About Theory of Change
Lots of people want to change the world. But how does change happen? History is filled with stories of people and institutions that spent big and devoted many resources to effect change but have little to show for it. By contrast, many societal developments have happened without forethought from anyone. And of course, change can be negative as well as positive.
In each episode of this weekly program, Theory of Change host Matthew Sheffield delves deep with guests to discuss larger trends in politics, religion, media, and technology.
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Episodes
How much do political party elites know about their own voters?
Pollster and demographer Daniel Cox discusses why cultural issues often dominate U.S. politics, and how much surveys can actually tell us about public opinion
Do Joe Biden and his team realize who they’re dealing with?
Salon.com columnist Heather Digby Parton discusses how Democratic leaders seem to think flowery speeches are sufficient against hardcore reactionaries
The January 6th Capitol attack was the inevitable product of the Christian Right’s hatred of America
Journalist and researcher Bruce Wilson discusses how religious hatred for a ‘fallen nation’ fueled a presidential coup attempt
Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA are building a reactionary cult for young people, does anyone on the center-left care?
Rhetoric professor Matthew Boedy describes how a far-right group is radicalizing young Christians, and how little center-left groups are doing in response
Media elites have missed the damage caused by free trade, and how millions felt betrayed by Democrats
Journalist Farah Stockman discusses her new book on the meaning of work, and how educated elites have ignored the problems of others
The John Birch Society and the birth of the far-right rage machine
American politics is arguably the product of Robert Welch, a far-right activist who was mostly ignored by conventional journalists and historians
America’s polarization is ultimately an epistemic problem
Former libertarian writer and policy wonk Will Wilkinson discusses how many far-right Christians and secular libertarians have decided that facts are optional and evidence does not matter
Technology alone cannot solve the problems of social media
David Adams, founder and publisher of OSNews, discusses the cyclical nature of technology and the implications of computing’s return to the network
How the ‘Steele Dossier’ confused the public and ended up helping Donald Trump
Journalist and author Barry Meier discusses how private spy agencies manipulate the media and intimidate whistleblowers for wealthy clients
The disinformation economy isn’t invincible, meet two women working to end it
Nandini Jammi and Claire Atkin of Check My Ads want to make publishing lies unprofitable, while also helping advertisers protect their brands
Trump supporters will make it difficult for the GOP to copy Glenn Youngkin
Never Trump commentator Jim Swift on why Trump and his fans won’t allow the Virginia gubernatorial candidate’s strategy to be copied
White nationalists and jihadists are starting to realize they have a lot in common
Extremism researcher Moustafa Ayad talks about how religious extremists from across the world are starting to come together, and what that means for the rest of us
Far-right Christians think they’re living in a Bible story, and that you are as well
Literature professor Christopher Douglas discusses the modern-day rewriting of Biblical apocalyptic literature as a justification for political extremism
Why is Republican obstruction assumed to be a fact of American politics?
Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent talks in-depth about trying to push Democrats to discuss Republican extremism, and how Donald Trump himself was harmed by it