
The Braver Angels Podcast
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.
Latest episodes

Dec 20, 2023 • 57min
Bringing Back Intellectual Humility
The podcast discusses the importance of intellectual humility in journalism, race discussions, and politics. It explores challenges in reconciling science and religion, navigating media biases, and embracing diverse perspectives for personal and professional growth. The conversation emphasizes the value of humility in fostering understanding, empathy, and trust in complex societal and racial discourses.

Oct 10, 2023 • 33min
Introducing “A Braver Way” | Mónica Guzmán with April Lawson
Braver Angels has a new podcast – “A Braver Way” hosted by Braver Angels Senior Fellow for Public Practice Mónica Guzmán. Monica explains how the podcast came to be, and why there is such a need for a podcast like this to help show everyday Americans HOW they can bridge divides in their own lives. Whether you’re Red, Blue, or something entirely different, “A Braver Way” will help you hear and be heard by people who confound you. Subscribe to A Braver Way wherever you get your podcasts. Learn More – braverangels.org/abraverway

Jan 22, 2023 • 30min
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

Jan 3, 2023 • 1h 1min
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!

Dec 20, 2022 • 52min
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!

Nov 22, 2022 • 1h 2min
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.

Nov 14, 2022 • 1h 8min
"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.

Oct 26, 2022 • 43min
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.

Oct 18, 2022 • 1h 37min
The 2022 Midterms: A Humble Debate | Ciaran O’Connor and John Wood, Jr.
Braver Angels leaders John Wood, Jr. (red) and Ciaran O'Connor (blue) come together for a wide-ranging debate on the most critical issues animating the 2022 midterm elections, including the economy, abortion, and the future of American democracy. Throughout the discussion, John and Ciaran demonstrate how to embrace humility in the pursuit of deeper truth.

Sep 20, 2022 • 54min
How Civil Wars Start — And How to Stop Them | Barbara Walter with Ciaran O’Connor
Barbara Walter is a political scientist and professor at the University of California San Diego who specializes in studying civil wars. Here she joins Braver Angels CMO Ciaran O'Connor for a wide-ranging conversation on the current state of political violence in the United States, what America can learn from civil conflicts in other countries, and how we, together as citizens, can take a stand for peace.
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