Derate The Hate

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Many Americans now feeling we’re too divided to agree on anything. Rich Harwood disagrees — and he has the stories to back it up. In this episode, Rich returns to DTH to talk about the new moral vision he sees emerging across the country: a shared yearning for decency, dignity, and the belief that we can still come toget...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Corey Nathan, host of "Talkin' Politics and Religion Without Killin' Each Other" joins Wilk for a conversation about what it actually takes to bridge divides, starting with one of the hardest conversations a person can have: telling your Orthodox Jewish father you've become a Christian. They dig...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Spike Cohen — 2020 Libertarian VP candidate, founder of You Are The Power — sits down with Wilk to talk about what happens when families are torn apart by a system that never had to answer to anyone. Until now. You Are The Power is a nonprofit that steps in when local government oversteps. They research cases, amplify st...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Most people have spent their entire lives being measured — by achievement, status, approval, income, influence. It feels normal because it's constant. But Regi Wilson, founder of Equal Universe and creator of the Value Identity framework, argues that this is exactly the problem. We've been running on a broken d...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Doug Teschner and Beth Malow return to Derate the Hate for a catch-up conversation following the release of their book, Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to Build Positive Relationships in Divided Times. The book has sold over a thousand copies, earned a Literary Titan Award, and is drawing audiences from...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Monica Harris returns to Derate the Hate — this time in person — to talk about FAIR's newly renamed curriculum, Many Stories, One Nation. It's a high school social studies elective that takes a different approach to teaching American history: broad, honest, chronological, and built around civil discourse. Monic...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) You've heard the Golden Rule your whole life. Jennifer Furlong says it's a great start — but it's not enough. In this episode, Wilk welcomes back communications strategist and coach Jennifer Furlong (Communication TwentyFourSeven) for a conversation that's equal parts practical and eye-opening. They d...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) What do you do when the world stares at you everywhere you go? Brandon Farbstein was born with metatropic dysplasia — one of only 84 documented cases in human history. Growing up at 3’9" in a world that pointed, stared, and laughed, he reached a breaking point at 11 years old where he just wanted to disappear. Then...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) What does it take to walk away from an ideology you were raised inside of — and then spend your career pulling others out of the same darkness? Allizandra Herberhold grew up in a racially segregated community where white supremacist ideology was woven into the fabric of everyday life. She didn't choose it. It was ha...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Can a divided nation actually agree on what children need? That's the question at the heart of this conversation. Wilk sits down with Lauren Farrow — former public school teacher, founder of SchoolingAmerica.org, and education reform advocate — for an honest, nonpartisan look at what's really happening inside t...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In Episode 304 of Derate The Hate, Wilk sits down with Mubin Shaikh — a former extremist who deradicalized after 9/11 and went on to work undercover against terrorism. Born and raised in Toronto, Mubin experienced an identity crisis that led him toward violent Islamist extremism as a young man. But marriage, fatherhood,...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In Episode 303 of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson sits down with poet and author April Ossmann to explore how poetry can become a powerful tool for bridging America’s political divide. April is the author of We: Poems (Red Hen Press, 2025), a collection devoted to healing polarization through empathy, metaphor, and shar...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In this episode of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson sits down with award-winning filmmaker Michael Premo to discuss Homegrown , his powerful documentary exploring the motivations behind individuals drawn into the Proud Boys movement in the years leading up to January 6. Rather than reducing people to stereotypes, Homegro...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In this episode of Derate The Hate , Wilk sits down with Bill Woodson , founder of Conversations Across The Aisle , to explore what local bridge building looks like in a deeply polarized moment. Bill shares the story behind launching the CATA Project , a community-based effort focused on respectful dialogue, shared human...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In this milestone 300th episode of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson is joined by Maury Giles , CEO of Braver Angels , for a wide-ranging conversation on toxic polarization, trust, and the responsibility of citizens in a divided America. Maury shares his journey from a 35-year corporate career into full-time civic engagem...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In Episode 299 of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson sits down with peacebuilder, author, and professor Chip Hauss to explore what it really takes to bridge divides in a polarized world. Chip shares insights from his decades of work in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, including why addressing root causes matters more...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In a culture shaped by outrage, many people choose silence—not because they agree, but because speaking feels too risky. In this episode of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson is joined by journalist and author Katherine Brodsky to discuss cancel culture, self-censorship, and the growing consequences of letting loud, unreas...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In Episode 297 of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson sits down with Tom Fishman—media executive, bridge-builder, and advisor to the ProHuman Foundation—for a wide-ranging conversation on how depolarization can scale. From the failures of outrage-driven media to the need for a powerful “air game” in the bridging movement, t...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In Episode 296 of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson is joined by Malka Kopell and Palma Joy Strand , co-founders of Civity , for a deeply human conversation about rebuilding trust, strengthening communities, and rediscovering our civic muscle. At a time when institutional trust is declining and polarization feels overwhel...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Why does outrage feel powerful — yet leave conversations broken in its wake? In Episode 295 of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson is joined by world-class speaking coach and author Robert Begley to explore why empathy-rooted rhetoric is far more effective than outrage-driven communication. Together, they unpack how convers...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) In Episode 294 of Derate The Hate , Wilk Wilkinson is joined by author and speaker,  Julie Lavender Le Doux for a powerful conversation about performance anxiety, childhood experiences, fear, shame, and personal growth. Julie shares how early experiences shaped her fear of being seen, how anxiety spread into multiple are...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Episode 293 with guest Nathan Stock In this episode, Wilk sits down with international conflict-resolution specialist Nathan Stock , a man with more than 20 years of experience working to reduce violence and strengthen democracy around the world. Nathan shares how his journey began as an English teacher in Gaza during th...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Episode 292 — Correcting Misperceptions with James Coan of More Like US  Misunderstanding each other is fueling a level of toxic polarization that’s tearing at our civic and social fabric. In this episode, Wilk is joined by James Coan , Co-Founder and Executive Director of More Like US , an organization that helps Americ...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Episode 291 – Featuring Joni Bryan of The 917 Society In this episode, Wilk sits down with Joni Bryan , Founder & Executive Director of The 917 Society , an organization dedicated to inspiring the next generation with a personal connection to the U.S. Constitution. Joni shares how a simple question — “Have you ever r...

Send Wilk a text with your feedback! (incoming msgs only - I can't reply) Bridge Grades & the Fight Against Toxic Polarization This week, Wilk is joined by Brad Porteus, founder of BridgeGrades.org , to discuss the pervasive issue of toxic political polarization and identity politics in America. Brad shares his experience of returning to the U.S. after 14 years abroad, seeing a "stark...