Tag Archives: Public Policy

The Importance of Really Listening – For Ourselves, Others, and Democracy

I recently posted a short article you might want to read, The Importance of Really Listening – For Ourselves, Others, and Democracy.  Here’s the abstract. This article discusses how listening carefully can help others and ourselves and is important for healthy democratic processes.  Relying on Kathryn Schulz’s book, Being Wrong:  Adventures in the Margin of … Continue reading The Importance of Really Listening – For Ourselves, Others, and Democracy →

Fox’s Sizzling Bazookas

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Dominion Voting Systems’s filings for its motion for summary judgment included incredible smoking gun evidence that Fox News and its parent, Fox Corporation, knowingly published false statements with wild allegations about Dominion’s supposed role in promoting voter fraud in the 2020 election. The court’s ruling on the motion last week was much more damning than Dominion’s … Continue reading Fox’s Sizzling Bazookas →

AI, ADR, and Anxiety

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This post started as a response to Jen Reynolds’s comment about my Avatar Mediation post.  It has grown into this new post about AI generally, growing anxiety about it and the state of the world, and how we can manage this anxiety. AI Risks . . . and Potential Benefits Jen wrote, “I hope that … Continue reading AI, ADR, and Anxiety →

Fox’s Smoking Gun

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Black’s Law Dictionary definition of “smoking gun” could be Dominion Voting System’s brief supporting its motion for summary judgment against Fox “News.” Dominion’s argument is summed up in a Washington Post headline, “Fox News feared losing viewers by airing truth about election, documents show.  ‘Everything at stake here,’ billionaire founder Rupert Murdoch wrote to a … Continue reading Fox’s Smoking Gun →

How Can We Reduce Hyper-Polarization?

Heidi and Guy Burgess have long focused on how society – and our field – can deal with intractable conflicts.  They publish a newsletter, Beyond Intractability, that includes lots of thoughtful articles about this. The latest issue features an article they co-authored with Sanda Kaufman, Applying Conflict Resolution Insights to the Hyper-Polarized, Society-Wide Conflicts Threatening … Continue reading How Can We Reduce Hyper-Polarization? →

A Long, Hard Road to “Yes”

Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $392 billion of federal investments in energy and climate policies, reflects a complex political evolution over recent decades, as described in this Washington Post article. Multiple Political Changes The bill was adopted on a purely party-line vote, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans opposed. … Continue reading A Long, Hard Road to “Yes” →

Humor Theory for When Everything Seems Like it is Going to Hell

Mediators have long recognized that they can use humor to help disputants deal with conflict (though it can really backfire). What about using humor when it seems like the world is going to hell? In her essay, Please Laugh About My Abortion With Me, comedian Alison Leiby describes experiences with her comedy show “Oh God, … Continue reading Humor Theory for When Everything Seems Like it is Going to Hell →