Presidential elections in the US are twice as expensive as they were just a decade ago, and so are the most competitive Congressional races. Even state and local elections now routinely see record spending – typically from “outside groups” that have no restrictions on what they can raise or spend. The current state of money in politics is a rare po…

A trial by jury is an important American right, enshrined in the 6th and 7th amendments of the constitution. But do jury trials work the way we want them to? Not all countries use citizen juries in their justice systems, and the ones that do generally don't give them quite as much power as America does. But juries are also becoming rare in the Unit…

Why is it so hard to draw the line between what’s funny or offensive? We love to laugh and we prize a good sense of humor in ourselves and others. But the ancient Greeks – Aristotle and Plato – said humor was bad for society: they thought of it mainly as mockery and laughing was a loss of self-control. When you consider how quickly humor can go wro…

For a century, the ACT and SAT played a central role in filtering college applicants. Most colleges and universities stopped requiring standardized test scores during the pandemic; that change has turned into a permanent shift across higher education. A lot of people think that's for the better, particularly since the tests have long been shown to …

Most Americans are anxious about when – or even if – they’ll be able to retire. And we’re not wrong. Social Security is on shaky footing. Half of Americans on the cusp of retirement have no money saved for it. This isn’t how retirement in America was supposed to work. But 40 years ago, Congress shifted the US away from employer pensions and toward …

Compared to other wealthy nations, America has twice as many traffic deaths per capita. And in recent years, pedestrian and cyclist deaths have spiked. Experts say road design plays a big part in this. The most dangerous roads are “suburban arteries” that are often 5 or 6 lanes wide, with long distances between traffic lights where pedestrians can …

What does it mean to be a father in 2024? In most U.S. households today, the role of fathers is changing. The “primary breadwinner dad” is increasingly rare, while the "primary caregiver dad” is becoming more common. One-in-five stay at home parents in the US is a father. And dads are generally doing a lot more childcare and housework than their fa…

More than two-thirds of children under the age of 6 in the U.S. live in a household where all available parents work. But in most communities, there’s a shortage of slots in childcare centers and home-based providers. Because of unreliable childcare, as many as 100,000 Americans are forced to stay home from work at least once a month, according to …

Americans have a perplexing perception of crime. One in three Americans report watching, listening, or reading true crime on a weekly basis. But our fixation on crime goes deeper than entertainment. Both Republicans and Democrats consider violent crime an increasing problem. But most of us are safer today than we’ve ever been. Violent crime in Amer…

These days anything that's widespread might be called an "epidemic." Violence, obesity, opioids, even loneliness. But in the public health space, the label "epidemic" carries special significance beyond that - it's a disease that's widespread - and usually contagious, too. How does thinking about social issues as epidemics change the way we approac…

Since 2020 — when George Floyd's murder was seen around the world and protests for racial justice swept the country — many Americans with white skin have begun to think explicitly about race and its consequences. What does it mean to be white in America? What’s it like to be not-white-enough? Or to not have your racial identity reflected on officia…

We’re in between episodes this week on Top of Mind. In the meantime, we’ve got a story for you from a podcast we think you’re really going to like. It’s called When the People Decide, a podcast from the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. The podcast traces the stories of Americans who are getting their hands dirty doing the hard work…

In this podcast episode, Julie and the other members of the Top of Mind team reflect on moments from previous episodes that challenged them to stay curious and stick with uncomfortable perspectives instead of dismissing them or putting up defenses. As we put podcast episodes together, we have these “Stick With It” moments all the time – and we hope…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story from David Beckemeyer, host of the podcast “Outrage Overload.” Beckemeyer used to spend his time engaging in social media fights. When his son, who also often indulged in heated online discussions, decided to step away from social media, Beckemeyer was prompted to closely …

Floods are the most common of all weather-related disasters in America. They cause more damage and kill more people than any other type of severe weather. Flood risk is rising all over the country—rainstorms are more intense and flash floods are happening more frequently. The communities facing the greatest risk in the coming decades are disproport…

There are more people homeless in America today than at any other time in the last 17 years. Those numbers might have gotten a lot worse during the pandemic were it not for millions of dollars in federal funds for emergency housing. That money’s all dried up now. In the early 2000s, many of these cities adopted “10-year plans to end homelessness,” …

Nearly a dozen states have active campaigns to move away from partisan or closed primaries, motivated by a frustration among many voters that the way parties choose nominees in high-stakes elections is broken. By the time most of us cast a ballot in a Presidential Primary, it feels like a pointless exercise: earlier states have already winnowed the…

Overall mental health among Americans - young and old - took a nose-dive during the pandemic. But the trend among teens has been worrisome for at least a decade now. Starting around 2012, suicide overtook homicide as a leading cause of death among 15-19 year-olds. In the most recent big survey of high schoolers the CDC does every few years, a quart…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Karin Freeland, host of the podcast “Rock Your Reinvention” and author of the book “Grab Life By the Dreams.” Before Freeland was a life reinvention coach, she was a successful sales executive climbing the corporate ladder, buying designer bags and driving a Benz. And she was mise…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story from health coach Carolyn Cohen, host of the podcast “Wellness While Walking.” Cohen grew up with strict dietary rules that she eagerly rejected when she left home. In time, she and her children experienced health problems that caused Cohen to reconsider her approach to fo…

We’re being asked to tip more – and in more places – than ever before in America. And surveys show we’re annoyed and confused by “tipflation” and “tipcreep.” What are the rules in this new tipping culture? How much is expected when you’re ordering food at the counter and that screen pops up asking for a tip? What’s that money for? And is it okay no…

The US is experiencing an unusual spike in union activity. Younger workers are organizing in workplaces that have not traditionally been unionized. Established unions are staging historic strikes and securing significant concessions from employers – including items beyond the traditional scope of labor negotiations. Public support for unions is at …

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story from one of our listeners, Heidi Thorpe. In 2022, she set out to better understand views that differ from her own on abortion and began reading the stories of women who’d chosen to end a pregnancy. Those stories took on new meaning when Thorpe found herself unintentionally…

Government transparency is a basic tenet of American democracy. But the US Constitution was drafted in total secrecy and the founders believed they couldn’t have done the job otherwise. When is openness best in a democracy, and when does the cost outweigh the benefit? In this podcast episode we hear the case for more openness from a citizen who use…

In the US, women and girls now outperform men and boys at every level of education. Boys are less likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college or finish college. Men are more likely to die by suicide, and they aren't participating in the labor market as much as they used to either. In the last forty years, American society has made concer…

America’s students are struggling. Chronic absenteeism has doubled from pre-pandemic numbers. Districts are implementing grading floors to soften the sting of failure. Grade inflation is widespread. Many students seem to have lost the motivation to learn, and traditional systems of grading and ranking aren’t helping. What’s wrong with the A-F gradi…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with journalist Isaac Saul, founder of the daily political newsletter Tangle. He talks about why it’s so hard to find unbiased political news and what news consumers can do about it. He also shares a “Stick With It” story about moderating a conversation between two guests with opposing…

Why is it so hard to see things from a perspective other than our own? Our perspectives are shaped by our life experiences and our biology – some people are color-blind, for example. As a result of these differences, no two people see the world in exactly the same way. And yet, when it comes to differences of opinion on issues that we really care a…

We’ve spent the last several months on Top of Mind assessing the assumptions that drive our decisions. And we hope you’ve had a few “Stick With It Moments” as you’ve heard a perspective that challenged you, but you chose to stay open and curious – and keep listening! And hopefully that’s been good practice for “sticking with it” when you encounter …

More than three-quarters of Americans say they know little to nothing about Native Americans. Nearly the same percentage also say they rarely or never encounter any kind of information about Native peoples. What Americans DO know about Native Americans likely comes from inaccurate history lessons that keep tribes situated in the past. Or maybe from…

America is aging and many industries say they need more immigrant workers to do lower-skilled jobs Americans don’t want. Are they right? If so, how should we be looking at immigration and America’s labor shortage to find those solutions? And if immigration is not the answer, how will we fill the growing number of open positions in industries like h…

Fines and fees have become the default way we punish people in America; deterrence is the ultimate goal, but do fines actually deter bad behavior? Often the consequences of fines and fees are not felt equally, because what’s expensive to you might be pocket change to me. Still, the overdue book or speeding ticket costs the same for both of us. In t…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Monica Guzman, senior fellow at Braver Angels, host of A Braver Way podcast and author of “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times.” Guzman (a liberal) describes how countless political conversations with her parent…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Monica Packer, a personal growth coach and host of the popular About Progress podcast and Instagram community @aboutprogress. Packer’s professional and personal focus is choosing progress over the paralysis of perfectionism. Starting a blog and podcast were part of Packer’s person…

Americans struggle to agree on even the most basic parts of America’s founding story. Some say it was divine intervention. Others, a scheme to profit off slavery, or simply a pursuit of freedom. Can we ever really agree on national narrative? Do we even need to? People are complicated and so is history. But when it comes to national narratives and …

Who should decide how the stories and artifacts of a cultural heritage are shared with the world? For a long time, the assumption has been that as long as culture’s stories are told, it doesn’t matter who’s telling them. But who would you trust to tell your story? Museums of human civilization and culture are at the center of this conversation. Som…

What's that one thing about how people speak English that gets on your nerves? When people say “like” a lot? Or say “literally” when they mean “figuratively”? We all have language pet peeves, and we may even be willing to admit that we judge people who break the rules. After all, how we talk matters. Why do we insist on proper English — and what do…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with several stories from Utah Governor Spencer Cox about staying open and curious during intense political disagreements. As the new chair of the National Governors Association, Cox has made “Disagree Better” his signature initiative for the year. In this podcast episode, the Republic…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with a story about finding empathy in a doctrinal disagreement. McArthur Krishna is passionate about the doctrine of Heavenly Mother in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because it fills her with joy and helps her to understand her own divine purpose. But her public spea…

Ninety percent of America's kids go to public schools. But public education in America is in crisis, with test scores in every subject at their lowest point in decades. State and federal regulations have a say in what happens in schools, but most critical decisions are left to local school boards. Are elected school boards the root of the problem -…

Owning a home is the American Dream. It's the ultimate symbol of a successful adulthood and the best way to build wealth in this country. Why should you pay rent to someone else when you can build equity for yourself, right? Not all countries prioritize buying a house, though; take Germany, where renting is much more common. How has the decision to…

People often assume that medical treatments prescribed by doctors and covered by insurance are safe and effective. After all, there’s a whole government agency – the Food and Drug Administration – to ensure that very thing. But most medical drugs and devices available in the U.S. were approved by the FDA through an expedited pathway that sped up th…

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with playwright and producer Scott Carter. He was the long-time executive producer of “Real Time with Bill Maher” on HBO and is currently producing “Love & Respect with Killer Mike” on PBS. Carter is also the host of a new podcast called “Ye Gods!” where he talks with artists, actors, …

Our “Stick With It” series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with Milan Kordestani – tech entrepreneur and author of “I’m Just Saying: A Guide to Maintaining Civil Discourse in an Increasingly Divided World.” Kordestani was already preaching the importance of civil discourse when he tweeted something during the pandemic that went viral and cause…

Getting pulled over is the most common encounter Americans have with police, but how much do traffic stops really contribute to public safety? On a typical day, more than 50,000 of us see those flashing lights in our rearview, so we generally assume that enforcing traffic laws is an essential part of policing and public safety. Do traffic stops con…

We tend to view adoption in America as a win-win situation: a child in crisis is placed with new, stable parents who want to build a family. Everyone is finally in a position to thrive. That narrative tends to be fairytale-like. And it doesn’t resonate with many adoptees. In this episode, we hear adoptee perspectives on adoption and how we – as a s…

Dying is inevitable. But medical advancements have made it possible to cheat death in many instances that would have been quickly fatal not so long ago. So it’s become easier to avoid thinking about death and default toward saying “yes” to whatever medical intervention will extend our lives. But when does living longer conflict with dying well? In …

As a final bonus to finish Top of Mind Season 3 “Finding Fairness” we’ve compiled the best insight from guests throughout the season on how to be a better citizen, kinder neighbor and more effective advocate for the things we care about. We're not a "how-to" podcast with checklists and action items. We probe for more clarity and empathy on the topi…

We’re wrapping up Season 3 of Top of Mind “Finding Fairness” with a look at some of the Stick With It moments it delivered for our team. One of our goals for each episode is to find perspectives that will challenge us to examine our own views more closely. Often that’s uncomfortable, but if we stick with that discomfort, it can lead to finding new …

Our “Stick With It” conversation series on the Top of Mind podcast continues with The Period Project founder Emily Bell McCormick’s story of realizing some common misunderstandings that prevented male legislators from taking menstrual public health policy needs seriously. Once she took the time to really listen to the concerns lawmakers had passing…