The Braver Angels Podcast

Empathy in Black & White from the U.S. to the U.K. | Ayishat Akanbi & John Wood, Jr.

Jul 28, 2020

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...

The Politics of Coronavirus and "Cancel Culture"

Jul 27, 2020

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...

Depolarizing the Media

Jul 21, 2020

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...

LGBTQ Rights and Religious Liberty

Jul 13, 2020

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...

'What we Mean by White Supremacy' Perspectives from Joy Donnell and Maleena Lawrence (with Monica Guzman and John Wood, Jr.)

Jul 10, 2020

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...