A Braver Way

“You could be wrong.” It’s a phrase that greets students in Bill Jordan’s high school classroom, and poses a challenge to everyone with a political opinion these days: Since no one is right about everything , how do you stay open to shifting your own beliefs? Bill opens up about his own journey, then we hear from listeners who tell us how they’ve changed their minds on some tough issues, like gay...

Whether it was about foreign policy, the economy, or the best route to the grocery store, chances are you have changed your mind about something . What happens in your brain when you do, and what does that teach us about how we can change someone else’s mind on a political issue? Mónica talks with David McRaney, a leading voice on the science of persuasion, about how minds change — or don’t! — and...

Say hello to David Kaufman, a conservative from South Carolina who’s made a serious habit of talking politics with liberals — with both sides learning loads as a result. Then join us in celebrating some of the people in YOUR lives who make tough disagreements worth having.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Free speech - Free people - Free food. That was a tagline for a cross-partisan discussion forum Sam Rechek started as a freshman at the University of South Florida. In this episode, Sam shares what he learned from those tough weekly conversations, like the importance of humor and humility, and making sure every student on campus can be heard, no matter their politics or their discussion persona. T...

Political violence and heightened rhetoric has turned up the intensity of an already tumultuous election season, adding to the fears and uncertainty on both the Left and the Right. Is there a way to stay grounded through this moment? We are joined by Dr. Bill Doherty, a “citizen therapist” who offers insight to help understand not just our own fear, but the fears held by the other side, and shares...

Is it the facts that get in the way in our politics, or our stories? Baratunde Thurston is a renowned comedian, activist, and PBS host who knows a lot about how the stories we tell about ourselves can either unlock our civic power... or make us forget we even have it. We’ll zoom in on two unforgettable times Baratunde crossed big divides and what those clashes can teach us, and we’ll hear his four...

A Braver Way was in Kenosha, Wisconsin, when hundreds of liberals and conservatives experienced the most polarizing event of the election season… together. Organizers prepared for the worst. What actually happened changed the game for everyone.  Submit a question: If you’ve found yourself mulling on a concern or reflection as you’ve listened, turn it into a question and share it with us in a quick...

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were our nation’s first fierce partisan political rivals. What lessons can the famously long-winded hothead and his calculating, duplicitous political opponent offer our political brawls today? Historian Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky explains, and then we reflect: What makes some clashes more productive than others? And with passionate disagreement baked into our s...

After a week that saw big news in the presidential race, we hear from many of you — our listeners from all across the political spectrum — about what you are wrestling with as we approach the 2024 election. What concerns come to the very top for Reds, Blues, independents, and everyone else? And what questions do you wish your fellow Americans would not just reflect on, but act on? Tune in for a sn...

In this special guest episode, we’re going to pass the mic to a wonderful podcast, “Kelly Corrigan Wonders,” that recently invited our very own April Lawson to disagree openly and honestly with host Kelly Corrigan about one of the toughest issues out there — abortion. Their conversation is in-depth, illuminating, and believe it or not — productive. Plus, it puts many of the tools we talk about on...

We’re back! To kick off our second season, we’re bringing you a totally radical — and totally possible — vision of what election years could look like if we approached them a little differently. First we hear from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox about how election campaigns could leave our communities better off, regardless of the results. Then Mónica reflects on Return Day, a unique election tradition in D...

Mónica is joined by four friends in bridge building to answer your toughest questions about our shared mission of connecting across the political divide. Angel Eduardo, April Lawson, Manu Meel and Wilk Wilkinson get real about the challenges, opportunities, and misconceptions about our movement - are we all just a bunch of squishy centrists that brush deep concerns under the rug? And how can we po...

In Part two of this two-part story, Dr. Francis Collins, former head of the National Institutes of Health during COVID, and Travis Tripodi, a strong conservative critic of the US COVID response Dr. Collins helped shape, attempt the impossible —  sparring on everything from vaccine mandates to natural immunity freely, fully, and without losing it.  What does their collision achieve? And what does i...

How do you talk about a monster of an issue when the two sides are so far apart? Mónica brings together two unlikely guests to find out: Dr. Francis Collins, a man who helped shape the U.S. COVID response (and was Dr. Fauci’s boss!), and Travis Tripodi, a New Hampshire resident who believes that response was deeply wrong and misguided. In Part one of this two part story, Francis and Travis describ...

Mónica welcomes David Brooks, author and New York Times columnist, to break down an essential and endangered skill  for talking politics  - hearing deeply and being deeply heard. David shares a bounty of tips and stories from throughout his career, including a public discussion where he says he failed both at understanding another person and at making sure he could be understood. Then April joins...

Mónica asks author Chris Arnade how he’s bridged one of the trickiest divides in America by going to parts of the country that others dismiss. Chris shares what he sees differently now and what both our big political “sides” are missing when they claim to fight for the working class. Then we hear from Corrie, a wife and mother who shares what the class divide looks and feels like for someone in he...

Mónica talks to Luis Mojica, a therapist who’s learned loads from his patients about how we physically react to intense political disagreement… and what we can do about it. Luis sheds light on what happens to us when we feel “triggered” by something someone says, and the two share tips and bold ideas on everything from how you can feel more secure in tough conversations to where that all-important...

Spencer Cox, the Republican governor of Utah, and Troy Williams, the activist at the head of Utah’s most active LGBTQ rights organization, don’t buy the notion that a good way to stand for the ideas on your side is to attack the people on the other. Reflecting on their sometimes contentious relationship, the two talk with Mónica about how they’ve both been able to advance their sides through hones...

In this special episode, Mónica — a liberal — joins the two people she’s argued with most — her conservative parents — for a candid conversation about one family’s struggles with a political divide that cuts right through their own home. Looking back on the biggest disagreements that tested their relationships, like Moni’s pro-choice stance on abortion and her parents’ votes for Donald Trump, they...

Mónica talks to two friends whose lives changed in profound ways when they discovered that the family of one had owned the family of the other as slaves. Exploring our racial and religious divides as well as our political ones, their conversation takes on tough questions about how we honor past and future in our shared story, and the role repentance and forgiveness can play in relationships burden...

Mónica talks to historian Ron C. White to find out how our nation’s most renowned bridge builder disagreed fully and freely with those around him while leading the nation through the Civil War. Taking a closer look at private notes Lincoln wrote to himself, the two explore everything from how to approach deep moral disagreements to what to do with your anger with the injustice you see. *** A Brave...

Done with the divisiveness in our politics and ready to do something about it? Host Monica Guzman is joined by guests from across the political spectrum to unearth tools, insights, and messy real life stories that can guide you over the divide in your everyday life. So whether you’re Red, Blue, or something entirely different, “A Braver Way” will help you hear and be heard by people who confound y...