The Cocktail Conversations

Michele Mitchell & Hannah Thornton

The Anger Industrial Complex, a tangled web of social, political and media systems that whip up public anger for profit, has been dividing us for decades. Award-winning documentarian and journalist Michele Mitchell hosts the antidote. Think of the most fascinating conversation happening at the table next to you–a conversation you want to join – a conversation that goes somewhere and stays with you long after it’s over. Glass by glass, we're going to be able to talk with one another again.

  1. Not-A-Retreat

    02/16/2022

    Not-A-Retreat

    A few weeks ago, we decided to invite some of our audience to join us, in person, to see what ties could bind us after all the division sowed by the anger industrial complex It wasn't all work--we did have the gorgeous backdrop of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. And once we got back home, we asked three of them to shake up Mezcal cocktails and talk about what we figured out. It was more that you might think.... Hosted and written by Michele Mitchell; Produced by Mark Huntley; Executive Producer, W. Wilder Knight II; Consulting Producer, David Bernknopf; Edited by Conrad Lonsdale Knudson; Sound Design by Jairo Garcia; Digital Producer, Hannah Thornton; Assistant Producer Conrad Lonsdale Knudsen; Cocktail by Amuleto Hotel, Zihuatanejo, Mexico; Created by Michele Mitchell & Hannah Thornton.

    14 min
  2. How to Be a Good Human

    01/20/2022

    How to Be a Good Human

    It's 2022, which means...another election year. But don't lose hope about ever speaking to certain friends and family again, because we've got just the episode for you, one full of gung-ho team spirit and young wisdom from some leaders of tomorrow. This time around, Michele shares a mocktail with her guests Madison Adams, Thanasi Dilos and Chapu Kapumba of the youth leadership program Civics Unplugged.

    17 min
  3. Crazy/Difficult

    10/26/2021

    Crazy/Difficult

    Have you been called this—or, even, used it yourself? Kick back with a kir royale as Michele chats up bestselling author Soraya Chemaly (“Rage Becomes Her”), jewelry designer Cass Llilien, life coach Kate Hobbs and incoming college freshman Maisie Adams about how language shapes everything.

    17 min
  4. The Authority Crisis

    07/21/2021

    The Authority Crisis

    Former CIA analyst Martin Gurri (The Revolt of the Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium) introduces Michele to the concept of the "information tsunami" that has knocked our 20th Century institutions off their expert, elite status. Joining over a bottle of Gros Ventre's High Country Red are former FBI executive Lauren C. Anderson, Bloomberg News editorialist Robert George and Guernica Magazine editor Jina Moore, who's got a few questions of her own.

    25 min
  5. Tasting Notes: "Can This Marriage Be Saved?"

    06/29/2021

    Tasting Notes: "Can This Marriage Be Saved?"

    Cathy Corison is a legendary and beloved winemaker in Napa Valley. In 1987, she made the first vintage of Corison Cabernet Sauvignon. Corison winery’s grapes are farmed organically and grown on gravelly loam soils. . She currently handcrafts two Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons. In recognition of her excellence as a winemaker, Cathy was named the 2011 Winemaker of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle.

    4 min
  6. Can This Marriage Be Saved?

    05/15/2021

    Can This Marriage Be Saved?

    If you're wondering whether or not you can ever once again speak with some of your family and friends--or if you're just bewildered about how we got here and how we're going to get out--have we got the episode for you! Michele and conflict expert Dr. Cynthia Wang of Northwestern University crack open a bottle and dive in to Dr. Wang's latest research into what, exactly, is happening. You might be relieved to know there are reasons--and solutions--and...wait for it...a tequila-swilling, cigarette-smoking rooster matador in the mix.

  7. 'Man the Hunter' May Not Have Brought Us Here

    04/02/2021

    'Man the Hunter' May Not Have Brought Us Here

    Michele sits down for a one-on-one with evolutionary anthropologist Dr. Kristen Hawkes of the University of Utah to talk about the "evolutionary theory of grandmothering," or, in other words, the foundation of everything. But the grandmother hypothesis is not about sweet little old ladies babysitting--it's also about how and why the anger industrial complex ultimately will lose. So shake up a Hawkes Hypothesis (details on IG @thecocktailconversations) and kick back for a chat about why we're here. You know, the light stuff.

    15 min
  8. Tasting Notes: "A Zero Trust Society?"

    03/05/2021

    Tasting Notes: "A Zero Trust Society?"

    Mark and Jennifer Porembski make some of Napa Valley's most iconic wines--and their own. Hear what Mark has to say about their Zeitgeist label, Cabernet and working with his wife.

    4 min
See All (18)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

The Anger Industrial Complex, a tangled web of social, political and media systems that whip up public anger for profit, has been dividing us for decades. Award-winning documentarian and journalist Michele Mitchell hosts the antidote. Think of the most fascinating conversation happening at the table next to you–a conversation you want to join – a conversation that goes somewhere and stays with you long after it’s over. Glass by glass, we're going to be able to talk with one another again.

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