The Fix

By: Jonathan Tepperman

Narrated by: Dan Woren, Jonathan Tepperman

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

A provocative look at the world's most difficult, seemingly ineradicable problems - and the surprising stories of the countries that solved them.

We all know the bad news. The heady promise of the Arab Spring has given way to repression, civil war, and an epic refugee crisis. Economic growth is sputtering. Income inequality is rising around the world. And the threat of ISIS and other extremist groups keeps spreading. We are living in an age of unprecedented, irreversible decline - or so we're constantly being told.

Jonathan Tepperman's The Fix presents a very different picture. The book reveals the often-overlooked success stories, offering a provocative, unconventional take on the answers hiding in plain sight. It identifies 10 pervasive and seemingly impossible challenges - including immigration reform, economic stagnation, political gridlock, corruption, and Islamist extremism - and shows that, contrary to the general consensus, each has a solution, and not merely a hypothetical one. In his close analysis of government initiatives as diverse as Brazil's Bolsa Família program, Indonesia's campaign against radicalism, Canada's early embrace of multiculturalism, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg's efforts to prevent another 9/11, Tepperman isolates the universally applicable measures that can boost and buttress equality, incomes, cooperation, and cohesion in wildly diverse societies. He flips conventional political wisdom on its head, showing, for example, how much the US Congress could learn about compromise and conciliation from its counterpart in Mexico.

Tepperman has traveled the world to write this book, conducting more than 100 interviews with the people behind the policies. Meticulously researched and deeply reported, The Fix presents practical advice for problem solvers of all stripes and stands as a necessary corrective to the hand-wringing and grim prognostication that dominate the news, making a data-driven case for optimism in a time of crushing pessimism.

©2016 Jonathan Tepperman (P)2016 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"Just when it looks like the world's problems couldn't get much worse, The Fix cuts through the gloom like a ray of sunshine.... If you care about understanding the world or improving it, this book is not to be missed. It may very well change the face of leadership." (Adam Grant, author of Originals)

"Readers looking for good news will love this book. Tepperman makes a compelling case, in lively and personal prose, that strong leaders willing to forsake political orthodoxy for good ideas can actually solve the toughest problems the world faces." (Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of Unfinished Business)

"The Fix is a refreshing and readable new way of looking at the world. Tepperman combines old-fashioned reporting, storytelling, and social science to create a roadmap for solving today's great problems, from radicalism to inequality to political paralysis. Anyone disheartened by the current state of affairs should read this original, super-smart, and eye-opening book." (Charles Duhigg, author of Smarter Faster Better)

Fascinating examples of successful government

I found it very satisfying to read about the success stories of good government around the world over a period of decades. I did not know the history of how Brazil reduced income disparity and how South Korea and Singapore pulled themselves out of dire poverty. A great relief from watching the daily news right now.

Creative and engaging

Excellent book with very unique and creative solutions to devilishly hard problems. Narration is very good. Subtle accents that are very well done.