KQED's Forum Forum from the Archives: Life Goes On While Systems Fray — How Do We Make Sense of the Dissonance?
Nov 26, 2025
Kate Woodsome, a journalist and resilience strategist, teams up with Adrienne Matei from The Guardian to explore the unsettling dissonance between everyday life and the barrage of crises around us. They discuss how our brains cope with conflicting realities, using vivid examples of daily life amidst turmoil. The duo dives into coping mechanisms like rationalization and avoidance, the impact of hypernormalization on society, and strategies for civic engagement. They also provide insights on parenting through political upheaval and the importance of maintaining a sense of agency in turbulent times.
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Dissonance Is Built Into Daily Life
- Modern life forces us to hold catastrophic information and mundane routines in the same moment, creating persistent cognitive dissonance.
- Adrienne Matei explains this creates ambient anxiety and uncertainty about trust and action.
Dissonance Shows Up As A Brain Error Signal
- Cognitive dissonance is an error signal: conflicting beliefs and actions light up different brain systems.
- Kate Woodsome says this tension motivates avoidance, rationalization, or corrective action.
Name It And Align Actions With Values
- Notice cognitive dissonance and test whether your actions match your values, then adjust behavior if needed.
- Avoid normalizing harmful behavior by challenging rationalizations that let you stay complacent.
