The shortcomings of traditional political journalism have been visible for some time. But the unprecedented presidency of Donald Trump has graphically exposed journalism’s weaknesses.

 In 2016, before the November election, Jay Rosen, Professor of Journalism at New York University, sat down with journalist Kathy Kiely at the Uncharted Festival of Ideas in Berkeley to talk about the right frame for interpreting press coverage of the presidential campaign. Their conclusions hold just as true for journalists after the election, when the stakes have proven so much higher.

Every year in Berkeley, Uncharted draws together some of the world’s leading thinkers for conversations that provoke, entertain, and attempt to shift the needle towards a better future. Uncharted is produced by Berkeley’s independent news site, Berkeleyside.

Scott Budnick is best known as the executive producer of the Hangover movies, the highest grossing, R-rated comedies in history. But unknown to many, Budnick’s mission is to reform the criminal justice system.

In October 2016 Budnick sat down with Lance Knobel, founder and curator of the Uncharted Festival of Ideas in Berkeley, to talk about why he founded the Anti Recidivism Coalition in 2013, an organization of very high-achieving, formerly incarcerated young adults who work to support one another while stopping the flow of men and women into the criminal justice system.

Every year in Berkeley, Uncharted draws together some of the world’s leading thinkers for conversations that provoke, entertain, and attempt to shift the needle towards a better future. Uncharted is produced by Berkeley’s independent news site, Berkeleyside.  

With the conservative turn of the Supreme Court, overturning Citizens United looks unlikely. But Daniel Newman believes there are reforms that can be implemented even in the current political climate.

In 2016, before the November election, Newman, co-founder and president of Maplight, sat down with journalist Kathy Kiely at the Uncharted Festival of Ideas in Berkeley, to talk about reforming the place of money in our political system.

Every year in Berkeley, Uncharted draws together some of the world’s leading thinkers for conversations that provoke, entertain, and attempt to shift the needle towards a better future. Uncharted is produced by Berkeley’s independent news site, Berkeleyside.

What do you think about when you hear about African-American Republicans? Are they heroes fighting against the expectation that all Blacks must vote democratic? Or are they sell-outs, letting down their race?

In 2016, before the November election, Corey Fields, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Stanford University, published a book titled Black Elephants in the Room: The Unexpected Politics of African American Republicans. In October 2016 Fields sat down with media innovator Peter Leyden at  Uncharted Festival of Ideas in Berkeley to talk about what it’s really like to be a Black person in the Republican Party.

Every year in Berkeley, Uncharted draws together some of the world’s leading thinkers for conversations that provoke, entertain, and attempt to shift the needle towards a better future. Uncharted is produced by Berkeley’s independent news site, Berkeleyside.  

When Aaron James sat down to write a popular philosophy book about assholes, he didn’t anticipate the candidacy — then the presidency — of Donald Trump. But then James found he had the perfect framework to explain the seemingly inexplicable. In October 2016, before the November election, James, a professor of philosophy at the University of California Irvine, sat down with writer Dan Schifrin at the Uncharted Festival of Ideas in Berkeley to talk about his book, Assholes: A Theory of Donald Trump, and attempt to explains the now President's behavior.