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Podcast: Saving social media

Podcast: Saving social media

In recent years, American politicians seem to be getting tougher about internet oversight. But it remains unclear whether Washington has the will to regulate big tech companies and the platforms they control. This week on "Democracy in Danger" we hear from Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, and former Rep. Barbara Comstock, a Republican, live from the University of Virginia’s celebrated dome room. They see hope for bipartisan action on Capitol Hill — to protect users and free speech alike. Siva reflects with guest-host Danielle Citron.


S4 E15. Saving Social Media

S4 E15. Saving Social Media

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Donald Trump
Trump’s win demands transformation, not just defense, of democracy
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Trump's "Politainment" showcased with Netanyahu

President Donald Trump first became nationally famous on reality TV, and certainly, this has influenced his political style, described by some as “politainment,” the blending of entertainment with politics.

This week, that style was on full display in the White House briefing with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when Trump announced he intends to relocate the Palestinian population from Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

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The NFL Playoffs Are Prime Time for Digital Piracy

Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates during the first half of the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 18, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri.

(Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

The NFL Playoffs Are Prime Time for Digital Piracy

The NFL playoffs are an exciting time for football fans to watch the chase for the Super Bowl. It was a uniquely American obsession that has increasingly captured the attention of live sports fans worldwide.

It’s also prime time for live sports piracy, and American lawmakers must enact measures to protect these live broadcasts.

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To help heal divides, we must cut “the media” some slack

Newspaper headline cuttings.

Getty Images / Sean Gladwell

To help heal divides, we must cut “the media” some slack

A few days ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated. In his second term, just as in his first, he’ll likely spark passionate disagreements about news media: what is “fake news” and what isn’t, which media sources should be trusted and which should be doubted.

We know we have a media distrust problem. Recently it hit an all-time low: the percentage of Americans with "not very much" trust in the media has risen from 27% in 2020 to 33% in 2024.

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King's Birmingham Jail Letter in Our Digital Times

Civil Rights Ldr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speaking into mike after being released fr. prison for leading boycott.

(Photo by Donald Uhrbrock/Getty Images)

King's Birmingham Jail Letter in Our Digital Times

Sixty-two years after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s pen touches paper in a Birmingham jail cell, I contemplate the walls that still divide us. Walls constructed in concrete to enclose Alabama jails, but in Silicon Valley, designed code, algorithms, and newsfeeds. King's legacy and prophetic words from that jail cell pierce our digital age with renewed urgency.

The words of that infamous letter burned with holy discontent – not just anger at injustice, but a more profound spiritual yearning for a beloved community. Witnessing our social fabric fray in digital spaces, I, too, feel that same holy discontent in my spirit. King wrote to white clergymen who called his methods "unwise and untimely." When I scroll through my social media feeds, I see modern versions of King's "white moderate" – those who prefer the absence of tension to the presence of truth. These are the people who click "like" on posts about racial harmony while scrolling past videos of police brutality. They share MLK quotes about dreams while sleeping through our contemporary nightmares.

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