective on faith and democracy evolved over time (including what Jon refers to as the dumbest thing he ever wrote). Why he believes Christianity has played a crucial role in supporting democracy—and where it has gone wrong. The key differences between “thin Christianity” and “thick Christianity.” How the LDS Church offers a model for civic engagement based on negotiation and peacemaking. Why the loss of institutional trust is fueling political and social instability. The role of Braver Angels and other organizations in bridging political divides. Episode Highlights ⏳ [00:02:00] – Jonathan Rauch discusses his background, his past books, and his upcoming release, Cross Purposes. ⏳ [00:07:00] – Reflecting on the 2024 election and why it was surprisingly “ordinary” despite extreme circumstances. ⏳ [00:13:00] – How Trump's second administration is reshaping democracy and institutions. ⏳ [00:22:00] – Rauch's personal journey: From skepticism about religion to recognizing its role in democracy. ⏳ [00:35:00] – The rise of “thin Christianity” and how churches are struggling with political identity. ⏳ [00:44:00] – How the LDS Church provides an example of “thick Christianity” and civic engagement. ⏳ [00:57:00] – Rauch's concerns about post-liberalism and authoritarian tendencies in American politics. ⏳ [01:10:00] – The importance of doubt, curiosity, and engaging across differences. ⏳ [01:17:00] – Final thoughts: How to be better citizens and people of faith in a pluralistic society. Featured Quotes
In this episode, we welcome back Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. Jon joined us to discuss his new book, Cross Purposes: Christianity's Broken Bargain with Democracy. We dive deep into the intersection of faith, democracy, and civic engagement (that's our jam!), exploring how American Christianity has shifted in recent years and what that means for the future of our democracy. We also discuss the aftermath of the 2024 election, the rise of political tribalism, and the role of faith in shaping a more just and stable society. What We Discuss How Jonathan Rauch's perspective on faith and democracy evolved over time (including what Jon refers to as the dumbest thing he ever wrote). Why he believes Christianity has played a crucial role in supporting democracy—and where it has gone wrong. The key differences between “thin Christianity” and “thick Christianity.” How the LDS Church offers a model for civic engagement based on negotiation and peacemaking. Why the loss of institutional trust is fueling political and social instability. The role of Braver Angels and other organizations in bridging political divides. Episode Highlights ⏳ [00:02:00] – Jonathan Rauch discusses his background, his past books, and his upcoming release, Cross Purposes. ⏳ [00:07:00] – Reflecting on the 2024 election and why it was surprisingly “ordinary” despite extreme circumstances. ⏳ [00:13:00] – How Trump's second administration is reshaping democracy and institutions. ⏳ [00:22:00] – Rauch's personal journey: From skepticism about religion to recognizing its role in democracy. ⏳ [00:35:00] – The rise of “thin Christianity” and how churches are struggling with political identity. ⏳ [00:44:00] – How the LDS Church provides an example of “thick Christianity” and civic engagement. ⏳ [00:57:00] – Rauch's concerns about post-liberalism and authoritarian tendencies in American politics. ⏳ [01:10:00] – The importance of doubt, curiosity, and engaging across differences. ⏳ [01:17:00] – Final thoughts: How to be better citizens and people of faith in a pluralistic society. Featured Quotes
Time waits for no one. As 2024 winds down, what are the key moments of a year that perhaps overpromised and underdelivered? According to the Brookings scholar Jonathan Rauch, six events in 2024 captured the year's zeitgeist. There's the November election and the tumult in the Middle East, of course. Then there's the ongoing lawfare between Trump and the legal establishment as well as the Supreme Court's creeping power. But Rauch ends his summary of 2024 more positively, finding two examples - one from the public sector, the other from private enterprise - suggesting that America can, indeed, continue to rebuild and reinvent itself in 2025. Jonathan 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. His many Brookings publications include the 2021 book “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth”, as well as the 2015 ebook “Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy.” Other books include “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50” (2018) and “Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America” (2004). He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more. Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, economics, gay marriage, height discrimination, biological rhythms, number inflation, and animal rights. His multiple-award-winning column, “Social Studies,” appeared from 1998 to 2010 in National Journal. Among the many other publications for which he has written are The New Republic, The Economist, Reason, Harper's, Fortune, Reader's Digest, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Public Interest, The Advocate, The Daily, and others. In his 1994 book “Demosclerosis”—revised and republished in 2000 as “Government's End: Why Washington Stopped Working”—he argues that America's government is becoming gradually less flexible and effective with time, and suggests ways to treat the malady. His 1993 book “Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought” (the University of Chicago Press) defends free speech and robust criticism, even when it is racist or sexist and even when it hurts. In 1992 his book “The Outnation: A Search for the Soul of Japan” questioned the then-conventional wisdom that Japan was fundamentally different from the West. Rauch was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated in 1982 from Yale University. In addition to the National Magazine Award, his honors include the 2010 National Headliner Award, one of the industry's most venerable prizes. In 1996 he was awarded the Premio Napoli alla Stampa Estera for his coverage, in The Economist, of the European Parliament. In 2011 he won the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association prize for excellence in opinion writing. His articles appear in The Best Magazine Writing 2005 and The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004 and 2007. He has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
As the presenter of the How to Fix Democracy show, which will be going into its seventh series next year, Andrew Keen has given much thought to the health of American democracy. In this KEEN ON episode, Jonathan Rauch, the Brookings Institute senior fellow, turns the tables on Andrew and interviews him about the state of American democracy. What is the risk of the incoming Trump administration to the Republic, Jon asks Andrew? Is Trump just one more turbulent chapter in the colorful history of American democracy or does the MAGA movement represent an existential threat to the world's oldest representative democratic system?Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institute 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. His many Brookings publications include the 2021 book “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth”, as well as the 2015 ebook “Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy.” Other books include “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50” (2018) and “Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America” (2004). He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more. Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, economics, gay marriage, height discrimination, biological rhythms, number inflation, and animal rights. His multiple-award-winning column, “Social Studies,” appeared from 1998 to 2010 in National Journal. Among the many other publications for which he has written are The New Republic, The Economist, Reason, Harper's, Fortune, Reader's Digest, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Public Interest, The Advocate, The Daily, and others. In his 1994 book “Demosclerosis”—revised and republished in 2000 as “Government's End: Why Washington Stopped Working”—he argues that America's government is becoming gradually less flexible and effective with time, and suggests ways to treat the malady. His 1993 book “Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought” (the University of Chicago Press) defends free speech and robust criticism, even when it is racist or sexist and even when it hurts. In 1992 his book “The Outnation: A Search for the Soul of Japan” questioned the then-conventional wisdom that Japan was fundamentally different from the West. Rauch was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated in 1982 from Yale University. In addition to the National Magazine Award, his honors include the 2010 National Headliner Award, one of the industry's most venerable prizes. In 1996 he was awarded the Premio Napoli alla Stampa Estera for his coverage, in The Economist, of the European Parliament. In 2011 he won the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association prize for excellence in opinion writing. His articles appear in The Best Magazine Writing 2005 and The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004 and 2007. He has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Can free speech and content moderation on social media coexist? Jonathan Rauch and Renée DiResta discuss the complexities of content moderation on social media platforms. They explore how platforms balance free expression with the need to moderate harmful content and the consequences of censorship in a digital world. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth” and “Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought.” Renée DiResta was the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory and contributed to the Election Integrity Partnership report and the Virality Project. Her new book is “Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality.” READ THE TRANSCRIPT. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:14 Content moderation and free speech 12:33 The Election Integrity Partnership 18:43 What activity does the First Amendment not protect? 21:44 Backfire effect of moderation 26:01 The Virality Project 30:54 Misinformation over the past decade 37:33 Did Trump's Jan 6th speech meet the standard for incitement? 44:12 Double standards of content moderation 01:00:05 Jawboning 01:11:10 Outro Show notes: Election Integrity Partnership report (2021) The Virality Project (2022) Moody v. NetChoice and NetChoice v. Paxton (2024) “This Place Rules” (2022) Murthy v. Missouri (2024) “Why Scholars Should Stop Studying 'Misinformation',” by Jacob N. Shapiro and Sean Norton (2024) “FIRE Statement on Free Speech and Social Media”
I was at the Liberalism for the 21st Century conference last week in DC where I bumped into an old friend and KEEN ON regular Jonathan Rauch. A Brookings Fellow and prolific author, Rauch is amongst America's most thoughtful commentators on the contemporary crisis of liberalism and the rising popularity of “post-liberalism”. So, in the wake of Trump's choice of JD Vance, a politician who has openly embraced the “post-liberal” moniker, I caught up with Rauch to get his take on a liberalism for the 21st century. Does John Stuart Mill's classic 19th century theory of individual rights need to be reinvented for our networked age, I asked. And does the West need a revitalized international liberal consensus to confront not just China, but rogue states like Iran, North Korea and Russia.JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, published in 2021 by the Brookings Press, is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, a spirited and deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. In 2018, he published The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, a lauded account of the surprising relationship between aging and happiness. Other books include Denial: My 25 Years Without a Soul, a memoir of his struggle with his sexuality, and Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America, published in 2004 by Times Books (Henry Holt). His most recent ebook is Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy (Brookings, 2015). Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, economics, gay marriage, height discrimination, biological rhythms, number inflation, and animal rights. His multiple-award-winning column, “Social Studies,” appeared from 1998 to 2010 in National Journal. Among the many other publications for which he has written are The New Republic, The Economist, Reason, Harper's, Fortune, Reader's Digest, Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Public Interest, National Affairs, The Advocate, The Daily, and others. In his 1994 book Demosclerosis—revised and republished in 2000 as Government's End: Why Washington Stopped Working—he argues that America's government is becoming gradually less flexible and effective with time, and suggests ways to treat the malady. His 1993 book Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought (published by the University of Chicago Press; expanded in 2013) defends free speech and robust criticism, even when it is racist or sexist and even when it hurts. In 1992 his book The Outnation: A Search for the Soul of Japan questioned the then-conventional wisdom that Japan was fundamentally different from the West. In 1996, with Robert Litan, he also co-authored a report for the U.S. Treasury Department on the future of the financial-services industry (American Finance for the 21st Century). In 1995 he spent a year as a visiting writer for The Economist magazine in London, and in 1997 he returned as guest editor of the Christmas special issue. Rauch was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated in 1982 from Yale University. He went on to become a reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina before moving to Washington in 1984. From 1984-89 he covered fiscal and economic policy for National Journal. In 1990 he spent six months in Japan as a fellow of the Japan Society Leadership Program. In addition to the National Magazine Award, his honors include the 2010 National Headliner Award, one of the industry's most venerable prizes. In 1996 he was awarded the Premio Napoli alla Stampa Estera for his coverage, in The Economist, of the European Parliament. In 2011 he won the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association prize for excellence in opinion writing. He has also won two second-place prizes (2000 and 2001) in the National Headliner Awards. His articles appear in The Best Magazine Writing 2005 and The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004 and 2007. He has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs. He does not like shrimp.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Today we bring you the final episode in our series on speech and censorship. We wrap up a series by bringing back guests from previous episodes to discuss the broader themes and dilemmas that have persisted over the course of the series. In this conversation we discuss if and how making distinctions among different kinds of speech might improve our ability to navigate the dilemmas around free speech. We discuss the recent phenomenon of campus protests and this extent to which this sort of activity should be protected in higher education. And we wonder if the idea of self-restraint is gone forever or how it might make a comeback. We're excited to have three guests back with us to bring the series to a close: Alex Duff, Yuval Levin and Jonathan Rauch. Alex Duff was with us before to discuss Herbert Marcuse's “Repressive Tolerance.” is the author of Heidegger and Politics: The Ontology of Radical Discontent. He teaches at the University of North Texas where he is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of the Constitutionalism and Democracy Forum Yuval Levin discussed essays by Walter Berns and Irving Kristol on obscenity and censorship. He is the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He's the founder and editor of National Affairs and author of the forthcoming book American Covenant. Jonathan Rauch launched our series with a discussion of his book Kindly Inquisitors. He is Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and his most recent book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth.
Tabitha Grace Mallory and Andrew Chubb visit the Belt and Road Podcast to chat about China's ocean economy, maritime activities, and the role of concepts like ocean consciousness. Dr. Tabitha Grace Mallory is CEO of the consulting firm China Ocean Institute, and an affiliate faculty member of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. Tabitha specializes in Chinese foreign and environmental policy and researches China and global ocean governance. She has consulted for the UN, WWF, the World Bank, and the OECD, she serves on the board of directors of the China Club of Seattle, and is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and the Washington State China Relations Council.Andrew is a senior lecturer in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University. His work examines the linkages between Chinese domestic politics and international relations, and more broadly he looks at maritime and territorial disputes, strategic communication, political propaganda, and Chinese Communist Party history. Andrew is the author of Chinese Nationalism and the Gray Zone: Case Analyses of Public Opinion and PRC Foreign Policy and the PRC Overseas Political Activities: Risk, Reaction and the Case of Australia.Recommendations:Andrew:Haver, Zoe; China Maritime Report No. 12: Sansha City in China's South China Sea Strategy: Building a System of Administrative Control (2021)Tabitha:The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth by Jonathan Rauch (2021)The Institutional Foundation of Economic Development by Shiping Tang (2022)Erik:Japan; specifically, record shopping in JapanBM-01 recordJuliet:Rodenbiker, Jesse; Global China in the American heartland: Chinese investment, populist coalitions, and the new red scare (2024)
In episode 1966, Andrew talks to the Atlantic contributing writer Jonathan Rauch on why the U.S. government should apologize to gay people for its crime of erasing gays from public life.Jonathan Rauch is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
In this week's episode of Politics In Question, Jonathan Rauch joins Lee and James to consider why Americans can't compromise. 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. His many Brookings publications include the 2021 book “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth”, as well as the 2015 ebook “Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy.” Other books include “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50” (2018) and “Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America” (2004). He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more.What is compromise? Where does it happen? What does it take to get it? And what is preventing Americans from doing it today, especially in Congress? Are lawmakers really trying to win in the House and Senate? These are some of the questions that Jonathan, Lee, and James ask in this week's episode.
Share this episode: https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/350-sharing-reality Sam Harris speaks with Jonathan Rauch and Josh Szeps about the foundations of knowledge and the fragmentation of society. They discuss the state of the mainstream media, diversity of viewpoints, the "reality-based" community, what Covid did to our information landscape, the Overton window and the news value of controversial stories, the unique challenge of Trump and Trumpism, the dangers of a second Trump term, the problem of immigration and controlling the southern border of the U.S., and other topics. Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, published in 2021 by the Brookings Press, is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, a spirited and deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. Website: www.jonathanrauch.com Twitter: @jon_rauch Related Link: Trump’s Second Term Would Look Like This Josh Szeps is an independent journalist. In New York City he was a founding host of HuffPost Live, the multi-award-winning streaming talk network, where he hosted thousands of hours of live TV with the world’s biggest names. In his native Australia, he hosted a national morning television show and had a talk radio show on the public broadcaster, ABC Radio. Josh left legacy media to focus on having bullshit-free conversations about provocative issues on his own platform, Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps, a podcast, live events operation, and YouTube channel. Website: https://bit.ly/UC_substack Twitter: @joshzepps Learning how to train your mind is the single greatest investment you can make in life. That’s why Sam Harris created the Waking Up app. From rational mindfulness practice to lessons on some of life’s most important topics, join Sam as he demystifies the practice of meditation and explores the theory behind it.
In the bustling marketplace of ideas, distinguishing truth from misinformation requires a nuanced approach that combines critical thinking, evidence-based analysis, and an openness to diverse perspectives. Engaging in conversations with individuals holding differing mindsets is crucial in this process. Interacting with a variety of opinions fosters a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues and challenges one's assumptions. Constructive dialogue not only exposes individuals to alternative viewpoints but also encourages the scrutiny of arguments, enabling a more informed evaluation of the information presented. By actively participating fully & fearlessly in curious conversations with diverse perspectives, we enhance our ability to sift through the noise and better navigate the complex landscape of our internet ecosystem. Acquiring knowledge, weeding through misinformation & outrage bait, and being able to work through, by way of conversation, complex and controversial topics with people of differing mindsets than our own are just a few the the many things I discussed this week with my friend Jonathan Rauch.Who is Jonathan Rauch? JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, published in 2021 by the Brookings Press, is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, a spirited and deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. Connect with Jonathan on (X): @jon_rauchWhat have you done today to make your life a better life? What have you done today to make the world a better place? The world is a better place if we are better people. That begins with each of us leading a better life. Be kind to one another. Be grateful for everything you've got. Make each and every day the day that you want it to be!Please follow The Derate The Hate podcast on:Facebook, Instagram, Twitter(X) , TruthSocial, Parler, Rumble, YouTube Subscribe to us wherever you enjoy your audio. Please leave us a rating and feedback. Send me a message on any media platform or subscribe directly from our sites. Let us know about someone you think should be on our podcast. If we book them for a conversation, I'll send you a free gift! Not on social media? You can share your thoughts directly with me at wilk@wilksworld.comI look forward to hearing from you!
Become a paying subscriber: https://sacredtension.substack.com/In this episode of Sacred Tension, author and journalist Jonathan Rauch takes the helm to interview me about my political transformation from progressive leftist to liberal centrist. We talk about cancel culture as a form of thought control, why I have turned against identitarianism, how the left's response to the Hamas invasion of Israel galvanized me, and much more.Jonathan 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. His many Brookings publications include the 2021 book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, as well as the 2015 ebook Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy. Other books include The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50 (2018) and Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America (2004). He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more.I love hearing back from my audience. Did you agree with us in this conversation? Disagree? Let us know in the comments section for this post. If your comment is excellent, I might feature it in an upcoming post. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe
As part of our ongoing therapy, we welcomed Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Jonathan is one of our favorite authors, and his books “Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought” and “The Constitution of Knowledge - A Defense of Truth” are heavily earmarked in both our bookshelves. We ask Jonathan to help us hold on to our values and ideals in the face of October 7th, when everything we thought we knew was challenged. We talk about moral courage, what the roles of universities should be, how silence can be weaponized to make us feel like a minority, and we draw some optimism from Jonathan's struggle for gay marriage – when it seemed like the whole world was against him.Why JR was not surprised by the reaction to October 7thAnd why it's good that the veil came offIt is your job to educate“Ohio State opposed Genocide” – does it matter?When massacre and rape are too controversial to condemnSwastika graffiti is too easy to condemnSpirals of silence and false consensus If you don't speak up – you lose.The parallels to Jonathan's fight for gay marriage Are idealism and policy incompatible? The amazing story of Frank KamenyFallibilism > skepticism.What JR missed when he wrote Kindly InquisitorsTwitter/X is an epistemic sewerCivic literacyThanks for the free publicity, craziesDon't rise to the bait of the craziest person. The person you need on your side is the quiet person in the middleOptimistic? Hopeful.
Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution, a member of the Persuasion Board of Advisors, and the author of books including The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth and The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50. In this week's conversation, Yascha Mounk and Jonathan Rauch discuss how our sense of satisfaction with life is age-related in ways that are often independent of our objective circumstances; the academic research showing that happiness across one's lifetime often resembles a U-shaped curve; and how we can better align societal practices to facilitate this midlife transition (and better utilize the assets of old age). This transcript has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. Please do listen and spread the word about The Good Fight. If you have not yet signed up for our podcast, please do so now by following this link on your phone. Email: podcast@persuasion.community Website: http://www.persuasion.community Podcast production by John Taylor Williams, and Brendan Ruberry Connect with us! Spotify | Apple | Google Twitter: @Yascha_Mounk & @joinpersuasion Youtube: Yascha Mounk LinkedIn: Persuasion Community Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Enduring Interest is very pleased to launch our series on speech and censorship with this conversation on Jonathan Rauch's Kindly Inquisitors, first published in 1993 and reissued in 2013 with a new afterword. We discuss Jonathan's conception of “liberal science,” or the liberal intellectual system's approach to sorting truth from falsehood. He suggests this is arguably liberalism's greatest achievement yet seems always under attack from a variety of quarters. We discuss the fundamentalist and humanitarian threats to free speech, focusing most of our attention on the latter. Can speech cause harm? If yes, why should one not limit it? We compare and contrast the threats to free speech as Jonathan saw them back in 1993 with the situation today. We conclude with Jonathan's recommendations for books and essays that make the case for free speech. Jonathan Rauch is Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, a think-tank based in Washington, D.C. He's the author of eight books and many, many articles on public policy, culture and government. He's also a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a recipient of the National Magazine Award. His most recent book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth.
Award-winning author Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and contributing editor of The Atlantic. Jonathan defends objective truth and free inquiry in his latest book, “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth.” He is the author of eight books on public policy, culture, and government, including “Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought” and “Beyond Queer: Challenging Gay Left Orthodoxy.”Jonathan's Website: https://www.jonathanrauch.com/Braver Angels: https://braverangels.org/what-we-do/debates/Articles referenced by Jon:https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/15/media/twitter-musk-journalists-hnk-intl/index.htmlhttps://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/04/elon-musk-twitter-still-banning-journalistshttps://www.persuasion.community/p/the-medias-covid-successhttps://twitter.com/jon_rauch/status/1509752156605276160Watch this episode on YouTube.
EPISODE 1601: In this KEEN ON show, Andrew talks to the Brookings Institute scholar, Jonathan Rauch, about the seemingly intractable political divisions in America and how we can all discover our braver angels to learn to talk to one another again Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institute 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. His many Brookings publications include the 2021 book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, as well as the 2015 ebook Political Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American Democracy. Other books include The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50 (2018) and Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America (2004). He has also authored research on political parties, marijuana legalization, LGBT rights and religious liberty, and more. Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, economics, gay marriage, height discrimination, biological rhythms, number inflation, and animal rights. His multiple-award-winning column, “Social Studies,” appeared from 1998 to 2010 in National Journal. Among the many other publications for which he has written are The New Republic, The Economist, Reason, Harper's, Fortune, Reader's Digest, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Public Interest, The Advocate, The Daily, and others. In his 1994 book Demosclerosis—revised and republished in 2000 as Government's End: Why Washington Stopped Working—he argues that America's government is becoming gradually less flexible and effective with time, and suggests ways to treat the malady. His 1993 book Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought (published by the University of Chicago Press) defends free speech and robust criticism, even when it is racist or sexist and even when it hurts. In 1992 his book The Outnation: A Search for the Soul of Japan questioned the then-conventional wisdom that Japan was fundamentally different from the West. Rauch was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated in 1982 from Yale University. In addition to the National Magazine Award, his honors include the 2010 National Headliner Award, one of the industry's most venerable prizes. In 1996 he was awarded the Premio Napoli alla Stampa Estera for his coverage, in The Economist, of the European Parliament. In 2011 he won the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association prize for excellence in opinion writing. His articles appear in The Best Magazine Writing 2005 and The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004 and 2007. He has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs. He does not like shrimp. Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jonathan Rauch and Pete Wehner both return to the TP&R pod. Only this time we get them together! For a little background, Jon and Pete have a number of fundamental differences (eg. Jon is an atheist and Pete is a devout Christian); yet, they also happen to be good friends. So the conversation was flowing before we even hit record. We were discussing Pete's recent essay in THE ATLANTIC "Morality Is for Trump What Colors Are to the Color-Blind." We discussed pervasive cognitive dissonance, specifically on the part of people of faith and their continued embrace of Donald Trump. We also talked about our own need to have epistemological humility. Then we explored a construct that Jon is fleshing out for an upcoming book. That is, the 4 existential questions of 1) Morality, 2) Mortality, 3) Malevolence, and 4) Miracles. Pete Wehner is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. His books include The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump, City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era, which he co-wrote with Michael Gerson, and Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism. He was formerly a speechwriter for George W. Bush and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Peter is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, and his work also appears in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and National Affairs.JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and many other publications including The New Republic, The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and interestingly Religion News Service among many others. His latest book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, which we discussed last time Jon joined us on TP&R. One of his earlier works, Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought (published originally in 1993 and then expanded in 2013) defends free speech and robust criticism and remains a highly influential work. And of course, it must be mentioned that Jon is arguably most famous for not liking shrimp!Additional InformationThe Democracy Group listener surveyTalkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group
Jonathan Rauch and Pete Wehner both return to the TP&R pod. Only this time we get them together! For a little background, Jon and Pete have a number of fundamental differences (eg. Jon is an atheist and Pete is a devout Christian); yet, they also happen to be good friends. So the conversation was flowing before we even hit record. We were discussing Pete's recent essay in THE ATLANTIC "Morality Is for Trump What Colors Are to the Color-Blind." We discussed pervasive cognitive dissonance, specifically on the part of people of faith and their continued embrace of Donald Trump. We also talked about our own need to have epistemological humility. Then we explored a construct that Jon is fleshing out for an upcoming book. That is, the 4 existential questions of 1) Morality, 2) Mortality, 3) Malevolence, and 4) Miracles. Pete Wehner is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Trinity Forum. His books include The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump, City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era, which he co-wrote with Michael Gerson, and Wealth and Justice: The Morality of Democratic Capitalism. He was formerly a speechwriter for George W. Bush and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Peter is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, and his work also appears in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and National Affairs. JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and many other publications including The New Republic, The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and interestingly Religion News Service among many others. His latest book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, which we discussed last time Jon joined us on TP&R. One of his earlier works, Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought (published originally in 1993 and then expanded in 2013) defends free speech and robust criticism and remains a highly influential work. And of course, it must be mentioned that Jon is arguably most famous for not liking shrimp! Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. www.democracygroup.org/shows/talkin-politics-religion twitter.com/coreysnathan www.theatlantic.com/author/peter-wehner/ jonathanrauch.typepad.com/ https://braverangels.org/ The Dark Knight clip - www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIYkhb2NjfE The article on the "Need for Chaos" - royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2020.0147
Museums are centers for culture, for art, and for conversation. They are places where the far ends of the earth come together in the same place and expose people of all ages to things from across space and time. They also draw the past into the present and become centers for experiencing and understanding humans and humanity.Daniel H. Weiss is an art historian and president of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City. He is also an author, and his latest book is called Why the Museum Matters. It examines the roles museums have played in our culture, what their purpose is in the present, and their uncertain future. Daniel and Greg discuss Daniel's experience with the Met and other museums, as well as the history of the Met and how it was created, what separates museums from universities, how to engage visitors and convert them into lifelong museum-goers, as well as Daniel's take on protests in art museums and the economics behind the Met's ‘pay what you wish' policy.*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*Episode Quotes:The role of museums in creating meaningful experiences17:16: I think the role of museums is to present material, ideas, content in ways that engage people in meaningful learning experiences that sometimes might offend them, and there's nothing wrong with that. If our objective is to present programs that everybody likes and nobody ever finds challenging, we're not likely to teach them very much—we're not likely to go very far. So we need to be thoughtful about how we make clear the agreement we hope to have with our visitors.The art of doing museum work15:41: The art of doing museum work thoughtfully is reaching out to people in ways that invite them in that are not threatening or intimidating to them but also allow them to learn new things.How do museums make the world a better place?29:04: If you were to ask me how the museum makes the world a better place, I would say, ideally, it creates better global citizens because the more people learn about other cultures, the more respectful they are, and maybe they'll be less inclined to go to war with them, or they might be more inclined to try to learn more about why a point of view that they hear is different from their own because they're seeing something about this other culture. That might give them pause, and that might give them the opportunity for reflection and respect, so it makes for better global citizens.How museums differ from educational institutions02:33: Museums are places where materials—I'd say cultural materials—can be broadly real. It can be scientific materials or sports objects where we use objects to help us understand our own history, our own experience, and to connect us to ideas. And that can be in any number of ways.Show Links:Recommended Resources:The Met Museum of ArtThe Louvre MuseumJohn JayThe Met removing Pay-As-You Wish ProgramProtestors Put Soup on Van GoghThe Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of TruthGuest Profile:Alumni Profile at GWUProfessional Profile on Wallace FoundationHis Work:Article about Daniel's Tenure as Met DirectorWhy The Museum MattersArt and Crusade in the Age of St. Louis
What's wrong with cancelation? ... A defense of Charles Murray ... Cancelation and the closet ... Jonathan's book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth ... Jonathan: “The marketplace of ideas” is a necessary but insufficient metaphor ... Is Trump an agent of disinformation? ... What the woke and MAGA crowds have in common ... Why Jonathan is hopeful about the constitution of knowledge ...
What's wrong with cancelation? ... A defense of Charles Murray ... Cancelation and the closet ... Jonathan's book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth ... Jonathan: “The marketplace of ideas” is a necessary but insufficient metaphor ... Is Trump an agent of disinformation? ... What the woke and MAGA crowds have in common ... Why Jonathan is hopeful about the constitution of knowledge ...
Jonathan Rauch describes the social norms and institutions that generate knowledge.Follow @IdeasHavingSexx on Twitter.Today's book: The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of TruthJonathan's website, Twitter, and author page.Braver AngelsRecommended works: The Logic of Scientific Discovery and The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popper; The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt; Politics and the English language by George Orwell; Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media by Jacob Mchangama; HATE by Nadine Strossen
Peter Wehner's former office was the White House. He served in the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush administrations, as Deputy Director of Speechwriting and later Director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives for President George W. Bush. Now, he's a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic. He's been in the halls of power, and he writes for publications of prominence. So why has Peter been in exile? In this powerful episode, Curtis talks to his old friend about what it's like to have a role in the unfolding drama of American history, to believe your most important moments are in the past, and to walk out one's faith in complicated times.Show Notes:Global Giving - Turkey and Syria Earthquake Relief Fund: Two powerful earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria early Monday morning, killing more than 19,000 people and injuring thousands more. People are trapped and homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure have been destroyed under layers of rubble. Your donation to the Turkey and Syria Earthquake Relief Fund will provide emergency relief and fuel long-term recovery efforts in Turkey and Syria.Project Hope - Save Lives in Turkey and Communities in Crisis: Devastating earthquakes in Turkey (Türkiye) and Syria have left tens of thousands of families in desperate need of medical help and basic supplies. Our emergency response team is on the ground and working quickly to save as many lives as possible.Died: Steve Hayner, Former President of InterVarsity and Columbia Seminary, Christianity Today: This is a death notice for Steve Hayner, “one of the baby-boomer generation's most influential evangelical leaders, has died. He was known for his presidency at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and later at Columbia Theological Seminary.”Remembering Steve Hayner, InterVarsity: This reflection from Intervarsity about their former president states, “Steve became president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in 1988, near the end of a turbulent decade in which InterVarsity had five presidents. “Steve brought pastoral care, healing and hope to a community that had undergone much trauma,” said Alec Hill, Steve's successor and InterVarsity's current president.”"Painting As a Pastime" by Winston S. Churchill; “The perfect antidote to his 'Black Dog', a depression that blighted his working life, Churchill took to painting with gusto. Picking up a paintbrush for the first time at the age of forty, Winston Churchill found in painting a passion that was to remain his constant companion. This glorious essay exudes his compulsion for a hobby that allowed him peace during his dark days, and richly rewarded a nation with a treasure trove of work.”“President Donald Trump? Just Say No,” by Peter Wehner: This 2015 article describes Pete's unwillingness to embrace the new GOP candidate who would ultimately become President of the United States.“The GOP and the Birther Trap,” by Peter Wehner: This 2011 Wall Street Journal article describes Wehner's take on a fringe conspiracy theory that was then front and center in American politics: the claim that President Barack Obama might not be a natural-born American citizen.“Why I Will Never Vote for Donald Trump,” by Peter Wehner. This 2016 New York Times explains why Pete did not find Donald J. Trump suitable for the Oval Office.Creating Beauty in Exile: Mark Labberton: Mark Labberton, president of Fuller Seminary, reflects on the themes of exile in scripture and what it means to live a “faithful exilic life” in a culture shaped by fear and violence.Exile: A Conversation with N. T. Wright, Edited by James M. Scott, by N. T. Wright; According to N. T. Wright, the controlling narrative that shaped the thinking of Jesus and Paul is this: “Israel had grievously sinned against Yahweh and suffered the judgment of exile from its land. But even though Israel had returned, the majority of Jews of the second temple era regarded themselves in paradoxical exile under Roman rule and still awaiting their full restoration. It was this crisis of exile that reached its climax and resolution in the person and work of Jesus Christ.”Makoto Fujimura on Faith and Art by Dan Clendenin, Journey with Jesus: “Makoto Fujimura is a leading contemporary artist whose process driven, refractive “slow art” has been described by David Brooks of the New York Times as ‘a small rebellion against the quickening of time.' Robert Kushner, in the mid 90's, has written on Fujimura's art in Art in America this way: ‘The idea of forging a new kind of art, about hope, healing, redemption, refuge, while maintaining visual sophistication and intellectual integrity is a growing movement, one which finds Makoto Fujimura's work at the vanguard.'”The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth by Jonathan Rauch: Disinformation. Trolling. Conspiracies. Social media pile-ons. Campus intolerance. On the surface, these recent additions to our daily vocabulary appear to have little in common. But together, they are driving an epistemic crisis: a multi-front challenge to America's ability to distinguish fact from fiction and elevate truth above falsehood.
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world's leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Jonathan Rauch, author of Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer of The Atlantic. His previous books include Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought. Rauch resides in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Bonnie Kristian discusses her brand new book, Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community. Her haunting phrase, “the knowledge crisis,” was perhaps popularized last year by another compelling book from Jonathan Rauch, the senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. Jon's 2021 book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, and as he explains in more detail, the book describes the essential conditions and institutions necessary for maintaining the basic building blocks of shared human understanding in a free society. This is a rich conversation between the two of them on how to steer clear from getting lost in the vortex of news that sometimes swirls. Guests Bonnie Kristian Jonathan Rauch Additional Resources Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community, by Bonnie Kristian The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, by Jonathan Rauch
Does the thought of getting older make you anxious? Are you in your 30s, 40s or 50s and wonder if you've already hit your peak? Do not despair, Sisters. There is good news. Very good news. In his book, The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, Jonathan Rauch does the extraordinary. He's gathered all the cutting-edge research about aging and happiness and his conclusion is this: Life gets better and we get happier as we age. The midlife slump is just that; a temporary slump that seems to disappear as we get older...and happier. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington and is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, published in 2021 by the Brookings Press, is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, a spirited and deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. In 2018, he published The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50, a lauded account of the surprising relationship between aging and happiness. And, of course, we couldn't wait to have him on to share his findings. Abby and Julie also discuss the Adam Levine scandal. As sisters do.
In Principle of Charity on the Couch, Lloyd has a more relaxed conversation with the guest, throws them curveballs, and gets into the personal side of Principle of Charity.US writer and author of The Constitution of Knowledge Jonathan Rauch, explains what ‘truth' is and why and how we must defend it. In a fascinating account of how liberal democracies ‘produce' knowledge, Jonathan describes this unwritten ‘constitution of knowledge' as a global process of error checking with millions of people around the world, thousands of institutions, all searching for each other's errors. Rauch says this social production of knowledge which began around 200 years ago turns out to be a species transforming technology that “produces more new knowledge in a given morning than humanity did in the first 200,000 years”. This is a Spotlight episode, where we look for guests who's work deepens our understanding of the principle of charity. Jonathan RauchJonathan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. He's the author of eight books and numerous articles on public policy, culture and government. His latest book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth provides an account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order.An advocate for same-sex marriage, Jonathan wrote Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America.Monday, 9 August 20216:30 PM~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah @JonahPrimo on Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
US writer and author of The Constitution of Knowledge Jonathan Rauch, explains what ‘truth' is and why and how we must defend it. In a fascinating account of how liberal democracies ‘produce' knowledge, Jonathan describes this unwritten ‘constitution of knowledge' as a global process of error checking with millions of people around the world, thousands of institutions, all searching for each other's errors. Rauch says this social production of knowledge which began around 200 years ago turns out to be a species transforming technology that “produces more new knowledge in a given morning than humanity did in the first 200,000 years”. This is a Spotlight episode, where we look for guests who's work deepens our understanding of the principle of charity. Jonathan RauchJonathan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. He's the author of eight books and numerous articles on public policy, culture and government. His latest book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth provides an account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order.An advocate for same-sex marriage, Jonathan wrote Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America.~~ You can be part of the discussion @PofCharity on Twitter, @PrincipleofCharity on Facebook and @PrincipleofCharityPodcast on Instagram. Your hosts are Lloyd Vogelman and Emile Sherman. Find Lloyd @LloydVogelman on Linked in Find Emile @EmileSherman on Linked In and Twitter. This Podcast is Produced by Jonah Primo and Bronwen Reid Find Jonah @JonahPrimo on Instagram. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
Its hard to believe that a book like The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” hasn't been written before, which surfaces the structures that we need in order to convert contention into facts and knowledge. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institute, and the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His many Brookings publications include “The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth,” as well as “The Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better after 50.” Although much of his writing has been on public policy, he has also written on topics as widely varied as adultery, agriculture, gay marriage, height discrimination, and animal rights. Jonathan and Greg tackle a range of topics as well today, focusing on how journalism maintained a sense of professionalism purely based on voluntary norms, viewpoint diversity, American universities & cancel culture, and why people seek out difficult challenges. Episode Quotes:Mainstream journalism vs. social media The reason mainstream journalism is still so much more reliable and grown up than social media is editors, human beings who sit there and look at stuff and ask reporters and other people, have you checked this? What have you done to check it? Let me see your notes. And then they think about, so is this story ripe? What are the effects of publishing this story right now? Does it need to be more balanced? So, those are the trade-offs we make all the time. And I think one of the strong suits of mainstream media and why it's so important to keep it financially viable.Learning happens in a place where you can take emotional risksLearning happens when we are forced to encounter ideas that we find offensive, wrong-headed, bigoted, sometimes hateful, and difficult. And we need to encounter them in physically safe settings, where they are stated in non-threatening ways. Fake news in the 19th Century:In the 19th century, American journalism was as cesspool of hyper-partisanship and fake news, H.L. Mencken. The greatest American journalist of his era writes in his memoirs about how he and the other Baltimore reporters at the other newspapers would get together over drinks and fabricate stories for the next day's paper. And since they all reported the same thing, everyone assumed it was true. So how do we get out of that? Some people decide that enough is enough. They're starting to lose readers and credibility. The American Society of Newspaper Editors forms. First thing it does is formulate some rules and standards for journalists, things that seem obvious now, like, you know, check your facts, run corrections, be accurate, give people a chance to respond. Someone had to think of those. Meanwhile, we start to see the opening of journalism schools at universities in the early 20th century. And they start training people and inculcating those norms.Show Links:Recommended Resources:John Stewart Mill book: On Liberty University of AustinGuest Profile:Faculty Profile at Brookings InstituteProfessional Profile at American PurposeJonathan Rauch WebsiteJonathan Rauch on LinkedInJonathan Rauch on TwitterHis Work:Articles in The AtlanticArticles in National AffairsThe Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of TruthKindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free ThoughtPolitical Realism: How Hacks, Machines, Big Money, and Back-Room Deals Can Strengthen American DemocracyDenial: My 25 Years Without a SoulThe Happiness Curve: Why Life Gets Better After 50Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America
How do we arrive at truth? Tara's guest on the podcast today argues that it is through reality-based communities — in government, media, the law, and science and academia — which collectively determine truth through trial and error, rules and norms, and discussion and debate. All together, he calls this system “the constitution of knowledge.”But this system is under threat, he says, from both the right and the left. On the right, through the flooding of the public sphere with what's called a "fire hose of falsehoods." And on the left, through cancel culture. (You can find his useful cancel culture checklist here.)Jonathan Rauch is a journalist and author in Washington, D.C. He's a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. His latest book is The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth.
Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world's leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Jonathan Rauch, author of The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution and a contributing writer of The Atlantic. His previous books include Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought. Rauch resides in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In the 2nd part of our conversation with Jonathan Rauch, we do a deeper dive into his timely, ground breaking book THE CONSTITUTION OF KNOWLEDGE: A DEFENSE OF TRUTH. We discuss its goals of peace, freedom and knowledge; why authoritarians hate the Constitution of Knowledge; how to diagnose and resist the ills of disinformation and cancel culture; the effects of cancel culture such as "the spiral of silence"; how, at its center, the MAGA movement is all about disinformation; and how to transform the world by planting the seeds of big ideas. JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth is a deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. His writing has also appeared in many other publications including The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, and others. Jonathan graduated from Yale University. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his writing and has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs. But perhaps most remarkably, he does not like shrimp! www.jonathanrauch.com/about.html www.theatlantic.com/author/jonathan-rauch/ www.brookings.edu/experts/jonathan-rauch/ https://www.brookings.edu/book/the-constitution-of-knowledge/
This is part 1 of our conversation with Jonathan Rauch. We had to have Jon back for a follow up because, as you'll hear, he's such a genuine, inquisitive fellow, he ended up asking Corey more questions than the other way around. We touch upon a number of big ideas like the existence of God; how the gospel of Jesus contrasts with the way a lot of self-professed Christians act; the trauma gay Americans have had to endure from Christians; Jon also talks about amazing Christians he's gotten to know and the concept of grace; and how we can make religion less stupid. JONATHAN RAUCH, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of eight books and many articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry's equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. His latest book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth is a deep-diving account of how to push back against disinformation, canceling, and other new threats to our fact-based epistemic order. His writing has also appeared in many other publications including The Economist, Time, The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, Slate, and others. Jonathan graduated from Yale University. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards for his writing and has appeared as a guest on many television and radio programs. But perhaps most remarkably, he does not like shrimp! www.jonathanrauch.com/about.html www.theatlantic.com/author/jonathan-rauch/ www.brookings.edu/experts/jonathan-rauch/ www.amazon.com/Constitution-Knowledge-Jonathan-Rauch/dp/0815738862/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0
Jonathan Rauch is a journalist, an essayist for "The Atlantic" magazine, and the author of "The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth." During our conversation, Jon talks about what "The Constitution of Knowledge" is and how its norms and practices are the backbone of how our civilization attempts to ascertain the truth and how this innovation in civil discourse has led to an unprecedented rise in peace, freedom, and knowledge.He talks about the two modern threats to that foundation - from both the left and the right - from "cancel culture" and "troll culture." Cancel culture, found throughout history, is a coercive and intimidation method to shut down speech, often deteriorating into a spiral of silence, providing a false sense of uniform belief. He also talks about "troll culture," and how disinformation is, at its root, aimed to confuse the populace, with a demagogue or a strongman leader waiting to step into the vacuum to provide the "truth" people so desperately desire.These dual threats are overt attacks to the center, to the mainstream - what Jon calls the "reality-based community." They're direct assaults on the collective immune system of the nation, and they brilliantly play on our deep-seated, evolutionary tribal biases. Jonathan offers insight into how to accurately assess our unsettling times, and how we might upgrade our own individual software, to help to inoculate ourselves and our society.On a personal note: I think Jonathan's book is one of the best, and most important that I have come across in years. He is a master diagnostician, and his clarity of observation is brilliant, deeply-needed, and timely.------------Support this podcast via VenmoSupport this podcast via PayPalSupport this podcast on Patreon------------Show notesLeave a rating on SpotifyLeave a rating on Apple PodcastsFollow "Keep Talking" on social media and access all episodes------------(00:00) Introduction(03:10) Why Jon wrote "The Constitution of Knowledge"(05:47) How do we know what we know?(07:33) What is epistemology?(08:10) What is The Constitution of Knowledge?(15:53) What The Constitution of Knowledge has brought to the world(22:55) The modern threats to free speech in America(27:23) What is cancel culture and the "spiral of silence"?(33:30) The importance of social courtesy and free speech(39:18) What is troll culture?(48:40) How can citizens protect against future disinformation?(58:04) Braver Angels' work to depolarize America(01:02:28) Evidence to combat "The Big Lie," Trump's claim that he won in 2020(01:10:35) Reasons for hope
Systematic attacks on the truth, supercharged through social media, trolling and cancel culture, have Americans angry, frustrated and unsure as to where to turn for knowledge. It's a crisis of historic proportions, but author Jonathan Rauch argues we already have in place a structure from which to repel these assaults of disinformation. He locates it within the global network of professionals, experts and institutions that has transformed the human species into the sort of knowledge machine that can, for example, decode the genome of a new virus and design a vaccine on a global scale in a matter of days. In his latest book,The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, Rauch challenges readers to understand and defend this system's potential for harnessing disagreement and disinformation.
Democracies around the world are under threat from populist movements, demagogues, and dogmatic extremists who use disinformation, conspiracy theories, cancel culture, and shaming to weaponize social media and challenge our ability to distinguish truth from falsehood.Most recently, the Russian government has used lies and fake news to justify its attempted land grab in Ukraine. In "The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth", best-selling author, journalist, and public intellectual, Jonathan Rauch, offers a stirring defense of the social system of checks and balances that is crucial for turning disagreement into verifiable facts."This global network of people hunting for each others' errors is far and away the greatest human technology ever invented," Jonathan tells us. The constitution of knowledge "is a global conversation of people looking for truth, and more especially, looking for error."In this episode of "How Do We Fix It?", Jonathan arms listeners and advocates of truth with a clear understanding of what they must protect, and how to do it. He makes a clear and moving argument for how all of us can help defend truth and free inquiry from threats that come from as far away as Russia and as close as our cellphones.Here's one of our recommended reviews of "The Constitution of Knowledge".Movie recommendation: Richard enjoyed "The Leopard", a 1963 Italian period drama by director Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, and Alain Delon. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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Today I talk with Jonathan Rauch, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, contributing editor of National Journal and The Atlantic and author of many books including Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought. We discuss his newest book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth, and the lack of free speech culture on college campuses.
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
The processes that have given rise to so much new knowledge show signs of sputtering. Jonathan Rauch, author of The Constitution of Knowledge argues that it's time to restore respect for the "how" of creating new knowledge. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
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