About Public Agenda: Recent Articles and Speeches

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Recent Articles and Speeches
In this section, you'll find a selection of the best speeches and articles by Public Agenda's senior staff about how the public engages critical problems.
How National Debt is Contributing to Public Disenchantment with Government by Andrew L. Yarrow, April 28, 2008 From Huffington Post

It's Our Fault, Too by Andrew L. Yarrow, April 12, 2008 From the Washington Post

Early retirement is an act of selfishness by Andrew L. Yarrow, April 6, 2008 From Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Making tax day less painful by Andrew L. Yarrow, March 26, 2008 From the Washington Times

NewTalk Education Discussion by Jean Johnson, January 22-25, 2008 We at Education Insights recently participated in the beta-testing of a fascinating online discussion hosted by NewTalk.org. It is an experimental approach to dialogue and consensus-building currently being developed by Common Good, and this first session focused on standardized testing. Due to launch this spring, NewTalk.org brings together experts in theory, policy and practice to share candid views on issues that require broad structural reform.

Neither Third-Party Candidate nor Leadership Alone Can Solve the Problem by Ruth Wooden, January 3, 2008 There may be big news coming out of Oklahoma this weekend if New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announces his candidacy for the Presidency at a conference addressing the crippling effects of bipartisanship hosted by former Senator David L. Boren. But in a statement from its president, Public Agenda says that neither a third-party candidate nor the efforts of a few Washington insiders are likely to impact a problem that requires citizens to be part of the solution.

Is America's love affair with college on the rocks? by Andrew L. Yarrow, July 6, 2007 From the Baltimore Sun

It's time to pay our bills by Ruth Wooden, June 17, 2007 Special to the Denver Post

You Can't Get Out of the Starting Blocks without Motivation by Ruth Wooden, September 5, 2007 Speech given to the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority in Little Rock, AR

Dewey’s Critical Pragmatism by Alison Kadlec, July 24, 2007 The introduction to Dewey’s Critical Pragmatism, a new book from Public Agenda's Senior Public Engagement Research Associate Dr. Alison Kadlec.

The Public's Foreign Policy by Daniel Yankelovich, April 4, 2007 From the San Diego Union-Tribune

Citizenship Means Giving Something Back by Andrew L. Yarrow and Monica Healy, May 6, 2007 From the Denver Post

Are American Parents and Students Ready for More Math and Science? by Ruth Wooden, President, Public Agenda, 2007 From Kauffman Thoughtbook 2007.

Public Engagement in California: Escaping the Vicious Cycle by Daniel Yankelovich and Isabella Furth, Fall 2006 From the Fall 2006 edition of National Civic Review. According to a new model of leadership, civic leaders would act as intermediaries between elected officials and the unorganized public. Article is available here (PDF format).

The Principles of Public Engagement: At the Nexus of Science, Public Policy Influence and Citizen Education by Ruth Wooden, President, Public Agenda, Fall 2006 From the Fall 2006 edition of Social Research.

Toss Out the PR Playbook: Send in the Public-Engagement Team by Deborah Wadsworth, October 25, 2006 From the October 25, 2006 edition of Education Week, and adapted from remarks in September to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's Leadership for Effective Advocacy and Practice Institute, in Washington.

Profit With Honor: The New Stage of Market Capitalism by Daniel Yankelovich, May 2006 An excerpt from the new book on how recent scandals in corporate America can provide the incentive—and the momentum—to develop a new ethic of stewardship in business. Copies for sale through Yale University Press, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. Read the review in the Christian Science Monitor.

Let Not the House of Representatives Take the Public's Name in Vain. by Public Agenda, June 23, 2006 Public Agenda statement on the U.S. House of Representatives' move to hold nationwide hearings on immigration.

Reclaiming Public Education by Reclaiming Our Democracy by David Mathews, February 23, 2006 Transcript of a talk by David Mathews, Public Agenda board member and president of the Kettering Foundation, on the public and public schools. Jumping off from his new book, "Reclaiming Public Education by Reclaiming Our Democracy," Mathews says, "Policy has an impact because it narrows education down to schools. It narrows schools down to one thing that happens in a curriculum or some particular method, like testing, for example. There is no reason to expect policy not to do that. It is in the nature of policy to do just that, but it creates a tension with a public that does not think that way."

Off Budget and on the Record by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, April 19, 2006 Transcript of the Maxwell School / Public Agenda Policy Breakfast Discussion with Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Former Director of the Congressional Budget Office. Discussion moderated by Robert Siegel, host of National Public Radio's All Things Considered.

What a Civil Discussion of Immigration Would Really Sound Like by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, April 6, 2006 Explores the shortcomings of the current immigration reform debate.

Dear Public: Can We Talk? by Jean Johnson and Will Friedman, February 2006 From the February 2006 edition of The School Administrator.

Overcoming Polarization: The New Social Morality by Daniel Yankelovich, January 2006 An essay from the new book, Uniting America: Restoring the Vital Center to American Democracy, edited by Norton Garfinkle and Daniel Yankelovich and published by Yale University Press.

What Makes Donors Give by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, December 8, 2005 From the December 8, 2005 edition of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Ferment and Change: Higher Education in 2015 by Daniel Yankelovich, Chairman, Co-Founder, November 25, 2005 From the November 25, 2005 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

It's Time to Address the Human Factor in Education Reform by Jean Johnson, Executive Vice President, Public Agenda., November 8, 2005 From the November 8, 2005 edition of School Board News.

After Katrina, Rebuild National Dialogue on Class and Race by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, September 27, 2005 Are Americans ready to make poverty alleviation, class and race priority issues?

On Stem Cell Issues, Dialogue Is Better Than Debate by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, July 2005 Explores the stem cell debate, and the limitations of that form of public discourse.

You Might be Surprised: What Teachers, Parents, School Leaders, and the Public Really Think about Public Education Today by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, July 11, 2005 Speech given to the National School Public Relations Association; announces Education Insights.

Prescription for Democracy at Middle-Age: A Healthy Regimen of Public Dialogue by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, May 2-3, 2005 A conference paper accompanying Ms. Wooden's address to Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE).

Is Health Care on the Agenda? by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, March 22, 2005 Explores the president's agenda and the public's call for health care to be a priority.

Compromise: A Political Dirty Word? by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, February 2, 2005 Discusses the disparity in reporting and clarifies findings from our Religion and Public Life research study.

Where We Are Now: What Parents, Teachers, Students and the Public Are Saying About Public Schools Today by Deborah Wadsworth, Senior Advisor, Public Agenda, January 17, 2005 A presentation by former Public Agenda President Deborah Wadsworth before the Texas Business and Education Coalition.

Don't Just Survey Public Opinion; Listen to It by Public Agenda, November 11, 2004 We need good opinion research to help move the country forward. But research can only play that role if pollsters and pundits stop obsessing so much about measuring public opinion and instead focus on listening to it.

Across the Red-Blue Divide: How to Start a Conversation by Daniel Yankelovich, Chairman, Co-Founder, October 15, 2004 Toning down our opinions will ratchet up our understanding - and the welfare of the nation. From the October 15, 2004 edition of The Christian Science Monitor.

Building Consensus, Not Partisanship by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, October 14, 2004 Published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy

To the Candidates: America Won't Settle for Sound Bites on Higher Education by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, September 24, 2004 Discusses higher education affordability and the need for candidates to talk realistically about the costs and benefits of all the options.

To Defeat Al Qaeda, U.S. Must Build Trust of Moderate Muslims by Daniel Yankelovich, Chairman, Co-Founder, September 20, 2004 From the September 20, 2004 edition of The Christian Science Monitor.

Needed: A More Disciplined Approach to Learning by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, September 9, 2004 From the September 9, 2004 edition of The Christian Science Monitor.

Where Are the Business Patriots? CEOs Need to Be Statesmen Again by Peter G. Peterson, Public Agenda Board Member, July 18, 2004 From the July 18, 2004 edition of the Washington Post.

Cutting the Lifeline of Terror: What's Next After Iraq? by Daniel Yankelovich, Chairman, July 14, 2004 Joined by moderator Stephen Heintz, president, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, responder Richard N. Haass, president, Council on Foreign Relations, and Ruth A. Wooden, president, Public Agenda. Proposes a counterterrorism strategy to win over Muslim moderates and stem the recruitment of new terrorists. The full transcript of the session is available for download in Adobe Acrobat format, as is Mr. Yankelovich's PowerPoint presentation.

40 Years After Civil Rights Act, We Haven't Crossed Finish Line by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, July 1, 2004 From the July 1, 2004 edition of USA Today.

Why Is School Discipline Considered a Trivial Issue? by Jean Johnson, Senior Vice President and Director of Programs, June 23, 2004 From the June 23, 2004 edition of Education Week.

Teaching Interrupted by Deborah Wadsworth, Senior Advisor, Public Agenda, May 11, 2004 A presentation by former Public Agenda President Deborah Wadsworth before the "Is Fairness in Public Schools Unfair?" forum co-sponsored by Common Good and the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies.

For Quality Public Opinion Research, Qualitative Research Comes First by Steve Farkas, Senior Vice President and Director of Research, Spring 2004 Discusses the importance of focus groups in developing a feel for how people are thinking about an issue.

Living Longer, Better, Wiser: Putting Research on the Public Agenda by Ruth A. Wooden, President, Public Agenda, March 16, 2004 Remarks by Public Agenda President Ruth A. Wooden before the Research!America Annual Meeting and Forum.

Is Law Undermining Public Education? A Ground-level View by Deborah Wadsworth, Senior Advisor, Public Agenda, November 5, 2003 Remarks by former Public Agenda President Deborah Wadsworth before the Common Good, a "bipartisan initiative to overhaul America's lawsuit culture."

Winning Greater Influence for Science by Daniel Yankelovich, Chairman, Co-Founder, Summer 2003 From Issues in Science & Technology, a forum for discussion of public policy related to science, engineering, and medicine.

Who Needs Polling? by Ann Duffett, Senior Vice President and Associate Director of Research, Fall 2003 Discusses how public opinion polling is being undermined by unsound methodology and an uncritical media.

A Conversation With Deborah Wadsworth and Ruth A. Wooden by Michael Hamill Remaley, Associate Director, Communications, August 2003 In late August 2003, the month when the tenure of Public Agenda's new president Ruth Wooden and retiring president Deborah Wadsworth overlapped, newsletter editor Michael Hamill Remaley sat down with the two to talk about the transition and Public Agenda's future. A portion of the interview appeared in Public Agenda's Fall 2003 Newsletter. This is a full transcript of the discussion.


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