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Just the Facts: Canadian Tariffs

Just the Facts: Canadian Tariffs

Project 2025: How the White House Plans to Gain Control Over U.S. Elections

Project 2025: How the White House Plans to Gain Control Over U.S. Elections

Redistricting

Redistricting

Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs on stage

Luke Combs, politics and healing our nation's divide

Podcast: Bridging the rural-urban divide

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The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMay 17, 2021
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Journalist Ashley Ahearn lived in Seattle, covering climate change and environment for NPR, and most of her friends and colleagues were liberals. But in 2018 she moved to one of the state's most conservative counties. What did Ahern learn from such a dramatic shift?

In this episode of the "How Do We Fix It?" podcast, solutions journalists Richard Davies and Jim Meigs learn about the rural-urban divide in America, and what Ahearn discovered about following her move. The discussion also includes a segment on differing views of land and climate based on where people live.

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How One Military Veteran has Helped Unite Los Angeles in Times of Peace and Crisis

An illustration of diverse people around a heart with the design of the American flag.

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How One Military Veteran has Helped Unite Los Angeles in Times of Peace and Crisis

Jason Mayo always felt a calling to serve, but his journey was anything but predictable. Drawn to service in the Marine Corps, due to its high bar for excellence, he dreamed of standing guard at U.S. embassies in countries like France and Germany, where he could leverage his proficiency in foreign languages.

As so often happens, life had other plans for Mayo, and a serious car accident led him to leave the military far earlier than he would have planned. It also left him with an unfulfilled sense of duty.

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Finding Common Ground in America's Religious Realignment

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Finding Common Ground in America's Religious Realignment

In a moment defined by fracture and division, a surprising development has emerged in America's religious landscape. The decades-long decline of Christianity is leveling off. According to new research from the Pew Research Center, the share of Americans identifying as Christian has stabilized at around 62%—a dramatic shift from previous trends that saw consistent year-over-year drops in religious affiliation. This "pause" in religious decline offers a unique opportunity to examine whether faith communities might help heal our nation's deep sociopolitical wounds.

The timing of this latest phenomenon could not be more apropos. As America grapples with unprecedented polarization and the fraying of civic bonds, religious institutions—despite their internal struggles—may be uniquely positioned to foster dialogue, understanding, and responsiveness across divides.

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Donald Trump standing with Elon Musk and Kid rock
President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Kid Rock watch a UFC event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16.
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The Care and Feeding of a Superpower

The Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, led by an unelected billionaire and supported by the Donald Trump administration, continues its bulldozer approach to our federal government. As we careen forward, an essential food for thought is an awareness of the global and historical perspectives that underscore how our current leaders' strategies align with a playbook for the final chapter of previous global powers.

When we think of global dominance, we often think of military strength and the size of a superpower’s budget. What we think less of is the importance of perception or the significance of the cultural aspects of power. The USAID spreads the impression of a peaceful and protective United States, dispersing resources and building a global community with the US at the helm. President Kennedy began the USAID in 1961 with an Executive order. Research shows that USAID has continuously had bipartisan support and a tremendous impact, makes up less than 1 percent of our budget, and is a major player within the United Nations Developmental Programme.

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