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How to Fix DemocracyAuthor: Bertelsmann Foundation
Since its origins, democracy has been a work in progress. Today, many question its resilience. How to Fix Democracy, a collaboration of the Bertelsmann Foundation and Humanity in Action, explores practical solutions for how to address the increasing threats democracy faces. Host Andrew Keen interviews prominent international thinkers and practitioners of democracy. Language: en Genres: News, Philosophy, Politics, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Cynthia Miller - Idriss | How Distrust Fuels Extremism
Episode 7
Tuesday, 2 December, 2025
In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, host Andrew Keen sits down with Cynthia Miller-Idriss - scholar of extremism, founder of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL), and author of Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism. Together they eplore one of democracy's most fragile foundations: trust. From gender polarization and the rise of the "manosphere", to the declining institutional confidence, to why young men are increasingly vulnerable to online radicalization, Miller-Idriss explains how mistrust is reshaping politics, culture, and everyday relationships. She also discussed what might work to rebuild trust - from community level engagement to national service models - and why belonging, meaning and purpose might be the most powerful antidotes to extremism. A wide-ranging, urgent conversation about loneliness, democracy and whether America can restore trust before it is too late. Miller-Idriss offers a note of cautios optimism: most people, she argues, don't actually want to live this way.
