We Made This Political Podcast

Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

Lauren Hall and Lura Forcum talk together and with guests about what political science, psychology, and parenting has taught them about making politics better for everyone. wemadethispolitical.substack.com

  1. 1d ago

    Ep. 67: Brendan Polk on the Lindsey Clancy Case, Institutional Failure, and Local Hope

    In this episode of We Made This Political, hosts Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall talk with licensed social worker and faith leader Branden Polk about how algorithms, media, and politics encourage subjective “realities” that justify dehumanizing opponents, and how cross-ideological collaboration and virtue development can help people discern the objective. Using the Lindsey Clancy case—ending in a mistrial reportedly split 11–1—as a lens, they discuss failures in the legal process (including not sequestering the jury), gaps in postpartum and mental health care, and perverse incentives in criminal justice that prioritize winning over healing, accountability, and human flourishing. They argue that meaningful reform and nuanced problem-solving are more likely at local levels through community experimentation, while national polarization erodes institutional legitimacy and social trust.00:00 Dehumanization Online00:51 Podcast Introductions02:37 Brandon Work And Hygiene06:03 Beyond Intellectualism07:49 Clancy Case Setup09:18 Jury Mistrial Meaning13:54 System Incentives Broken17:39 Mental Health Court Gaps20:45 Justice Healing Accountability23:43 Local Solutions Hope27:50 Scaling Community Innovation30:07 Polarization Kills Collaboration31:20 Trust Collapse and Incentives32:37 Local Reality and Problem Solving34:29 Virtue and Human Dignity37:32 False Binaries and Complexity39:10 Projection to Purposeful Action43:26 Mattering and Social Media48:48 Presence Over Legacy53:11 Lindsay Clancy and Institutional Nuance57:54 Beloved Community and Closing This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com

    Ep. 67: Brendan Polk on the Lindsey Clancy Case, Institutional Failure, and Local Hope

  2. Sep 8

    Ep. 66: Nancy von Meyer on Parcels, Permission Systems, and the Future of Land

    Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall host We Made This Political live on Substack with Nancy von Meyer, a land records, GIS, and property data systems expert and Pendleton Town Council member, discussing her forthcoming book Parcels: How Property Shapes Geography (co-authored with Jerry Poppendorff). Von Meyer explains parcels as the managed geometry of land and, more importantly, a “permission system” tied to zoning and rights, reflecting how societies govern and define community. The conversation covers historical land division from colonization and Revolutionary War land grants to ribbon farms, Levittowns, railroad checkerboards, and how parcels preserve history even as economies shift, using Detroit, Akron, and Rochester as examples. They address tensions between private property and public impacts, redlining, property taxes funding local services, growth-driven density and infill, data centers and “geocollaboration,” infrastructure feedback loops, and climate-change-driven coastal land loss and relocation, ending with optimism about the next generation and where to find the book at regrid.com/book.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:21 What Are Parcels03:31 Parcels as Permissions06:34 Property Rights Tensions11:35 Land as Commerce Taxes14:12 Why Parcel Shapes Persist21:00 Updating Zoning and Density22:55 Detroit Redlining and Decline27:46 Railroad Checkerboard Legacy29:06 Land as Memory29:48 Parcels and Modern Crises30:59 Sea Level Losses32:30 Regressive Adaptation Costs34:22 Housing and Community Ties36:09 Relocating Towns Inland37:04 Road Shift Horror Story41:47 Who Pays for Safety42:50 Geocollaboration Framework44:44 Urbanization Strains Old Laws46:04 Property Rights vs Externalities48:39 Everything Is Up for Grabs50:08 Common Law Flexibility51:18 Redefining Progress54:42 Optimism and Where to Find This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com

    Ep. 66: Nancy von Meyer on Parcels, Permission Systems, and the Future of Land

  3. Aug 31

    Ep. 65: Cliff Kayser on Polarity Thinking and Interdependence

    In this episode of We Made This Political, hosts Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall talk with Cliff Kayser of Polarity Partnerships about “polarity thinking” as an alternative to false either/or binaries in politics and organizational life. Kayser explains polarities as interdependent pairs (like inhale/exhale or activity/rest) that can’t be solved by choosing one side, but can be leveraged over time by maximizing upsides and minimizing predictable downsides using a five-step process: seeing, mapping, assessing, learning, and leveraging. They discuss common polarities in democracy (freedom/authority, justice/due process, diversity/equality, human rights/communal obligations) and leadership (confidence/humility, task/relationship), plus pendulum swings such as centralization versus decentralization. The conversation connects low trust to either/or thinking and explores how AI and social media reinforce binary thinking, arguing humans must ask better questions and develop adaptive, coaching-oriented skills. 00:00 False Binaries Explained 00:32 Meet the Hosts and Guest 02:06 Polarity Thinking Basics 06:50 Democracy and Leadership Polarities 11:23 The Five Step Polarity Process 16:05 Pendulum Swings in Organizations 23:31 Part Whole in Politics 29:08 Why Politics Goes Either Or 38:05 Trust as the Hidden Ingredient 43:56 AI Bias Toward Either Or 53:20 Optimism and Where to Follow 56:36 Closing and Credits Find Cliff’s Work Read his Substack Cliff’s Notes. Connect with him at Polarity Partnerships here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com

    Ep. 65: Cliff Kayser on Polarity Thinking and Interdependence

  4. Aug 24

    Ep. 64: Grace Pouch on Slowing Down, Adding Friction, and Forming Better People

    In this episode of We Made This Political, hosts Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall interview Grace Pate Pouch, author of Savoring Childhood: Practical Wisdom for Slowing Down and co-founder of Upstate Unplugged, about why childhood is “for being a child” and how modern life rushes kids (and adults) through it. They discuss instant gratification, fragmented attention, and disembodiment driven by phones, on-demand purchasing, and ed tech, arguing for intentionally “adding friction” through small, incremental choices that build patience, self-control, agency, and purpose. Grace connects slowing down to spiritual formation and civic life, emphasizing practices that develop the capacity to love, contribute, and respond well rather than merely knowing the right answers. She ends with optimism about Greenville County Schools’ new classroom tech limits and leaders publicly acknowledging overreliance on technology.00:00 Meet the Hosts01:12 Introducing Grace Pouch01:57 What Childhood Is For03:52 Why Life Feels Too Fast08:25 Adding Friction Back11:04 Attention and Presence15:15 Embodiment and Phones18:36 Analog Comeback22:47 Ed Tech Skepticism26:22 Institutional Pressures28:25 Culture and Agency30:27 Local Screen Advocacy31:46 Small Wins Mindset33:26 Spiritual Formation Focus37:11 Discipline Builds Freedom40:23 Slow Consuming Culture43:05 Participation Over Consumption48:16 Savoring Faith Through Play49:37 Struggle Grows Agency51:47 Counterpoints For Balance53:19 Where To Find Grace55:15 Optimism And Policy Wins56:24 Closing And Farewell Additional Resources “Mothers Are Not Machines” by writer Lindsey DeLoach Jones Renovare Institute for Spiritual Formation “Greenville County Schools Working to Reduce Screentime in Classrooms” — newspaper article on Rule 1A that Upstate Unplugged advocated to adopt This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com

    Ep. 64: Grace Pouch on Slowing Down, Adding Friction, and Forming Better People

  5. Aug 17

    Ep. 63: Jess Lee on Race, Identity and the Trouble with Categories

    On We Made This Political, hosts Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall talk with sociologist Jess Lee (Cal Poly) about how the umbrella category “Asian American” was created as a post–Civil Rights political instrument to gain visibility and protection, yet can distort reality by centering East Asians, masking vast subgroup diversity, and limiting personal possibilities through stereotypes like the “model minority.” Lee explains how broad categories affect representation, resource allocation, and quantitative research, obscuring poverty, first-generation college needs, and shifting census definitions (including Middle Easterners being counted as white and many Asians reduced to write-ins). The conversation also covers interracial and interethnic dating as largely shaped by access and homogamy (especially socioeconomic), sex ratios in immigration flows, and how assimilation is increasingly seen as hybridization that reshapes what “American” means at the local level.00:00 Breaking Asian Stereotypes00:34 Meet the Hosts and Jess Lee02:19 Why Asian American Feels Messy07:04 Origins of the Asian American Umbrella14:25 Model Minority Myth Costs17:27 Who Counts as Asian22:20 Selection Effects and Stereotype Promise30:26 Measurement Problems in Research36:55 Interracial Dating and Homogamy49:20 Race Boxes and Census Confusion52:11 Assimilation and Hybrid America58:34 Local Hope and Closing This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com

    Ep. 63: Jess Lee on Race, Identity and the Trouble with Categories

  6. Aug 3

    Ep. 61: Abi Olvera on Abundance and Positive Sum Thinking

    Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall interview Abi Olvera, writer of the Substack Positive Sum, about the “abundance” movement. Olvera frames abundance as “YIMBY for everything,” emphasizing prioritizing policies that materially affect people’s lives and improving state capacity by removing bottlenecks in housing, daycare, healthcare, workforce licensing, fire codes, and science funding. The conversation highlights examples like certificate-of-need laws and competitor’s vetoes that block new clinics and birth centers, occupational licensing that prevents mobility and locks out people with felonies, and regulatory regimes designed for large corporations that exclude small entrepreneurs. They discuss how debates over regulation often ignore counterfactuals (e.g., AI or safety vs no service), how scarcity thinking fuels partisan “bogeymen,” and how rebuilding public trust through responsive, outcome-focused governance could enable positive-sum progress. 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 03:13 Defining the Abundance Movement 06:00 Certificate of Need Problems 08:52 Expanding the Abundance Agenda 10:34 Occupational Licensing Barriers 12:28 Fire Codes and Safety 13:50 Regulation Debates and Frameworks 16:55 The Counterfactual Problem 18:48 Scarcity vs Abundance Politics 21:11 Government Trust and Efficiency 23:11 Positive Sum Thinking 25:59 Making Abundance Motivating 27:56 Working Class Perspectives 30:50 Funding the Abundance Agenda 31:36 Distinguishing Protections from Obstacles 33:38 Improving Laws and Regulations 36:02 Learning from Missing Data 37:09 Fire Safety Paradox 38:32 Corporate Bias in Regulations 41:57 Gaming the System 43:19 Human Flexibility in Government 44:46 Building Trust in Systems 46:32 Responsive Government and Trust 48:56 Government Success Stories 51:10 Local vs Federal Incentives 53:22 State Department Resilience 55:36 Optimism and Closing Thoughts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com

    Ep. 61: Abi Olvera on Abundance and Positive Sum Thinking

  7. Aug 3

    Ep. 62: William Deresiewicz on Liberal Education, Citizenship, and the Crisis of the University

    On We Made This Political, hosts Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall interview author and former Yale professor William Deresiewicz about his essay “Colleges Maybe Try Teaching” and the link between the decline of liberal education and liberal democracy. They contrast liberal education for citizenship with “servile” or purely utilitarian job training, arguing universities’ incentives—research pressure, credentialing, online instruction, politicization, and activism—undermine teaching and truth-seeking. Deresiewicz distinguishes citizens from activists, emphasizing shared political community, humility, patience, courage, and learning to be wrong, cultivated through seminar-style discussion and especially literature’s ability to build theory of mind and moral complexity. They discuss adult alternatives like The Catherine Project and the Matthew Strother Center for the Examined Life, and end with optimism that curiosity and hunger for deep learning are renewable. 00:00 Moral Maturity and Citizenship 00:37 Podcast and Guest Introduction 02:45 Liberal Democracy Meets Liberal Education 05:26 Servile Versus Liberal Learning 09:37 University Incentives and Research Overload 11:31 Politicization and Academic Conformity 13:52 Activists Versus Citizens 23:31 Virtues Learned in Seminar 27:11 Adult Great Books Alternatives 30:29 Reading Decline and Programs That Work 32:14 Seminar Teaching Magic 34:12 Why Online Learning Fails 36:52 The Real Cost of Small Classes 39:50 Credentialism and Teaching Reform 42:35 Mental Health and Fear of Wrong 45:06 Teaching as Craft Not Content 50:19 Literature Builds Theory of Mind 55:28 Tribalism and Moral Complexity 57:24 Wisdom and Living with Tensions 59:04 Hope and Where to Find Him 01:01:30 Closing Credits and Subscribe Additional Resources Bill’s website, where you can contact him, read his essays, and order his books Social psychologist Michael Inzlicht’s substack essay, “My p-hacking felt like truth” The website of the American Council on Education, which focuses on effective teaching’s impact on student success Jennifer Frey on liberal education versus servile education This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com

    Ep. 62: William Deresiewicz on Liberal Education, Citizenship, and the Crisis of the University

  8. Jul 27

    Ep. 60: Lauren and Lura on What Holds a Country Together

    Lura and Lauren host a duo episode of We Made This Political on what holds a country together as the U.S. marks the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary month. They argue politics should be understood as relationship and shared flourishing, not winner-take-all power, warning that Pyrrhic victories undermine the ability to live and govern together. Hall contrasts national dysfunction with local communities where people quietly maintain civic life, sharing stories about preserving a historic home and restoring an old cemetery. They discuss Hall’s “running democracy on volunteers” theme, the “heroism tax” on underpaid, undertrained small-town mayors, rising threats and harassment, and county clerks caught in national election battles. They link polarization to social sorting and tribal identity, and suggest local conflict-management training and institutional neutrality policies to keep symbolic national fights from capturing local governance. 00:00 Politics As Relationship 01:34 Podcast Premise And 250th 03:10 Founding Community Over State 05:22 Local History In Action 08:50 Growing And Tending Communities 11:44 Volunteer Democracy And Mayors 13:28 Heroism Tax In Boroughs 20:35 Clerks Elections And Pay 24:54 Support Systems For Local Roles 30:31 Winner Take All Spiral 32:17 How Polarization Sorting Happened 33:41 Identity Threat Politics 35:39 Myths About The Other Side 37:19 Breaking The Sorting Cycle 39:42 Beyond Winner Loser Thinking 42:43 Local Governance Lowers Heat 45:50 Tools For Town Boards 49:19 Rebuilding The Leadership Pipeline 51:46 Influencer Politicians Rise 57:12 Rewarding Deliberation Again 59:10 Finding Hope Locally 01:04:13 Closing And Next Episode This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wemadethispolitical.substack.com

    Ep. 60: Lauren and Lura on What Holds a Country Together
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Lauren Hall and Lura Forcum talk together and with guests about what political science, psychology, and parenting has taught them about making politics better for everyone. wemadethispolitical.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall
  • Show Website
    We Made This Political Podcast

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