We wanted you wonderful SquareCast listeners to know that we didn't plan for this episode to drop on Leap Day and we didn't plan on it being (we kid you not) Episode 100. But both things just happened. At the very least, we think that's a sign that you really ought to listen. Were we "the universe has a plan" maximalists, though, we'd say it means you need to quit your day job and follow bridge builders like Jon Haidt and The Village Square around like Jack Kerouac groupies.
You pick. Here's our blurb to help inform your imminent life choice:
What if, at a pinnacle of our civilization’s technological achievement, everything just broke — the institutions we’ve come to rely upon in navigating a modern complex world, the shared stories that hold a large and diverse democratic republic together, and even a common language through which to navigate the rising tide of crisis. According to renowned social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt, this describes our current reality, one that he calls “After Babel.” In this new normal, we are scattered by a digital environment into feuding tribes that are governed by mob dynamics and driven by a minority of ideological outliers, made stupid at warp speed by group think, and — thanks to social media — armed with billions of metaphorical “dart guns” with which to immediately wound “the enemy” in ways that are hardly only metaphorical. What could go wrong?
Our very special guest, Dr. Jonathan Haidt, will delve into the profound impact of social media on democratic societies, dissecting the intricate web of challenges it poses to civic trust and civil discourse. Don’t miss this chance to hear from one of the foremost thought leaders of our time — one who has generously given his counsel to The Village Square, and countless efforts like ours — on this existential challenge of our time. Read Why the Past Ten Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid in The Atlantic and learn more about Dr. Haidt by clicking the MORE button, below.
The program includes a preview of Haidt’s highly anticipated upcoming book The Anxious Generation, available at the end of March. You’re not going to want to miss it.
The Village Square is a proud member 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.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
Jonathan Haidt: The Anxious Generation
UNUM Series: The Soul of Civility
Fragile Neighborhoods with Dr. Seth Kaplan
God Squad: Everyone is Canceled!
The Big Sort with Bill Bishop
Being Human in Divided Times: A fireside chat with Village Square founder Liz Joyner
Rachel Brown: The Roots of Belonging & The Risks of Othering
Stephen P. Kiernan: Authentic Patriotism
God Squad: Ending the Cycle of Mean
God Squad: Shut Up and (Don't) Sing
Dr. Todd Rose | Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions
Robert Putnam & Shaylyn Romney Garrett | Join or Die: Why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it
The Way Out: Overcoming Toxic Polarization, with Dr. Peter T. Coleman
TP&R Feed Drop | Tim Keller and Michael Gerson, A Tribute with Pete Wehner and Jonathan Rauch
When the People Decide Feed Drop | Libraries as civic spaces
How Do We Fix It Feed Drop | The Middle 70%. In This Together: Bill Shireman
Let's Find Common Ground Feed Drop | Patriotism: Pride, Race and Reckoning
Democracy Works Feed Drop: Separating News From Noise
TP&R Feed Drop: Bob Cusack, Editor in Chief at THE HILL
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