Balancing Media Bias, Level Up Your Life, Connected World

Balancing Media Bias (15:24) Dr. Justin Buchler is a Professor of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University. He studies elections, political parties and Congress. With dozens of media outlets, American voters have more than their fair share of options on political coverage. Outlets like Fox news, CNN, MSNBC, are all seeking to give the latest report of the presidential election.  However, according to our guest today, Dr. Justin Buchler these “party-aligned \[outlets] make it difficult for voters to distinguish between valid criticism of one party and biased reporting from a partisan shill.” Dr. Buchler’s research, which uses game theory to show that under right circumstance “ A political party can make excessive demands in negotiations, lie brazenly, or otherwise behave in unusual and problematic ways…. Because journalists today are ill-equipped to stop it or bring attention to it.” Dr. Buchler shares his research. Level Up Your Life (1:01:11) Steve Kamb is the author of “Level Up Your Life: How to Unlock Adventure and Happiness by Becoming the Hero of Your Own Story”. He is the founder of nerdfitness.com. He has guest lectured at Google, Google Dublin, Facebook, TEDxEmory, and regularly speaks at Vanderbilt University. We all have heroes in literature, movies and video games. There are characters who have attributes and skills we wish we did. Our guest today, Steve Kamb, is the author of “Level Up Your Life”, a book that talks about how to become your own superhero. How We Think the Internet Connects Us (1:48:44) Ethan Zuckerman is the Director of the Center for Civic Media at MIT, and a principal research scientist at the MIT Media Lab. His research focuses on the distribution of attention in mainstream and new media, the use of technology for international development, and the use of new media technologies by activists. With just a single click, we can access almost anything; cat videos, the profiles of former classmates, the best cinnamon roll recipe, or the current political turbulence throughout the world. These are all made possible through the every growing online community. But does all this mean we are truly “connected?” Ethan Zuckerman, author of Digital Cosmopolitans: Why We Think the Internet Connects Us, Why It Doesn't, and How to Rewire It. Ethan Zuckerman shares what he learned researching his book and the work being done to create a truly more connected world.