Uncomfy: Sticking with Moments That Challenge Us

Kaitlyn Schiess (Curiously Kaitlyn, The Holy Post) opens up about a pivotal conversation with someone at her church that reshaped how she approaches the tricky intersection of politics and faith. She dives into the power of asking meaningful questions to get at the heart of others—even when beliefs feel under attack. Sharing stories from her own journey of teaching kids in church, wrestling with t...

Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers, political commentators and co-hosts of the Pantsuit Politics podcast, reflect on a pivotal moment in their professional partnership during the 2016 presidential election. Holland had worked on Hillary Clinton's campaign and was a big fan of the candidate. Silvers was not. It was a tough one to navigate - and it was right at the beginning of their friendship...

Hélène Biandudi Hofer shares a story about navigating an awkward meeting where a client tried to sideline her in favor of her business partner, Amanda Ripley. She teaches us how storytelling, staying curious, and asking the right questions can help us turn conflict into a good thing. From a young age, Hofer learned the value of storytelling from her great-grandmother and father. In 2018, after a...

Constance Scharff takes us on a ride from food tours in Turkey to overcoming a personal battle with trauma and addiction. She opens up about the uncomfortable journey that led to discovering the transformative power of somatic therapy and how it helped heal her deep emotional wounds. So, whether it’s feeling out of place while traveling or tackling deep-seated issues, this chat is all about embrac...

In this special bonus drop, four of our 2024 Uncomfy guests give some advice on how to stick with the discomfort that can come around the holidays. From potentially uncomfortable encounters with relatives to dealing with mental health struggles, we hope this advice helps you to get Uncomfy during this festive season. Featured Guests: Vanessa Otero (Ad Fontes Media), Erik DaRosa (From Survivor to T...

Ali Muldrow and Bria Halama have nearly opposite views on abortion. But they signed up to sit with 12 other strangers looking for common ground. The four-day workshop was organized by Citizen Solutions in Wisconsin and resulted in five policy recommendations the whole group could agree on. It also turned Ali and Bria into friends. They found that listening, being vulnerable, and recognizing others...

When Becca Obeng was involved in a car accident on a busy Florida freeway, she chose empathy over defensiveness. In response, the other driver opened up in a completely unexpected way, transforming a tense encounter into a moment of connection and an unlikely friendship. Becca Obeng is the creator of Becoming Undaunted, a 100-day challenge where she takes on one uncomfortable task each day to buil...

While going to pick up some food in a “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports” t-shirt, Vanessa Otero was approached by a stranger with a loaded question about “men in women’s sports.” The following exchange could have easily turned hostile or dismissive, but Otero chose a different path. Drawing on her experience in discussing polarizing issues, she asked clarifying questions and introduced new ideas to...

High school freshman, Malu Estevam, is used to doing well - very well - in school. So, when she struggled in her advanced math class, she panicked. As a first-generation immigrant, she hoped to make her parents proud and make their sacrifices worth it. But one friend’s determination and example ultimately helped her to see that intelligence and success aren’t just about grades. We’d love to hear a...

As a columnist for the New York Times, David French is used to public criticism. And he's used to sometimes getting things wrong, too. “At 55, I want to be a better person than I was when I was 35 or 25 or 15. So, if we're actually growing as human beings, we should be able to point back to multiple things that we concretely got wrong.” French shares the story of changing his mind on a hot button...

Tracy Saad spent her whole life avoiding politics, until the 2019 Lebanese revolution made her have a change of heart. She joined a nonprofit effort to educate and register voters where she faced the discomfort of realizing she had a lot of learning about politics to make up for and had to get comfortable saying, "Can you simplify that for me, please?" Fueled by this experience, Saad, a lifelong e...

After a series of mistakes on the field led to an embarrassing loss for the middle school boys’ soccer team he coaches, Shawn Tucker found himself wrestling with feelings of shame, self-blame, and the temptation to deflect his discomfort onto others. Rather than giving in to anger or excuses, Shawn chose to sit with his feelings of embarrassment, using the moment to learn and reassess his prioriti...

When an articulate critic in a Facebook group challenged his long-held Conservative beliefs, Brian Parrish, exhausted by years of echoing the same arguments and encouraged by his brother, chose to begin engaging openly with opposing perspectives. This encounter sparked a journey of self-reflection and learning, transforming his approach to dialogue with people he once saw as the enemy. Brian Parri...

Meet the teams behind Top of Mind and Uncomfy in this special crossover episode, where we share stories of sticking with a challenging perspective while working on the shows. We are exposed to a lot of nuanced viewpoints as we put podcast episodes together, which gives us the perfect opportunity to practice what we preach: choosing to lean into discomfort instead of lashing out or shying away. We’...

While making plans for his upcoming film, things got a lot more complicated and uncertain for filmmaker Nicholas Ma when his collaborator insisted on carrying out their production in a city that was both unfamiliar and potentially unwelcoming to Ma. Would he choose to walk away? Nicholas Ma is the director of the new film, Leap of Faith, and producer of the award-winning documentary, Won’t You Be...

After having had hundreds of conversations with people across the political aisle, one persistent conversation partner would test David Kaufman’s resolve to stick with it. David Kaufman is a Conservative political commentator from South Carolina who has participated in more Braver Angels Red/Blue one-on-one conversations than anyone else. We’d love to hear about an Uncomfy moment you’ve experience...

While contracting with a nonprofit, Carrie Hill made the choice to stop looking away from the difficult reality of child abuse in her community. Hill, a PR/marketing consultant and co-creator of InPowered, shares her pivotal moment of realization and the importance of educating the public. We’d love to hear about an Uncomfy moment you’ve experienced. Can you think of a time when you felt your pers...

At a conference on race, Christine Saxman, a White woman, faced a tough moment when another attendee, who was Black, questioned her intentions and efforts. How did she respond? Saxman, who co-authored Being White Today: A Roadmap for a Positive Anti-racist Life, shares how this conversation sparked deeper self-awareness and shaped her path as a racial justice and equity advocate. We’d love to hear...

After a heated debate left him questioning his approach, Jefferson Shupe attended an immigration rally, where he expected hostility but found something entirely different: people with fears, hopes, and stories that echoed his own. Shupe, author of The Bathwater Brigade, shares the challenges of confronting his own biases and the surprising empathy that emerged from stepping outside his ideological...

A college research project on Thomas Jefferson, which involved analyzing and defending opposing viewpoints, made Michael Birdyshaw have to face some uncomfortable truths. This experience would shape her teaching methods and her approach to coaching, emphasizing the importance of curiosity, compassion, and critical thinking. Michaela Birdyshaw is a leadership and communication coach and host of the...

Finding herself in a middle seat on a flight home, Jazzalyn Livingston was engaged in a conversation with her seatmate. What started as a casual conversation quickly shifted to topics like gun rights, community and police violence. Despite initial discomfort and assumptions based on political differences, Livingston, who serves as National Program Director for the One America Movement and co-found...

After pouring years of passion and expertise into her latest book in hopes of inspiring a shift in how people collaborate and connect, Diana McLain Smith, organizational behavior expert and author of several books including her latest, Remaking the Space Between Us, was hit with a hard truth from her strategist: "People aren't buying what you're selling." The unexpected critique forced Smith to co...

Tired and ready to be off her late-night flight, Piper Hendricks, founder of Stories Change Power, was caught off guard when her seatmate initiated an uncomfortable conversation, dismissing her deeply personal practice of writing letters to herself. As the discussion veered towards controversial topics, including political and social issues, Hendricks chose to engage with curiosity rather than def...

Despite a successful career on Wall Street, Erik DaRosa lived with severe anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and PTSD. After suffering a dissociative episode, DaRosa made the life-changing decision to seek help, and it wasn’t until he sat across from a therapist for the first time that he began to finally share everything he’d been keeping inside. DaRosa shares how breaking his silence not on...

When James Coan, a Liberal, decided to attend the Conservative Political Action Committee—one of the biggest conservative gatherings in the U.S.—his apprehension was high. Coan, co-founder and executive director of More Like Us, was on a quest to promote the idea that we are more similar than we think, despite our politically charged environment. But just showing up to the event wouldn't be enough...