Dec 2, 2025
In this episode of How to Fix Democracy, host Andrew Keen sits down with Cynthia Miller-Idriss - scholar of extremism, founder of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL), and author of Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism. Together they explore one of democracy's most fragile foundations: trust.
From gender polarization and the rise of the "manosphere", to the declining institutional confidence, to why young men are increasingly vulnerable to online radicalization, Miller-Idriss explains how mistrust is reshaping politics, culture, and everyday relationships. She also discussed what might work to rebuild trust - from community level engagement to national service models - and why belonging, meaning and purpose might be the most powerful antidotes to extremism.
A wide-ranging, urgent conversation about loneliness, democracy and whether America can restore trust before it is too late. Miller-Idriss offers a note of cautious optimism: most people, she argues, don't actually want to live this way.