One of the biggest challenges facing America today is our ever-worsening polarization stemming from growing estrangement from one another. Many of us increasingly inhabit separate worlds, both online and in real life, and that fragmentation is breeding deeper mistrust, greater hostility, and wider political and cultural divides.
To better understand these trends and find a path forward, I sat down with Mónica Guzmán, host of the podcast A Braver Way. Mónica and I both believe that for the country to endure, we have to find a way to once again meet people where they are—and even to talk to people we disagree with.
Because here’s the reality: the other “side” isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and neither political tribe will ever permanently vanquish the other—not in the culture war, nor in elections and government. We thus have to figure out a way to live alongside people who have different views from us, even views we may find offensive or detestable.
If you love America and are concerned about its future, I hope you’ll check out our conversation. We covered a vast amount of terrain in the span of an hour, including curiosity, perception gaps, fear vs. horror, audience capture, Daryl Davis, Jonathan Haidt, Seattle, Ted Lasso, Friends, Monica’s relationship with her parents, and talking to people when we have fundamentally different beliefs from them—or even when we have disagreements over basic matters of fact.
Also, be sure to check out Mónica’s other work, which includes a brand new season of the podcast as well as her 2022 book, I Never Thought of It That Way.
