The nation has been shaken by violence yet again. The assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents Dinner was another jarring tear in the fabric of our public life. Every day Americans also hear divisive, angry, rhetoric from national political leaders and media pundits.
On "How Do We Fix It? we discuss how growing numbers of Americans are pushing back against toxic divides.
We report on the work of Braver Angels: The national movement that brings reds and blues together in the same room. This episode with Reena Bernards and Casey Jorgensen covers the Braver Angels Mobile Summit in Utah, a traveling conference where practical steps were taken to build bridges and cross divides.
Volunteers drove an RV across Utah, and also ran in-person events where red and blue citizens worked together on polarizing issues such as immigration. Two mobile summits in late 2025, and again in the spring of this year, featured workshops, debates and dialog. The aim was to depolarize communities and strengthen civic engagement.
"It was a wonderful experience," says Reena. "We became like a family."
Read moreBraver Angels Ambassadors are among the most courageous of courageous citizens.
Not only do they bridge the partisan divide, these volunteers meet people where they are. At meetings and events across the country, they go speak about Braver Angels as they try to convince skeptics that rebuilding civic trust is a cause worth supporting.
In this episode, we hear from Barbara Hancin and Ron “Sugar Bear” McFarland, volunteer co-chairs of the Braver Angels ambassadors program.
“What we’re were doing is giving hope to people,” says Barbara. “We don’t have to stay in the rancor. There are ways to build bridges and we’ll help you do that.”
Read morePick a controversial topic. Whether it’s immigration, race, climate change, the role of religion, or the economy, many of our assumptions that we view as completely reasonable can seem whacky or wrong to others. This may well include very smart, thoughtful people, who’ve had very different life experiences than our own.
Our guest for this episode is Chauncey Williams, a Democratic-leaning Braver Angels volunteer in Denver.
He was shocked when Donald Trump was first elected President in 2016. But instead of retreating into his political silo, Chauncey began a unique project. On different occasions he set up a table with two chairs in local parks, and invited total strangers to have conversations about important public matters.
“One of the important things I came to realize is that I walk into a lot of those conversations with a host of assumptions about folks that aren’t always true,” Chauncey told us.
Read moreLiberals and conservatives are caught in a politically toxic feedback loop. Our guest, Zachary Elwood, argues that when people express contempt for those on the other side, they contribute to a cycle of conflict that weakens our nation.
Increasingly, Americans view polarization as a worsening crisis. Two-thirds say the political system is too divided to solve the nation’s problems. A New York Times - Siena University poll found that many more people now believe the system is broken compared with five years ago.
Elwood explains that Americans don't just disagree on issues. We increasingly view our political adversaries as immoral, deluded, and dangerous. Our fear and contempt affect our stances on issues, making us more hardened in our views and less willing to compromise.
Zachary Elwood is the author of two books on toxic polarization. The first was “Defusing American Anger”. On this podcast we hear all about his latest: “How Contempt Destroys Democracy”. The new book is written by a left-leaning author for members of his own side, who mostly believe that President Trump is a threat to democracy.
Read moreHow do we help people see their common humanity and find common ground? We discuss this and much more with our guest, independent filmmaker and storyteller, Swati Srivastava.
At a time of polarization and deep political divisions in America, growing numbers of citizens are now pushing back against the fear, loathing and distrust that poison our national conversation. Our podcasts report on the people, projects, and ideas of this movement.
Swati Srivastava is Director of Visual Media at Crossing Party Lines, a non-profit group that facilitates conversations among Americans of different opinions. She established the group’s Long Island Chapter and is also active with Braver Angels. Her short video, “The Braver Angels Way” is designed to be played at the start of Braver Angels conversations and debates. Find out more about Swati’s film and storytelling projects here.
Read moreAmericans are divided by geography. Most of us live in overwhelmingly red or blue Congressional Districts. We are less likely than ever to know someone from the other side of the political spectrum. We are often misinformed about what members of the other tribe actually believe.
In this episode we speak with Kirk Tatnall, Starla Brown, and Cade Smith about a Braver Angels exchange program. Participants from New York City and Jackson, Mississippi visited each other over two weekends. They held workshops and meetings, engaging in discussions across differences.
“I just have a fundamental underlying belief that you cannot understand someone else unless you know them,” Kirk Tatnall told us. “You cannot really get to the motivations and the passions and the drive of other people until you see how they live.”
Read morePolitical speech in America is all too often dominated by hyperbole. We don’t just disagree, we find those on the other side to be offensive or even worse. All too often the language of curiosity, nuance and humility is missing from our dialog.
In this episode we look at a novel way to reach across the divide. During the spring, Minnesota Braver Angels leaders who live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region decided to visit six small towns in rural parts of the state. Our guests are Melinda Voss, who leans blue, and Scott Schluter who leans red.
We find out what they learned while on the nine-day "Reduce the Rancor" bus tour. Melinda, Scott and other volunteers organized a series of events, including workshops, meetings with local community leaders, and conversations with people in six towns. They also did a lot of listening.
(pictured above: Scott and Melinda with Otto the Otter, the world’s largest otter, while on the bus tour in Fergus Falls MN).
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