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Martín Carcasson

@mcarcasson.bsky.social
780 followers 267 following 92 posts

Professor of Communication Studies at Colorado State University. I direct the CSU Center for Public Deliberation (www.cpd.colostate.edu), which is a nonpartisan organization focused on improving the quality of public discussion and local problem-solving.

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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The epitome of "conflict profiteers." So many of the loudest voices simply try to divide us. Thankfully, there is growing momentum and developing careers for the opposite - facilitators, conveners, collaborative practitioners equipped with the skills to bring people together across difference.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Published my first article with @us.theconversation.com, telling the story of the CPD (which turned 20 last week!) How students at Colorado State helped teach their community to stop talking past each other and manage complex problems theconversation.com/how-students...
theconversation.com
How students at Colorado State helped teach their community to stop talking past each other and manage complex problems
Research shows that humans are susceptible to simple stories and biased toward arguments that fit their current perspectives. Here’s how to confront those tendencies.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
One of my favorite things about flying was lack of access to the damn internet. Got so much reading and thinking done. Yeah, yeah, I could just have some self-discipline...
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Reposted by Martín Carcasson
Center for the New Energy Economy @cnee-colostate.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
A big thank you @mcarcasson.bsky.social , from the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University, for a wonderful discussion about the role of hashtag #bipartisanship in developing strong and effective state-level clean energy policy.
Two men stand on either side of a podium.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Ugh, "LLM poisining" is yet another term I probably need to learn more about.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Enjoyed chatting with Bill for his podcast.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
So flooding the zone with shitters?
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Link to RSVP - col.st/4z95t
col.st
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Workshop: How to Talk about Our Values with Nuance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.
Join us for a free workshop focused on the "How to Talk about Our Values with Nuance" process, which was developed as part of NIF's What's Next America project. Led by Colorado State University's Cen...
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I'll be running a workshop next Wednesday as part of a project with National Issues Forum focused on "Talking about our Values with Nuance." RSVP link in the first comment.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Plus the fact it is the Friday before Spring Break. Not like classes are normally full that day anyway...
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Listened to a talk Monday at the CSU Democracy Summit from @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social that argued the Speechnow case may be more impactful than Citizen's United on billionaire spending (because it was about individuals not corporations, which is where the exponentia growth is mostly coming from).
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Reposted by Martín Carcasson
Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · 05/03/2026
We asked people around the world to rate the morality and ethics of others in their country. The U.S. is the only place we surveyed where more adults describe the morality and ethics of others living in the country as bad than good. See our full morality report here: www.pewresearch.org/...
Chart showing in many countries, people see their fellow citizens as morally good.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Maybe "keep thinking you're thinking."
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Link to the article. www.nationalcivicleague.org/ncr-article/...
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
A new essay Willow Paul & I wrote for National Civic Review, making the argument for the need for more bridging institutions & introducing a new typology of bonding & bridging groups. "Building Community Capacity in Toxic Times: The Critical Role of Bridging Institutions" (link in 1st response)
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Here is a list of his books. You Are Not So Smart has long been a favorite, and his more recent How Minds Change is important read. youarenotsosmart.com/the-book/
youarenotsosmart.com
Books
A brain-bending investigation of why some people never change their minds—and others do in an instant—by the bestselling author of You Are Not So Smart OFFICIAL WEBSITE AMAZON – BARNES AND NO…
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Got to meet @davidmcraney.bsky.social at a conference last summer. Knew his books well before we met. He is a journalist who is great as translating research and practice to broader audiences. Last week I had the chance to chat w him on his podcast about my work. youarenotsosmart.com/2026/01/23/y...
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
YANSS 331 – The wicked problems that often emerge during debate, disagreement, and deliberation
Dr. Martin Carcasson tells us how he, as the Director of the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State, trains people how to facilitate deliberation and overcome wicked problems so that they…
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
My parents would fly back to Argentina for dental work. Saved so much even when you included the cost of the flight.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
This one still has a corresponding hand signal we still use for movements that are no longer relevant for almost all vehicles.
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Reposted by Martín Carcasson
Tim Carvell @timcarvell.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.
m.youtube.com
Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica
YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Looking forward to insightful presentations and deep conversations today in Boulder, Colorado with the Greater Good Science Center convening for national bridging organizations.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Has my vote.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
Yes, term limits seem to be one of those things the public loves on the face of it, but the research shows has many unintended negative consequences.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
This Nieman Reports article summarizes the findings. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/dont...
niemanlab.org
Don’t dwell on “democracy,” and other new findings about how to market local news
"Here’s the paradox: 93% of people believe reliable local news is necessary for democracy, yet many of these same people react negatively to explicit 'democracy' messaging."
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
The conversation in part will respond to this report from Press Forward - www.pressforward.news/wp-content/u...
pressforward.news
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
I'm hosting a NCDD/Deliberative Journalism Project webinar next Wed (11/12), 10am MTN/12 eastern with several journalism leaders to talk about how local newsrooms should talk about democracy, partly responding to new research on the need to avoid the word. Register here: www.ncdd.org/news/upcomin...
ncdd.org
Upcoming NCDD Webinar: Talking Democracy (or Not): How Local Newsrooms Choose Their Words
The National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation (NCDD) will co-host a webinar with Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation, titled “Talking Democracy (or Not): How Local...
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
I think the handoff from shotgun formation on 4th and one is worse.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Enjoyed my conversation on Democracy Innovators, a Civic Tech podcast out of Europe. Recorded a few weeks ago, but the topic has only become more important across the globe. democracyinnovators.com/martin-carca...
democracyinnovators.com
Martín Carcasson about the Center for Public Deliberation and overcoming toxic polarization
Donate on PayPal Automatic transcription of the interview with Martin Carcasson, it may contains errors. Host: Alessandro Oppo Guest: Martin Carcasson, Director of Colorado State University Center...
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Way back in grad school, I used this tool to analyze how US presidents from 1988 to 2000 talked about climate change, and how we could potentially reframe things. (though I've adjusted things a bit on spheres) drive.google.com/file/d/1ADtO...
drive.google.com
carcasson - global gridlock.pdf
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
The public sphere combines them all, and it is always an interesting point of analysis of which one(s) dominate(s). Biofuels seems like a clear example of the political frame (& economic for a small group) somehow dominating science & common sense. But the more we learn about it, that can change.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
So in argumentation there is a tool we use that talks about how argument works in different technical spheres (the primary ones are politics, science, law, economics, and morality). What counts as a good argument is different in each sphere. Conflict often when people focus on different spheres....
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
I agree, but I would also argue that sometimes "virtue signaling" was seeing an issue through too simplistic of a frame. Most issues involve many underlying values, & you can proclaim you are virtuous by simplifying it to one, thus implying people that disagree must be against that value/are evil.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Would be nice...
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Enjoyed my conversation with Nathanial Pearlman for his Great Battlefield podcast, talking about the work of the CPD and bringing people together to address their shared problems. Check it out (and his earlier conversations with lots of interesting guests). greatbattlefield.com/episode/coll...
greatbattlefield.com
Collaborative Problem Solving with Martín Carcasson - The Great Battlefield Podcast
Martín Carcasson joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in academia and his role as Director at the Colorado State University Center for Public Deliberation, where he trains stud...
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
local journalism matters.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Listening to Cornell West and Robert George start off the UCCS Conference on Civic Discourse in Colorado Springs.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Somehow haven't heard "No news is bad news." I'll have to remember that.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Did it cite studies that don't exist?
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Been reading more lately about how new tech platforms & apps are developed to flip the script from the typical "outrage industrial complex" workings of most social media & actually work to bring people together and incentivize quality engagement. This essay provides a nice summary of those efforts.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Article that I am pulling the term from is here, from @debilyn.bsky.social thefulcrum.us/money-politi...
thefulcrum.us
Thwarting conflict profiteers to save the republic
Over several decades, fringe ideas have grown in popularity to reach the crescendo of noise we have today. Truth and facts are routinely dismissed by half the country (progressive and conservative!) a...
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Here is how I see our current challenge (your point fits with information disorder, which combines overwhelming information overload with a crippled ability to process it and make important distinctions btw spectacle and substance).
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Briand's Practical Politics provided an early blueprint for the CPD.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
I keep on playing with the word choices, and added a new bullet this morning, but getting pretty close to locking these in for my book.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
One of the most important books during grad school for me was Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca’s The New Rhetoric. It taught me how to think more deeply about values and their role in individual & community decision making (early seeds that led to all my work on wicked problems & polarity management)
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
As I work on my book, I wrote up a bit of my intellectual history, thinking about the academic disciplines and practitioner specialties I've bounced around for the last 20 years. Part of this was also thinking about the most influential books during that journey.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Seems like he could have just had AI write the books really quickly to cover up the mistake.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
You may need to round up the Newies for another fight.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
Reminds me of the Paul Harvey and his “and now for the rest of the story” bits. www.forbes.com/sites/jeremy...
forbes.com
Why The Qataris Are Happy To Dump Their 747 On Trump
The president may be thirsting for a new four-engine jumbo jet, but many governments and royal families are unloading their fuel-guzzling palaces in the sky.
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Martín Carcasson @mcarcasson.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
Pretty sure my favorite warning in pharmaceutical commericials is "do not take if allergic."
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