Democracies around the world are under threat from populist movements, demagogues and dogmatic extremists who use disinformation, conspiracy theories, shaming, cancel culture and other tactics to weaponize social media and challenge our ability to distinguish fact from fiction and truth from falsehood.

In his new book, our guest, best-selling author, journalist, scholar, and public intellectual, Jonathan Rauch, offers a stirring defense of the constitution of knowledge— our social system of checks and balances that is crucial for turning disagreement into truth.

"This global network of people hunting for each others' errors is far and away the greatest human technology ever invented," Jonathan tells us in this episode of "How Do We Fix It?" The constitution of knowledge, he says, "is a global conversation of people looking for truth, and more especially, looking for error."

With a deep knowledge of history and politics, Jonathan arms listeners and readers with a better understanding of what they can do to protect truth and free inquiry from threats as far away from Russia and as close as your laptop and smartphone.

Here's one of our favorite reviews of "The Constitution of Knowledge".

Recommendation: Richard watched and much enjoyed "The Leopard", the 1963 Italian period drama by director Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, and Alain Delon.