Reimagining Civil Discourse for the Next Generation

This past summer, the MIT Center for Constructive Communication, its closely affiliated non profit, Cortico, and GBH’s FRONTLINE hosted 11 Boston students, ages 16 -21…

Discovering the Future of WRAP via realtalk Conversations

In Spring 2025, realtalk@MIT partnered with WRAP (the MIT Writing, Rhetoric, and Professional Communication Program) to support groups of lecturers in reflecting on their…

PBS’s FRONTLINE, Cortico, and CCC to engage youth in new Youth Civic Voices initiative

FRONTLINE, the acclaimed PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, has announced the launch of a two-phase Youth Civic Voices Initiative designed to engage young…

Checking in on realtalk@Boston, one year in

The MIT Center for Constructive Communication, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has been training local community leaders to host facilitated convers…

CCC hosts its second Tech-Enhanced Student Assembly

MIT undergraduates use a Citizens’ Assembly format to draw on their individual values and experiences to offer options for improved sustainability efforts on the MIT ca…

CCC launches a inaugural student advisory board

MIT CCC is launching a student advisory board to help shape its ongoing research as well as student programming via realtalk@MIT. This group of undergraduates will contri…

MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s Work Featured on Night Owls Podcast

MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) and its nonprofit collaborator Cortico are at the forefront of using technology and dialogue to foster deeper connections…

Study: Some language reward models exhibit political bias

Large language models (LLMs) that drive generative artificial intelligence apps, such as ChatGPT, have been proliferating at lightning speed and have improved to the poin…

CCC and DemNext take the first step towards developing a more transparent, inclusive democratic process

In a landmark achievement, MIT CCC and DemocracyNext have collaborated on the first-of-its-kind, tech-enhanced citizens’ assembly in Deschutes County, Oregon. 12,750 in…

CCC and FRONTLINE launched a listening experiment to build a social dialogue network with youth

In collaboration with FRONTLINE, the PBS documentary series produced at GBH in Boston, the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) has been exploring how small g…

realtalk@MIT: Using AI to bring human conversation to life

In today’s digital age, words and information are everywhere—flooding our feeds, congesting our inboxes, and pinging us with text messages. Yet, written words can nev…

CCC launched realtalk@MIT for incoming students to connect, learn, and share their experiences

In August, CCC trained over 70 students to effectively facilitate small-group conversations, also recording and highlighting many of these conversations on the newly deve…

Deb Roy’s Atlantic article proposes healthy social networks

In The Atlantic, CCC Director Deb Roy writes about the very real threat today’s social media platforms pose to our democracy, and presents a far less toxic alternative:…

How to make social media, online life less of ‘dumpster fire’

Popular social media platforms were once a place to connect with old and new friends, post life updates, and share photos of your kids. But they have become fraught with…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 12 (Fall/Winter 2025)

As the US approaches its 250th anniversary, the National Conference on Citizenship is launching an ambitious initiative: the American Conversation Project. The effort see…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 11 (Spring/Summer 2025)

FRONTLINE collaboration, realtalk@MIT updates, & more

CCC Newsletter, Issue 10 (Fall/Winter 2024)

Bridging Dictionary Launch, realtalk@MIT Pilot, Welcome Audrey Tang and Michiel Bakke, & more.

CCC Newsletter, Issue 9 (Spring/Summer 2024)

Second annual CCC Symposium, realtalk@MIT and realtalk@Boston Updates, & more.

CCC Newsletter, Issue 8 (Winter 2024)

RealTalk@MIT: Moving Toward a “Listening Campus,” Deb Roy article in The Atlantic, Three successful CCC course offerings during MIT IAP

CCC Newsletter, Issue 7 (Fall 2023)

CCC at Ars Electronica 2023, Josh Flax joins CCC, Five new graduate students, DemocracyNext collaboration, and more.

CCC Newsletter, Issue 6

On May 10, CCC hosted its first in-person event: Real Talk, Real Listening, and Trust in the Age of Social Media and Generative AI, New Initiative Announced, Cited on Cap…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 5

FRONTLINE’s Raney Aronson-Rath Joins CCC, Facilitated Conversations at Freeport High in Maine: Making a Difference, Deb Roy on ChatGPT

CCC Newsletter, Issue 4

Martha Minow and Ceasar McDowell on the Constitution, Built-in Inequities, and Where We Go From Here…, Offering Solutions: Local News as an Antidote to Toxic Social Med…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 3

A Message from Deb Roy, Director: Thoughts on Elon Musk and Twitter // For me, Elon Musk’s impending takeover of Twitter is a wake-up call. It’s a very real reminder…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 2

In coordination with MIT’s Values Statement Committee, CCC is launching RealTalk@MIT, a cross-campus pilot program that will solicit honest perspectives from staff, stude…

CCC Newsletter, Issue 1

Welcome to the first issue of the MIT Center for Constructive Communication’s newsletter!