Village SquareCast

Find the program online here: https://tlh.villagesquare.us/event/soul-of-civility/ While our special guest Alexandra O. Hudson, author of “The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves,” finds the challenges to civility today dire, she thinks they’re not new — and they’re most definitely not about being more polite. Lexi brings a deep and fresh appreciation for the wisdom of the ages to the moment we’re in, from Socrates and Confucius to more contemporary thinkers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Henry David Thoreau. She joins forces with these heavyweights, along with a practically encyclopedic knowledge of our understanding of civility through the ages. We hope you’ll join us for this inspiringly heartfelt and beautifully pitched argument that civility is not a luxury: it’s necessary for the survival and flourishing of our species. ALEXANDRA O. HUDSON is a writer, popular speaker, and the founder of Civic Renaissance, a publication and intellectual community dedicated to beauty, goodness and truth. She contributes to Fox News, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, TIME Magazine, POLITICO Magazine, and Newsweek. She earned a master’s degree in public policy at the London School of Economics and is an adjunct professor at the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy. Her first book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, was published in October 2023. She lives in Indianapolis, IN with her husband and children. ______________ The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

As we contemplated who we might invite for this post-election UNUM gathering, we were (temporarily) flummoxed. A week after the election would we be in need of an expert in election law, a therapist or an exorcist? Could we just place all three on speed dial? Then we realized that no matter what happens during – and after – the 2024 election, there will undoubtedly be some BIG feelings about it, so our task on November 12th is utterly clear even now: we’ll need to take one step closer to each other. That journey has a sherpa, and her name is Mónica Guzmán. Mónica is the friend you’ll want for that post-election drink, the one you can let your hair down with to just talk it all through. The program is faciliated by Angel Eduardo of FIRE. Learn more about Móni, Angel and this event here. This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

America’s young adults are telling us they’re not OK — in ways large and small. It’s high time to take a good, close listen and have a frank conversation about the spiking anxiety & depression among adults coming of age in this time of disruption and disconnection. We’re losing more young adults than we can bear. As successive generations move away from organized religion, perhaps there’s a longing for spiritual direction that we have in our souls for relationship, community and ritual. Can religious congregations help to address this problem? If so, how do they connect and make spaces more welcoming for young people in our community’s “third spaces” that help grow community and purpose? Led by Father Tim Holeda — who pastors to a large community of FSU students — God Squad is on it. Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

What, exactly, is our problem? Author Tim Urban, known for his extended riff on procrastination in his endlessly wise, sidesplittingly funny, stick-figure illustrated Wait But Why blog, emerged from a 6-year deep think with an answer that has the power to save humanity (from itself).  In Urban’s analysis, the primitive mind is a furry orange monster holding a burning torch, big dumb looking genies called golems roam the land — and we’re going to need a resurgence of rival genies to save us. Oh and we're all moths wasting our lives circle the porch light. In this episode, Tim joins us to get us up to speed. This one is a must-listen. Learn more about Tim and his work online here. This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

As we barrel toward America’s 250th, one could argue that if we crack up before we get there (some bad days we’d take even odds), it’ll have something to do with the complexity of being in charge of executing one of the founders’ biggest ideas — that the church and the state were to be separate in this new nation of theirs. (It had been so much “easier” when the king told all us peasants what religion we were.) Our framers, for the first time in history, asserted that a citizenry had “natural rights” as human beings, given to them only by God, to follow (and be responsible for) our individual consciences — including the right to not believe at all. These rights could then not be taken by the government. Those dudes in tights, both Christian and Deist, had birthed a country where all sorts of religious belief would thrive. Turns out high principles about freedom for everyone all at the same time wouldn’t be a piece of cake and after 250-ish years of disagreement, we’re still haggling over those darn specifics — partly because we’re masters of not seeing the log in our own eyes. God Squad goes right to the real conversation on this age-old prickly topic. Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

Friends since middle school, Berny Jacques and Geston Pierre are both children of Haitian political refugees who fled political instability that put their families at risk – with Geston’s parents arriving a little earlier than Berny’s.  Despite their friendship and shared family immigration story, they have reached very different conclusions about politics and social issues in the United States today. What Berny and Geston have found in the space and differences between them, we believe, has a lot to teach the country they both dearly love. In the lead-up to a contentious presidential election, it seemed like the perfect time to get to know these “frenemies” — and consider what we might be getting wrong about each other. Learn more about the program and about Berny and Geston here. This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

Drawing on decades of experience addressing volatile disagreements surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Resetting the Table works to transform toxic polarization and destructive political conflict in the U.S. We’ll be joined by Resetting the Table’s Co-Founding CEO, Melissa Weintraub, a veteran peacebuilder and social entrepreneur who has spent her career building transformative communication across divides, overcoming dehumanization and distrust, and working toward a shared society in both the U.S. and Israel-Palestine. This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

In a culturally, religiously and racially diverse society like ours — with a single public school system designed to educate America’s children — maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the culture wars have Officially Hit Our Schools. When you clear away the noise, at the core of the struggle is this: what should our schools teach our children—and who decides?  Joining us for this conversation are special guests school board member Dr. Marcus Nicolas and Lea Marshall, a beloved high school theatre teacher. God Squad joining us: Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Joseph Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, and Betsy Ouellette Zierden former Pastor at Good Samaritan UMC, Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church, Latricia Scriven of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, and Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

We were honored to hang out with our intellectual hero, Dr. Jonathan Haidt, a few weeks before the release of his recent book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. Unsurprisingly, the book became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. If you have kids, if you know kids — heck, if you've ever seen a kid — you're just going to have to read this book. It gives us no less than a chance to rescue the coming generations from the devastating effects of an accidental social experiment run amok. Haidt argues we're overprotecting children in the real world — where they need to play, be exposed to challenge and freedom in order to learn to self-govern — and severely underprotect them in the digital world. He gives us concrete specific steps we can all take now to roll back the psychologically dangerous phone-based childhood. Don't miss this chance to hear from one of the foremost thought leaders of our time — one who has generously given his counsel to The Village Square, and countless efforts like ours — on this existential challenge of our time.   The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

“Fragile Neighborhoods is an essential and engaging read for everyone who wants to better understand the challenges facing our cities, towns and our nation at large.” Richard Florida – Bestselling Author of “The Rise of the Creative Class” Find the full program online here —  https://tlh.villagesquare.us/event/fragile-neighborhoods/ As we continue our “Join or Die” year—exploring how we build lives of connection and belonging inside a polarized America—we’d be remiss if we didn’t turn our attention to the neighborhoods and the city where we live our lives. Too many of us live in neighborhoods plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in zip codes rich and poor, rural and urban, and everything in between. Our special guest Seth D. Kaplan is an expert on fragile states across the world, consulting for the World Bank, U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as developing country governments and NGOs. His new book “Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society One Zip Code at a Time” brings  Seth’s experience overseas to our social decline in America—and Tallahassee— to revitalize our local institutions and the social ties that knit them together. Pick up a copy of Fragile Neighborhoods by swinging by Midtown Reader (or you can click here ) Seth D. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), and consultant to multilateral organizations around the world. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

Find the full program online here — and meet The God Squad: https://tlh.villagesquare.us/event/canceled/.  We’re living in a time when a bad choice of words (much less a deeply held countercultural opinion) can tank your career, in a media environment where some are doing a near-professional job of elevating being offensive to an art form—almost begging to be “canceled” by those who care about maintaining at least a kindergarten-level decorum. Our culture wars have blinded us—gone are the deepest underpinnings of pluralism, where legitimately held beliefs are respected, even when they clash fiercely with our own. Never mind being canceled, this environment has many of us self-editing—choosing simply to not express ourselves so as to avoid risk altogether. So how’s a person to live free in a culture that’s this hostile and toxic to diverse opinion? We’re going to call on the better angels of our nature — and The God Squad — to see if we can get back to a generosity of spirit where we support each other’s right to live free by our conscience and beliefs — no matter how profoundly we disagree. Joining us for this God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Latricia Scriven of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, Betsy Ouellette Zierden former Pastor at Good Samaritan UMC, Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church, and Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky of Temple Israel. Facilitated by Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

We wanted you wonderful SquareCast listeners to know that we didn't plan for this episode to drop on Leap Day and we didn't plan on it being (we kid you not) Episode 100. But both things just happened. At the very least, we think that's a sign that you really ought to listen. Were we "the universe has a plan" maximalists, though, we'd say it means you need to quit your day job and follow bridge builders like Jon Haidt and The Village Square around like Jack Kerouac groupies.  You pick. Here's our blurb to help inform your imminent life choice: What if, at a pinnacle of our civilization’s technological achievement, everything just broke — the institutions we’ve come to rely upon in navigating a modern complex world, the shared stories that hold a large and diverse democratic republic together, and even a common language through which to navigate the rising tide of crisis.  According to renowned social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt, this describes our current reality, one that he calls “After Babel.” In this new normal, we are scattered by a digital environment into feuding tribes that are governed by mob dynamics and driven by a minority of ideological outliers, made stupid at warp speed by group think, and — thanks to social media — armed with billions of metaphorical “dart guns” with which to immediately wound “the enemy” in ways that are hardly only metaphorical. What could go wrong? Our very special guest, Dr. Jonathan Haidt, will delve into the profound impact of social media on democratic societies, dissecting the intricate web of challenges it poses to civic trust and civil discourse. Don’t miss this chance to hear from one of the foremost thought leaders of our time — one who has generously given his counsel to The Village Square, and countless efforts like ours — on this existential challenge of our time. Read Why the Past Ten Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid  in The Atlantic and learn more about Dr. Haidt by clicking the MORE button, below. The program includes a preview of Haidt’s highly anticipated upcoming book The Anxious Generation, available at the end of March. You’re not going to want to miss it. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

Pulitzer Prize finalist journalist Bill Bishop joins The Village Square for Dinner at the Square. (See photos from the event here.) Turns out Americans have been sorting ourselves in every aspect of our lives – in the news we watch, the books we read, the churches we attend, even the neighborhoods we live in. Our special guest Pulitzer Prize finalist journalist Bill Bishop stumbled on this worrisome trend when he was doing research on an unrelated topic. That means that we’re increasingly finding ourselves in the company of people who think just like we do. Inside these likeminded tribes, we find our views amplified and no counterbalance to help us understand what our “side” might be failing to see. The result? Likeminded groups grow more extreme in the direction of the majority view. Uh oh. Faciliating the conversation is Steve Seibert, formerly of Collins Center and Florida Humanities. Joining the conversation is Governor Jeb Bush's former Chief of Staff Sally Bradshaw, and former Florida Representative Loranne Ausley. Find the event online here. Find The Village Square online here.  The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

In this episode of SquareCast Village Square Founder & CEO Liz Joyner let Village SquareCast Corey Nathan talk her into being the guest in an episode. It’s hard to get away from the doom scroll that typifies our life and times right now — we’re clobbered with toxic sludge when we turn on the  news, catch up with friends on social media or just try to live life without someone forcing us to choose whether we’re one of “us” or one of “them.” The signs of our difficulties are all around us and it’s hard to underestimate its weight on our being. In this episode of Village SquareCast we’ll chat with founder Liz Joyner about the unique journey of two decades seeking to (in the words of one of Liz’s heroes, Patricia Nelson Limerick) “let friendship redeem the republic.” We’ll travel from Washington, D.C. to Tallahassee, Florida in this epic tale of tilting at some serious windmills — while endeavoring to keep laughing. Find The Village Square online here.  The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

In this episode of SquareCast we're joined by the extraordinary Rachel Brown, the Founder of Over Zero—named in reference to the “zero sum game” that exists in sporting events, but becomes dangerous when it overtakes a society, as it has ours. Over Zero was founded to prevent identity-based violence and other forms of group-targeted harm around the world—and here at home. Rachel is one of the wisest, steadiest voices of our time in guiding us away from dangerous (but human) reactions, and toward calmer times. The program is facilitated by Dr. Theodore R. Johnson, previous UNUM guest and author of the book “When The Stars Begin to Fall.”  Find the program online at The Village Square here. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

In this age of deep and growing civic divisions, perhaps it's time to revise the comic strip Pogo's iteration of U.S. Navy Master Commandant Oliver Perry's quote from the War of 1812: "We have met the enemy and it is us." From our special Dinner at the Square guest Stephen Kiernan's masterpiece book Authentic Patriotism: “The problems America faces are not going to be solved by either political party, nor are they exclusively the fault of any political party. I am reminded of the line in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet: “A plague on both your houses.” In a democracy politics are merely the manifestation of the people’s will; if Congress is weak, it is because the public’s leadership of politicians has been insufficient.” This throwback episode is part of The Village Square's return to some of the most basic, inspiring and effective ideas we've heard through our years about how to actually fix what ails us, leading up to the launch of our Flying Pig Academy, where we'll teach our model of returning to civic health. Stay tuned. We think it will inspire you. (You can also watch this program here.) The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

Americans are sad and lonely, and we don’t feel like we belong. With depression and “deaths of despair” on the rise, over half of us say that no one knows us well—a truly alarming statistic that doesn’t bode well for our future. As if matters weren’t bad enough, we’re not just sad and alone—we’re becoming more mean to each other, and it’s likely part of the same cycle of pain. With fewer human connections in our lives, more of us seek belonging in our venally angry civic life, so this crisis of belonging also fuels extremism for which violence is increasingly a downstream outcome. What if, at its core, the loneliness, bitterness, and anger is a failure of our society’s moral compass?  We asked The God Squad to read David Brooks' Atlantic piece “How America Got Mean” before this conversation, but whether you've had a chance to read it or not, you're going to be inspired by this conversation. Meet the God Squad, the brains behind our series “God Squad: Improbable conversations for people of faith and no faith at all (because talking politics wasn’t hard enough). Joining us for this edition of God Squad:  Joining us for this God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Dr. Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church, Rev. Betsy Ouellette-Zierden, Joseph Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky of Temple Israel. The Reverend Dr. Latricia Scriven of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church facilitates the conversation. Find bios for our participants and a full program description online here. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.

With our culture wars at a full rolling boil, apparently all it takes to send our enmity over the edge is…a good old-fashioned country song?? The furor over Jason Aldean’s “Try That in A Small Town” (and then there’s Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond”) is reminiscent of the old furor over The Dixie Chicks—only the “sides” have switched up.  As The Village Square embarks on a pluralism project to build a hometown where everyone belongs, it’s possible that “round here we take care of our own” is a value we should all seek to restore to American civic life, but does it really need to come with all the guns? We’ll bring The God Squad into this musical fracas (they dove right into this one in our planning meeting), so that they can do their usual thing and go high instead of the usual low. Can we find a place where perhaps we can tolerate each other and just SING? (Dolly Parton has something to say on that front…) Check out the “Try That In A Small Town” lyrics. And the lyrics to “Rich Men North of Richmond” are here. Joining us for this God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Josh Hall of First Baptist Church, Joseph Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, and Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky of Temple Israel. Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel will be facilitating. Meet the God Squad, the brains behind our series “God Squad: Improbable conversations for people of faith and no faith at all (because talking politics wasn’t hard enough). Joining us for this edition of God Squad:  Find bios for our participants and a full program description online here. The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

At the core of the deep societal divisions we navigate every day is an assumption that we share little with “those people” with whom we share a country—a belief that leaves us on dangerous ground as a nation. But author and entrepreneur Dr. Todd Rose says we’ve got that all wrong. According to Dr. Rose, not only do we agree more often than we think but we’re making terrible assumptions about what the people on our own side of the aisle think—then acting on those incorrect assumptions in a way that accelerates the divisions. Born of our highly social nature and hardwiring in our DNA, we so desperately want to protect our status and reputation inside our groups so we conform with what we think our group thinks—finding ourselves inside a “collective illusion” that is not only destabilizing society, it’s making us personally miserable. Dr. Rose offers his compelling and revelatory insights about human forces that are far too easily ignored in his most recent book: “Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions.” We think his work is just so important that we’re delighted to bring him to Tallahassee to meet you (and we’ll be hosting book clubs to dive into “Collective Illusions” through the year). We don’t think you’ll ever see the world quite the same way again (trust us, that’ll be a good thing). Learn more about Dr. Rose below. Pick up a copy of Collective Illusions (you'll thank us) at our partner bookseller Midtown (wherever you live). — The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

“Our national myths often exaggerate the role of the individual heroes and understate the importance of collective effort. —Robert Putnam This is when you meet a living legend and get the benefit of his thinking on the topic he’s been brilliantly, prophetically right about for more than three decades: the deterioration of our connectedness with each other across almost every demographic and every aspect of our lives—our loss of social capital.  And yet here we are, painfully and tragically paying the price for our failure to put our shoulders to this wheel when it was (almost eerily) knowable when Dr. Robert Putnam first articulated the societal trend in his iconic book “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of America Community” (we’ve just re-read it, and we’re still not sure he’s not secretly a time-traveler).  Joined by Shaylyn Romney Garrett, his co-author on “The Upswing: How America Came Together A Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again,” they’re beseeching us to do it now (and we’re doing just that, until the end of 2024). Bonus: they’re showing us that what we need to do is actually fun, fills our souls—and might just save our country. Learn more about Dr. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett in the full program description online here. Pick up a copy of The Upswing and Bowling Alone (you'll thank us) at our partner bookseller Midtown (wherever you live). Please also take a moment to watch the trailer of "Join or Die: A film about why you should join a club - and why the fate of America depends on it," produced and directed by Rebecca Davis and Pete Davis.  Note that in the discussion Dr. Putnam references a chart in the discussion - you can find the two-slide chart here (the first is the imaginary picture we have in our minds about how race in America changed and is not correct; the second is correct).   — The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it. Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.