How Do We Fix It?

Do you know where your information is coming from? Shadowy forces are at work to influence what we think, how we behave, and where we spend our money. They're part of the explosion in pay-to-play. From bots and branded content to political-influence peddlers’, advertisers and even sports programs in public schools, pay-to-play is a growing influence in our lives. Critics of pay-to-play say that instead of "We the people,” the online world is controlled by "We the wealthiest people.” Geoffrey Colon, an expert on marketing, tech and how to get people's attention, is our guest. A communications designer at Microsoft, Geoffrey is the author of "Disruptive Marketing - What Growth Hackers, Data Punks and Other Hybrid Thinkers Can Teach Us About Navigating the New Normal." He's the co-host with Cheryl Metzger of the popular podcast, Disruptive FM. We learn more about the threat from fake news and hate sites alt-right bots to our democracy. Geoffrey guides through some of the recent dizzying changes in the...

Does Donald Trump lie more than previous presidents? In the history of political spin, how does the Trump administration stack up? Presidents have always used spin and propaganda to skirt the truth, but the Trump administration has made it especially hard for citizens to remain informed. The easiest example of this was when Kellyanne Conway, the Counselor to the President, used the term “alternative facts” to defend a false statement by the White House Press Secretary. In this episode we look at how Presidential propaganda, messaging or spin has changed over the decades. David Greenberg is our guest and the author of "Republic of Spin - An Inside History of the American Presidency.” David argues that Teddy Roosevelt was responsible for the birth of modern Presidential spin more than one hundred years ago. Trump is part of a tradition that began with Roosevelt: Mark Twain saw Roosevelt as “The Tom Sawyer of the political world.” Unlike his predecessors, Roosevelt appealed directly to the public, to... &

Valentine’s Day is almost here, so we invited Dating Ring CEO Shearly Markowicz to talk about the company and give advice how to find love online. Dating Ring first came to fame when it was profiled by the Gimlet podcast, "StartUp.” Online dating has lost its stigma and gone mainstream. But do these sites really work? According to the Pew Research Center, six in ten people say online dating is a good way to meet people. But Consumer Reports’ gave online dating sites the lowest satisfaction scores the magazine has seen for any rated service in two decades - even lower than cable TV companies! Her company is a hybrid, part data, and part human matchmaker. Dating Ring uses the algorithms used by online dating sites, but then a matchmaker steps in to help refine the process. “We really try to bring the human element in, because that's what I think is lacking in the other dating sites," says Shearly. "We meet with people and get to know their personalities" Her company is a hybrid - part data, part human...

In his inaugural address, Donald Trump gave a grim description of American cities, speaking of "carnage" and "rusted out factories.” But the reality is far different in many urban centers. Our guest is Kay Hymowitz of The Manhattan Institute, author of "The New Brooklyn: What It Takes To Bring a City Back."  Kay has lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn since 1981. She gives a first-hand account of Brooklyn's transformation from high crime and deindustrialization in the 60's, 70's and 80's to the borough's comeback in the last two decades. Kay says, “Brooklyn, which was once a major factory town, peaked in 1950—in terms of manufacturing power. In recent decades we've seen a rise of "a different kind of economy." Before the hipsters and tech startups, there was an expansion in government, healthcare and legal jobs. From education, tech innovation and new forms of business to public transportation and rezoning, this show looks at how the new Brooklyn took shape and how this story can help other cities. Look for...

Do you dread filing your taxes? We simplify the process and break it down into simple steps so you can avoid costly mistakes and even an audit. You might even get back hundreds of dollars in refunds.  Our guest on this podcast is certified tax accountant, Janice Hayman, who calls herself a "tax therapist" for many of her clients. We learn which tax credits and deductions millions of taxpayers miss when they file their returns. Why dealing with the Internal Revenue Service is often a lot easier and less intimidating than many people fear. And how to avoid falling for the most common tax scams. This show is being released at the start of the 2016 tax-filing season. Now is the time to start collecting all those W2s, 1099s and other forms you will need to ensure that you are ready before the April 15th deadline. For specific solutions go to our website: howdowefixit.me  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have you spent your life switching careers? So has former NPR host, professor, and journalist Farai Chideya. It’s the new normal —- the episodic career. Can you build a career with a non-traditional work history? How do you find  a rewarding career in the new world of work? How can you thrive and prosper in a jobs market disrupted by technology and globalism?   These questions are answered in this podcast. Our guest is well-known journalist, professor, author and former NPR host, Farai Chideya, author of “The Episodic Career”.   According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average job in the U.S. lasts 4.6 years, a far cry from an era when a large percentage of the workforce could expect to stay with their current employer for decades.     Farai tells us why resiliency, lifelong learning, plus understanding how your skills relate to the needs of the employment market are the three pillars of a successful career.     Look for solutions and links to useful sites at our website, howdowefixit.me.  Please...

Have you ever been the victim of a con artist? Very often we fall for cons ourselves without being aware of it. We speak with journalist and psychologist Maria Konnikova, best-selling author of “The Confidence Game:" Through storytelling and science, she explains the mind of the con artist and what makes the rest of us so susceptible.  Con artists are everywhere. Since 2008 the number of reported cases of consumer fraud have shot up 60%. Online cases have doubled. Billions of dollars are lost each year in scams. Maria Konnikova explains how con artists target us and why we fall for it. Find out how you can avoid being the victim of a con artist. Go to our website www.howdowefixit.me  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fresh thinking for the New Year: In 2016 we were exposed to a dazzling range of smart, practical ideas from our podcast guests - from climate change and money matters, healthcare reform, to making room for strangers in our lives.   In this show we start with Rebecca Jarvis, Chief Business, Economics and Technology Correspondent for ABC News. One of her smart money resolutions for the New Year is to be skeptical. Watch out for the know-it-alls and outright charlatans of investing, who pretend to understand how to beat the market. Rebecca also urges borrowers to be aware of the full costs of personal debt. The need to be wary of simplistic slogans and fixes is at the heart of global economist Ruchir Sharma's book, "The Rise and Fall of Nations.” His solution? Look beyond the headlines to long-term trends. Slower growths in the workforce and immigration rates have a big impact on prosperity and growth.   In the excerpt from our show on nuclear power, Michael Shellenberger, author of An Ecomodernist...

Alan Dershowitz on Trump; what an Islamic fundamentalist learned in an Egyptian jail; plus a tenured professor explained why she quit her job—trigger warning ahead. No doubt about it - the nomination and election of Donald Trump was the biggest, most surprising news story of 2016. At the start of this show we get two fascinating takes on the Trump story from a marketing man and a Harvard Professor. For decades Alan Dershowitz has been on the front lines in the fight for civil liberties. He also has a refreshing take on the Trump phenomenon. "He was unpredictable: somebody who gave some people hope that maybe things won't be the same," says Dershowitz. British marketing expert Mark Earls, made a second visit to our podcast, told us that emotion and identity play far greater roles in our voting decisions than many of us realize." We imagine that people consider in something as important as politics the pros and cons and the policy, but we don’t. We spoke to Karen Firestone, the author of Even the...

What we can learn from the best education systems in the world? A lot. We learn about PISA - The Program for International Student Assessment - and why this international test on math, science and reading has disturbing results for U.S. schools.  We interviewed British teacher Lucy Crehan, author of the breakthrough book, "Cleverlands", went on a remarkable journey to Finland, Asia and Canada, to study the world’s best schools. We find out why a simple question from a student in her science class, “Miss, why do we sneeze?" sent Lucy on a two-year quest to learn how to improve schools. Playful, enthusiastic, and full of common sense, "Cleverlands" is a personal story, an adventure, and a how-to book on how everyone can improve children’s education.   Lucy paints a picture of school life, making sense of the theories and data through the stories of teachers and children.    Solutions: - Get children ready for formal learning. Early education is important but don’t focus on academic skills. The most...

More than eight years after the financial meltdown, we still have a lot to learn, says our guest, CNN global economic analyst Rana Foroohar. "The rise of finance has actually kind of eaten the rest of the economy," Rana tells this in this "Fix It" episode. "Finance controls the rest of industry. Finance has become the tail that wags the dog." At the same time, the financial industry remains at risk for another hugely destructive collapse. In her book, "Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business", Rana says only 15% of all the money in financial markets ends up in the real economy in the form of loans to help grow business. The rest is traded and shuffled around the financial system. "Finance is there to serve business. We need to simplify it," Rana says. That means deciding "what kinds of activities in our economy we want to incentivize and then creating the rules around finance to help capital flow to those areas." Solutions: Reform the tax code that “treats...

Dr. Michael Shermer is our guest; he's the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American and a regular contributor to Time.com. In his latest book, “The Moral Arc: How Science and Reason Lead Humanity toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom,” Dr. Shermer discusses how science, reason, and rational inquiry contribute to human progress and history. He claims that we are living in the most moral period of our species’ history Using data, and lessons from history, Michael shows that the arc of the moral universe bends toward truth, justice, and freedom. When considering right and wrong, "most people separate scientific facts - facts about nature - from moral facts," says Michael in this episode of our podcast, "How Do We Fix It?" "I'm pushing back against that saying moral truths are really no different from biological or physical truths about nature." We consider the profound implications of his ideas for how we look at science, religion, politics, climate change, prison... &

The U.S. spends more than $3 trillion a year on healthcare, or nearly $10,000 a year for every man, woman and child. But are we getting a bang for our buck? In many cases, the answer has to be no. And this goes well beyond the raging debate over Obamacare and whether all Americans should have access to coverage. About a third of money spent on healthcare is now simply wasted or spent on poor decisions, says our guest, emergency room physician and entrepreneur, Doctor Joe Habboushe. The crisis includes clinical waste, excessive prices, fraud and bureaucracy. Dr. Habboushe shares his moving personal story and passion for reducing waste and improving patient outcomes through his work as a physician and as CEO of MDCalc - an online diagnostic app used by about 50% of American doctors. "Let's not get rid of what we do really well and that's drive innovation for the world," says Dr. Joe. "If we focus on waste, we have to look at why healthcare costs a lot and if we want to reduce that how can we do it in a... &#

This show is about the benefits adults, especially business owners, can get from playing games. This year's huge success of Pokemon Go helped bring gamification and augmented reality into the mainstream - with many small businesses using the mobile app to raise engagement with consumers. Dan Grech, OfferCraft, tells us how governments, businesses, and even parents use games to boost participation and change behavior. Dan Grech is a former journalist who works for OfferCraft, a Florida company that designs games for companies and other clients. "You can incorporate games into business settings in really small and subtle ways that aren't necessarily expensive and can generate extraordinary results" says Dan. Solutions with games: Governments use games and behavioral economics insights to reduce speeding or increase voter turnout. In China, the government introduced lottery scratch-off games to cut tax evasion. Businesses offer prizes and rewards to excite consumers and boost engagement Doctors’... &

Anyone who cares about diversity, feminism and closing the gender gap should be fired up about this show. Author, entrepreneur and - yes provocateur - Sallie Krawcheck is our guest.  Her forthcoming 2017 book is "Own It: The Power of Women at Work."  Sallie is CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest, a digital investment platform and wealth management site for women.   For years, she has been well known as one of the most senior women on Wall Street and was called "the last honest analyst" by Fortune Magazine after the 2008 financial crisis.  She has deep experience in "the biggest boys club in the world" - the financial industry, where 86% of investment advisers are men. First off we talk about why the Trump Presidency could be good for feminists.  “It’s (locker room talk) on the table now,"  she says. The infamous conversation with Billie Bush, and the widely discussed New York Times column "How Wall Street Bro Talk Keeps Women Down" are both "a really important wake up call." Sallie lists the many benefits... &

We recorded this the day after the stunning U.S. Presidential election.  This show is our attempt to explain the reasons for Donald Trump's win. Despite his deeply divisive rhetoric and attacks on Muslims and undocumented Mexican immigrants that deeply offended many voters, Trump emerged victorious.  We examine why Trump won the election but also solutions and takeaways from his surprise victory. Solutions: Let’s come up with a list of things we can agree on. Congress should meet before the new Administration takes office and discuss bipartisan reform on prison reform, business regulation, taxes and trade. Americans who are deeply distressed by the election can commit themselves to constructive change where they live, volunteering at improving and rebuilding the public square.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Almost all of us do a poor job of predicting the future.   This show looks at how we can adapt to the disruption and change the future inevitably brings.  Using examples from business and our personal lives, we consider how to be smarter and more successful. "You can't really imagine what it's going to be like should a bad thing happen," says our guest, Mark Earls. "We over-estimate how bad we might feel if we lose something, and under-estimate how we might feel if something good happens to us." Mark joins Jim and Richard at our living room table in New York. Usually Mark is based in London where he's a well-known author and consultant on marketing, communications and behavioral change.  His books include “Copy Copy Copy”, "HERD: How to Change Mass Behavior by Harnessing Our True Nature” and “I’ll Have What She’s Having” "We have to realize…we have to prepare for multiple futures," Mark tells us in this episode. Some additional takeaways: Solutions: Start small. For example Spotify began in a small... &#

"There are genuine emotional benefits when we connect with strangers," says our guest, Kio Stark. These fleeting interactions are important interruptions in the steady routine of our lives. "They bring connectedness and belonging." Kio is the author of "When Strangers Meet: How People You Don't Know Can Transform You." Her popular TED Talk has received more than 1,450,000 views. "My own interactions with strangers resonate with meaning for me," she writes in her book. "You find questions whose answers you thought you knew. You reject the ideas that make us so suspicious of each other." Kio explains why and how anyone - including introverts and those who are fearful of strangers - can benefit from allowing these brief encounters into their lives. For instance dogs and babies can make it easier to speak with people you don't know, Kio explains why. "There's an amazing power in being seen. We live in cities we don't see each other," Kio tells us. "When you are seen, when you notice someone is... &nbs

Do you believe you can make a difference?  What improvements to the world have been made by nonprofit organizations?  What lessons have been learnt by philanthropists about delivering services and furthering their cause? These and many more questions are answered here by our guest, Jennifer McCrea.  She's a leading global expert on giving and fundraising.  Jennifer works to transform the practice of philanthropy She discusses her important work with the Born Free Africa collaborative, which works for the eradication of mother-to-child transmission of H.I.V. "While of course we have to get money moving in support of the work we are doing," Jennifer tells us, "it's not about money at the center of the relationship." In her course at Harvard...  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The news media have bombarded us with stories about the candidates, the contest and - to a lesser extent - the crucial issues America faces as people vote for the next President. This podcast is about the voters. We went back to four past episodes of "How Do We Fix It?" pulling extracts about how we make decisions and why the information that you and I receive from internet search engines and other sources may be radically different than the news and views our friends and neighbors are hearing.   On episode 24 podcast host and author David McRaney told us "we are not so smart," using confirmation bias as a defining example. "It would do us all good to actually think what are we wrong about," said David, who argues in favor of challenging our own personal biases. "Whenever...  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.