170 episodes

Our lives have changed – our politics need to change too. Now is a time for us to remember that we need each other as Americans. Now is a time for us to reject those voices that say we don’t. The Braver Angels Podcast brings you face to face with leading voices from across the divide alongside remarkable Americans you did not know existed. Experience a movement to reignite the spirit of America and defeat the forces that divide us. With John Wood, Jr., Ciaran O’Connor and April Lawson.

The Braver Angels Podcast Braver Angels Media

    • News
    • 4.6 • 156 Ratings

Our lives have changed – our politics need to change too. Now is a time for us to remember that we need each other as Americans. Now is a time for us to reject those voices that say we don’t. The Braver Angels Podcast brings you face to face with leading voices from across the divide alongside remarkable Americans you did not know existed. Experience a movement to reignite the spirit of America and defeat the forces that divide us. With John Wood, Jr., Ciaran O’Connor and April Lawson.

    Launching “Uniting America” | John Wood Jr. with Ciaran O’Connor See More from John Wood

    Launching “Uniting America” | John Wood Jr. with Ciaran O’Connor See More from John Wood

    Braver Angels national ambassador John Wood Jr. has launched a new podcast with the goal of uniting Americans. But episode one hit a splash of controversy after remarks from guest Sam Harris spread across the internet, provoking criticism from Elon Musk, Ben Shapiro and others. John explains the controversy and shares the mission of Uniting America with John Wood Jr. Subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
    YouTube link: 
    https://youtube.com/@unitingamericawithjohnwoodjr
    Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @JohnRWoodJr

    • 30 min
    Want to fight polarization? Take a vacation! | Aziz Abu Sarah with Randy Lioz

    Want to fight polarization? Take a vacation! | Aziz Abu Sarah with Randy Lioz

    Aziz Abu Sarah started Mejdi Tours to create a new kind of experience for travelers within conflict zones. Their trips, through places like Israel and the Palestinian territories, Northern Ireland, Colombia and the Baltics, present multiple perspectives on each site they visit, building ties with local communities and creating lasting friendships. Aziz joins Braver Angels leader Randy Lioz for a conversation about his work and his life story that brought him to the world of peace building, as they take on tough questions about power dynamics, victimhood, and what the U.S. can learn from conflicts in other places. For a look at the first chapter of Aziz’s book, Crossing Boundaries, click here!

    • 1 hr
    What's Up With Elon Musk? | A Braver Angels Podcast Holiday Special

    What's Up With Elon Musk? | A Braver Angels Podcast Holiday Special

    Seriously: what's going on with Elon Musk? And what happens when "free speech absolutism" runs up against the realities of running the nation's defacto digital public square? How has Joe Biden performed in his first two years in office? And what can Americans expect from Braver Angels in 2023? In the final episode of the year, Ciaran O'Connor convenes fellow Braver Angels leaders John Wood, Jr., Monica Guzman, April Kornfield, and Gabbi Timmis for a freewheeling roundtable discussion. See you in 2023!

    • 52 min
    What’s your ‘red line’? | Jonathan Haidt with Mónica Guzmán

    What’s your ‘red line’? | Jonathan Haidt with Mónica Guzmán

    “The struggle between ‘for’ and ‘against’ is the mind’s worst disease.” In this episode of the Braver Angels Podcast, we brought some of the big, hairy questions that challenge political bridge building to one of the most outspoken voices in social psychology — NYU professor and best-selling author Jonathan Haidt. Can we ever really claw our way out of tribalism? What would it take to fix the structures that warp our thinking? And what does this leading scholar of morality make of the popular notion that you can’t engage some ideas across the political divide and still be good? Listen in as Haidt — author of The Righteous Mind, The Coddling of the American Mind, and the upcoming Life After Babel: Adapting To A World We Can No Longer Share — joins Braver Angels’ Mónica Guzmán for a conversation that explores everything from Haidt’s favorite bit of ancient wisdom to the problem with kids these days (especially girls on the Left) and what it might ultimately mean to be loyal to truth.

    • 1 hr 1 min
    "What Liberals Miss About Conservatives"

    "What Liberals Miss About Conservatives"

    Paul Norris, who helps lead Braver Angels' Red Caucus, convenes an all-red panel to discuss what liberals, academia, and the mainstream media miss about conservatives. Featuring Mark Reinecke, Elizabeth Doll, and Barbara Farmer.

    • 1 hr 8 min
    What Curiosity Can Teach Us | Monica Guzman with Ciaran O’Connor

    What Curiosity Can Teach Us | Monica Guzman with Ciaran O’Connor

    Monica Guzman is Braver Angels' Senior Fellow for Public Practice and the author of the best-selling book "I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times." Over the past few months, Monica's been traveling the country to lead curious conversations inspired by the themes of her book. Here she joins Braver Angels CMO Ciaran O'Connor to discuss what she's learned about the state of our nation's divisions, how different audiences engage bridge-building depending on their ideologies and identities, and how we can get more curious, together, as a nation in crisis. 

    • 43 min

Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5
156 Ratings

156 Ratings

The Chickenman ,

First Time Listener

I had to pleasure to listen to the most recent episode - “What’s Your ‘Red Line?’” / Jonathan Haidt with Monica Guzman - of the “Braver Angels” podcast. This was the first time listening after coming across a link to this episode on Twitter. The conversation between guest and host was not only enlightening, but timely. Based on this listening experience I highly recommend “The Braver Angels” podcast.

mypodreviews ,

What are America needs

Unreal pod. 5-star.

Saismaat ,

I like the idea, but

Listening to O’Connor defend Trump’s statements after Charlottesville as anything but a dog whistle to white supremacists loses any credibility.

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