Re: Building Democracy explores the state of civic discourse, east of the mountains
Democracy works best when the people being governed are engaged in civic life. That certainly was the case in 2020, a year with a lot of elements that sparked people’s passions.
Start with a presidential race featuring an incumbent who inspired strong emotions in both supporters and detractors. Add to that an already evenly-divided nation in terms of political viewpoints and a pandemic that brought huge changes to our everyday lives. With technology, people now have all kinds of avenues where they can publicly express their feelings. Sometimes they do it constructively, sometimes they inflame.
How do we keep civil discourse and facts front and center, while minimizing division and misinformation? What have we learned about how we communicate when passions are running high and people can instantaneously express their opinions?
Spokane Public Radio’s Cary Boyce & Doug Nadvornick produced this episode of the Re:Building Democracy series, a collaboration between Humanities Washington, KUOW, Spokane Public Radio, and Northwest Public Broadcasting.
Places you can find more information about civics and civics education:
Washington Legislature's Civics Education program
The Washington legislature's Civic Education Day
Washington's Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction's Civics Education page
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John O'Brien
Producer
John O’Brien is a KUOW newsroom producer. He works with the Morning Edition and All Things Considered teams to schedule, record, and edit interviews and stories on a variety of topics, from politics and public health to arts and culture. He learned to make radio in 2006 as an intern on KUOW’s The Conversation and is a former host of KUOW's Speakers Forum.
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