How does intellectual humility matter in journalism, conversations about race, religion and politics? In this special episode of the Braver Angels Podcast sponsored by the Greater Good Science Center John Wood Jr. leads a conversation with founder of the Flipside Annafi Wahed, former CIA intelligence analyst Jessie Mannisto, and Braver Angels CMO Ciaran O’Connor. Read “The Incorrigible Questioner and the Search for Spiritual Belonging” by Jessie Mannisto: https://www.thirdfactor.org/questioner-a...
Dec 20, 2023•57 min•Ep. 173
Braver Angels has a new podcast – “A Braver Way” hosted by Braver Angels Senior Fellow for Public Practice Mónica Guzmán. Monica explains how the podcast came to be, and why there is such a need for a podcast like this to help show everyday Americans HOW they can bridge divides in their own lives. Whether you’re Red, Blue, or something entirely different, “A Braver Way” will help you hear and be heard by people who confound you. Subscribe to A Braver Way wherever you get your podcasts. Learn Mor...
Oct 10, 2023•33 min
Braver Angels national ambassador John Wood Jr. has launched a new podcast with the goal of uniting Americans. But episode one hit a splash of controversy after remarks from guest Sam Harris spread across the internet, provoking criticism from Elon Musk, Ben Shapiro and others. John explains the controversy and shares the mission of Uniting America with John Wood Jr. Subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. YouTube link: https://youtube.com/@unitingamericawithjohnwoodjr Twitter, ...
Jan 22, 2023•30 min•Ep. 171
Aziz Abu Sarah started Mejdi Tours to create a new kind of experience for travelers within conflict zones. Their trips, through places like Israel and the Palestinian territories, Northern Ireland, Colombia and the Baltics, present multiple perspectives on each site they visit, building ties with local communities and creating lasting friendships. Aziz joins Braver Angels leader Randy Lioz for a conversation about his work and his life story that brought him to the world of peace building, as th...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 170
Seriously: what's going on with Elon Musk? And what happens when "free speech absolutism" runs up against the realities of running the nation's defacto digital public square? How has Joe Biden performed in his first two years in office? And what can Americans expect from Braver Angels in 2023? In the final episode of the year, Ciaran O'Connor convenes fellow Braver Angels leaders John Wood, Jr., Monica Guzman, April Kornfield, and Gabbi Timmis for a freewheeling roundtable discussion. See you in...
Dec 20, 2022•52 min•Ep. 169
“The struggle between ‘for’ and ‘against’ is the mind’s worst disease.” In this episode of the Braver Angels Podcast, we brought some of the big, hairy questions that challenge political bridge building to one of the most outspoken voices in social psychology — NYU professor and best-selling author Jonathan Haidt. Can we ever really claw our way out of tribalism? What would it take to fix the structures that warp our thinking? And what does this leading scholar of morality make of the popular no...
Nov 22, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 168
Paul Norris, who helps lead Braver Angels' Red Caucus, convenes an all-red panel to discuss what liberals, academia, and the mainstream media miss about conservatives. Featuring Mark Reinecke, Elizabeth Doll, and Barbara Farmer.
Nov 14, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 167
Monica Guzman is Braver Angels' Senior Fellow for Public Practice and the author of the best-selling book "I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times." Over the past few months, Monica's been traveling the country to lead curious conversations inspired by the themes of her book. Here she joins Braver Angels CMO Ciaran O'Connor to discuss what she's learned about the state of our nation's divisions, how different audiences engage brid...
Oct 26, 2022•43 min•Ep. 166
Braver Angels leaders John Wood, Jr. (red) and Ciaran O'Connor (blue) come together for a wide-ranging debate on the most critical issues animating the 2022 midterm elections, including the economy, abortion, and the future of American democracy. Throughout the discussion, John and Ciaran demonstrate how to embrace humility in the pursuit of deeper truth.
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 165
Barbara Walter is a political scientist and professor at the University of California San Diego who specializes in studying civil wars. Here she joins Braver Angels CMO Ciaran O'Connor for a wide-ranging conversation on the current state of political violence in the United States, what America can learn from civil conflicts in other countries, and how we, together as citizens, can take a stand for peace.
Sep 20, 2022•54 min•Ep. 164
This week we put a Biden supporter in the hot seat. Wilk Wilkinson, a conservative Republican, interviews Jordan Carmon, a staunch Biden supporter, on everything from Hunter Biden to January 6th — showing us what's possible when we bring good faith to our richest, most passionate disagreements. Send us your feedback at media@braverangels.org .
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 163
From Braver Seders to the Catholic belief that we need not fear the truth, three Braver Angels leaders talk about how their respective religious traditions inspire their bridge-building work. They explore the spiritual side of Braver Angels, and how we can learn from the insights of each particular tradition. FB (@randy.lioz) and Twitter (@randylioz)
Aug 29, 2022•49 min•Ep. 162
Braver Angels CMO Ciaran O'Connor is a progressive Democrat who previously worked for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Wilk Wilkinson is a Trump supporter who helps lead Braver Angels' efforts to engage working class Americans. In this episode of the podcast, Ciaran and Wilk come together to discuss the investigations into former President Trump's conduct, why conservatives are so angry about the FBI's raid of his residence at Mar-a-Lago, and what the "rule of law" means in a country this polar...
Aug 23, 2022•45 min•Ep. 161
April Lawson Kornfield interviews Annette Ritter about what it means to be working class in America, how she sees regular people engaging politics, and how her own journey through trauma and addiction led her to become an addiction recovery counselor. Annette shares openly and with great insight about what it will take to bring people—all people—together to bridge the divide. Annette is an addictions counselor trainee, a graduate of Maryland’s Allegheny College, and a We the People's Project lea...
Jul 25, 2022•53 min•Ep. 160
At a time of deepening polarization and social division, it's easy to become discouraged, disillusioned, and depressed. In this special roundtable episode, Braver Angels leaders Ciaran O'Connor, John Wood Jr., April Lawson Kornfield, and Monica Guzman come together to discuss how they keep the faith in our work and in each other. The group also discusses the recent abortion decision by the Supreme Court and what it means for Braver Angels' efforts to bridge the divide. Help us build a house unit...
Jul 18, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 159
As the U.S. Congress and the Supreme Court weigh in on gun rights and gun safety, Americans remain bitterly divided on the right to bear arms. Is it possible to bridge this divide on the level of shared values? What can we learn from one another’s lived experiences that influence our thoughts and feelings about deadly weapons? What are the tradeoffs between gun rights and public health, and how do we navigate them as fellow Americans? Ciaran O'Connor convenes Mark Beckwith, a longtime gun safety...
Jul 05, 2022•50 min•Ep. 158
Monica Guzmán and Daniel Acosta-Rivas share intimate stories about growing up in their respective Hispanic contexts and the diversity of the Hispanic world. They offer riveting insights on why the Hispanic community is underrepresented in organizations like Braver Angels and why Venezuela’s population may, shockingly, be less divided than America’s, illustrating the unique power of its approach to bridge-building. Daniel, originally from Venezuela, currently lives in Washington, D.C. and works f...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 157
Manu Meel and the students of the cross-partisan campus group BridgeUSA are the vanguard of the civic bridge-building movement nationwide. What characterizes the 20-year-olds who are working across the divide to save American democracy, and what is the theory of change that defines the bridging/depolarization movement writ large? Does this work imply a centrism in defense of the status quo? Or is it an effort to establish a new type of political "center" that's not about political ideology at al...
Jun 15, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 155
In the year that followed the first Braver Angels workshop in December 2016, Braver Angels went from an experiment with a handful of citizens in small-town Ohio to a growing national movement. In this second part of “How Braver Angels Began,” the co-founders of Braver Angels (David Blankenhorn, Bill Doherty, and David Lapp) narrate how Braver Angels found itself on a three-week bus tour, navigating flag controversies, and following the lead of citizens everywhere in building what is now the nati...
Jun 06, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 155
April Lawson Kornfield hosts two thoughtful young people—Zoomers, as they're sometimes called—for a conversation about depolarization, campus culture, and what it would take to bring more youth into the bridge-building movement. Isaac Humrich is a rising sophomore at Arizona State University and the incoming president of the Arizona State College Republicans. Ope Tukuru, a recent graduate of the University at Albany, just finished his internship with the media team at Braver Angels. The guests o...
May 23, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 154
Will Donald Trump run again in 2024? How will the recent leak of a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade affect the 2022 midterm elections? How can Democrats and Republicans address the divides within their own parties? Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Lincoln Project Co-Founder Rick Wilson join Ciaran O'Connor for a wide-ranging discussion—previously recorded as part of the Crosscut Festival—on the state of the national political landscape. Twitter: @braverang...
May 16, 2022•44 min•Ep. 153
U.S. Senate candidate Steven Olikara has already had an impact on American democracy. He’s the founder of the Millennial Action Project, a nonprofit that works with young policymakers on both a national and state level to bridge the partisan divide and spur collaborative legislation. But is that the type of attitude that can get you elected to Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seat in today's divided America? In this first-ever candidate interview on The Braver Angels Podcast, Steven Olikara gives us the ...
May 02, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 152
Braver Politics is here to fix our broken politics. In this episode, Braver Angels CMO Ciaran O'Connor introduces our new initiative to engage politicians across the United States and transform the incentives that drive division. Then, Ciaran chats with Mark Beckwith, a Braver Angels leader and the former bishop of Newark, New Jersey, about his new book—Seeing the Unseen—and what religion can teach us about bridging the political divide. Learn more about Mark’s book: https://amzn.to/3Lw1GwZ Twit...
Apr 26, 2022•59 min•Ep. 151
Four Reds with different views of President Trump debate how conservatives should think about the former president, his legacy, his current behavior (including on January 6), and his possible run in 2024. The conversation expands into the future of conservatism, Ukraine, and what it means to be a Red in the 21st century, highlighting both the alignments and the divergences in contemporary Red thought. Steve Saltwick, co-founder of Braver Angels of Central Texas, is a bio-psychologist who studies...
Apr 19, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 150
Rep. Becky Carney is a Democrat representing Mecklenburg County in the highly polarized North Carolina General Assembly. Rep. John Torbett is a Republican representing Gaston County. Together, they lead the House Transportation Committee. In this episode of the podcast, the legislators join Braver Angels CMO Ciaran O'Connor to discuss what's possible when two politicians who disagree on policy find ways to work together in a spirit of trust, citizenship, and goodwill. Twitter: @braverangels , @c...
Apr 08, 2022•50 min•Ep. 149
Coleman Hughes has made a name for himself as a public commentator. A contributor at City Journal, Quillette, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times among others, he’s been celebrated for his sober analysis of American race relations. He’s also… a rapper. Today, he joins Braver Angels music ambassador Alma Cook to talk about his artistic past, present, and future. Learn where the inspiration for his new “ Blasphemy ” music video came from, how a youth drum corps eventually led him to Ju...
Apr 02, 2022•56 min•Ep. 148
Since the advent of film, the racial dynamics of American life have been reflected, or perhaps distorted, by a movie and entertainment industry whose impact on racial issues has been more complex than many realize. Joy Donnell, cofounder of the Center for Intersectional Media and Entertainment (CIME), joins BA National Ambassador John Wood Jr. to explore Hollywood’s legacy—a legacy she believes is fraught with troubling implications for racism and black America, both historically and in the pres...
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr•Ep. 147
We think we have the answers. But what happens when we start asking more questions? In her new book, I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, Braver Angels' director of storytelling Mónica Guzmán explains how and why we should get more curious—and how it might just hold the key to bridging our political divide. To learn more about Mónica’s work and buy her new book, visit www.moniguzman.com . Twitter: @braverangels , @ciaranjoconn...
Mar 18, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 146
From the mid 1980's to the early 1990's, the United States of America was ravaged by the violence and destruction associated with the crack cocaine trade and epidemic. But more than anyone, inner-city African American communities felt the pain, setting the stage for mass incarceration and the social conflicts that rest in the background of our modern controversies over race and policing. In this episode, once drug dealer and contemporary community advocate Lorenzo Murphy takes us into his former...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 145
Annette Ritter is a school-of-hard-knocks grandma and community college student from rural Little Orleans, Maryland. Len Breslow is a retired cognitive psychologist from suburban Chevy Chase, Maryland. Annette used to couch-hop on the poor side of Berkeley, California; Len got a graduate degree there. In this We the People’s Forum, a Braver Angels event where everyday Americans get time at the podium, Annette and Len tackle the thorny issue of class. They address their experiences of social clas...
Mar 04, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 144
