News & Ideas

Over 100 Former College Presidents Respond to Supreme Court Decision

Submitted by Kettering Staff on Wed, 06/28/2023 - 11:05

Today, the Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent that allowed colleges and universities to consider race as one of many factors in college admissions. This is a blow to our democracy.

Watch: Kettering Conversations with Democracy Innovators | June 2023

Submitted by Kettering Staff on Fri, 06/16/2023 - 17:48
In this speaker series, we explore ways to strengthen democracy, focus on positive narratives amid democratic crisis, and consider opportunities to build upon the strengths of our diverse communities and nation to make them more inclusive and equitable.

New Graphic Novel Considers 1/6

Submitted by Kettering Staff on Wed, 05/31/2023 - 17:52

A new graphic novel dramatically asks and answers the question: What if the January 6, 2021, insurrection had been successful?

Join Us: Kettering Conversations with Democracy Innovators

Submitted by Kettering Staff on Tue, 05/16/2023 - 12:45

During Kettering Conversations with Democracy Innovators, we explore ways to strengthen democracy, focus on positive narratives amid democratic crisis, and consider opportunities to build upon the strengths of our diverse communities and nation to make them more inclusive and equitable.

Kettering Conversations with Democracy Innovators: Willis “Bing” Davis and Sharon L. Davies

Submitted by Kettering Staff on Mon, 04/17/2023 - 12:53

Kettering Conversations with Democracy Innovators highlight individuals who can share transformative ideas and insights into democratic innovation. In this speaker series, we explore ways to strengthen democracy, focus on positive narratives amid democratic crisis, and consider opportunities to build upon the strengths of our diverse communities and nation to make them more inclusive and equitable.  

Kettering Foundation announces promotions of key staff

Submitted by Kettering Staff on Thu, 02/23/2023 - 15:47

The foundation is strengthening its capacity to meet the needs of democracy in a changing world.

The Psychology of Polarization

Submitted by Mylien Duong, on Fri, 01/20/2023 - 14:48

In December 2022, we invited Mylien Duong, senior director of research of the Constructive Dialogue Institute (CDI), to join us. CDI uses the psychological processes that influence decision-making to create tools that can help students and professionals have conversations across differences. We asked, What roles do unconscious mental processes play in how we understand and respond to shared problems, and how can these tools help reduce the levels of political mistrust, division, and animosity?

Lessons for Journalists from Amanda Ripley’s Book, High Conflict: Part II

Submitted by Jennifer Brandel, on Wed, 12/14/2022 - 14:27

Earlier this year, journalist Amanda Ripley spoke to Kettering Foundation staff about her book High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out. In this second in a series of two blog posts, Jennifer Brandel, who has collaborated with Kettering on journalism experiments in strengthening democracy, writes about the implications of the book’s insights for the media.

Amanda Ripley’s book High Conflict provides the following list of questions that reporters can ask to produce more complex, nuanced stories and reduce unproductive conflict:

Lessons for Journalists from Amanda Ripley’s Book, High Conflict: Part I

Submitted by Jennifer Brandel, on Mon, 12/12/2022 - 17:11

Earlier this year, journalist Amanda Ripley spoke to Kettering Foundation staff about her book High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out. In this first in a series of two blog posts, Jennifer Brandel, who has collaborated with Kettering on journalism experiments in strengthening democracy, writes about the implications of the book’s insights for the media.

An Ongoing Struggle: Democratic Ideals and Illiberal Resistance

Submitted by Kevin C. O’Leary, on Fri, 12/09/2022 - 15:18

In November 2022, we invited Kevin C. O’Leary, director of Saving Democracy, to join us. Saving Democracy seeks to build a pro-democracy coalition from Liz Cheney conservatives to Bernie Sanders progressives and will conduct educational “deep canvassing” in selected congressional swing districts, focusing on the nation’s democratic tradition and individual liberty in a constitutional democracy. They plan to ask the business community to use the power of their political donations to reward political leaders who are committed to democracy. A research fellow at the Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of California, Irvine, O’Leary also teaches in the Political Science Department at Chapman University. He is the author of Saving Democracy: A Plan for Real Representation in America (2006) and Madison’s Sorrow: Today’s War on the Founders and America’s Liberal Ideal (2020).