12 episodes
ELEPHANT DIALOGUES Bryson Alley
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- Society & Culture
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5.0 • 24 Ratings
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Talking about politics with family and friends can be a minefield. But if we learn the tools to discuss big issues productively, our differences can become our greatest strength, and political conversations can bring us closer together. Every week we'll be exploring techniques and tips for improving our conversations. Join us in our experiment, and help us make America united again!
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TRUMP [Season Finale]
Love him or hate him, Donald Trump has made quite a splash in modern politics, and will no doubt continue to leave his mark. In this episode, the season finale, I sit down with my good friend William Farnbach to talk about why it's so hard to discuss the President of the United States, and how we might do better. We also attempt to answer some of the big questions that often surround President Trump, and do so in a more productive way than we're used to hearing. Thank you again for joining us in our experiment in better conversations.
LINKS--"Trump Is Not Racist, Change My Mind" with Steven Crowder--My List of Reasons - Why I Can't Support the President--My Facebook Post (How NOT to have a good conversation).
Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here:(801) 709-0538elephantdialogues@gmail.com -
ABC's and The Wall
President Trump's proposed border wall has become one of the most divisive subjects in current politics. Jake Christensen joins me in this episode to talk about the real issues behind the border crisis, and what we can actually do to help solve the issue. We also talk about the ABC's - which stand for Agree, Build, and Compare. These are handy tools for sharing our opinions productively. Hope you enjoy!
LINKS--Follow Tim Ballard on Facebook--Follow Scott Hicks on Facebook--Chasing the Scream--Border Energy Corridor--Operation Underground Railroad
Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here:(801) 709-0538elephantdialogues@gmail.com -
Moral Foundations (or how to persuade people who think very differently than you)
Whether your goal is to understand others better, or to be more powerful and persuading in your conversations, this one's for you. In this episode I share some insights from Jonathan Haidt - you can read more about his work in his fascinating book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion". Other people can certainly be wrong, just as we probably are on some things, but if we can understand that other beliefs might be founded on morals similar to our own, we can better connect with each other and find more empathy and respect, despite our differences. Hope you enjoy!
-Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here:(801) 709-0538 -- Or at --elephantdialogues@gmail.com
Links:Moral Foundations TheoryPete Buttigieg (Climate Clip)
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Elephants and Internets
Is productive, rational conversation on the internet possible? And if so, what do elephants and 19th century prophets have to do with it? In this episode, I give a few tips on improving our online political conversations. The internet is a great tool, and if used correctly, can bring us closer together. I'm still very much working on this one myself, so a lot of this is from personal experience; I can tell you what NOT to do. And if you have any additional tips, let us know! [insert "call me" gif]
LINKS--Kid's Guid to the Internet (1994) (trust me - you wanna watch this one)--The Righteous Mind, by Jonathan Haidt
Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here:(801) 709-0538elephantdialogues@gmail.com -
Gun Control and De-Escalation
Westin Cross joins me for this episode, wherein we discuss possible steps we could take in reducing the extreme gun violence we face as a country. I also look at some tools for when conversations start getting heated; how we can use Contrasting to de-escalate the situation and restore mutual respect and mutual purpose. Hope you enjoy!
LINKS--Ben Shapiro Clip--President Obama Clip
Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here:(801) 709-0538elephantdialogues@gmail.com -
#MeToo and Conviction
As we discuss the Me Too movement, and how we can powerfully stand up for ourselves and for truth, I'm joined by Morgan Reber (the host of She Speaks). Like Captain America said, sometimes we need to plant ourselves next to the river of truth, and confidently say to the whole world, "No - You move." Morgan shares 3 P's to better understand sexual assault:
Power
Permission
Prevention
We also talk about the acronym STATE*, as a powerful way to share our stance:
Share your Facts
Tell your Story
Ask for Others' Paths
Talk Tentatively
Encourage Testing
Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here:(801) 709-0538 -- elephantdialogues@gmail.com
Links --Morgan's Podcast: She Speaks ----Pop Culture Detective ---- *STATE acronym from Crucial Conversations
Customer Reviews
Common goals
It gives me hope that we might be able to find common goals, and then go forward - maybe even pursuing diverse solutions from both sides - to accomplish the same goal. There were several solutions here that I had never thought of to reduce abortions; and it helped to know that both sides had that same goal. That actually surprised me a bit, and while it may not be true of all pro-choice advocates, it was good to know that it is true for some. So finding the common goals upfront seems to be a huge factor, that we can only accomplish if we don’t demonize each other. Good job elephant dialogues!
Insightful
This podcast helped me to see a disturbing trend, that perhaps America is heading down the same path as some of the Middle East nations where the politics are based on hate. The introduction stated that we just need to learn how to disagree better; that is an insightful and helpful concept that we need to embrace as we discuss these serious national issues. Well done Bryson. I look forward to more episodes.
JSA
Brilliant experiment
Very well thought out format. Communication is literally everything and I often find that defining a few key pieces of terminology for the other person, of a differing viewpoint, before a fragile conversation starts often aligns purposes and gets rid of the illusion that the other person’s intentions are malicious. That would be a great episode! I’ll tune in every episode!
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