Outrage Science Bites

Day 30 —the final episode of our 30-day journey into bridging our divides . Over the last month, we’ve explored everything from navigating disinformation and polarization to building trust and transforming how we relate to one another. We’ve covered big challenges — and big ideas. And today, we’re closing out with something vital: practical exercises . We’re joined once again by Guy and Heidi Burg...

Day 29 of our 30-day challenge, bringing us near the conclusion of our deep dive into bridging our divides . We’ve talked a lot about connection, listening, and disagreement—but there’s a subtle distinction that can make or break your efforts: the difference between dialogue and discourse . In the context of bridging, these words aren’t interchangeable. Dialogue is a cooperative exchange aimed at...

Day 28 of our 30-day challenge, continuing our deep dive into bridging our divides . As we approach the end of this journey, we’re shifting to one of the most action-oriented challenges in the bridging movement: It’s hard to strengthen community when people rarely come together. Neighborhood gathering spots — from local diners to civic clubs — have been fading. Meanwhile, more of our lives have mo...

Day 27 of our 30-day challenge, continuing our deep dive into bridging our divides . Earlier in the series — on Day 9 — we explored how disinformation fuels division with Kamy Akhavan. Today, we’re returning to that same challenge from a new angle. Because sometimes, trying to correct someone’s “facts” can feel like you’re criticizing them — their judgment, their community, even their identity. An...

Day 26 of our 30-day challenge exploring how to bridge our divides . For the past few weeks, we’ve featured deep, thoughtful answers to big questions from the Bridging Movement Summit — the real questions people across the country are wrestling with. Today, we’re mixing it up. ⚡️🎧 We invited Lisa Swallow — co-founder of Crossing Party Lines and author of Yes, You CAN Talk Politics — to give us R...

Day 25 of our 30-day challenge on bridging our divides . Throughout this series, we’ve explored everything from misinformation to emotional regulation to respectful disagreement. We’ve heard from experts on how to talk across political divides and how to shift from debate to deep listening. But with only a few days left in our challenge, it’s time to return to a fundamental question — one that so...

Day 24 of our 30-day challenge on bridging our divides . Earlier in this series, on Day 6 and Day 12, we explored a critical question: How do we create an environment for constructive debate — without expecting people to soften their positions? Today, we’re diving deeper with a fresh perspective. The truth is: the key isn’t what we believe, but how we show up to the conversation . When the goal sh...

Day 23 of our 30-day challenge, continuing our focus on bridging our divides . We’ve talked a lot about the problem of social media — the outrage-driven algorithms, the business model built on engagement, and how quickly online debates can escalate into hostility. Most of us only ever encounter this system at a personal level: one comment thread, one argument, one post at a time. But here’s the ch...

Day 22 of our 30-day challenge, continuing our deep exploration into bridging our divides . Over the past three weeks, we’ve unpacked the fundamentals of dialogue —how to really listen,how to disagree without dehumanizing,and how to face tough conversations with curiosity instead of combat. But once the chairs are folded and the workshop ends, a big question hangs in the air: “Okay, I talked to th...

Day 21 of our 30-day challenge, continuing our deep dive into bridging our divides . Throughout this series, we’ve heard from bridge-builders, psychologists, and civic leaders — people who spend every day thinking about how to bring us back together. But today, we’re stepping outside the inner circle of the bridging movement. Because if bridging is going to work, it can’t be just insiders talking...

Day 20 of our 30-day challenge, where we’re answering the most urgent questions about bridging our divides — gathered from people across the country at the Bridging Movement Summit. We’ve talked a lot about the forces pushing us apart — outrage media, polarization, power dynamics. But today, we’re zeroing in on a hidden driver that often goes unnoticed: Our assumptions about each other. Research s...

Day 19 of our 30-day NaPodPoMo challenge exploring how we bridge our divides . As we enter the final stretch of this month-long journey, we’re focusing on the questions that are shaping the future of the bridging movement — the questions real people are asking as they look for ways to reconnect in an age of division. Today we’re joined by Tim Jones , founder of Longer Tables , an initiative that b...

Day 17 of our 30-day challenge exploring what it really takes to bridge our divides. In this episode, we explore a promising shift in how we navigate conflict and polarization: the great reframing . After spending more than two weeks unpacking the incentives driving outrage—misinformation, media dynamics, and our increasingly tribal political landscape—today we turn toward solutions. The great ref...

Day 17 of our 30-day challenge exploring what it really takes to bridge our divides . Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve dug into some of the toughest barriers to connection—disinformation, power imbalances, high-stakes conversations, and what it means to be part of a shared civic community. But running underneath so many of these challenges is one force shaping our worldview every single day: S...

Day 16 of our 30-day challenge on bridging our divides. For the first half of this series, we’ve been answering your questions about how we come together across differences — tackling topics like moving from talk to action, handling disinformation, navigating high-stakes conversations, and dealing with power imbalances. Across all these conversations, one theme keeps resurfacing: our relationship...

Day 15 of our 30-day challenge. We’ve reached the halfway point in our deep dive into bridging divides — and today, we’re taking a short pause to reset, reflect, and reconnect. To help me do that, I’ve invited a very special guest: my wife and co-host , Lisa , the real star of our weekly show This Week in Outrage . Lisa joins me for a candid mid-challenge conversation about what it’s like living w...

Day 14 of our 30-day challenge—our ongoing exploration into the science and practice of bridging divides. On Day 11, we spoke with Kira Hamman about one of the toughest challenges in bridging— how to build long bridges across vast differences in social, political, or economic power. Today, we revisit that essential question from another perspective. How do you account for differential power dynami...

Day 13 of our 30-day challenge exploring how we bridge our divides. So far, we’ve talked about what bridging is, how to move from talk to action, and how to handle disinformation. Today, we’re taking that one step further — looking at a deeper, more stubborn challenge: conspiratorial thinking . When someone embraces a conspiracy theory, it’s rarely just about facts. It’s about trust, belonging, an...

Day 12 of our 30-day challenge exploring what it really takes to bridge our divides. Throughout this series, we’ve talked about how to disagree without being disagreeable and how to turn talk into action. On Day 6, we asked whether productive debate requires people to become more moderate. Today, we’re revisiting that question through another lens — because not every disagreement is solved by comp...

Day 11 of our 30-day challenge, as we continue our deep dive into the complex world of bridging divides. So far, we’ve talked about the fundamentals of bridging—how to move from conversation to action and how to address disinformation. But one of the biggest challenges remains: what happens when the two sides don’t come to the table with equal power? When bridging divides between groups with vastl...

Day 10 of our 30-day NaPodPoMo challenge. Hard to believe we’re already a third of the way through our exploration of bridging our divides. So far, we’ve talked about what bridging means, how to move from talk to action, and how to navigate disagreements and disinformation. But most of our bridging conversations still assume the problem is red versus blue. Here’s the thing: America’s political lan...

Day nine of our 30-day NaPodPoMo challenge, exploring how we bridge our divides. We’ve talked about everything from what bridging is to how to stay grounded when conversations feel unsafe. But there’s another major obstacle we all face: disinformation . When someone believes something false, and you challenge it, they often don’t hear it as a disagreement about facts — they hear it as a personal a...

Day eight of our 30-episode NaPodPoMo challenge exploring how we bridge divides. Some divides aren’t just uncomfortable — they feel personal . When someone’s beliefs seem to threaten your safety, identity, or livelihood, it’s not just hard to talk — it can feel impossible. That’s the question we’re exploring today: How can we bridge divides when another’s beliefs feel like a direct threat to your...

Day seven of our 30-day NaPodPoMo journey exploring how we bridge divides. Earlier in this series, we heard from Carissa Raskin of Listen First about moving bridging work from talk to action . Today, we’re revisiting that same challenge — but through a new lens. This time, we hear from Kira Hamman of Urban Rural Action , an organization that connects people across geographic, cultural, and politic...

Day six of our NaPodPoMo challenge — 30 episodes in 30 days on bridging our divides. So far, we’ve talked about what bridging is, where it happens, and how to move from talk to action. But today, we’re taking on a tougher question:Can we have real, honest debate without everyone having to move to the middle? Do we need to be more moderate to get along — or can people with strong convictions still...