Plus the fact it is the Friday before Spring Break. Not like classes are normally full that day anyway...

Listened to a talk Monday at the CSU Democracy Summit from @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social that argued the Speechnow case may be more impactful than Citizen's United on billionaire spending (because it was about individuals not corporations, which is where the exponentia growth is mostly coming from).

Chart showing in many countries, people see their fellow citizens as morally good.

We asked people around the world to rate the morality and ethics of others in their country.

The U.S. is the only place we surveyed where more adults describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad than good. See our full morality report here: www.pewresearch.org/...

Maybe "keep thinking you're thinking."

Link to the article. www.nationalcivicleague.org/ncr-article/...

A new essay Willow Paul & I wrote for National Civic Review, making the argument for the need for more bridging institutions & introducing a new typology of bonding & bridging groups.

"Building Community Capacity in Toxic Times: The Critical Role of Bridging Institutions" (link in 1st response)

Books A brain-bending investigation of why some people never change their minds—and others do in an instant—by the bestselling author of You Are Not So Smart OFFICIAL WEBSITE AMAZON – BARNES AND NO…

Here is a list of his books. You Are Not So Smart has long been a favorite, and his more recent How Minds Change is important read. youarenotsosmart.com/the-book/

YANSS 331 – The wicked problems that often emerge during debate, disagreement, and deliberation Dr. Martin Carcasson tells us how he, as the Director of the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State, trains people how to facilitate deliberation and overcome wicked problems so that they…

Got to meet @davidmcraney.bsky.social at a conference last summer. Knew his books well before we met. He is a journalist who is great as translating research and practice to broader audiences. Last week I had the chance to chat w him on his podcast about my work. youarenotsosmart.com/2026/01/23/y...

My parents would fly back to Argentina for dental work. Saved so much even when you included the cost of the flight.

This one still has a corresponding hand signal we still use for movements that are no longer relevant for almost all vehicles.

Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official

Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.

Looking forward to insightful presentations and deep conversations today in Boulder, Colorado with the Greater Good Science Center convening for national bridging organizations.

Has my vote.

Yes, term limits seem to be one of those things the public loves on the face of it, but the research shows has many unintended negative consequences.

Don’t dwell on “democracy,” and other new findings about how to market local news "Here’s the paradox: 93% of people believe reliable local news is necessary for democracy, yet many of these same people react negatively to explicit 'democracy' messaging."

This Nieman Reports article summarizes the findings. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/dont...

The conversation in part will respond to this report from Press Forward - www.pressforward.news/wp-content/u...

Upcoming NCDD Webinar: Talking Democracy (or Not): How Local Newsrooms Choose Their Words The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) will co-host a webinar with Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation, titled “Talking Democracy (or Not): How Local...

I'm hosting a NCDD/Deliberative Journalism Project webinar next Wed (11/12), 10am MTN/12 eastern with several journalism leaders to talk about how local newsrooms should talk about democracy, partly responding to new research on the need to avoid the word. Register here: www.ncdd.org/news/upcomin...

I think the handoff from shotgun formation on 4th and one is worse.

Martín Carcasson about the Center for Public Deliberation and overcoming toxic polarization Donate on PayPal Automatic transcription of the interview with Martin Carcasson, it may contains errors. Host: Alessandro Oppo Guest: Martin Carcasson, Director of Colorado State University Center...

Enjoyed my conversation on Democracy Innovators, a Civic Tech podcast out of Europe. Recorded a few weeks ago, but the topic has only become more important across the globe. democracyinnovators.com/martin-carca...

Way back in grad school, I used this tool to analyze how US presidents from 1988 to 2000 talked about climate change, and how we could potentially reframe things. (though I've adjusted things a bit on spheres) drive.google.com/file/d/1ADtO...

The public sphere combines them all, and it is always an interesting point of analysis of which one(s) dominate(s). Biofuels seems like a clear example of the political frame (& economic for a small group) somehow dominating science & common sense. But the more we learn about it, that can change.

So in argumentation there is a tool we use that talks about how argument works in different technical spheres (the primary ones are politics, science, law, economics, and morality). What counts as a good argument is different in each sphere. Conflict often when people focus on different spheres....

I agree, but I would also argue that sometimes "virtue signaling" was seeing an issue through too simplistic of a frame. Most issues involve many underlying values, & you can proclaim you are virtuous by simplifying it to one, thus implying people that disagree must be against that value/are evil.

Would be nice...

Collaborative Problem Solving with Martín Carcasson - The Great Battlefield Podcast Martín Carcasson joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in academia and his role as Director at the Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation, where he trains stud...

Enjoyed my conversation with Nathanial Pearlman for his Great Battlefield podcast, talking about the work of the CPD and bringing people together to address their shared problems. Check it out (and his earlier conversations with lots of interesting guests).
greatbattlefield.com/episode/coll...

local journalism matters.

Listening to Cornell West and Robert George start off the UCCS Conference on Civic Discourse in Colorado Springs.

Somehow haven't heard "No news is bad news." I'll have to remember that.

Did it cite studies that don't exist?

Been reading more lately about how new tech platforms & apps are developed to flip the script from the typical "outrage industrial complex" workings of most social media & actually work to bring people together and incentivize quality engagement. This essay provides a nice summary of those efforts.