DeepSummary
The podcast episode discusses a paper titled 'Who Protests, What Do They Protest, and Why?' that examined the demographics and ideological characteristics of protesters in the 2020 BLM protests and anti-lockdown protests against COVID-19 restrictions. Surprisingly, the research found that nearly 30% of protesters attended both movements, indicating significant overlap in the types of people attracted to each cause.
The findings challenged assumptions that the protests were dominated by extremists or fringe groups. Instead, the data showed that protesters were often working parents and represented a cross-section of society that cut across typical partisan divides. This revelation made the host question preconceived notions about the protests and who was involved.
The episode delves into the broader implications of misunderstanding social movements, such as how it can shape media narratives, public health policies, and political responses. The guest economist argues for recognizing the diversity of viewpoints within protests and weighing the trade-offs between various societal priorities like health, economic concerns, and social justice.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Nearly 30% of protesters attended both the 2020 BLM and anti-lockdown protests, indicating significant overlap between the movements.
- The protesters were more demographically and ideologically diverse than commonly assumed, representing a cross-section of the public.
- Misunderstanding who is involved in social movements can shape media narratives, public policies, and political responses in problematic ways.
- Public health policies during COVID-19 often failed to adequately weigh trade-offs between health priorities and other societal concerns.
- There is value in recognizing diverse viewpoints within social movements rather than dismissing differing perspectives as extremist.
- The findings challenge narratives of increasing polarization and highlight areas of potential common ground across partisan divides.
- Human behavior is an important factor that public health models and policies should account for more rigorously.
- Protests are not just activities for the affluent and unemployed, as many protesters overcame economic barriers to participate.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “These weren't, like, weirdos who just are entirely unrepresentative. These were really typical Americans.“ by Nick Papageorge
- “We didn't do behavior well. We didn't figure that out.“ by Nick Papageorge
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Episode Information
Good on Paper
The Atlantic
6/18/24
In 2020, two major protest movements defined our political landscape: the racial justice protests after the murder of George Floyd and the anti-lockdown protests pushing against COVID-19 restrictions. At the time, these movements were seen by many as near polar opposites and were often defined by their extremes.
But did the two actually have much in common?
Host Jerusalem Demsas talks to Nick Papageorge, an economist at Johns Hopkins University, who co-authored a paper called, “Who Protests, What Do They Protest, and Why?” His research calls into question our assumptions about the participants of mass protest. Are they really dominated by fringe elements? How can we tell? And what does it mean to misunderstand the people that make up social movements?
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