Michael Brownstein et al., "Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change" (MIT Press, 2025)

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A novel and scientific approach to creating transformative social change—and the surprising ways that each of us can help make a real difference. Changing the world is difficult. One reason is that the most important problems, like climate change, racism, and poverty, are structural. They emerge from our collective practices: laws, economies, history, culture, norms, and built environments. The dilemma is that there is no way to make structural change without individual people making different—more structure-facing—decisions. In Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change [https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9780262049788] (MIT Press, 2025), Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva, and Daniel Kelly show us how we can connect our personal choices to structural change and why individual choices matter, though not in the way people usually think. The authors paint a new picture of how social change happens, arguing that our most powerful personal choices are those that springboard us into working together with others—warehouse worker Chris Smalls’s unionization at Amazon is one powerful example. Taking inspiration from the writer Bill McKibben, they stress how one “important thing an individual can do is be somewhat less of an individual.” Organized into three main parts, the book first diagnoses the problem of “either/or” thinking about social change, which stems from the false choice of making better personal choices or changing the system. Then it offers a different way to think about social change, anchored in a new picture of human nature emerging across the social sciences. Finally, the authors explore ways of putting this picture into practice. Neither a how-to manual nor an activist’s guide, Somebody Should Do Something pairs stories with science (plus some jokes) to help readers recognize their own power, turning resignation about climate change and racial injustice into actions that transform the world. My guests today are Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva and Daniel Kelly. Michael is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at John Jay College and Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center, Cuny. Alex is Professor of Philosophy, Director of the California Center for Ethics and Policy, and Co-Director of the Digital Humanities Consortium at Cal Poly Pomona. Daniel Kelly is Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Cognition, Agency, and Intelligence Center at Purdue University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices] Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory [https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory]

The Honesty Crisis: Preserving Our Most Treasured Virtue in an Increasingly Dishonest

Research shows that honesty is the single most important characteristic a person can possess when it comes to liking them, respecting them, and understanding them. But honesty is eroding in many areas of society today, as we are confronted with honesty crises in politics, education, relationships, religion, celebrity culture, and technology. Over the past 50 years, no single philosopher has offered a comprehensive exploration of honesty—how we define it, how it diverges in private and public spaces, and how it depends on shared perceptions of reality. Dr. Christian Miller addresses this gap, while showing how modern life increasingly rewards dishonesty, with profound consequences for our relationships, institutions and culture—a phenomenon he names The Honesty Crisis [https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9780197840801] (Oxford UP, 2026). From cases such as sermon plagiarism to AI-assisted cheating to the rise of fake news, Dr. Miller explores how dishonesty has become easier, more pervasive and even normalized in our society. Yet The Honesty Crisis does more than diagnose the problem: it proposes concrete, practical steps to preserve honesty where it matters most. Guest: Dr. Christian B. Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University. The author of numerous articles and books, he also directed The Honesty Project, one of the largest research initiatives ever undertaken on honesty. Host: Dr. Christina Gessler [https://christinagessler.com/] is an academic writing coach and editor. She holds a Ph.D. in history which she uses to explore which stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell. She is the creator, producer and show host of the Academic Life podcast. Playlist for listeners: * Understanding Disinformation [https://newbooksnetwork.com/understanding-disinformation] * When Your Professor Asks You To Cheat [https://newbooksnetwork.com/when-your-professor-asks-you-to-cheat-a-conversation-with-dr-joel-heng-hartse] * The Last Human Job [https://newbooksnetwork.com/when-we-prioritize-data-and-metrics-what-happens-to-human-connections] * Who Gets Believed [https://newbooksnetwork.com/who-gets-believed] * The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking [https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-ai-mirror-how-to-reclaim-our-humanity-in-an-age-of-machine-thinking] * What Do You Want Out of Life [https://newbooksnetwork.com/what-do-you-want-out-of-life-2] * The Museum of Failure [https://newbooksnetwork.com/samuel-west-on-the-museum-of-failure] * The Well-Gardened Mind [https://newbooksnetwork.com/exploring-new-paths-to-mental-health-a-discussion-with-sue-stuart-smith] * A Meaningful Life [https://newbooksnetwork.com/how-to-stop-chasing-happiness-and-make-a-meaningful-life-instead] * The Good- Enough Life [https://newbooksnetwork.com/the-good-enough-life] * Tell Me What You Want [https://newbooksnetwork.com/tell-me-what-you-want] Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! You help support the show by downloading and sharing episodes. Join us again to learn from more experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 300+ Academic Life episodes? Find them here. [https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/up-partners/academic-life] And thank you for listening! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices] Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory [https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory]

25. juni 202649 min

Michael Brownstein et al., "Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change" (MIT Press, 2025)

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