Beat | Taking your pulse on the election
A Braver Way
After a week that saw big news in the presidential race, we hear from many of you — our listeners from all across the political spectrum — about what you are wrestling with as we approach the 2024 election. What concerns come to the very top for Reds, Blues, independents, and everyone else? And what questions do you wish your fellow Americans would not just reflect on, but act on? Tune in for a snapshot of where we’re all at… and where we might be headed. Submit a question: If you’ve found yourself mulling on a concern or reflection as you’ve listened, turn it into a...
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Kelly Corrigan Wonders: Daring to disagree on abortion
A Braver Way
In this special guest episode, we’re going to pass the mic to a wonderful podcast, “Kelly Corrigan Wonders,” that recently invited our very own April Lawson to disagree openly and honestly with host Kelly Corrigan about one of the toughest issues out there — abortion. Their conversation is in-depth, illuminating, and believe it or not — productive. Plus, it puts many of the tools we talk about on “A Braver Way” on full display. We’re back next week with a new Beat episode, and our first full-length episode of our new season will be up next! Kelly Corrigan Wonders -...
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Beat | What if election years were wonderful?
A Braver Way
We’re back! To kick off our second season, we’re bringing you a totally radical — and totally possible — vision of what election years could look like if we approached them a little differently. First we hear from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox about how election campaigns could leave our communities better off, regardless of the results. Then Mónica reflects on Return Day, a unique election tradition in Delaware that’s been putting these ideals into practice since 1812. Submit a question: If you’ve found yourself mulling on a concern or reflection as you’ve listened, turn it into a...
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Ask me anything
A Braver Way
Mónica is joined by four friends in bridge building to answer your toughest questions about our shared mission of connecting across the political divide. Angel Eduardo, April Lawson, Manu Meel and Wilk Wilkinson get real about the challenges, opportunities, and misconceptions about our movement - are we all just a bunch of squishy centrists that brush deep concerns under the rug? And how can we possibly be expected to talk to someone who doesn’t even think we have a right to exist? These are questions with no easy answers and we tackle them head on. Finally, find out what Superman, Taylor...
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Can we fix what COVID broke? (Part 2)
A Braver Way
In Part two of this two-part story, Dr. Francis Collins, former head of the National Institutes of Health during COVID, and Travis Tripodi, a strong conservative critic of the US COVID response Dr. Collins helped shape, attempt the impossible — sparring on everything from vaccine mandates to natural immunity freely, fully, and without losing it. What does their collision achieve? And what does it leave hanging? April Lawson joins Mónica to break down this extraordinary conversation and figure out what it takes for the rest of us to tackle the hardest political disagreements we...
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Can we fix what COVID broke? (Part 1)
A Braver Way
How do you talk about a monster of an issue when the two sides are so far apart? Mónica brings together two unlikely guests to find out: Dr. Francis Collins, a man who helped shape the U.S. COVID response (and was Dr. Fauci’s boss!), and Travis Tripodi, a New Hampshire resident who believes that response was deeply wrong and misguided. In Part one of this two part story, Francis and Travis describe how they weathered very different challenges during the pandemic, their radically different perspectives on what went wrong during the crisis, and the extraordinary way that their perspectives...
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How can we cure our social blindness?
A Braver Way
Mónica welcomes David Brooks, author and New York Times columnist, to break down an essential and endangered skill for talking politics - hearing deeply and being deeply heard. David shares a bounty of tips and stories from throughout his career, including a public discussion where he says he failed both at understanding another person and at making sure he could be understood. Then April joins Mónica to ask what it all means for liberals and conservatives, and we hear from a man who runs a Pennsylvania barbershop where debating diverse viewpoints is on the house. ...
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How do we bridge the class divide?
A Braver Way
Mónica asks author Chris Arnade how he’s bridged one of the trickiest divides in America by going to parts of the country that others dismiss. Chris shares what he sees differently now and what both our big political “sides” are missing when they claim to fight for the working class. Then we hear from Corrie, a wife and mother who shares what the class divide looks and feels like for someone in her position as she struggles to make ends meet. : An initiative from Braver Angels. We the People’s Project is a working-class coalition of conservatives,...
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How can you handle being ‘triggered’?
A Braver Way
Mónica talks to Luis Mojica, a therapist who’s learned loads from his patients about how we physically react to intense political disagreement… and what we can do about it. Luis sheds light on what happens to us when we feel “triggered” by something someone says, and the two share tips and bold ideas on everything from how you can feel more secure in tough conversations to where that all-important line might be between what’s painful and what’s harmful. Then Mónica, a liberal, joins her conservative friend April to break down where Reds and Blues seem good and not so good...
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How can we disagree better?
A Braver Way
Spencer Cox, the Republican governor of Utah, and Troy Williams, the activist at the head of Utah’s most active LGBTQ rights organization, don’t buy the notion that a good way to stand for the ideas on your side is to attack the people on the other. Reflecting on their sometimes contentious relationship, the two talk with Mónica about how they’ve both been able to advance their sides through honest dialogue and good-faith engagement, resulting in some surprising win-win policy outcomes for the people in their state. Featured Song: - Hillary Rollins and Michele Brourman ...
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