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Jonathan Haidt Explains Our Contentious Culture. BILL MOYERS: Welcome. People I meet on the left, on the right and in the middle agree on one thing: our country is in a mess, and our politics are not making it better. The problems seem insurmountable, three times last year congress came close to shutting down the government. In August, we almost defaulted on our more than $14 trillion debt, which could skyrocket even further if the Bush tax cuts are continued and spending is untouched at year’s end.

But as the ship of state is sinking, the crew is at each other’s throats, too busy fighting to plug the holes and pump out the water. And everything’s been made rotten by the toxic rancor and demonizing that have shredded civil discourse and devastated our ability to govern ourselves. On that cheery note, listen to this fellow. JONATHAN HAIDT: Suppose that two American friends are traveling together in Italy. If you know about this trait you can understand a lot of puzzles about human behavior. Welcome. JONATHAN HAIDT: Thank you, Bill.

Bill Clinton Extended Interview Pt. 1 - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 09/16/10. Bill Clinton Extended Interview Pt. 2 - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - 09/16/10. Convener in Chief. The Crisis of Credit Visualized. Why Do Americans Keep Getting Suckered By Right-Wing Lies? November 21, 2010 | Like this article? Join our email list: Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email. Ideas don’t happen on their own. Throughout history ideas need patrons.” —Matt Kibbe, president of Freedom-Works, a tea party advocacy group, quoted in Jane Mayer’s piece on the Koch brothers in The New Yorker. Almost half of the public is either misinformed or subject to unanswered right wing narratives. Unless and until progressives change the mind sets of the tens of millions of people who believe right-wing mythology, who never read the New York Times or listen to NPR, who never watch any TV news other than Fox, future elections will have disappointing results for progressives regardless of who is in the White House.

Even Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have limits to their ability to de-program those who have been indoctrinated by conservative orthodoxy. Changing minds is more of an art than a science. Since Obama’s election, many pundits have quoted Franklin D. Jon Stewart on The Rachel Maddow Show | Comedy Central Insider | Funny, TV and Comedy Blog. America Is a Joke. Read a Writers’ Room Transcript That Shows How Daily Show Segments Get Made.