Why some narratives are really easy to fall for
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Who actually advantages from distant work? Is it true that politicians must be anti-immigration to win elections? Every episode of Good on Paper, the brand new podcast hosted by my colleague Jerusalem Demsas, delves right into a misunderstood coverage subject that deserves extra nuanced evaluation. I spoke with Jerusalem about how some narratives get lodged within the public’s thoughts and the risks of tales that really feel true however aren’t.
First, listed below are three new tales from The Atlantic:
A Method to Simplify
Stephanie Bai: Why do you assume sure narratives can change into so entrenched, even when the information don’t help them? And why are different narratives extra prone to fade?
Jerusalem Demsas: Narratives are a method of simplifying a very sophisticated world. Compelling ones observe story buildings that we’re used to seeing: a villain and a hero, a foul developer versus a mom who’s struggling to get her youngsters by means of faculty. These sorts of narratives are compelling as a result of there’s a spark of fact in them, which is that there are energy struggles on this planet; there are winners and losers. Many narratives stick as a result of they reaffirm our personal opinions and views, however that may be actually harmful: Simply because one thing feels true doesn’t imply that it’s.
The narratives that don’t stick are normally those which are extra sophisticated. There isn’t at all times a clear-cut good man and unhealthy man. Usually we’re simply present in techniques the place a bunch of individuals act in their very own self-interest; a few of them are attempting to do good, however folks have completely different conceptions of what good is. Attempting to explain a world filled with that sort of complexity will not be as satisfying.
Stephanie: In your current story about maternal mortality, you discuss in regards to the doom-and-gloom framing that activists can use to highlight points. What are among the counterproductive penalties of that method that folks may not count on?
Jerusalem: There’s this notion, which could be proper within the quick time period, that should you say, “A bridge goes to break down,” it’s going to get extra consideration than a report that claims there are some structural deficiencies in America’s infrastructure.
However in the long run, that first framing actually erodes belief between the people who find themselves attempting to get consideration for his or her trigger and the people who find themselves attempting to triage completely different points. As a result of on the finish of the day, there are finite quantities of time and sources. Coverage makers have to decide on which issues to prioritize, that means that one thing else will lose out. So if established organizations or journalists are continually pushing out this narrative that every part’s on hearth, it impedes coverage makers from making any kind of ordering choices. They could attempt to do every part without delay or prioritize the unsuitable issues, which might result in chaos.
Stephanie: In your first episode, you talk about a examine that discovered that senior ladies engineers at an unnamed Fortune 500 firm have been extra productive once they labored remotely as a result of they have been spending much less time on mentorship and giving suggestions. However a prevailing narrative that took off in the course of the pandemic is that ladies working from dwelling are doubly burdened: They must juggle youngster care and take care of the same old work duties. As extra analysis will get executed on this matter, what are the subsequent questions in your thoughts in relation to how distant work impacts ladies?
Jerusalem: Once we ask, Is distant work working for ladies?, we’re additionally asking, Are they fulfilled? Is it true that distant work is making it doable for them to be extra versatile, go decide their youngsters up from faculty, or hang around with their mates of their free time? Additionally, although it’s the case that mentorship is uncompensated by most employers, there’s loads of connection that extra skilled staff derive from that sort of labor. Some folks have responded to my podcast saying that they miss that side of their work, though they resented not being paid for it.
I feel it’s actually vital to start out from the query: What do we wish work to do for folks’s lives? Does that differ by business?
Stephanie: What’s an concept or narrative that sounded good on paper to you however may not warrant an entire podcast episode?
Jerusalem: The concept that cross/fail lessons are straightforward and never worrying. I took Mandarin cross/fail my senior 12 months of school, pondering it will be a low-stakes method of studying somewhat little bit of an vital language. I ended up within the horrible center house of devoting sufficient time to the category in order to not fail but not devoting sufficient time to really decide up somewhat Mandarin. What do I bear in mind? Wǒ bú huì shuō zhōngwén.
Associated:
Right this moment’s Information
- Hunter Biden was convicted on three felony prices associated to the acquisition and possession of a handgun.
- Hamas mentioned that it was prepared to simply accept the UN Safety Council’s U.S.-backed decision for a everlasting cease-fire in Gaza as the premise for additional negotiations, in response to Reuters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has neither formally accepted nor rejected the proposal.
- The Biden administration introduced a proposal that will forestall credit-reporting businesses from utilizing medical debt to calculate credit score scores.
Night Learn
![A orange, red, and yellow photo collage of various new country musical performers](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.theatlantic.com/media/img/mt/2024/06/CountryHP/original.jpg?resize=640%2C361&ssl=1)
The Subsequent Nice American Mega-Style
By Spencer Kornhaber
In case you ask People about their favourite style of music, the highest decide tends to be basic rock. However should you ask them which style is “most consultant of America in the present day,” you get principally a cut up: 36 p.c say nation, whereas 37 p.c say rap/hip-hop, in response to a 2023 ballot from the analysis agency YouGov … These findings would appear to help numerous preconceptions a couple of purple/rural America and a blue/city America, united solely in affection for “Don’t Cease Believin’.”
However what if these genres needn’t be all that separate? What if hip-hop and nation merged into one thing that felt like basic rock? The thought feels like it will be worthwhile for the report business—and it may be what’s taking place now.
Extra From The Atlantic
Tradition Break
![The US cricket team celebrates after a win against India](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.theatlantic.com/media/newsletters/2024/06/culture_6_11/original.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1)
Cheer alongside. Group USA’s historic win within the present international cricket event was a shot heard around the globe, Joseph O’Neill writes. Now it simply wants a home viewers.
Watch. Ishana Night time Shyamalan’s debut movie, The Watchers, finds a cautious stability between the freaky and the mundane, David Sims writes.
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