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Podcast: How to have better conversations about race

Podcast: How to have better conversations about race

There are many challenging issues to talk about in American society, but those that involve race are among the most difficult. For many there is anger, confusion, and uncertainty. Rather than participating in a conversation, many people avoid it or come armed for an argument.

Tensions around the topic of race suggests that there are still problems that need to be solved. In a recent Civil Squared podcast, Dr. Erec Smith, an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania, addresses how we can have better conversations about race in this country.


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Is Politico's Gerrymandering Poll and Analysis Misleading?
Image generated by IVN staff.

Is Politico's Gerrymandering Poll and Analysis Misleading?

Politico published a story last week under the headline “Poll: Americans don’t just tolerate gerrymandering — they back it.”

Still, a close review of the data shows the poll does not support that conclusion. The poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly prefer either an independent redistricting process or a voter-approved process — not partisan map-drawing without voter approval. This is the exact opposite of the narrative Politico’s headline and article promoted. The numbers Politico relied on to justify its headline came only from a subset of partisans.

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Is Politico's Gerrymandering Poll and Analysis Misleading?
Image generated by IVN staff.

Is Politico's Gerrymandering Poll and Analysis Misleading?

Politico published a story last week under the headline “Poll: Americans don’t just tolerate gerrymandering — they back it.”

Still, a close review of the data shows the poll does not support that conclusion. The poll shows that Americans overwhelmingly prefer either an independent redistricting process or a voter-approved process — not partisan map-drawing without voter approval. This is the exact opposite of the narrative Politico’s headline and article promoted. The numbers Politico relied on to justify its headline came only from a subset of partisans.

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For the Sake of Democracy, We Need to Rethink How We Assess History in Schools

classroom

Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

For the Sake of Democracy, We Need to Rethink How We Assess History in Schools

“Which of the following is a right guaranteed by the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution?"

  1. Right to public education
  2. Right to health care
  3. Right to trial by a jury
  4. Right to vote

The above question was labeled “medium” by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for the 2022 8th-grade U.S. history assessment.

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People holding microphones and recorders to someone who is speaking.

As the U.S. retires the penny, this essay reflects on lost value—in currency, communication, and truth—highlighting the rising threat of misinformation and the need for real journalism.

Getty Images, Mihajlo Maricic

The End of the Penny — and the Price of Truth in Journalism

232 years ago, the first penny was minted in the United States. And this November, the last pennies rolled off the line, the coin now out of production.

“A penny for your thoughts.” This common idiom, an invitation for another to share what’s on their mind, may go the way of the penny itself, into eventual obsolescence. There are increasingly few who really want to know what’s on anyone else’s mind, unless that mind is in sync with their own.

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