How Do We Fix It?

Writer, depolarization activist, and former human rights attorney, Erica Etelson, is a committed liberal who works with fellow leftists on how to communicate more effectively with moderates and conservatives across lines of difference. As we hear in this lively and revealing episode, some of her strongest criticisms about style and strategy are aimed at her own side.We explore what Erica Etelson learned from Braver Angels members and others about how to listen respectfully and passionately across deep political divides without understating or downplaying one's beliefs and ideas. She believes that when liberals ridicule or shame those who they disagree with they lose votes and support for their cause.Her book is “Beyond Contempt: How Liberals Can Communicate Across The Great Divide”. As co-founder and Board President of The Rural Urban Bridge Initiative, Erica develops strategies to build trust and open hearts and minds in unexpected ways.“What we want ultimately is better representation of rural people, and better governance, which means having more competitive elections in rural places,” she says. “What we have right now is one party that takes the rural vote for granted, and then another party that's like given up” in many parts of the country “written off” rural voters.As she was writing her book Erica changed her mind about how to listen to Trump voters. “I think the biggest thing was I was part of the problem.” Erica had been living in a liberal bubble thinking that she could convince the other side that it was wrong. Today she says, “I don’t want to be arguing. I don’t want to be convincing. It’s exhausting. Letting go of that burden of I’m right and I have to convince people to see it my way was liberating.”Erica wrote recently that while America needs a collective commitment to shared principles such has the rule of law and free speech, the most important value is kindness. “The one thing that’s within each of our individual control is our ability to extend basic kindness and decency to each other.”Erica Etelson is one of America’s most creative thinkers about the causes and costs of polarization. A former public interest attorney, she brings knowledge of law and policy to her journalism and activism. Her articles have appeared in a range of publications, including The Nation, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, High Country News, Progressive Populist, Alternet, and Truthout. She is a frequent contributor to Substack.Host Richard Davies has enjoyed a long career as a radio journalist, podcaster and communication consultant. He spent more than four decades as an on-air Correspondent at ABC News. His Substack column is Here Hear! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lifelong educator and Braver Angels volunteer Mary Thomas-Vallens gets more hopeful about America’s political future when she’s working with teens. “I’m fired up every time I talk to them,” she tells How Do We Fix It?. “I am their biggest cheerleader.”In this episode we also hear from Braver Teens, the youngest members of the bridging movement that works to depolarize politics and work across rigid divides. “They’re showing incredible courage because they’re stepping away from the outrage”, says Mary. They’re “acting instead of silencing themselves”. Young people can also bring remarkable passion, energy, and social media savvy to campaigns and events.We discuss how members of Braver Angels can learn from teenagers, and what high school students get from working with adults. In a time of deep partisan divisions, cancel culture, and online shaming, how can 15, 16, and 17-year-olds help adults change our definition of citizenship? We hear from Jenna Freeman, Seraphine Chen, and Mia Dougherty, three of the Braver Teens who made presentations at the most recent Braver Angels National Convention. They are planning to set up a new website to help other teens set up workshops and discussion groups at their high schools.“I came into this expecting to learn about leadership and politics. I did, but I also learned that most of my assumptions about people weren’t based on experiences. They were based on distance”, says Jenna Freeman of her in-person conversations with fellow students from different political backgrounds. “Understanding people doesn’t require agreeing with them, but just being willing to know them.”Mary Thomas-Vallens is a lifelong educator with extensive experience in curriculum and staff development. She was a public school teacher for 41 years and taught graduate-level courses at Chapman and Concordia Universities. She has led workshops exploring the teacher behaviors and questions that best foster students' intrinsic motivation, critical and creative thinking, and academic and interpersonal success. Today, she co-facilitates the Moderator Forums and leads the BA Education Community Network. Mary loves engaging others through workshops and encouraging high schoolers to be "Braver Teens."Read more here: "Braver Angels really helped me see the humanity from the other side: One high schooler's journey to better political conversations", by Gabriella Kearns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2017, data analyst Wesley Warshawer was shocked by a poll that said 50% of Americans supported Donald Trump, about half lived with a gun their home, and a third believed in a literal reading of The Book of Genesis.This didn’t match the views of anyone he knew in Silicon Valley, California. What he read about our country's deep divides led him to sell his apartment in San Jose and spend 18 months living in some of the most conservative parts of America.What he found was that most people across the country, from right wing conservatives to lefty liberals live by a similar ethical code. “I was so shocked to find that we were so similar”, Wesley told us. To his surprise, the bubbles in California and in rural America turned out to be quite alike.In this episode we explore whether Americans are a lot less divided and more friendly than we’ve been told. We consider what can be learned about America when we listen and acknowledge people with different political beliefs. We also discuss this provocative question: Do Braver Angels and other groups in the bridging community have it wrong about how polarized we are?Wesley Warshawer shares moving stories about what he learned from his travels to Bismark, North Dakota, Biloxi and Clarksdale, Mississippi, and other conservative parts of America.“I always think it’s so paradoxical that the best way to learn about yourself is to meet other people. And the best way to learn about your bubble is to leave it.”Find many more of our podcasts at http://www.howdowefixit.me. We report on the people, projects, and ideas of Braver Angels and others who are working every day to bridge divides, rebuild America’s civic muscle, and make courageous citizenship the accepted norm. Most episodes are 30 minutes or less.Our guest, Wesley Warshawer, is a business analyst in Silicon Valley’s semiconductor industry, a Fulbright Scholar to South Korea, essayist, podcast host, and public speaker. He loves his work. For a living he analyzes data and communicates about it. Wesley has looked for wisdom in travel— across the world, or simply across town, meeting a new person or experiencing a new neighborhood. “Outside your comfort zone", he says, “you are a sponge to personal insight and growth.”Our host Richard Davies spent four decades as a Radio Correspondent at ABC News. Richard writes a Substack column about issues covered by “How Do We Fix It?”. His “Here Hear” posts offer frequent thoughts on listening, language, and public square. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What role does the news media play in polarizing us? How do print, radio, TV, and online journalists reinforce our views of the world rather than connecting us to all sides of an issue? Our guest is John Gable, co-founder and CEO of AllSides.com, which rates news media sites for bias, organizes citizen roundtables, and links readers every day to coverage from left, right, and center-biased media. AllSides presents major news stories from a range of perspectives. In the episode we hear how it does it and why.Over four decades our podcast host, Richard Davies, worked in network radio newsrooms as a correspondent, reporter, and newscaster. He shares his concern that the work of many journalists “does more to divide us than make people curious about new ideas including those we disagree with or simply weren’t aware of.”At its worst, news coverage can be preachy, one-sided, or contain flat out lies. As consumers, how do we navigate this? What’s the best way to find balanced and truthful news that you can trust? Every day, AllSides dot com offers a free service: balanced news from MAGA, conservative, centrist, liberal and progressive publications. “The mission at AllSides is to free people from filter bubbles, to help them understand the world and each other,” John tells us in this episode. “If you only know the facts and don’t understand each other that’s not understanding.”John Gable is co-founder and CEO of AllSides, a public benefit corporation. He often writes about news coverage, polarization, and how technology impacts the media. John believes that information integrity is needed in news, AI, businesses, schools, government, and throughout our daily lives — wherever good decisions matter.Richard writes a Substack column about “How Do We Fix It?”. His “Here Hear” posts also offer frequent thoughts on language, politics, and the public square.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here’s something many Democrats and Republicans agree on: The way we debate and discuss politics is messed up. We talk past each other instead of getting things done. Huge amounts of time and money are wasted on bickering and bravado. Neither political party has built a lasting coalition to deal with the most urgent problems of the day. In this podcast we look something local and practical: New Hampshire’s experiment in bi-partisan cooperation. Dozens of state legislators are part of the nation’s first Braver Angels-inspired cross partisan caucus where elected officials put aside political combat and learn skills of cooperation. Our guests are Democrat Patricia Higgins and Republican Doug Teschner. Patricia served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 2012 to 2018. Doug is also a former state legislator, and co-author of the recent book, “Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to Build Positive Relationships in Divided Times.”Both work with New Hampshire politicians at workshops and other events where caucus members learn how to disagree better and listen closely to the views of the other side.“It’s not easy and it has its ups and downs, but we’re excited we found people who are committed to the idea that we need to get along and have relationships,” Doug told us. “It’s not that we can’t disagree. We should disagree, but do it respectfully.”Political polarization is part of everyday life in America. Families are divided, friendships have been torn apart, public meetings can descend into shouting matches, and the work of elected officials can be stalled or disrupted when the political becomes the personal. “We know that fundamentally Americans need to learn how to talk with one another,” says Patricia Higgins. “This has to part of all the work that we do.”In this podcast we also discuss courageous citizenship, what Doug and Patricia learned as civic renewal activists, and the many challenges facing the national movement to bridge bitter partisan divides. How Do We Fix It? is a member of the Democracy Group network of podcasts and media publications. Our latest podcasts cover the people, projects and ideas of Braver Angels.Journalist Richard Davies is the host of “How Do We Fix It?” During four decades as an ABC News Radio Correspondent, Richard covered breaking news in 35 states and filed reports from more than ten nations in Europe, The Middle East and Latin America. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.