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Episode 263: How Contempt Fuels Division and What We Can Do About It – with Zachary Elwood

What’s truly tearing us apart isn’t disagreement—it’s contempt. In Episode 263 of the Derate The Hate podcast, Wilk Wilkinson is joined once again by Zachary Elwood, author of the new book How Contempt Destroys Democracy: An American Liberal’s Guide to Toxic Polarization.

Zach shares powerful insights into how confirmation bias, emotional thinking, and our grievance culture feed political division. Wilk and Zach dive deep into why curiosity is a critical tool for unity, how media and social platforms fuel outrage, and why focusing on local community action can help us escape the national polarization trap.

🎧 Tune in and learn:

✅ Why contempt, not disagreement, is one of our biggest societal threats
✅ How online behavior fuels tribal thinking
✅ The power of emotional intelligence and curiosity in bridging divides
✅ What you can do to depolarize conversations in your own life

If you're ready to understand the emotional roots of toxic polarization and what we can do about it, this is an episode you don’t want to miss.

🔗 Previous Episode with Zachary Elwood: Check out our earlier conversation in Episode 170 for even more insight into Zach’s powerful work in the depolarization space. Link can be found in the full show notes at DerateTheHate.com

📘 Learn more about Zach’s new book: www.american-anger.com
🎙️ Explore Zach’s podcast: People Who Read People

The world is a better place if we are better people. That begins with each of us as individuals. Be kind to one another. Be grateful for all you’ve got. Make every day the day that you want it to be!

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The Derate The Hate podcast is proudly produced in collaboration with Braver Angels — America’s largest grassroots, cross-partisan organization working toward civic renewal and bridging partisan divides. Learn more: BraverAngels.org

Welcome to the Derate The Hate Podcast!

*The views expressed by Wilk, his guest hosts &/or guests on the Derate The Hate podcast are their own and should not be attributed to any organization they may otherwise be affiliated with.

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