The Braver Angels Podcast

Host of Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren, and former host of Fox New's On The Record, Greta Van Susteren has been one of the most visible anchors in American political media for many years. But how did Greta's media career begin? And what did it have to do with a Toga party in 1976?   Hear Greta recap her whipsaw career in broadcast journalism, her time at Fox News, the one time Roger Aile...

Many Americans are deeply concerned about the culture of shaming and silencing that some see as becoming dominant on college campuses and increasingly in major American institutions and cities. No one has more reason to be concerned about this than Heather Heying - former professor of evolutionary biology at Evergreen State College and noted member of the "Intellectual Dark Web." But in this conve...

Bill Fry is retired Military, a Tea Party activist, and an avid Trump supporter. He's also a longtime Braver Angels leader who is co-organizing "No Ballot No Buck," a bipartisan campaign finance reform initiative in Ohio with his liberal counterpart Rob Weidenfeld. Bill talks to host Ciaran O'Connor about Braver Angels, Donald Trump, and working together to find surprising areas of convergence ami...

Carol Swain may not reflect the image some people have in mind when they think of an elite university professor. She is an African-American Christian Conservative who grew up in severe rural poverty to achieve success at the top of the academic ladder. Her story of personal accomplishment shines light on the power of perseverance in face of adversity. The values Carol pulls from her experience als...

Carlos Hernandez is a Latino Braver Angels leader from San Francisco who supports President Trump. In this episode, Carlos talks to host Ciaran O'Connor about what it's like to be a conservative in San Francisco, why he supports the President, and how he believes Braver Angels' work can build trust and understanding between those who plan to vote differently in November. This conversation is a par...

Dominique DiPrima is a former co-host of the Steve Harvey Morning Show and is the host of The Front Page with Dominique DiPrima. A "leading-edge" progressive activist, she has challenged the political status quo from the airwaves of KJLH in Los Angeles as LA's most popular Black morning show host. Kira Davis is the editor at large of Red State, a non-conforming voice who challenges Democratic orth...

The philosophy of Nonviolence guided the moral leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in a struggle for freedom and justice that inspired the world. Dr. King's philosophy birth a vision for American society that still challenges the conscience of the nation. And yet the true substance and practice of Nonviolence is largely forgotten today. How can we understand Nonviolence? How do we apply it in our...

There is a movement underway to depolarize American politics. It is a movement committed to transforming the way we interact with and think about each other as Americans. And guess what? It is bigger than just Braver Angels. John and Ciaran welcome National Conversations Project and Listen First founder Pearce Godwin, Bridge Alliance founder Debilyn Molineaux and founder of The Village Square Liz...

The Braver Angels Songwriting Contest is over! And we've emerged with three incredible winning songs. In this episode of The Braver Angels Podcast John Wood, Jr. and Sage Snider speak to Jon Baker and Donna Elaine Miller (writers of the "A United States of Humanity," performed by Donna), Thomas Prasada-Rao ("Even You") and Scott Cook ("Say Can You See") to discuss the inspiration behind and to lis...

Fashion stylist and cultural commentator Ayishat Akanbi is a uniquely refreshing voice in the social discourse of the United Kingdom. Increasingly however Ayishat's following is growing in the United States where people of widely differing background are drawing value from her empathetic and deeply perceptive approach to communicating across ethnic and political differences. Ayishat joins John Woo...

Why has America struggled so mightily to control the coronavirus compared to other countries? Is there something about American identity or culture that renders us uniquely ill suited to managing this crisis? What do we mean by "cancel culture?" And how can we promote the values of free speech while making sure marginalized voices are heard?    Ciaran O'Connor hosts a deep and candid roundtable wi...

What are the forces driving the breakdown in our media system? How do media polarization, hyperpartisanship, and disinformation threaten our values and democracy? And what can we do about it?? Ciaran O'Connor talks to the leaders of two organizations working to free people from filter bubbles so they can better understand the world, surmount the business model challenges that have driven the news...

Can gay rights activists and proponents of religious liberty build the trust and understanding needed to find common ground? Or is this divide destined to be a zero-sum fight?   Jonathan Rauch is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. He's also a gay man who helped lead the movement to legalize same-sex marriage.   Glenn Stanton is the Director of Glo...

In different ways, Joy Donnell and Maleena Lawrence are on the front lines of the cultural and political struggle against "White Supremacy." The idea of white supremacy holding sway over the dominant institutions and culture of American life strikes many Americans as outrageous whereas for many other Americans this truth is almost self-evident. But what do people actually mean by white supremacy?...

This is a conversation like few others. Bob Woodson and Hawk Newsome are among the most important voices in black America today, but their politics couldn't be any more different on the surface. Hawk Newsome is the chairman and former president of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York. Bob Woodson advised the Reagan administration, the Bush administration and is a veteran of the Civil Rights Move...

How can America move from a politics of hate to a politics of love? Ciaran O'Connor interviews Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig.

A columnist at Quillette Magazine, a contributor to Citi Journal and a person who has testified before the House of Representatives on the subject of reparations, Coleman Hughes is a writer and public commentator who has been celebrated for his sober analysis of issues relating to race in America. He joins John Wood, Jr. to talk about the statistics illustrating the nuanced reality of police viole...

Tara Isabella Burton, one of the most interesting rising commentators on religion (broadly-defined!) in the American public square, joins April Lawson and Luke Nathan Phillips on the Braver Angels Podcast to discuss her new book,  Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World.  Why do Americans in a secularizing age seem to find spiritual fulfillment in corners as dark and strange as Bronze Age...

Braver Angels leaders John Wood, Jr. and April Lawson are joined by author, social psychologist and Braver Angels board member Jonathan Haidt to discuss the historical and psychological paths by which the United States has found itself looking over the cliff of chaotic social divisions – and wrestle with how we forge a positive path into the future.

Political commentator and author Sally Kohn returns to the Braver Angels Podcast to talk about her personal path to social justice advocacy, her empathy for conservative America and the battle to be aware of our own prejudices. 

What does "defund the police" really mean? How can media outlets balance concerns about social justice and free speech? And how can America come together amidst upheaval? Ciaran O'Connor, John Wood, Jr., April Lawson, and Monica Guzman discuss on the latest edition of the Braver Angels Podcast.

Bridget Phetasy is a writer, actress and comedian whose Twitter feed has emerged as an unlikely refuge for political misfits across the spectrum. Formerly a columnist for Playboy, a contributor to publications including The Federalist and a guest on podcasts including The Joe Rogan Experience and The Rubin Report, Bridget has never gone into depth on the rough and tumble, zig-zagging life journey...

John Wood, Jr. is joined by Braver Angels leaders Sage Snider, Luke Phillips and special guest Phillippa Hughes, founder of the Looking for America project, to talk about the Braver Angels songwriting contest, the cross-cultural artistic and convening work of Looking for America, and the power of music, art, food and culture to transcend the normal divisions of politics. Interested in writing a so...

Like the rest of America, Braver Angels has been touched by the COVID-19 epidemic and the national response. Some of us have been touched in very personal ways. So listen as the Braver Angels crew, including Ciaran, April, Monica and John, share their own experiences related to COVID-19, while exploring the warring attitudes of the American people. Follow us: www.braverangels.org Twitter: @BraverA...

How do we overcome the bitterness of American politics and change the way things are done? This is John Wood, Jr. "Left of Bernie," yet a consistent defender of President Trump; author, commentator and creator of the comic strip "Dilbert" Scott Adams is a fascinating or infuriating voice in the political conversation, depending on who you ask. But Scott is schooled in the art of persuasion. I enjo...