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David Callahan    

Author of The Cheating Culture

In a cutthroat economic climate, everybody wants to get ahead, and decades of deregulation have made it easy to bend the rules. The author of The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead, David Callahan offers explanations for the proliferation of cheating. He argues that when the middle class sees wealthy cheaters get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, it inspires them to follow suit.

Callahan is co-founder of the independent think tank Demos, a public policy center based in New York City that combines research and advocacy to strengthen democracy and expand economic opportunity within the United States. It focuses on creating an open resource of knowledge and learning that operates beyond traditional parties, identities, and disciplines.

Callahan is the author of Trading Up as well as three books on US foreign policy and international affairs, including Unwinnable Wars: American Power and Ethnic Conflict. His latest book, Fortunes of Change: The Rise of the Liberal Rich and the Remaking of America, was published in 2010. His articles have appeared in The American Prospect, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post. He has also been a frequent commentator on television programs on CBS, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and PBS and has been a regular guest on radio talk shows across the United States, including such NPR programs as "The Connection," "Morning Edition," and "The Tavis Smiley Show."

Prior to co-founding Demos, Callahan was a fellow at the Century Foundation, engaging in wide-ranging public policy research and analysis.

David Callahan frequently speaks about issues of ethics and integrity to universities, corporations, and various associations, explaining how our cheating culture originated and offering solutions to fix it.

Speech Topics


Democracy & Ethics

A weak democracy and rising social inequities spread cynicism and anxiety and help to fuel the culture of cheating. In this presentation, David Callahan explains what can be done to make more Americans feel that they are stakeholders in our society.

The Ethical Leader

Integrity flows from the top. What does it take to set the right tone and be an ethical leader? Speaker David Callahan offers an inspiring look at how leaders from different fields create a climate of integrity.

The Challenge of Professional Integrity

Law, medicine, and other professions are beset by ethical misconduct. Why? Is this new? In this presentation, David Callahan addresses how well self-regulation works and offers other solutions to the problem.

Honest Business in a Dishonest World

In businesses large and small, managers and employees face pressures to cut corners. Where do these pressures come from? How can we protect our integrity and our bottom line? Speaker David Callahan diagnoses this problem and offers solutions.

Honesty in the Academy

Cheating is up among students. In this presentation, David Callahan provides a penetrating look at recent trends and explanations, as well as proven strategies for educators and students to promote academic integrity.

The Cheating Culture

Are more Americans cheating to get ahead in life? And, if so, why? David Callahan has spent the past eight years exploring the decline of America's ethics - and how we can still turn things around to create a more honest society. In this provocative presentation, Callahan looks at how increased economic competition and changing incentives have created a nation of cheaters. He explores everything from scandals on Wall Street to the fall of Lance Armstrong to cheating students at Harvard to overbilling by top law firms to show that Americans at every level are tempted to cut corners to do better financially, academically, or professionally. But Callahan offers hope, pointing out reforms under way in a number of areas aimed at improving America's battered ethics.

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