Why the News is Bad with Angus Hervey

Reasonably Happy with Paul Ollinger

**Hi friends - this is Paul writing to confess to an error in my introduction in this week's episode. The name of Angus Hervey's podcast is "Hope Is a Verb," not—as I called it—"Hope is NOT a Verb," which is kind of the opposite (insert winky emoticon). Unfortunately, I am unable to re-record the intro as we are traveling, but I can change these show notes, so that's what I'm doing. Sincere apologies to my most gracious guest for this ridiculous foul-up.**

The news is always bad, and that’s not an accident. “If it bleeds, it leads” has long been the theme that drives networks and newspapers to accentuate the negative because that’s how you earn ratings and pageviews, baby! This week, Dr. Angus Hervey, founder of 'Fix the News’ and the co-host of the podcast ‘Hope Is A Verb’ joins Paul to discuss the evolutionary and economic reasons behind this phenomenon and how it hurts us as a society. The dreadful headlines disguise the truth that we humans are making terrific progress fighting poverty, eradicating disease, finding alternatives to fossil fuels, and expanding human rights. But you wouldn’t know that reading the New York Times or scrolling your Facebook feed. Of course everything isn’t perfect. But thanks to technology and perhaps to the fact that—as Dr. King said—the arch of the moral universe bends toward justice, things are way better than they have ever been and they continue to improve. We ignore this to our peril and at the cost of our happiness. As Dr. Hervey cautions negative news is an addictive product that divides us as a society, "breeding cynicism, apathy, hopelessness, and even hate.” As if that weren’t bad enough, it also prevents us in believing that progress can be made, saying “If we want more people to devote themselves to making progress, maybe we should tell more people that it’s possible to make progress.” Further, he says that all these predictions of an AI apocalypse are highly-overblown. Angus earned his PhD in Political Econmomy at London School of Economics. His two TED Talks have generated millions of video views,

He lives in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia whence he spoke to Paul before his children woke up. Listen to Hope Is A Verb and read Fix The News today!

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About Paul Ollinger and Crazy Money

After working as one of Facebook’s first 250 employees, Paul retired from the corporate world at 42, only to find himself bored, lonely, and driving his wife crazy. Today, he’s a standup comic, captivating audiences with his unique blend of humor and insight, performing alongside a diverse group of comedy powerhouses and iconic musicians, including Norm Macdonald, Dave Attell, Chelsea Handler, Styx, and Collective Soul. In 2019, Paul started this podcast, Crazy Money to explore the connection between money, happiness, work, and meaning. In one-on-one conversations with some of the world's most interesting people, he helps uncover the true sources of happiness in life and what wealth, success, and fame can (and can't) do for us. Previous guests include LL COOL J, Judd Apatow, Moby, and winners of the Nobel Prize, Heisman Trophy, PGA Championship, and Olympic gold medals. Paul is always on tour and coming to a comedy club near you. Check dates here.

This episodes Keywords:

News, good news, bad news, negative filtering, evolution, negative news, perception, progress, media, incentives, bias, optimism, technology, AI, biotechnology

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