This fully updated 2nd edition grapples with the desperate state of current public discourse. Through interviews and wisdom from outstanding thinkers, it shows that deliberately polluted conversations can discourage people from taking action on critical issues, and demonstrates how we can become more powerful communicators.

Acknowledgments
Prologue: A Beginner's Mind

Part I: The Polluted Public Square
Section A: Smashing Heads Doesn't Open Minds
     1. Like Ships in the Night with Daniel Yankelovichand Steve Rosell
     2. The Advocacy Trap with Roger Conner
     3. Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me)with Carol Tavris
     4. Morality Binds and Blinds with Jonathan Haidt
     5. Why We Want to Be Misled with Dan Kahan

Section B: A Failure to Communicate
     6. Facts Are Not Enough with George Lakoff
     7. Matters of Concern with Bruno Latour

Section C: Duped and How
     8. The Self-regulating Psychopath with Joel Bakan and Noam Chomsky
     9. Steve Bannon's Full-service Propaganda Machine with research by Carole Cadwalladr
     10. Foreign-funded Radicals
     11. Assault on Democracy with Alex Himelfarb
     12. Silencing the Voices of Others with Jason Stanley
     13. Gaslighting Blurs Our Reality with Bryant Welch
     14. Summary: The Polluted Public Square

Part II: Speak the Truth, But Not to Punish
Section D: Leaning into the Future
     15. Power and Love with Adam Kahane
     16. No Fish? No Fish Sticks with Peter Senge
     17. Listen Deeply with Otto Scharmer

Section E: The Mighty Tool of Public Narrative
     18. What Are They Thinking? with Anthony Leiserowitz and Ed Maibach
     19. The Myth of Apathy with Renee Lertzman
     20. Psychic Numbing with Paul Slovic
     21. Sometimes David Wins with Marshall Ganz

Section F: From the Heart
     22. The Golden Rule with Karen Armstrong
     23. Tending Our Inner Ecology with Joan Halifax
     24. Speak the Truth, But Not to Punish with Thich Nhat Hanh
     25. We Need Warmheartedness with the 14th Dalai Lama
Epilogue: Hope, Compassion, and Courage

Notes
Index
About the Author
About New Society Publishers

The public square has been polluted by industry-funded propaganda when it comes to matters like climate change and what to do about it. Read James Hoggan's I'm Right and You're an Idiot for some ideas on how to fix that.
— MICHAEL E. MANN, Distinguished Professor of Atmosphere Science, Penn State University and author, The Madhouse Effect

A must-read for anyone trying to break the climate impasse, or indeed, make progress in any domain of social conflict.
— NAOMI ORESKES, Professor, History of Science, and Affiliated Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University

In this fully updated second edition of I'm Right and You're an Idiot, James Hoggan grapples with a critical issue — the desperate state of current public discourse— through interviews with outstanding thinkers and drawing on wisdom from highly regarded public figures. Featuring a new, radically revised prologue, afterword, and a new chapter addressing the changes in the public discourse since the 2016 United States election, his comprehensive analysis explores:

• How political will is manipulated
• How tribalism shuts down open-minded thinking, undermines trust, and helps misinformation thrive
• Why facts alone fail and how language is manipulated and dissent silenced
• The importance of dialogue, empathy, and pluralistic narrative reframing arguments to create compelling narratives and spur action.

Our species' greatest survival strategy has always been foresight and the ability to leverage intelligence to overcome adversity. For too long now this capacity has been threatened by the sorry state of public discourse. Focusing on proven techniques to foster more powerful and effective communication, I'm Right and You're an Idiot will appeal to readers looking for deep insights and practical advice in these troubling times.

This is a must-read for anyone tired of the bullying, the propagandizing, the screaming, and the bullsh*t.
— Dr. SAMANTHA NUTT, author, Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid

This is a text which should be thought, not just read, by all who seek reconciliation.
— Professor TIM O'RIORDAN OBE DL FBA

James Hoggan is president of the Vancouver PR firm Hoggan & Associates, past chair of the David Suzuki Foundation board, and founder of the influential website DeSmogBlog. He has also served as a member of Shell Global's External Review Committee and is author of Climate Cover-up and Do the Right Thing. He lives on Salt Spring Island, Canada.

"This is a deeply thoughtful book about what it really takes to communicate, especially with people who we don't understand. A must-read for anyone trying to break the climate impasse, or indeed, make progress in any domain of social conflict."
— Naomi Oreskes, Professor of the History of Science, Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University

"The public square has been polluted by industry-funded propaganda when it comes to matters like climate change and what to do about it. Read James Hoggan's I'm Right and You're an Idiot for some ideas on how to fix that."
— Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmosphere Science, Penn State University, and author, The Madhouse Effect

"Hoggan has done an admirable job in getting to the root of the why public discourse on some of the most pressing problems facing society today is so fractured and toxic. His interviews with many of the world's leading thinkers on this crucial issue are essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we got into this mess and what we can do to get out of it."
— Mark Jaccard, Professor, School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University

"Jim Hoggan's monumental study explores a wide range of thought about the babel that passes for public discourse today. Anyone concerned about how civil society can be better informed so decisions can be made for the public's long term interests must read this deeply thoughtful book."
— David Suzuki, science broadcaster and environmental activist

"James Hoggan's book could not be more timely....A must-read for anyone who despairs at the pollution in the public square. It doesn't have to be this way, says Hoggan. There is a way out."
— Gillian Findlay, Host, CBC News: the fifth estate

"Conversation is the essence of being human. To converse is to listen, to respect, to love and so to be open to fresh ideas and perspectives. James Hoggan has illuminated a series of amazing conversations with thinkers and doers....This is a text which should be thought, not just read, by all who seek reconciliation."
— Professor Tim O'Riordan OBE DL FBA

"Impressive list of contributors; important topic; inspired insight."
— Brenda Morrison, Ph.D, Director, Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser University"

"James Hoggan has interviewed a diverse group of thinkers, from pundits to psychologists, seeking explanations of and alternatives to the all-too-familiar "stubborn adversarial advocacy" that pervades public discourse. This engaging and important book offers a blueprint toward empathy, flexibility, and creativity instead of narrow-minded demagoguery."
— Scott Slovic, coeditor, Numbers and Nerves: Information, Emotion, and Meaning in a World of Data