It’s with great pride and joy that I present the latest issue of the Public Disputes & Consensus Building Committee Digest, a publication supported by the American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution. This issue marks the second volume, having wrapped up the first volume in 2023. Our readers consist of scholars, practitioners, attorneys, mediators, dispute resolution professionals and others with interest in the field, and while much of our readers are members of the American Bar Association, this resource is open and free for the public. As such, we encourage readers to share the content as they see fit!
This issue features pieces covering the impact local journalism has to climate change media and attitudes; the somewhat unique perspective “gen x” appears to have about the POTUS; a thought-provoking piece by NPR’s public editor giving us an inside look at how tough journalistic questions are handled, affecting our democracy by shaping the flow of info on high-stakes matters; a new conception of distrust and political polarization, embarking on an exploration that is as philosophical as it is data-driven and insightful; challenging and productive conversations on topics that normally default to shouting matches and bitter closings, showcasing that people can actually have these conversations with some structure and support; and finally, a provocative case for racial reparations not on the basis of moral axioms (which can and do often fail to resonate with some) but on more pragmatic terms, which may prove compelling with audiences who may otherwise disagree.
Suffice to say that this issue has some great content which, as always, isn’t meant to instruct but to help generate insight and conversation among practitioners, as well as shed light on issues of public controversy, ultimately enabling readers to show up in difficult conversation on public topics better equipped.
View the Digest below:
