Village SquareCast

Your Brain on Tribal Media

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Episode notes

Somewhere between white supremacists marching, an unbearable number of wrongful deaths of black youth, and police officers being gunned down in broad daylight sits the American citizen – overwhelmed by the escalating anger, confused by what’s true and what isn’t, not knowing where to turn to figure it out. Forced to choose between media sources that are increasingly partisan and without the time to launch our own research projects, we’re left paralyzed, polarized and more than a little bit angry ourselves.

In partnership with Florida Humanities Council and the Poynter Institute, we’re bringing you three powerful voices – two seasoned journalists and one student of human nature – to confront this central challenge of our time. Just how should those who write “the first draft of history” tell these stories in a diverse democracy like ours? Can a media that fans the flames of racial division also provide the inspiration we need to transcend it?

Joining us are:

Alexios Mantzarlis, Director of Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network, The Poynter Institute

Eric Deggans, TV Critic, NPR

Cory Clark, Director of the Adversarial Collaboration Project and a Visiting Scholar in the Psychology Department at University of Pennsylvania