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The Facts on U.S.–Canada Tariffs Nearly One Year Into Trump’s Plan

When Separation of Powers Becomes a Suggestion

When Separation of Powers Becomes a Suggestion

Why the GOP Needs to Help Prevent Pres. Trump from Interfering in the November Election

Why the GOP Needs to Help Prevent Pres. Trump from Interfering in the November Election

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An illustration of two hands controlling a small person attached to strings.

Parallels and Patterns: George Orwell’s 1984, Hitler’s Nazi, and Trump 2.0

Meet the change leaders: Shia Levitt

Shia Levitt
www.citybiz.co
David L. Nevins
By David L. NevinsJun 11, 2024
David L. Nevins
David L. Nevins serves as publisher of The Fulcrum. Additionally, Nevins serves as co-founder and Board Chairman of the Bridge Alliance. Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process. As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action. He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded anyone organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.” He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership, he established and continues to work with The Nevins Democracy Leaders program at Penn State University. Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.
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Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.

Shia Levitt is the director of News Ambassadors, a project of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund that links student reporters with their counterparts in politically or demographically dissimilar areas to collaborate on stories exploring solutions to contentious issues.

Levitt has taught radio reporting and audio storytelling at Brooklyn College in New York and at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., as well as for WNYC’s Radio Rookies and other organizations.

Her teaching builds on two decades of working in radio, primarily reporting for public radio outlets including NPR, Marketplace and KQED. Most recently (2022) Levitt was a news editor at KALW, where she launched the poetry segment, “ Bay Poets.”

She has reported domestically and internationally, including in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and her main beats have been covering science, health, labor and the environment.

Her vast experience includes producing and reporting radio features and news spots on issues including business, economics, labor, social trends and environment/health from the U.S., Japan, Philippines, India, Israel, Kenya and Ivory Coast.

She is also a freelance photographer for various magazines and occasionally produces for television.

To learn more, visit newsambassadors.org. (Disclosure: Like News Ambassadors, The Fulcrum is a project of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.)

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Levitt in May for the CityBiz “Meet the Change Leaders” series. Watch to learn the full extent of her democracy reform work:

The Fulcrum Democracy Forum Meets Shia Levitt, Director of News Ambassadorswww.youtube.com


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Powering the Future: Comparing U.S. Nuclear Energy Growth to French and Chinese Nuclear Successes

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Powering the Future: Comparing U.S. Nuclear Energy Growth to French and Chinese Nuclear Successes

With the rise of artificial intelligence and a rapidly growing need for data centers, the U.S. is looking to exponentially increase its domestic energy production. One potential route is through nuclear energy—a form of clean energy that comes from splitting atoms (fission) or joining them together (fusion). Nuclear energy generates energy around the clock, making it one of the most reliable forms of clean energy. However, the U.S. has seen a decrease in nuclear energy production over the past 60 years; despite receiving 64 percent of Americans’ support in 2024, the development of nuclear energy projects has become increasingly expensive and time-consuming. Conversely, nuclear energy has achieved significant success in countries like France and China, who have heavily invested in the technology.

In the U.S., nuclear plants represent less than one percent of power stations. Despite only having 94 of them, American nuclear power plants produce nearly 20 percent of all the country’s electricity. Nuclear reactors generate enough electricity to power over 70 million homes a year, which is equivalent to about 18 percent of the electricity grid. Furthermore, its ability to withstand extreme weather conditions is vital to its longevity in the face of rising climate change-related weather events. However, certain concerns remain regarding the history of nuclear accidents, the multi-billion dollar cost of nuclear power plants, and how long they take to build.

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For many people, the current anxiety about artificial intelligence feels overblown. They say, “We’ve been here before.” Every generation has its technological scare story. In the early days of automation, factories threatened jobs. Television was supposed to rot our brains. The internet was going to end serious thinking. Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano, published in 1952, imagined a world run by machines and technocrats, leaving ordinary humans purposeless and sidelined. We survived all of that.

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Even with the full protection of the First Amendment, the free press in America is at risk. When a president works tirelessly to silence journalists, the question becomes unavoidable: What truth is he trying to keep the country from seeing? What is he covering up or trying to hide?

Democracies rarely fall in a single moment; they erode through a thousand small silences that go unchallenged. When citizens can no longer see or hear the truth — or when leaders manipulate what the public is allowed to know — the foundation of self‑government begins to crack long before the structure falls. When truth becomes negotiable, democracy becomes vulnerable — not because citizens stop caring, but because they stop receiving the information they need to act.

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