Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Say hello to the Daily Centrist

There's another entrant to the market of groups that believe they have the key to making American democracy work better.

The Daily Centrist is being launched to offer news and opinion "to serve the wide plurality of Americans who identify as political independents and the even larger numbers who, regardless of party affiliation, can be considered center-right and center-left Americans in search of solutions." The audience, the editors said, would be the plurality of voters who don't affiliate as either a Democratic Party that's moved to the left or a Republican Party that's moved to the right.


"We plan to be the water cooler for that great silent majority of Americans who are underserved by political opinion – or attitude – that speaks to their sensibilities," said the editor in chief, political analyst Rick Ungar. "And we will scrutinize and criticize commentators, personalities, politicians and candidates who embrace either extreme political pole."

Read More

We Need to Rethink Polarization Before It Becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

An illustration to symbolize two divided groups.

Getty Images / Andrii Yalanskyi

We Need to Rethink Polarization Before It Becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

It’s time to rethink the notion that we Americans are too polarized to work together and get things done. And it’s time to get clear-eyed about what’s really holding us back and what it will take to help us move forward together.

A few years ago, I engaged cross-sections of Americans from all across the country in 16 in-depth focus groups about how they were feeling about their lives, the country, and our future. These conversations resulted in the report Civic Virus: Why Polarization is a Misdiagnosis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Even in victory, Republicans should listen to their opponents

An illustration of someone listening and someone speaking.

Getty Images / Leolintang

Even in victory, Republicans should listen to their opponents

In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, many people have discussed Democrats’ mistakes—from being “out of touch” and insulting, to focusing too much on Trump, to Biden’s “arrogance” in running again. It’s good for political parties to ask tough questions about how their approach may be driving people away and how they can better serve people.

As Republicans continue to celebrate their victory, will they be brave enough to ask themselves similar questions?

Keep ReadingShow less
Honor The Past Without Shame: Anniversaries Pass, Trauma Remains

An illustration of a clock surrounded by clouds.

Getty Images / Artpartner-images

Honor The Past Without Shame: Anniversaries Pass, Trauma Remains

Even as the wildfires of California continue, having affected an estimated 200,000 residents and resulted in 27 deaths, the memory of the Northridge Earthquake of January 1994 and the mass devastation and destruction afterward still linger three decades later.

The fires raged recently on the anniversary of the earthquake in the San Fernando Valley in California, when 33 people died and 7,000 were injured with a damage cost estimated up to $40 billion. The loss of life, livelihood, and long-term lingering trauma experienced has been widely recognized by mental health professionals and the lay community as well.

Keep ReadingShow less