News and Public Affairs

America From Scratch

What if we made "America From Scratch" today rather than 250 years ago? Would 12-year-olds be allowed to vote? What if there were no states? Host Toussaint Morrison joins the PBS Digital Studios family to ask these big questions and celebrate the incredible opportunities represented by our ongoing American experiment. Produced by Rewire as part of the Twin Cities PBS "In It Together" initiative.

Do We Elect Narcissistic Leaders?

7m 51s

A study finds that politicians score higher than other professionals on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, with a spike in characteristics like superiority, arrogance, and entitlement. Do we reward these characteristics with the way we vote? What would happen if we selected our leaders randomly, like we select our jurors for jury duty?

Episodes

  • Do We Elect Narcissistic Leaders?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Do We Elect Narcissistic Leaders?

    S1 E16 - 7m 51s

    A study finds that politicians score higher than other professionals on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, with a spike in characteristics like superiority, arrogance, and entitlement. Do we reward these characteristics with the way we vote? What would happen if we selected our leaders randomly, like we select our jurors for jury duty?

  • Should Shelter Be a Right?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should Shelter Be a Right?

    S1 E15 - 7m 25s

    In Maslow's hierarchy of needs he lists shelter at the base of the pyramid making it one of the few things most essential for survival. Today over half a million people live without permanent shelter across the United States. If we were founding our country today, would we ensure life, liberty, and shelter for all citizens? Toussaint visits a Minneapolis shelter to find out more.

  • What if Protesting Was Illegal?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What if Protesting Was Illegal?

    S1 E14 - 9m 47s

    1 in 5 Americans have participated in a protest since 2016. Protests have dominated national news headlines for the last few years, but what if these protests were illegal? Toussaint talks to Alicia Garza the cofounder of Black Lives Matter on whether or not protesting can go too far. He also meets with local lawmakers of a bill that would increase penalties for protesting on highways.

  • Should We Pay People to Move to Mars?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should We Pay People to Move to Mars?

    S1 E13 - 9m 33s

    How long until people are permanently living on Mars, and how will we convince them to go there? In this episode of "America From Scratch" we explore the ways the government could motivate people to move to Mars and we draw comparisons to when settlers were incentivized to move out West. NASA tells us about their Moon to Mars mission, and why its important for us to become a multi-planet species.

  • Should the USA Build a Wall on BOTH of its Borders?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should the USA Build a Wall on BOTH of its Borders?

    S1 E12 - 10m 49s

    In this episode of "America From Scratch" we explore the security gaps on our northern border, as well as why our southern border gets so much media attention. Former federal prosecutor Matt Pinsker speaks on his experience on the southern border dealing with drug cartels. and an asylum seeker talks about how his asylum process has been a fight for safety.

  • Should we police our police?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should we police our police?

    S1 E11 - 10m 18s

    The people of the United States are not united on how they view law enforcement officers. But the majority would like to see some type of police reform. If we started over today, would we increase national regulations on the thousands of individual police departments across the country?

  • Should we have more than 2 major political parties?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should we have more than 2 major political parties?

    S1 E10 - 8m 4s

    We blame a lot of our political dysfunction and polarization on our two-party system. So why do we keep it around? How did we get here? And what would happen if we had a lot more major parties? Host Toussaint Morrison investigates as we continue our democratic thought experiment.

  • Should we make voting mandatory?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should we make voting mandatory?

    S1 E9 - 8m 56s

    Imagine being required to vote by penalty of law. Sound a little extreme? Maybe. But for other countries around the world, it’s a reality, and it helps get people to the polls. Meanwhile, in the U.S., only 55 percent of eligible people cast a vote for president in 2016.

  • Should we have mandatory military service?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should we have mandatory military service?

    S1 E8 - 8m 14s

    More than 60 other countries require their adult citizens to serve in the military. If the U.S. were to start over today, would we make it a requirement?

  • Should we elect our Supreme Court Justices?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should we elect our Supreme Court Justices?

    S1 E7 - 7m 34s

    The right to an abortion, the right to marry, the Dred Scott decision—some of the United States' most controversial, historic and influential legal decisions have been made for us by a group of people we didn't get to choose.

  • Should it be illegal for Facebook to sell your data?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should it be illegal for Facebook to sell your data?

    S1 E6 - 8m 4s

    Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. Freedom of…private data? The United States Bill of Rights protects a great many freedoms but when it was drafted, our Founders had little idea that our possessions could one day be intangible.

  • Should the U.S. require half of its government to be female?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Should the U.S. require half of its government to be female?

    S1 E5 - 9m 23s

    Women make up about half of the U.S. population. But Congress is only 20 percent women, and the U.S. lags behind more than 100 other countries when it comes to gender parity in government. Research has shown that women legislate differently, focusing on issues and proposing bills that male lawmakers typically don't.

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