Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education. | | | | The full Harvest Moon rises behind the Statue of Liberty in New York City. She stands for something. Don't forget.
(Gary Hershorn/Getty Images) | | | | |  | “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”
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| | rantnrave:// I’ve made some friends on the internet. Some I admired. Some I never heard of before. Some I agree with. Some I don‘t. I read posts on social networks or hear some ill-informed pundits on TV and podcasts. And certainly, as you’ve read here, the political environment has got me down. Sometimes I think the entire country (me included) needs a civics lesson on how the government and more importantly, how democracy works. That is NOT a partisan statement. It's in all our best interests. And it is with that in mind, that my friend, BOB GARFIELD (famous for "ON THE MEDIA"), has worked tirelessly with individuals, a broad coalition on both sides of the aisle, and numerous media outlets to create: THE PURPLE PROJECT FOR DEMOCRACY. It was 18 months in development and has a two-stage mission. First, to address and arrest the trend of plummeting faith in democracy as our form of government and way of life. Second, to encourage and cultivate civic participation as a means to enrich and strengthen American democracy (using a platform that rewards participation with social reputation and standing). It’s noble. And again, not partisan. It’s for all of us. Fragmentation has broken us apart socially and politically in a way we’ve never seen before. Our country depends on us fixing that. More about that at the website, which in NOVEMBER will be a clearinghouse for the content created by content partners, and curated civics-education modules gleaned from ICIVICS, NHPR’S CIVICS 101, PBS and elsewhere. It will be a carousel of information, education, drama, song, and even games all exploring democracy themes. If Bob or anyone involved comes calling, listen carefully to what this man says. Better yet: please reach out to him if you want to help. Right now. He's at bobsphere@gmail.com and what he and his colleagues have built is extraordinary... Another friend I've met on the interwebs, this time via REDEF, is legendary television and film producer BRIAN GRAZER. He gives me a good run for my money on the most curious person in the world status. He reads this newsletter every day. Even told OPRAH that on her show. And so does his partner, Director RON HOWARD. Brian wrote a best-selling book on curiosity, "A CURIOUS MIND: THE SECRET TO A BIGGER LIFE," a few years back. Yesterday, he released his newest tome, "FACE TO FACE: THE ART OF HUMAN CONNECTION." Success in business. Success in life. Happiness. They have a common through-line. human connection. Especially, in the digital age where we interact more and more in less personal ways. Without eye contact. With less empathy. The more that happens, the more we lose what is essential. Brian is someone who has lunch with someone (mostly new) every day. He wants to learn. He wants to get out of his shell. He enjoys being uncomfortable. He enjoys learning. He craves that connection. As we all should. #NowReading, as are BOB IGER, MALCOLM GLADWELL, BRIAN CHESKY, EDDIE MURPHY, WHITE WOLFE HERD, WALTER ISAACSON, and little old me... Happy Birthday to SHARON VASSELL, HUNTER WALK, ALEX SCHAFFEL, JANE RINZLER BUCKINGHAM, DANIELLE GIA BEINSTEIN, SAMANTHA LAZARUS LEVIN, MARA HIRSCHHORN, MATT HIRSCHHORN, ANITA CHINKES RATNER, BENJAMIN ROCCO GEORGIA, JEFF HOUSENBOLD, and HEBA MACKSOUD. | | | - Jason Hirschhorn, curator |
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 | The Guardian |
| To help make the European debate decent and civilised, it is now more important than ever to value the skills of the linguist | | |
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 | Marginal Revolution University |
| How can "Avengers: Infinity War" help us better understand globalization? Economist Tyler Cowen and political scientist Ian Bremmer examine the four different stages of globalization, and what each stage has meant for the world. The progressively faster movement of goods, services, and information has had enormous effects on how our planet operates. | | |
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 | Marker |
| It’s cool to be lawless in an unregulated space. But what happens when people literally start dying? | | |
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 | Texas Monthly |
| Both before and after Lee Hazlewood wrote hits for Nancy Sinatra and Duane Eddy, he was a Texas musician. | | |
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 | On My Om |
| Among the hardest things I have done in my life is to quit smoking. It has been over a decade since I last touched a cigarette, but I live with the effects of a 25-year habit, dealing with illnesses and issues that lead directly back to damage done by smoking. | | |
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 | VICE |
| Repo men are passively scanning and uploading the locations of every car they drive by into DRN, a surveillance database of 9 billion license plate scans accessible by private investigators. | | |
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 | CNBC |
| Bob Bakish, CEO of Viacom, sits down with CNBC's David Faber to discuss the company's merger with CBS, the consumer and more. | | |
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 | ProPublica |
| Hundreds of computer servers worldwide that store patient X-rays and MRIs are so insecure that anyone with a web browser or a few lines of computer code can view patient records. One expert warned about it for years. | | |
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 | OneZero |
| Who should be responsible for maintaining and troubleshooting open-source projects? | | |
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 | Earther |
| Even people who believe in climate change are climate change deniers: you might know, intellectually, that our world is coming to an end, but it is hard to truly register this fact, the same way one both does and does not believe that they will one day die. | | |
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 | Mentour Pilot |
| Every time you step into an airport you are being subjected to mild forms of manipulation. Most of the time it is done for your own good but on a few occasions, its done to make you spend a lot more money than you initially intended. In todays episode I will give you FIVE different examples of how we, in the airlines and the airports manipulate passengers to get you to do what we want. | | |
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 | The Ringer |
| The beloved series spawned a cottage tourism industry and a new feature film. But ‘Downton’ also changed the way we produce and watch international television (and also, possibly, the way we understand the U.K. itself). | | |
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 | The New York Times |
| How I've been getting by since I ditched my car. By Ms. Swisher covers technology and is a contributing opinion writer. Frank the Ford Fiesta now lives in Chico, Calif., and I am finally and forever without my own wheels. The last time this was true I was 12 years old - a very long time ago. | | |
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 | TED Talks |
| We need humor like we need the air we breathe, says editorial cartoonist Patrick Chappatte. In a talk illustrated with highlights from a career spent skewering everything from dictators and ideologues to selfies and social media mobs, Chappatte makes a resounding, often hilarious case for the necessity of satire. | | |
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 | The Undefeated |
| Etan Thomas: Jay-Z shouldn’t be canceled, but he does need to answer to his critics. | | |
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 | Variety |
| NBCUniversal has unveiled a broad range of programming for the first slate of originals for its streaming service, which has officially been dubbed Peacock. Perhaps the biggest titled announced for the service is a reboot of the classic sci-fi series " Battlestar Galactica," with "Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail executive producing. | | |
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 | CityLab |
| Vancouver is the largest North American city with an effective ban on Uber and Lyft. But not for long. | | |
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 | Vulture |
| The story of country music is the story of America, of a young nation settling into the technologies that would come to define it, and the ups and downs of the people making a living there in the thick of it. | | |
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 | Andreessen Horowitz |
| What is the nature of physical pain? Why do we even experience it? Is there one type, or many? Do people experience pain differently? What is happening in our brains and our bodies when we experience pain? What is the biological link between pain and addiction? | | |
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 | 500ish Words |
| Using money and power to try to bend content to their will. | | |
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 | Foreign Policy |
| China's use of sharp power could shatter East Asia. | | |
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 | Harvard Business Review |
| Andrew McAfee, co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, explains how the U.S. economy is growing and actually using less and less stuff to do so. | | |
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 | YouTube |
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| © Copyright 2019, The REDEF Group |
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