Is all news created equal? What’s fake and what isn’t?

6:30pm to 10:00pm, Patten Free Library, 33 Summer Street, Bath, Maine

Thanks to everyone who came the the March 11 Make Shift Coffee House.

Click here for a news article published just after the event that describes it. Thanks to Nathan Strout and the Brunswick Times Record for you nice coverage.

In an era of alternative facts, questionable science, and biased reporting, how do I know what to believe? When anyone can broadcast to everyone, who should I listen to? Is news not sacred anymore?

And what about my own biases? How do my core beliefs influence what news I trust? How does my own political identity filter what others call facts?

At this Make Shift Coffee House hosted by the Patten Free Library in Bath, Maine, we discussed these and related questions. We talked informally as we mingled. We heard stories from some volunteers among us. We ask and answered questions of each other.

We didn’t expect to agree on what to believe, or on where to get our news, but at least we tried to understand each other’s views.

Here’s a news article about the upcoming Bath Make Shift Coffee House published on March 7, 2017 in The Coastal Journal.

Here’s a news article about the upcoming Bath Make Shift Coffee House published on February 17, 2017 in the Brunswick Times Record.

Music was provided by Kai Dennett

Thanks Kai!

Format

6:30 pm      Live music. Coffee, tea, snacks. Chit-chat.

Lightly structured conversations in pairs and small groups. We provide the provocative questions. You provide the answers.

7:30 pm      Group Conversation, facilitated by Craig Freshley. 

Let’s learn different perspectives on how to know what to believe! Where do our beliefs come from? What sources do we trust? How do we know when to change beliefs?

9:00 pm      Live music. Coffee, tea, snacks. Chit-chat.

Stay and hang out. Listen to the music. Have some food and drink. And we got one more question for you!

10:00 pm    End.

Want to Learn More?

Click here to learn about the Make Shift Coffee House culture and why understanding each other is so useful.

Click here for articles, videos, podcasts, and discussion guides about understanding each other.