Village SquareCast: Recent Episodes
The Village Square
Village SquareCast is the podcast your mother warned you about. We talk politics, religion and race — across color, creed and ideology — and we do it like the partners in democracy that we really ought to be.
At The Village Square, we've had hundreds of conversations with tens of thousands of people — and now we bring you our favorites of these conversations via podcast. We talk in bars, we talk in churches, we talk across a hundred continuous tables in the middle of a street downtown. And through all this talking, we've discovered something truly remarkable — people are hard to hate close up.
Oh, and we really think civics ought not to be boring. We hope you'll join us.
On the eve of America's 250th birthday, The Village Square and Florida Humanities proudly present: Dr. Yuval Levin: American Covenant As we near July 4th in our 250th year, we turn our attention to the document that charted a path for a new country—the Constitution. Far from being the source of our problems as has become fashionable to believe, Dr. Yuval Levin argues that the Constitution holds the power to save us. According to Levin, "it doesn't mean thinking alike, it means acting together." Are you wondering how we could possibly act together when we disagree so vehemently? Join us as we meet a scholar who "may be the most important voice in the political culture right now."
Learn more about our guests and find the program online here .
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. View the full series of programs online here.
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
Lately it's pretty hard to zero in on what we have in common as a people. It often feels like we're living in alternate realities with completely different sets of values and priorities. What would it take for us to more widely agree on a national narrative, and what are the dangers of failing to do so? God Squad will make a valiant attempt to wrestle some transcendent principles out of the partisan mud pit—principles that stand a chance of leading us into a better time.
This program will be moderated by Liz Joyner of The Village Square, who will be joined by God Squad regulars Father Tim Holeda of Co-Cathedral at St. Thomas More, Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky of Temple Israel, and Joseph Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church.
Check out the panel and more info about this program here.
Catch up on past God Squad programs here.
Interested in our topic of America's 250th? We've talked about it all year in our UNUM series in partnership with Florida Humanities. Check it out here.
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Village SquareCast is funded in part by the Federation of State Humanities Councils with support from the Mellon Foundation and Florida Humanities.
In this 250th year since the Declaration of Independence was signed, the American idea—an idea that has changed a whole world around it—finds itself under extraordinary pressure. As the Declaration's author, Thomas Jefferson has gifted us with both breathtaking credal words and a life lived so firmly in contradiction to their meaning that we cannot possibly look away. Our very special UNUM guest, Dr. Jane Kamensky, has made history her life's work as the President & CEO of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. She calls our founding idea "leaky," as people of every color and creed both in America and in unfree corners of the globe heard this big idea 250 years ago and believed it could also be for them.
Learn more about our guests and find the program online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. View the full series of programs online here.
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
The hallmarks of high conflict include a narrowing middle ground, the growing sense of a binary "us vs. them" narrative—and absolute clarity that "we" are the good guys in the story, and "they" are the black hats. Some of this might feel a little new to us, but this accelerating vicious cycle of conflict is how most of human history has unfolded. Before there was a Magna Carta and Constitution, life was a Manichaean cosmic struggle between good and evil and (retroactive spoiler alert) it wasn't pretty. After all, if you're convinced you're fighting on the side of "good," what wouldn't you do to defeat "evil?" This will be a wide-ranging discussion encompassing all of human history and a full study of human nature. Please reserve 3 full days. (Naw, God Squad stars that they are, they'll do it in an hour.)
Check out the panel and more info about this program here.
Catch up on past God Squad programs here.
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Village SquareCast is funded in part by the Federation of State Humanities Councils with support from the Mellon Foundation and Florida Humanities.
As we now find ourselves officially in America's 250th anniversary year, we are truly honored to be joined by the legendary scholar Jeffrey Rosen. As the CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center and the author of numerous books, Rosen's iconic body of work gives us a richer understanding of the tensions, rivalries, and principles that have shaped the American experiment. His most recent book, "The Pursuit of Liberty," tells the vibrant story of how the tensions in the visions of founders Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton haven't just endured since the founding—they've defined us.
Learn more about our guests and find the program online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. View the full series of programs online here.
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
For 15 years now, God Squad has quietly defied the fashion to avoid talking with people who don't look and think like us. From "Ten Paces at High Noon" to "Shut Up and Sing," from abortion to race, The Squad hasn't shied away from much. As we celebrate 15 years of programming, we thought it was high time to get a little meta and talk about what holds us together—year after year after year—when so very much is falling apart. We'll even be joined by two people around at the beginning of God Squad—Liz Joyner and Betsy Ouellette Zierden.
Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
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Village SquareCast is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
Navy veteran Dr. Theodore Roosevelt Johnson, his family name a legacy first chosen to honor the new possibilities for Black Americans many presidents ago, writes about a football game when he stood during the National Anthem and his son—on the field as a player—chose to kneel. Both, he argues, are acts of love of country. Ted's life, service and scholarship are a love letter to America—both when he confronts our failure and takes pride in our accomplishments.
Now Ted leads New America's Us@250 initiative which "seeks to reimagine the American narrative with a focus on three themes: pride in the nation's progress, reckoning with historical and contemporary wrongs, and aspiration for a better future."
Learn more about our guests and find the program online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. View the full series of programs online here.
————————————————————
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)
By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
"The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults." —Alexis de Tocqueville
When Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to a freshly-minted America, he found a people gathering and talking and deciding on things—they were building, and they were repairing. That's a 250-year-old spirit we're going to need to rediscover, so we're bringing together two young leaders of this very old idea—John Wood and Manu Meel. Of the people, by the people and for the people is how these two have been getting it done.
John Wood is the National Ambassador and Director of Public Engagement at Braver Angels, an effort we at The Village Square have been fans and supporters of since it was still a glimmer in its founder's eye. John is also a columnist at USA Today. Manu Meel is the founding CEO of BridgeUSA, an organization on campuses across America. He's also been named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in education. And (here's the bonus): they are dear friends.
Learn more about our guests and find the program online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
UNUM: Democracy Reignited is made possible in partnership with Florida Humanities (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities.)
Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it's finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.
The Flying Pig Academy is kind of an insider's how to.
Spending two decades trying to build trust between people who don't look or think alike changes you. It's been like a stereogram where a whole different way of understanding the world pops out at you, like a second picture hidden inside the first one you see. We were beginning to understand these alternative ways of viewing the world when Dr. Jonathan Haidt wrote his groundbreaking book "The Righteous Mind" advancing Moral Foundations Theory as a way to explain differences across the political divide. Then we were off to the races. This is a conversation about what we learned.
Mentioned: Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks piece: The Keys to Understanding American anti-Semitism—and fighting back
The Rise and Fall of European Meritocracy, Ivan Krastev, New York Times.
Check out previous Flying Pig Academy episodes:
Village SquareCast podcast series we're calling "Flying Pig Academy." Check'em out:
- Location, Location, Location OR The First, Second and Third Rule for Building Trust Across Division
- The Righteous Mind OR How Jonathan Haidt wrote THE BOOK for pigs with higher aspirations
- Carom Shots: Why Working Upstream from Conflict is So Powerful OR how to become a civility pool shark
- Criss Cross Applesauce OR How Complexity Changes Everything
- Core Catalyst Model OR What Old Trees Have to Teach Us About Rebuilding Civic Life
- Bad Therapy OR Why We Really Should Think Groupishly to Address Political Division
- Walk Away from That BoxOR Why Fixing Civil Discourse Requires Less Politics, not more
Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it's finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.
The Flying Pig Academy is kind of an insider's how to.
This Flying Pig Episode: We live in a highly individualistic society, so maybe it's not a surprise that when we're trying to solve a big wicked problem like our deepening political division our approach is based on the individual. Most of us think that we need to wrestle with the problem of political polarization in our own hearts, or we need better skills for talking to people who don't look or think like us. Of course those things are partly true, but The Village Square has learned through two decades of building trust across divisions that human beings are very groupish and that the solution to polarization is at a group level, not at an individual one. Bonus: you get bigger results way more quickly that way. It SCALES, which we need to do more quickly if we're going to really tackle of societal polarization.
Mentioned: Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind
The second in the Flying Pig Academy series is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams.
Here are the rest of our Flying Pig episodes:
- Location, Location, Location
- Carom Shots: Why Working Upstream From Conflict is So Powerful OR how to become a civility pool shark
- Criss Cross Applesauce OR Complexity Changes Everything
- Core Catalyst Model OR What Old Trees Have to Teach Us About Rebuilding Civic Life
- Walk Away from That Box OR Why Fixing Civil Discourse Requires Less Politics, not mr
Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it's finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.
The Flying Pig Academy is kind of an insider's how to.
This Flying Pig Episode: Politics are a mess, the American electorate is fed up. So what do we do about it? Way too many of us doom scroll through the latest political news from the comfort of our couch in the suburbs. Rightly disturbed that younger generations of Americans don't understand civics, way too many of us aren't practicing civics that would have direct impact on the communities, states and nation where we live. We've become political hobbyists and it's fueling the demand for performance art in our elected leaders.
Mentioned: Eitan Hersh on the dangers of political hobbyism.
Miss the first Flying Pig Academy Episode? Find it here.
The second in the series, after "Location, Location, Location" is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.
Here are the rest of our Flying Pig episodes:
- Carom Shots: Why Working Upstream From Conflict is So Powerful OR how to become a civility pool shark
- Criss Cross Applesauce OR Complexity Changes Everything
- Core Catalyst Model OR What Old Trees Have to Teach Us About Rebuilding Civic Life
As we begin our reflections of the 250th year of our shared experiment—in the 5th season of our UNUM series—we are truly honored to bring you the current president of The American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Laurie L. Patton.
Fresh from the founding of a brand new country with a Big Idea (but still in the throes of the Revolution), John Adams was among the founders of the storied American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Devoted to bringing diverse thinkers, professions and talents to the task of creating and communicating knowledge to serve this new nation, the earliest members of the Academy included George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Its membership through these centuries are civilization's legends—like Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.
Find the program online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
UNUM: Democracy Reignited is made possible in partnership with Florida Humanities (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities.)
Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it’s finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.
This Flying Pig Episode: So how in the world do you build a community of people who look and think differently at a time when birds of a feather are not only flocking together, but not really caring too much for different kinds of birds? It’s easier than you thought if you begin with a small core of relationships across differences and grow it out in stages, like the rings of a tree as it grows.
Miss the first Flying Pig Academy Episode? Find it here.
The second in the series, after "Location, Location, Location" is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.
Here are the rest of our Flying Pig episodes:
Carom Shots: Why Working Upstream From Conflict is So Powerful OR how to become a civility pool shark Criss Cross Applesauce OR Complexity Changes Everything
Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it’s finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.
This Flying Pig Episode: If you’re trying to build community in this fractured time (for anything), have we got a hack for you. At a time when binaries rule the day (you’re either with “us” or “them,” with us or against us), “complicating the narrative” between groups has a powerful effect on the conversations and relationships that are even possible. That means civic entrepreneurs need to be on the lookup for unexpected combinations—of traits in people, of relationships between people, of coalitions of groups. We call it being criss-crossey, a term we’re just sure is going to sweep the nation.
Miss the first Flying Pig Academy Episode? Find it here.
The second in the series, after "Location, Location, Location" is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.
Oh and if you haven't watched the "hive switch-y" Almost Famous Tiny Dancer scene we mention toward the end of the episode, here's your chance.
Find the full list of Flying Pig Academy Episodes online here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
We’re making our way through a time of extreme disruption, led by rapid transformation in technology, especially in how we communicate information. According to our special guest Renée DiResta, the way power and influence have been profoundly transformed reveals how a virtual rumor mill of niche propagandists increasingly shapes public opinion.
By revealing the machinery and dynamics of the interplay between influencers, algorithms, and online crowds, DiResta vividly illustrates the way propagandists deliberately undermine belief in the fundamental legitimacy of institutions that make society work.
Find the program online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
We’re wondering if the secret to a healthy America is to… wait for it… put “America Fourth!” Perhaps too much of our lives are now wrapped up in this life or death, us v. them struggle for us to be happy people. According to political scientist Eitan Hersh, this is making us insufferable “political hobbyists” who need to get a life? What if we can rediscover other higher loves — faith, family, art, travel, Star Wars trivia, whatever floats your particular boat. And in finding our loves again, maybe we even find each other?
Facilitated by Pastor Latricia Scriven of St. Paul's United Methodist Church — God Squad is on it.
Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it’s finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.
The bigger, gnarlier and more all-encompassing a conflict grows, the more we naturally rush right to its epicenter to try to break it up. It demands so much attention it’s hard to look away. But we’re going to give you our hottest tip for handling the most difficult conflicts — do it indirectly. Named by our very own Bill Mattox (this episode's guest), who may or may not know a lot about a carom shot in billiards (hitting a ball to hit another ball into the pocket), but he certainly knows a lot about human beings.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Featured in this episode: A reference to the Heineken Worlds Apart ad, which is well worth a watch.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it’s finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.
The second in the series, after "Location, Location, Location" is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.
Miss the first Flying Pig Academy Episode? Find it here.
Oh and if you haven't watched the "hive switch-y" Almost Famous Tiny Dancer scene we mention toward the end of the episode, here's your chance.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Why does it feel like those on the “other side” are not just different but dangerous?
According to our special guest UNC psychologist Kurt Gray in his new book OUTRAGED: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground the conflict lies in our human instinct to protect ourselves and the ones we love from harm.
Find the program online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
We have become a most tediously offended people. We’re not talking about the big stuff — it’s the “little” things we wonder about.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones” and “water off a duck’s back” seem quaint and anachronistic in today’s culture of maximal aggrievement. Provoked by even the slightest offense — that, mind you, we seem to be on constant vigilance to find — we’re on a hair trigger that sends us into conjuring up “us vs. them” and “good vs. evil” thinking and language.
Scholars have written that this sad state of affairs reflects a wider shift in our culture, from what they call a “dignity culture” to an “honor and victimhood culture.” Humanity has been here before (in the days of yore when the Secretary of the Treasury killed a sitting vice president, or that one time a U.S. Senator was caned on the Senate floor) — and it doesn’t end well.
Led by Rev. Josh Hall of First Baptist Church — God Squad is on it.
Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it’s finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.
The first, second and third rule? Like buying a house: location, location, location OR local local local.
This is easier to fix than you thought.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
We claim to be a nation founded on an idea. But, especially in these times of civic rupture, are we even all talking about the same idea?
Contributing Washington Post opinion writer Dr. Ted Johnson joins us again to discuss his beautiful, powerful new book “If We are Brave: Essays of Black Americana.”
The program is faciliated by Dr. Nashid Madyun, Executive Director of Florida Humanities. Find hte program online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
As we contemplated who we might invite for this post-election UNUM gathering, we were (temporarily) flummoxed. A week after the election would we be in need of an expert in election law, a therapist or an exorcist? Could we just place all three on speed dial?
Then we realized that no matter what happens during – and after – the 2024 election, there will undoubtedly be some BIG feelings about it, so our task on November 12th is utterly clear even now: we’ll need to take one step closer to each other. That journey has a sherpa, and her name is Mónica Guzmán. Mónica is the friend you’ll want for that post-election drink, the one you can let your hair down with to just talk it all through.
The program is faciliated by Angel Eduardo of FIRE. Learn more about Móni, Angel and this event here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
America’s young adults are telling us they’re not OK — in ways large and small. It’s high time to take a good, close listen and have a frank conversation about the spiking anxiety & depression among adults coming of age in this time of disruption and disconnection. We’re losing more young adults than we can bear.
As successive generations move away from organized religion, perhaps there’s a longing for spiritual direction that we have in our souls for relationship, community and ritual. Can religious congregations help to address this problem? If so, how do they connect and make spaces more welcoming for young people in our community’s “third spaces” that help grow community and purpose?
Led by Father Tim Holeda — who pastors to a large community of FSU students — God Squad is on it.
Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
What, exactly, is our problem?
Author Tim Urban, known for his extended riff on procrastination in his endlessly wise, sidesplittingly funny, stick-figure illustrated Wait But Why blog, emerged from a 6-year deep think with an answer that has the power to save humanity (from itself).
In Urban’s analysis, the primitive mind is a furry orange monster holding a burning torch, big dumb looking genies called golems roam the land — and we’re going to need a resurgence of rival genies to save us. Oh and we're all moths wasting our lives circle the porch light.
In this episode, Tim joins us to get us up to speed. This one is a must-listen. Learn more about Tim and his work online here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
As we barrel toward America’s 250th, one could argue that if we crack up before we get there (some bad days we’d take even odds), it’ll have something to do with the complexity of being in charge of executing one of the founders’ biggest ideas — that the church and the state were to be separate in this new nation of theirs. (It had been so much “easier” when the king told all us peasants what religion we were.)
Our framers, for the first time in history, asserted that a citizenry had “natural rights” as human beings, given to them only by God, to follow (and be responsible for) our individual consciences — including the right to not believe at all. These rights could then not be taken by the government. Those dudes in tights, both Christian and Deist, had birthed a country where all sorts of religious belief would thrive.
Turns out high principles about freedom for everyone all at the same time wouldn’t be a piece of cake and after 250-ish years of disagreement, we’re still haggling over those darn specifics — partly because we’re masters of not seeing the log in our own eyes. God Squad goes right to the real conversation on this age-old prickly topic.
Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
Friends since middle school, Berny Jacques and Geston Pierre are both children of Haitian political refugees who fled political instability that put their families at risk – with Geston’s parents arriving a little earlier than Berny’s. Despite their friendship and shared family immigration story, they have reached very different conclusions about politics and social issues in the United States today.
What Berny and Geston have found in the space and differences between them, we believe, has a lot to teach the country they both dearly love. In the lead-up to a contentious presidential election, it seemed like the perfect time to get to know these “frenemies” — and consider what we might be getting wrong about each other.
Learn more about the program and about Berny and Geston here.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
Drawing on decades of experience addressing volatile disagreements surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Resetting the Table works to transform toxic polarization and destructive political conflict in the U.S.
We’ll be joined by Resetting the Table’s Co-Founding CEO, Melissa Weintraub, a veteran peacebuilder and social entrepreneur who has spent her career building transformative communication across divides, overcoming dehumanization and distrust, and working toward a shared society in both the U.S. and Israel-Palestine.
This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — “UNUM: Democracy Reignited,” a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
In a culturally, religiously and racially diverse society like ours — with a single public school system designed to educate America’s children — maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the culture wars have Officially Hit Our Schools. When you clear away the noise, at the core of the struggle is this: what should our schools teach our children—and who decides?
Joining us for this conversation are special guests school board member Dr. Marcus Nicolas and Lea Marshall, a beloved high school theatre teacher.
God Squad joining us: Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Joseph Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, and Betsy Ouellette Zierden former Pastor at Good Samaritan UMC, Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church, Latricia Scriven of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, and Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
We were honored to hang out with our intellectual hero, Dr. Jonathan Haidt, a few weeks before the release of his recent book The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.
Unsurprisingly, since its release, it became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller. If you have kids, if you know kids — heck, if you've ever seen a kid — you're just going to have to read this book. It gives us no less than a chance to rescue the coming generations from the devastating effects of an accidental social experiment run amok.
Haidt argues we're overprotecting children in the real world — where they need to play, be exposed to challenge and freedom in order to learn to self-govern — and severely underprotect them in the digital world. He gives us concrete specific steps we can all take now to roll back the psychologically dangerous phone-based childhood.
Don't miss this chance to hear from one of the foremost thought leaders of our time — one who has generously given his counsel to The Village Square, and countless efforts like ours — on this existential challenge of our time.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
Find the program online here: https://tlh.villagesquare.us/event/soul-of-civility/
While our special guest Alexandra O. Hudson, author of “The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves,” finds the challenges to civility today dire, she thinks they’re not new — and they’re most definitely not about being more polite.
Lexi brings a deep and fresh appreciation for the wisdom of the ages to the moment we’re in, from Socrates and Confucius to more contemporary thinkers such as Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Henry David Thoreau. She joins forces with these heavyweights, along with a practically encyclopedic knowledge of our understanding of civility through the ages. We hope you’ll join us for this inspiringly heartfelt and beautifully pitched argument that civility is not a luxury: it’s necessary for the survival and flourishing of our species.
ALEXANDRA O. HUDSON is a writer, popular speaker, and the founder of Civic Renaissance, a publication and intellectual community dedicated to beauty, goodness and truth. She contributes to Fox News, CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, TIME Magazine, POLITICO Magazine, and Newsweek. She earned a master’s degree in public policy at the London School of Economics and is an adjunct professor at the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy. Her first book, The Soul of Civility: Timeless Principles to Heal Society and Ourselves, was published in October 2023. She lives in Indianapolis, IN with her husband and children.
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
“Fragile Neighborhoods is an essential and engaging read for everyone who wants to better understand the challenges facing our cities, towns and our nation at large.” Richard Florida – Bestselling Author of “The Rise of the Creative Class” Find the full program online here — https://tlh.villagesquare.us/event/fragile-neighborhoods/
As we continue our “Join or Die” year—exploring how we build lives of connection and belonging inside a polarized America—we’d be remiss if we didn’t turn our attention to the neighborhoods and the city where we live our lives.
Too many of us live in neighborhoods plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in zip codes rich and poor, rural and urban, and everything in between.
Our special guest Seth D. Kaplan is an expert on fragile states across the world, consulting for the World Bank, U.S. State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as developing country governments and NGOs. His new book “Fragile Neighborhoods: Repairing American Society One Zip Code at a Time” brings Seth’s experience overseas to our social decline in America—and Tallahassee— to revitalize our local institutions and the social ties that knit them together.
Pick up a copy of Fragile Neighborhoods by swinging by Midtown Reader (or you can click here )
Seth D. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), and consultant to multilateral organizations around the world.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
Find the full program online here — and meet The God Squad: https://tlh.villagesquare.us/event/canceled/.
We’re living in a time when a bad choice of words (much less a deeply held countercultural opinion) can tank your career, in a media environment where some are doing a near-professional job of elevating being offensive to an art form—almost begging to be “canceled” by those who care about maintaining at least a kindergarten-level decorum. Our culture wars have blinded us—gone are the deepest underpinnings of pluralism, where legitimately held beliefs are respected, even when they clash fiercely with our own. Never mind being canceled, this environment has many of us self-editing—choosing simply to not express ourselves so as to avoid risk altogether. So how’s a person to live free in a culture that’s this hostile and toxic to diverse opinion?
We’re going to call on the better angels of our nature — and The God Squad — to see if we can get back to a generosity of spirit where we support each other’s right to live free by our conscience and beliefs — no matter how profoundly we disagree.
Joining us for this God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Latricia Scriven of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, Betsy Ouellette Zierden former Pastor at Good Samaritan UMC, Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church, and Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky of Temple Israel. Facilitated by Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
We wanted you wonderful SquareCast listeners to know that we didn't plan for this episode to drop on Leap Day and we didn't plan on it being (we kid you not) Episode 100. But both things just happened. At the very least, we think that's a sign that you really ought to listen. Were we "the universe has a plan" maximalists, though, we'd say it means you need to quit your day job and follow bridge builders like Jon Haidt and The Village Square around like Jack Kerouac groupies.
You pick. Here's our blurb to help inform your imminent life choice:
What if, at a pinnacle of our civilization’s technological achievement, everything just broke — the institutions we’ve come to rely upon in navigating a modern complex world, the shared stories that hold a large and diverse democratic republic together, and even a common language through which to navigate the rising tide of crisis. According to renowned social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt, this describes our current reality, one that he calls “After Babel.” In this new normal, we are scattered by a digital environment into feuding tribes that are governed by mob dynamics and driven by a minority of ideological outliers, made stupid at warp speed by group think, and — thanks to social media — armed with billions of metaphorical “dart guns” with which to immediately wound “the enemy” in ways that are hardly only metaphorical. What could go wrong?
Our very special guest, Dr. Jonathan Haidt, will delve into the profound impact of social media on democratic societies, dissecting the intricate web of challenges it poses to civic trust and civil discourse. Don’t miss this chance to hear from one of the foremost thought leaders of our time — one who has generously given his counsel to The Village Square, and countless efforts like ours — on this existential challenge of our time. Read Why the Past Ten Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid in The Atlantic and learn more about Dr. Haidt by clicking the MORE button, below.
The program includes a preview of Haidt’s highly anticipated upcoming book The Anxious Generation, available at the end of March. You’re not going to want to miss it.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
Pulitzer Prize finalist journalist Bill Bishop joins The Village Square for Dinner at the Square. (See photos from the event here.)
Turns out Americans have been sorting ourselves in every aspect of our lives – in the news we watch, the books we read, the churches we attend, even the neighborhoods we live in. Our special guest Pulitzer Prize finalist journalist Bill Bishop stumbled on this worrisome trend when he was doing research on an unrelated topic. That means that we’re increasingly finding ourselves in the company of people who think just like we do. Inside these likeminded tribes, we find our views amplified and no counterbalance to help us understand what our “side” might be failing to see. The result? Likeminded groups grow more extreme in the direction of the majority view. Uh oh.
Faciliating the conversation is Steve Seibert, formerly of Collins Center and Florida Humanities. Joining the conversation is Governor Jeb Bush's former Chief of Staff Sally Bradshaw, and former Florida Representative Loranne Ausley. Find the event online here. Find The Village Square online here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
In this episode of SquareCast Village Square Founder & CEO Liz Joyner let Village SquareCast Corey Nathan talk her into being the guest in an episode.
It’s hard to get away from the doom scroll that typifies our life and times right now — we’re clobbered with toxic sludge when we turn on the news, catch up with friends on social media or just try to live life without someone forcing us to choose whether we’re one of “us” or one of “them.” The signs of our difficulties are all around us and it’s hard to underestimate its weight on our being. In this episode of Village SquareCast we’ll chat with founder Liz Joyner about the unique journey of two decades seeking to (in the words of one of Liz’s heroes, Patricia Nelson Limerick) “let friendship redeem the republic.” We’ll travel from Washington, D.C. to Tallahassee, Florida in this epic tale of tilting at some serious windmills — while endeavoring to keep laughing.
Find The Village Square online here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
In this episode of SquareCast we're joined by the extraordinary Rachel Brown, the Founder of Over Zero—named in reference to the “zero sum game” that exists in sporting events, but becomes dangerous when it overtakes a society, as it has ours. Over Zero was founded to prevent identity-based violence and other forms of group-targeted harm around the world—and here at home. Rachel is one of the wisest, steadiest voices of our time in guiding us away from dangerous (but human) reactions, and toward calmer times.
The program is facilitated by Dr. Theodore R. Johnson, previous UNUM guest and author of the book “When The Stars Begin to Fall.” Find the program online at The Village Square here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
In this age of deep and growing civic divisions, perhaps it's time to revise the comic strip Pogo's iteration of U.S. Navy Master Commandant Oliver Perry's quote from the War of 1812: "We have met the enemy and it is us."
From our special Dinner at the Square guest Stephen Kiernan's masterpiece book Authentic Patriotism:
“The problems America faces are not going to be solved by either political party, nor are they exclusively the fault of any political party. I am reminded of the line in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet: “A plague on both your houses.” In a democracy politics are merely the manifestation of the people’s will; if Congress is weak, it is because the public’s leadership of politicians has been insufficient.”
This throwback episode is part of The Village Square's return to some of the most basic, inspiring and effective ideas we've heard through our years about how to actually fix what ails us, leading up to the launch of our Flying Pig Academy, where we'll teach our model of returning to civic health. Stay tuned.
We think it will inspire you. (You can also watch this program here.)
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
Americans are sad and lonely, and we don’t feel like we belong. With depression and “deaths of despair” on the rise, over half of us say that no one knows us well—a truly alarming statistic that doesn’t bode well for our future. As if matters weren’t bad enough, we’re not just sad and alone—we’re becoming more mean to each other, and it’s likely part of the same cycle of pain. With fewer human connections in our lives, more of us seek belonging in our venally angry civic life, so this crisis of belonging also fuels extremism for which violence is increasingly a downstream outcome. What if, at its core, the loneliness, bitterness, and anger is a failure of our society’s moral compass?
We asked The God Squad to read David Brooks' Atlantic piece “How America Got Mean” before this conversation, but whether you've had a chance to read it or not, you're going to be inspired by this conversation.
Meet the God Squad, the brains behind our series “God Squad: Improbable conversations for people of faith and no faith at all (because talking politics wasn’t hard enough). Joining us for this edition of God Squad:
Joining us for this God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Dr. Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church, Rev. Betsy Ouellette-Zierden, Joseph Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky of Temple Israel. The Reverend Dr. Latricia Scriven of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church facilitates the conversation.
Find bios for our participants and a full program description online here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This program is part of a larger project "Healing Starts Here" funded by New Pluralists. Learn more about our project, and other inspiring grantees here.
With our culture wars at a full rolling boil, apparently all it takes to send our enmity over the edge is…a good old-fashioned country song??
The furor over Jason Aldean’s “Try That in A Small Town” (and then there’s Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond”) is reminiscent of the old furor over The Dixie Chicks—only the “sides” have switched up. As The Village Square embarks on a pluralism project to build a hometown where everyone belongs, it’s possible that “round here we take care of our own” is a value we should all seek to restore to American civic life, but does it really need to come with all the guns? We’ll bring The God Squad into this musical fracas (they dove right into this one in our planning meeting), so that they can do their usual thing and go high instead of the usual low. Can we find a place where perhaps we can tolerate each other and just SING? (Dolly Parton has something to say on that front…)
Check out the “Try That In A Small Town” lyrics. And the lyrics to “Rich Men North of Richmond” are here.
Joining us for this God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Josh Hall of First Baptist Church, Joseph Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, and Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky of Temple Israel. Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel will be facilitating.
Meet the God Squad, the brains behind our series “God Squad: Improbable conversations for people of faith and no faith at all (because talking politics wasn’t hard enough). Joining us for this edition of God Squad:
Find bios for our participants and a full program description online here.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
At the core of the deep societal divisions we navigate every day is an assumption that we share little with “those people” with whom we share a country—a belief that leaves us on dangerous ground as a nation. But author and entrepreneur Dr. Todd Rose says we’ve got that all wrong. According to Dr. Rose, not only do we agree more often than we think but we’re making terrible assumptions about what the people on our own side of the aisle think—then acting on those incorrect assumptions in a way that accelerates the divisions. Born of our highly social nature and hardwiring in our DNA, we so desperately want to protect our status and reputation inside our groups so we conform with what we think our group thinks—finding ourselves inside a “collective illusion” that is not only destabilizing society, it’s making us personally miserable.
Dr. Rose offers his compelling and revelatory insights about human forces that are far too easily ignored in his most recent book: “Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions.” We think his work is just so important that we’re delighted to bring him to Tallahassee to meet you (and we’ll be hosting book clubs to dive into “Collective Illusions” through the year). We don’t think you’ll ever see the world quite the same way again (trust us, that’ll be a good thing). Learn more about Dr. Rose below.
Pick up a copy of Collective Illusions (you'll thank us) at our partner bookseller Midtown (wherever you live).
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“Our national myths often exaggerate the role of the individual heroes and understate the importance of collective effort. —Robert Putnam
This is when you meet a living legend and get the benefit of his thinking on the topic he’s been brilliantly, prophetically right about for more than three decades: the deterioration of our connectedness with each other across almost every demographic and every aspect of our lives—our loss of social capital. And yet here we are, painfully and tragically paying the price for our failure to put our shoulders to this wheel when it was (almost eerily) knowable when Dr. Robert Putnam first articulated the societal trend in his iconic book “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of America Community” (we’ve just re-read it, and we’re still not sure he’s not secretly a time-traveler). Joined by Shaylyn Romney Garrett, his co-author on “The Upswing: How America Came Together A Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again,” they’re beseeching us to do it now (and we’re doing just that, until the end of 2024). Bonus: they’re showing us that what we need to do is actually fun, fills our souls—and might just save our country.
Learn more about Dr. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett in the full program description online here. Pick up a copy of The Upswing and Bowling Alone (you'll thank us) at our partner bookseller Midtown (wherever you live).
Please also take a moment to watch the trailer of "Join or Die: A film about why you should join a club - and why the fate of America depends on it," produced and directed by Rebecca Davis and Pete Davis.
Note that in the discussion Dr. Putnam references a chart in the discussion - you can find the two-slide chart here (the first is the imaginary picture we have in our minds about how race in America changed and is not correct; the second is correct).
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“A remarkable combination of scientific insight, practical guidance, and grounded hope.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THINK AGAIN
Toxic polarization and conflict is exhausting. Whether it’s in your family, at work or in our perpetually acrimonious civic life, it’s like a suitcase full of big ole rocks we lug around while we try to get the usual tasks of life-y-ness done. Our UNUM journey has brought us thinkers and leaders from sea to shining sea, but now we’re turning intentionally to see THE WAY OUT — and it turns out that really being able to see it is a key first step in being able to do it.
Columbia University’s Peter T. Coleman brings us deep wisdom informed by a life in scholarship that leaves us more hopeful than the usual fare. Know that when we listen to Peter, we do cartwheels of joy — and who doesn’t need joy right about now? Facilitated by BridgeUSA's Manu Meel, this is a must-listen if you're looking for The Way Out.
Learn more about Dr. Coleman and read a full program description online here. Pick up a copy of The Way Out (you'll thank us) at our partner bookseller Midtown Reader (wherever you live).
Peter T. Coleman is Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University where he holds a joint-appointment at Teachers College and The Earth Institute. Dr. Coleman directs the Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution.
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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other—a podcast we loved so much, we convinced its host to also be our host (that's fandom). Along with Village SquareCast, TP&R is also a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Listen to TP&R Here.
This episode, Tim Keller and Michael Gerson, A Tribute with Pete Wehner and Jonathan Rauch, is the most beautiful hour in the history of podcasting, in our highly informed opinion (culled from zero statistics and study... we just know). Please, whatever you do, listen—and share. Along with host Corey Nathan, Jon and Pete (both former Village Square in-person guests) zero in on the generosity of spirit that could—and should—transform everything about the world today. If we can only let it. Here's Pete, toward the end, about Tim and Michael, the gentlemen they give tribute to:
"it's whether in discourse and conversations we can together refine each others' views, calibrate each others' views... and come closer to the true reality of things than we would without each other."
We beseech you, please listen, and then subscribe to Corey's beautiful podcast, Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other. You're going to thank yourself for doing something so very smart.
Village SquareCast will be back with brand new episodes of Village SquareCast this fall. Like crazy soon.
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of When The People Decide, a podcast about how everyday people are shaping democracy. Along with Village SquareCast, they're a member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Listen to When The People Decide Here.
This episode, Libraries as civic spaces is thoroughly enchanting to us—featuring special guests Shamichael Hallman and Nancy Kranich:
Librarians have spoken for years about “library faith,” the belief that public libraries are central to democracy because they contribute to an informed citizenry. Today, the idea is gaining even more traction, and even conservative crackdowns on what’s permitted in libraries reinforce the idea that they’re more than just “book warehouses” but centers for community engagement and representativeness. And meet the host of When the People Decide, Jenna Spinelle (one of our favorite podcast hosts, don't tell the others).
Be sure to catch Season 1 while you're there—an eight-episode series explores the promise — and sometimes peril — that ballot initiatives have brought to American democracy by telling the stories of people who have organized initiative campaigns across the country.
Village SquareCast will be back with brand new episodes of Village SquareCast this fall.
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of Healing Race, from a pair of friends (one black, one white)—college friends who spent the first couple decades of their relationship not talking about race. Then they decided it was past time so they just jumped right in.
Find Healing Race on Apple podcasts.
This episode ("Black" and White:" Should We Identify with the Color of Our Skin?") Todd asks Andre if he would ideally like to live in a world where we don’t identify ourselves with the color of our skin. Should we want to live in a world where the groups we identify with are not based on our color, and what are the challenges in getting there? Here's more about their show:
Talking about race isn’t always easy. Andre and Todd decided to go deep on the role of race and the state of race relations in the U.S... and to make their conversations public so that others could see what a first conversation about race might look like, where no topic is off the table and no views are stifled or censored, but where they always listen, respect, and seek to understand - even and especially when they see things differently. And they are now welcoming guests on the show to experience that same kind of radical openness, honesty, and empathy. Healing Race is about having the real-deal, don’t-filter-what-you-think conversation about race, and they would love for you to join. We hope you'll spend some time getting to know Todd and Andre, as they really need to get to know each other—and show the rest of us how it's done. You can read more about the pair, and their friendship in The Fulcrum.
Village SquareCast is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Village SquareCast will be back with brand new episodes of Village SquareCast this fall.
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of the "How Do We Fix It?" podcast, from the coolest podcast hosting dynamic duo we know and love, Richard Davies and Jim Meigs. These two have real fun together and with their guests—and we all get to listen.
This episode of How Do We Fix It? "The Middle 70%: In This Together" features Bill Shireman, host of the podcast "A Moment of BS Bill Shireman Disrupts the Dividers". President of Future 500, where he invites Greenpeace, ExxonMobil, Rainforest Action Network, Mitsubishi and other corporate and environmental leaders to work together.
We hope you'll take a moment to jump over to How Do We Fix It? right now to listen to more interviews with people like Jonathan Haidt, David Bornstein, Lenore Skenazy, Mike Rowe—and so many more (including our founder Liz Joyner) on "positive ideas for challenging times.
Village SquareCast and How Do We Fix It? are both proud members of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Village SquareCast will be back with brand new episodes of Village SquareCast this fall.
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of the "Let's Find Common Ground" podcast, from the extraordinary national leader in bridging divides Common Ground Committee. (Shout out to the co-founders Bruce Bond and Erik Olsen. We're groupie fans.)
Meet them:
With polarization dominating public discourse, can we find a path back to the common good? Tune in as journalists Richard Davies and Ashley Milne-Tyte explore diverse solutions to today’s most urgent issues with top thought leaders, journalists and others committed to bipartisan action. Tell us what you think! Rank recent episodes and issues that matter to you, and leave us a note or voice message.**
This episode of Let's Find Common Ground features the scholar Dr. Theodore Johnson, someone who has also been a guest on SquareCast. Dr. Johnson wrote the book "When the Stars Begin to Fall" about his unique journey to love of country—and the imperative that we seek racial healing together.
We hope you'll take a moment to jump over to Let's Find Common Ground to listen to more great content (and subscribe).
Village SquareCast and Let's Find Common Ground are both proud members of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Village SquareCast will be back with brand new episodes of Village SquareCast this fall.
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you an episode of one of the best podcasts in the democracy space—Democracy Works.
Meet them:
The Democracy Works podcast seeks to answer that question by examining a different aspect of democratic life each week — from voting to criminal justice to the free press and everything in between. We interview experts who study democracy, as well as people who are out there doing the hard work of democracy day in and day out.
This episode of Democracy Works is Separating News From Noise, examining the very real dynamic of news avoidance.
How much news is too much? Or not enough? News Over Noise, the new podcast from Penn State's News Literacy Initiative explores that question and offers guidance on how to consume news that enhances your participation in our democracy without becoming overwhelmed by all the noise on social media and the 24/7 news cycle.
If your first reaction is to demonize people who don't want to read the news, hold up. Read this Washington Post piece by our favorite journalist Amanda Ripley "I stopped reading the news—is the problem me or the product."
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Both The Democracy Group and Democracy Works are projects led by the wise and wonderful Jenna Spinelle of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State University. If you don't know them already you should.
Village SquareCast will be back with brand new episodes of Village SquareCast this fall.
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer our very favorite listeners (you) this feed drop of one of our very favorite podcasts (that isn't Village SquareCast)—Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other—with its host the one and only Corey Nathan. (Corey just happens to also be our co-host too we like him so much.)
In this episode of TP&R Corey interviews Bob Cusack of THE HILL. We hope if you love Corey as much as we do you'll hop on over to listen to more and subscribe. Find them online here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Here's the TP&R description:
Journalistic integrity. How can individual reporters and news outlets uphold their professional ethics? Is it possible in today's environment? How can a journalist get a coveted interview, yet be fair without it becoming a hit job or a puff piece? Is it any different now than 5 or 10 or 25+ years ago, when our guest Bob Cusack of THE HILL first entered the business? What is it like interviewing Donald Trump (which Bob has done 4 times)? How can reporters be equipped to deal with attacks from a subject like Trump who repeatedly refers to the press as "the enemy of the people"? What about situations when correspondents are in harm's way due to such attacks? What lessons can be learned from the demise of companies such as BuzzFeed and Vice Media? Oh, and of course we do a little political prognostication!
Bob Cusack serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Hill, a media platform that provides nonpartisan reporting on the inner workings of Government and the nexus of politics and business. Bob has been reporting on policy and politics in Washington, D.C. since 1995 and has interviewed top newsmakers such as former President Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He regularly appears on news networks as a non-partisan political analyst and has won six awards from the National Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists. Bob is also an accomplished tennis player and has appeared in numerous movies and tv shows such as WONDER WOMAN and VEEP.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. —Abraham Lincoln.
This episodes tells the story of one group of people who have risen.
Built by patriotic volunteers, Braver Angels is a national movement to bridge the partisan divide, equally balanced between conservatives and progressives at every level of leadership. They work in communities, on college campuses, in the media, and in the halls of political power. We’ll offer up a behind the scenes view of this extraordinary group of Americans—how they formed, what they’ve learned and what’s next.
Find bios for our participants and a full program description online here.
We hope you’ll join us as we explore what happens when people of goodwill who might not agree cross each others’ thresholds and break a little bread together. Whoever you are, whatever your beliefs, bring an open mind, an open heart (and an empty stomach) for a continuing conversation on the two topics your mother taught you to never broach in polite company: politics and religion. We can’t wait.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Is political branding of everything really good for anyone?
These days politicians aren’t the only ones who have to state their opinion on every single political disagreement du jour. It seems like practically every religious, nonprofit and for-profit company has to do the same, with everyone from mom-and-pop operations to Fortune 500 companies forced to run the gauntlet through our cold civil war. Are you “us” or are you “them”? We’ll talk about just how advisable this situation is and if there might be a better way.
The God Squad concludes 13 years of talking about the challenging issues where faith intersects with the public square.
Meet the God Squad, the brains behind our series “God Squad: Improbable conversations for people of faith and no faith at all (because talking politics wasn’t hard enough). Joining us for God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Dr. Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church Tallahassee, Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel, and Jermaine White of JPMorgan Chase.
Find bios for our participants and a full program description online here.
We hope you’ll join us as we explore what happens when people of goodwill who might not agree cross each others’ thresholds and break a little bread together. Whoever you are, whatever your beliefs, bring an open mind, an open heart (and an empty stomach) for a continuing conversation on the two topics your mother taught you to never broach in polite company: politics and religion. We can’t wait.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Throughout American history, Black women have been expected to serve and support others. Now, what should be done to support Black women?
Despite Black women being the anchor for their families, networks, and community, they continue to be disregarded for economic opportunities, dismissed in health care, and deprioritized in society. Black women in America have historically faced an intersectional disadvantage due to both race and gender discrimination, and these challenges continue to persist today.
A panel discussion, featuring academic experts, industry professionals, and community members, will encourage residents to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and understand the experiences of Black women. Table talks will provide an opportunity for attendees to share their own experiences and perspectives on the issues discussed by the panelists. These conversations will be facilitated to encourage attendees to engage in meaningful dialogue and share their thoughts and ideas in a small group setting.
This program was presented by The Village Square and Leon County Government.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Find the full program description with guest bios online here.
Don’t miss this warm, funny professional’s guided tour of an industry that is failing us—the "Broken News." You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll know a thing or two to do to fix it.
Our very special guest, Chris Stirewalt—a former Fox News political editor— gives us an inside view of the rage-driven political environment we’ve found ourselves plunged into: “Rage revenue-addicted news companies are plagued by shoddy reporting, sensationalism, groupthink, and brain-dead partisan tribalism. Newsrooms rely on emotion-driven blabber to entrance conflict-addled super users.” We think that just about nails it.
Chris Stirewalt is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on American politics, voting trends, public opinion, and the media. He is concurrently a contributing editor and weekly columnist for The Dispatch. Before joining AEI, he was political editor of Fox News Channel, where he helped coordinate political coverage across the network and specialized in on-air analysis of polls and voting trends.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Love Thy Neighbor. No Exceptions? Does the admonition to love one’s neighbor really come without exceptions? Must churches welcome white nationalists? Gay couples? January 6 sympathizers? BLM activists? Is everyone my neighbor? And what does love really mean?
Joining us for God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Pastor Joe Davis, Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, Scott Martin of Element 3 Church, Pastor Latricia Scriven of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, and Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel.
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Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
Why do we connect emotionally with some places and not others? And why does that matter? Author and speaker Peter Kageyama loves cities. Big cities, small cities, villages and small towns. Our special podcast guest is Peter Kageyama on his extraordinary book. Wherever you live, this program is for you. In fact, wherever you live, we think you ought to begin a love affair with your city.
So what does loving the city you live in have to do with healing the partisan divide? Turns out the answer is “almost everything.” Tune in to find out why.
Whatever you do, watch the Grand Rapids Lip Dub when you get to that place in the podcast. Really, you’re going to thank us. And while Peter doesn’t mention the Levi’s Strauss Go Forth Campaign in this talk, we learned about it from him in an earlier talk. The video inspires us to see the plight of cities in the Rust Belt like Braddock, Pennsylvania as a frontier.
Like us, you’re never going to forget meeting Peter Kageyama.
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Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.
“For the Love of Cities,” in a throwback event offered in partnership with Leon County Government, City of Tallahassee and KCCI Tallahassee.
The forces that divide us are big, strong, viral, international in scope and have seemingly infected every system of our body politic. It’s the degree of that rot that has led us back this year to where it all began — to people we’ve come to know over these years — to this place, these people. Through this tumultuous time, we have come to believe that if we’re going to care about the American idea — if we’re going to truly live it out (and maybe save it) — it will be in hometowns like this one between neighbors like us. And it will ultimately be about who we are to each other, which Washington D.C. doesn’t get to decide for us. (And there is a growing body of academic work that supports our contention.) We say if we love our country, democracy is lived out here — as we love our city and we at least try to love our neighbor. Italians call a deep love for the village you call home “campanilismo” — all that lies within view of the local campanile or bell tower, the tallest building in town — but we’re calling this idea “local patriotism,” and think it could catch on if we can forge a trail for other hometowns. Ultimately, we think it’s possible that the only thing powerful enough to truly conquer the “Goliath” of this deepening national dysfunction is the “David” of local community.
“True patriotism serves,” says Stephen Kiernan, our old friend and author of Authentic Patriotism. Since bringing Stephen to town after the publication of his book, he’s become so disturbed by our political dysfunction that he’s advocating this same bottom-up approach in his project “Vermont to the Tenth Power.” Joining Stephen is Sally Bradshaw, Governor Bush’s former Chief of Staff, who got off the presidential campaign trail and jumped right into being a local bookseller when she opened Midtown Reader, in her pursuit of lived democracy in our hometown.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
"WHEN TWO ENEMIES ARE TALKING, THEY'RE NOT FIGHTING." When Daryl Davis was ten, he didn’t understand hate yet. But then he was the only black scout in a parade to honor Paul Revere’s ride to Concord, when he began getting hit by bottles. It was then that he formed a question in his mind that he’s spent much of a lifetime answering: “How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?” Failing to find his answer in books and history, as an adult and an accomplished musician, he realized who better to ask than a member of an organization formed around the premise—the KKK. So began our guest’s extraordinary story, in which a black man befriended over 200 KKK members, starting with a grand wizard. We’ll learn how his improbable, impossible, openhearted journey can light our way.
Musician and Race Reconciliator Daryl Davis, has single-handedly been the impetus for over two hundred White supremacists to renounce their ideology and turn their lives around. As a Black man, Daryl has attended more Ku Klux Klan rallies than most White people and certainly most Blacks — short of being on the wrong end of a rope. His true-life encounters with Grand Dragons, Imperial Wizards, neo-Nazi Commanders are detailed in his documentary Accidental Courtesy, and his riveting first book Klan-Destine Relationships. Daryl tours around the country and around the world performing musical concerts and giving lectures on race reconciliation, inspiring both racists and non-racists to redirect their positions toward working together to truly make America the greatest country it can be.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In our year-long celebration of the superpower of healthy friendships across differences, you’ll meet God Squad’s friends who they don’t quite agree with. Then we’ll let friendly disagreement rip (and live to tell). Join us for this chat about how to tackle difficult topics within the relationships that matter to us the most… and how to keep friendships healthy even when conflict arises.
Joining the God Squad are Pastor Betsy Ouelette Zierden of the United Methodist Church, Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Pastor Latricia Scriven of Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church, and Retired Rabbi Jack Romberg.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Isn't Hanukkah the most important holiday to Jews? Don't Catholics object to sex unless reproduction is the goal? Don't all religions worship the same God and (more or less) teach the same things? Doesn't the Bible say that God helps those who help themselves? The God Squad will consider many of the myths, truths, and misunderstandings that everyday people have about religion in America.
Joining us for God Squad are Dr. Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church Tallahassee, Father Tom Dillion of St. John Paul II Chapel, Dr. Judy Mandrell of Life Changer Church of God in Christ, Adil Attari, and Retired Rabbi Jack Romberg.
Hedrick Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times reporter and editor and Emmy award-winning producer/correspondent, has established himself over the past 50 years as one of America’s premier journalists. His best-seller, “Who Stole the American Dream” is a startling and revealing portrait of the past 30 years of U.S. political and economic history, hailed both for its compelling stories and ”brilliant analysis.”
In 26 years with The New York Times, Smith served in Saigon, Cairo, Paris, the American South and as bureau chief in Moscow and Washington. In 1971, he was a member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for the Pentagon Papers series and in 1974, he won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting from Russia and Eastern Europe.
His subsequent book The Russians was a No.1 American best-seller translated into 16 languages. Smith’s next book, The Power Game: How Washington Works, was bedside reading for President Clinton. Many members of Congress used it as a political bible. He has written three other best-sellers.
For PBS, Hedrick Smith has created 26 prime-time specials and mini-series since 1989 on such varied topics as “Inside the Terror Network,” “Is Wal-Mart Good for America?” “The Wall Street Fix,” “Inside Gorbachev’s USSR,” “Can You Afford to Retire?” and “Rediscovering Dave Brubeck.” He has won most of television’s top awards including two Emmys, two national public service awards, and two Dupont-Columbia Gold batons for the best public affairs programs on U.S. television in 1991 and in 2002.
Join us for this conversation with Hedrick Smith, facilitated by Mary Ellen Klas, Capitol bureau chief for the Miami Herald.
“Chloé has an independent cast of mind and a roving curiosity that leads her to ask probing questions, pursue original lines of inquiry, and reach provocative and often brilliant conclusions. Every time I see her, I walk away with my mind buzzing with new ideas—her ideas.”—New York Times columnist Bret Stephens Chloé Valdary has a refreshing and humanizing approach to the fraught moment we're in and a completely different take on how we can heal racial division and hatred inside our organizations and across society in general. She calls her approach the "Theory of Enchantment" — "an antiracism program that actually fights bigotry instead of spreading it." Chloé sees bigotry as expressing a deep loss of sense of self in the person who behaves in a racist way—and she teaches people to overcome bigotry by reaching for their humanity (and understanding their own). The 3 laws of enchantment: “treat people like human beings not political extractions,” “criticize to lift up and empower, never to tear down and destroy,” and “root everything you do in love and compassion."
After spending a year as a Bartley fellow at the Wall Street Journal, Chloé Valdary developed The Theory of Enchantment, an innovative framework for compassionate antiracism that combines social emotional learning, character development, and interpersonal growth as tools for leadership development in the boardroom and beyond. She has also lectured in universities across America, including Harvard and Georgetown. Her work has been covered in Psychology Today Magazine and her writings have appeared in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Read a profile piece on Chloé in The Atlantic here.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Back in the day, many political foes were friends in real life—hanging out for a beer after a tough legislative floor fight, attending their kids’ weddings over the weekends. It’s a sure sign of the times when any across-the-aisle friends that still exist out there in the wild tend to keep their friendship on the down low, in case they’d be accused of fraternizing with “the enemy.” From the halls of Congress to our hometown, this makes becoming or staying bipartisan friends an act of straight up rebellion against the toxic and divided culture we find ourselves in.
We chat with one such pair of fantastically dissimilar friends, Dr. Jacob Hess (who has been an influential force for The Village Square) and Village Square Founder Liz Joyner. Jacob and Liz have been rebelling together for about a decade now, and they’re not only convinced liberals and conservatives are better together but they are obstinately bound and determined to buck the stultifying groupthink and start a trend.
Jacob is the co-author of “You’re Not as Crazy as I thought (but you’re still wrong).” Dr. Hess works at a tech company that makes apps to overcome pornography addiction, chemical dependency, and depression, and is Editor-in-Chief at Public Square Magazine and writes for the Deseret News on the peace-building beat.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
‘The way you show people that they matter is aiming your curiosity at them. Ask yourself “what kinds of people do I talk about, but never with?” Whoever is underrepresented in your life will be overrepresented in your imagination.’ —Mónica Guzmán Ready to fight back against the confusion, heartbreak, and madness of our dangerously divided times? Find the answers you need by talking with people—rather than about them—and asking the questions you want across the divides you want, curiously. Seeing where people are coming from isn’t just possible. It’s easier than you think. Mónica Guzmán is a bridge builder, journalist, and author who lives for great conversations sparked by curious questions. Her new book, “I Never Thought of it That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times,” was featured on the Glenn Beck Podcast and named a New York Times recommended read.
Monica is Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan grassroots organization working to depolarize America; founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, an organization working to build a more curious world; host of live interview series at Crosscut; and cofounder of the award-winning Seattle newsletter The Evergrey. She was a 2019 fellow at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, where she studied social and political division, and a 2016 fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, where she researched how journalists can rethink their roles to better meet the needs of a participatory public. She was named one of the 50 most influential women in Seattle, served twice as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes, and plays a barbarian named Shadrack in her besties’ Dungeons & Dragons campaign. A Mexican immigrant, Latina, and dual US/Mexico citizen, she lives in Seattle with her husband and two kids and is the proud liberal daughter of conservative parents.
The program will be facilitated by Village Square friend and Executive Director of Bridge USA, Manu Meel.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
It’s an election year. Should churches have political candidates speak at Sunday services? Should clergy tell congregants how to vote? Should congregations organize political rallies or get-out-the-vote efforts? What are the proper lines for religious involvement in politics? And what are the consequences (to the body politic and to religious communities) when these lines get crossed?
Joining us for God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Pastor Joe Davis, Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel, Discipleship Pastor Funmi Ojetayo of Four Oaks East, and Lead Pastor Scott Martin of Element3 Church.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
It’s an election year. Should churches have political candidates speak at Sunday services? Should clergy tell congregants how to vote? Should congregations organize political rallies or get-out-the-vote efforts? What are the proper lines for religious involvement in politics? And what are the consequences (to the body politic and to religious communities) when these lines get crossed?
Joining us for God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Pastor Joe Davis, Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel, Discipleship Pastor Funmi Ojetayo of Four Oaks East, and Lead Pastor Scott Martin of Element3 Church.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Bridge building?! (We’re not talking about the Golden Gate, people.) An industry that was recently unknown and almost nonexistent has exploded in recent years, as average citizens begin to see the sharp growth in political divisions as an emergency that requires our attention. In the midst of a divisive election season, we’ll take a pause to chat with leaders in the bridge building field about the outlook for cooperation across political differences and potential improvements on the horizon that we can all reach for.
Is there hope of a tipping point where bridge-building is more prominent than the divide-and-(attempt to)-conquer approach of late? Might average Americans like our heroic guests and listeners have to roll up their sleeves and show our politicians the way?
Speaking of the politicians: stay tuned until the end to learn about the Common Ground Scorecard where you can find out which candidates on your ballot are interested in bridging divides. #Mavericks
Joining the conversation are Pearce Godwin, Founder & CEO of Listen First Project; Kristin Hansen, Executive Director of Civic Health Project; and Liz Joyner, Founder and President of The Village Square.
Listen First Project leads the collaborative movement to heal America by bridging divides. They elevate the impact, visibility, and voice of the bridge-building field by aggregating, aligning, and amplifying the efforts of 500 #ListenFirst Coalition partner organizations into large scale, national campaigns and strategies. Together these organizations transform division and contempt into connection and understanding.
Civic Health Project is dedicated to reducing America's toxic partisan polarization and enabling healthier public discourse and decision-making across our citizenry, politics, and media. Through grantmaking, advocacy, and convenings, Civic Health Project supports the most promising research and interventions to reduce political division and foster social cohesion across the country.
This episode is part of The Democracy Group's 2022 Midterms Series.
In celebration of The Village Square’s determination this year to celebrate what’s working and worth emulating (in a world in which so much seems broken), God Squad will kick off their 13th season thinking about our fellow humans who have behaved heroically during these challenging times. But—beware—one person’s hero might be the other’s villain in these divisive “us or them” times. If we can’t agree, we’ll imagine what a hero might look like, and ask—might it fall to us to save ourselves?
Joining us for God Squad are Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Dr. Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church Tallahassee, Stefanie Posner of Temple Israel, Dr. Judy Mandrell of Life Changer Church of God in Christ, and Dr. Brant Copeland, Teaching Elder with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
“There’s people wandering around in packs, not thinking for themselves, seized by this mob mentality trying to spread their disease and destroy society. And you probably think, as I do, that you’re the good guy in the zombie apocalypse movie, and all this hate and polarization, it’s being propagated by the other people, because we’re Brad Pitt, right?”
—Dr. Robb Willer, Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University**
When it comes to navigating our deepening ideological divide in America, what if we’re not so much the hero fighting the forces of evil—instead we’re accidentally acting just a little too much like “foot soldiers in the army of the undead,” wonders our special guest, Dr. Robb Willer. Robb has been working on understanding the moral underpinnings of this accelerating anger—and his research shows that we’re speaking different languages.
Dr. Willer, professor of psychology and sociology at Stanford University and Director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab (and movie buff), shares his highly-relatable, user-friendly and scientifically-grounded advice on how we might improve the quality of our political conversations—and possibly ditch a few zombies along the way. Kristin Hansen, Executive Director of Civic Health Project (and one of our favorite civic superheroes) joins us to facilitate the conversation.
Dr. Robb Willer is a Professor of Sociology, Psychology (by courtesy), and Organizational Behavior (by courtesy) and the Director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab at Stanford University. He studies politics, morality, cooperation, and status. Learn more about Dr. Willer’s work here, see below for some of Dr. Willer’s articles.
Kristin Hansen, Executive Director of Civic Health Project, is a national leader in the field of bridge building, having taken a “civic sabbatical” from her tech career to help save American democracy (and we’re so glad she has). She’s devoted to accelerating the efforts of academics and practitioners who seek to reduce polarization and improve civil discourse in our citizenry, politics and media. Previously, she’s held senior executive roles at Intel, IBM and multiple start-up software companies.
This important programming is offered in partnership with Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of our multi-year series “UNUM: Democracy Reignited.”
Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In the year prior to his assassination, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King isolated himself in a house in Jamaica where he wrote what was to become his final book. King said he felt at home there: “In Jamaica I feel like a human being.”
“One day, here in America,” said King, “I hope that we will see this and we will become one big family of Americans.” 50 years later, it is an aching American tragedy that we find ourselves with issues of race, arguably, as emotional, divisive and consequential as in King’s time.
The culmination of King’s thinking in Jamaica ultimately became the book “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” In it he offers this stark warning: “Together we must learn to live together as brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools.”
Our failure to “live together as brothers” has gone to seed in what increasingly feels like the chaos King foreshadowed. But right beside his tragic premonition of our future is also his uncanny prescription of a path forward. To King the answer lies, at least in part, with community.
At the Village Square, we’ve long believed that the revival of American geographic community across differences of opinion and demographics is ultimately the only thing that can save us. No matter how profound our disagreement runs, we’re still neighbors whose lives intersect.
As we consider how to move forward together, we are inspired by insights from Neil Phillips’ Race to Truth talks for which he won The Nantucket Project Audience Award multiple times. Neil is an educator, entrepreneur, public speaker, coach and youth advocate. Neil founded Visible Men Acadamy, a charter school for at-risk boys of color. He is currently serving as the first ever Chief Diversity Officer for The Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Also featured in this program: Chuck Hobbs joins us for a cameo appearance to share a story about growing up in a racially divided town. Chuck is a criminal defense and civil rights attorney who has tried many high-profile cases, including two jury trials that aired on Court TV. Chuck is also a freelance writer and political commentator, appearing on CNN, Fox News, E! and other major networks.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Why don’t liberals seem to care about moral behavior and the moral communities that support it? Why don’t conservatives seem to care about rampant public corruption at the heart of our political system? If we care about doing the right thing, can’t we care about both? There is perhaps nowhere in our civic debate where the conversation has grown so calcified as the one about morality.
We’ve long since stopped any form of real communication, instead hurling accusations at each other across what seems to be an impossible – and ever-widening – divide. But if you take a fresh look at the best case each side makes, they each have a real argument, in fact we think each sees an “asteroid” coming our way – with the problem getting bigger over time and the longer we ignore it. And until we cross the partisan divide and realize that team effort can solve both problems – as we would behave if they were real asteroids we must deflect to protect life on earth, we’re stuck in a do-loop of failure to communicate.
Joining us for this program are: Lucy Morgan, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and Dr. Bill Shiell, President of Northern Seminary and former pastor at First Baptist Church. Facilitated by Steve Seibert.
Funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Join us as podcast host Corey Nathan of Talkin’ Politics and Religion without Killin’ Each Other flips the switch by interviewing The Village Square's Liz Joyner and Vanessa Rowse about how we make pigs fly. We were fast friends with Corey right from the start because of our shared goal to have constructive and respectful conversations about those taboo topics of politics and religion.
Corey started TP&R to take back some of the airspace from the screamers who feed off our divisions. He says politics and religion are too important to be left only to the extremes, so he hosts engaging, provocative and fun conversations about the most pressing issues of our times. We (obviously) love his mission, we love the show, and we love hanging out with Corey, so we were thrilled when he invited us on the show. Now we're sharing that talk with you because we think you'll love Corey and his podcast too.
From Corey, about this episode: "We get into all kinds of important, timely topics including:
- how we're all living in this "high energy environment";
- the "us vs. them dynamic" and what the solution is;
- the value of actually getting together in person;
- how the Village Square is able to get people of diverse views in the same venue together;
- how the first casualty in this environment is nuance;
- and being played by the "conflict entrepreneurs.""
Shout out to The Democracy Group for introducing us to Corey Nathan. The Democracy group is a network of podcasts working to understand what’s broken in our democracy and how we can all work together to fix it.
On this special edition of Village SquareCast, we’re excited to introduce you to one of our BFFs in the saving democracy space. Jenna Spinelle of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy has a new podcast we think you'll love, so we're sharing episode #1 in our feed.
When the People Decide is a new eight-episode narrative series on ballot initiatives that tells the stories of activists, legislators, academics, and average citizens who changed their cities, states, and the country by taking important issues directly to voters.
This first episode of When the People Decide tells the story of a campaign in Michigan to end partisan gerrymandering in 2018 and shows how it is part of a legacy of ballot initiatives dating back to the 1800s. After becoming disillusioned with the results of the 2016 election, Katie Fahey took to Facebook to gauge the interest of grassroots mobilization amongst her colleagues, friends and family.
Now the executive director of a nonpartisan voter reform organization, Fahey shares how the ballot initiative excited everyday people about becoming active in politics, including its 10,000 volunteers, and how they were inspired to make political changes in their communities. We also hear from historian Steven Piott about the unlikely origin of the initiative and referendum in the United States at the turn of the 20th century.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group. Check out one of our fellow network podcasts here: 70 Million
It's really easy to be in touch right now with the dark side of human nature that's been so thoroughly highlighted through the pandemic, but is there something else to see? Maybe transcendence, empathy and heroic self-sacrifice? And where there isn't much to look at that's positive, can we turn our trauma into a spiritual evolution — personally or even as a culture?
Join us as we welcome God Squad regulars Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, Pastor Joe Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church, and Rabbi Michael Shields of Temple Israel to guide us through this conversation. Plus, we will be joined by guest Reverend Margaret Fox of First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee.
Find this program online at The Village Square.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group. Check out one of our fellow network podcasts here: Politics in Question.
Meet "The Skeptics," a DIY lay version of God Squad — they're a group of politically and spiritually diverse group of people who've been meeting once a week for years (in some private location that for some reason they're not letting on to). Lucky us — we'll meet four of the Skeptics (a Catholic, a Protestant, a Mormon, and an atheist) who have forged deep friendships by gathering regularly to discuss spiritual topics in a respectful manner where disagreement is both welcomed and appreciated. They'll let us in on an hour of their private conversation and even lend a little support to new Skeptic groups that might be inspired to launch. Facilitated by Village Square Founder Liz Joyner and featuring The Village Square's Bill Mattox — both a veteran of more God Squad programs than he'd imagine and a member of "The Skeptics." Also a Skeptic, former NACo President Bryan Desloge.
Find this program online at The Village Square.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group. Check out one of our fellow network podcasts here: Swamp Stories
On this episode of Village SquareCast, we’re thrilled to introduce you to one of our besties in the saving democracy space. Corey Nathan, host of Talkin’ Politics and Religion without Killin’ Each Other, is committed to taking some airspace back from the screamers who feed off our divisions. He says politics and religion are too important to be left only to the extremes, so he hosts engaging, provocative and fun conversations about the most pressing issues of our times.
We're sharing an episode of Talkin' Politics and Religion in our feed because we think you'll be hooked just like we are (you're welcome). We selected an episode featuring Christine Todd Whitman, the former Governor of New Jersey. Hear it straight from Corey about why you should tune in:
"In this conversation with Christine Todd Whitman, the former Governor (of the best state in the union!) and Cabinet Member, we talk about how she started her career in politics by going around the country and actually listening to people. Imagine that! We also discussed how she was able to achieve bipartisan collaboration during her 2 terms as governor of New Jersey; an assessment of how the Biden Administration is doing on climate initiatives; other achievable actions that can have a positive effect on the environment; what she's doing to resist the danger posed by candidates who are brazenly anti-democracy; the encouraging work of States United Democracy Center - "more than a think tank... an action tank"; a sober warning about current governors who are deploying the tactics of dictators; her experience with Donald Trump back when he was screwing over small contractors who built his casinos in New Jersey; and we even get to talk about religion!
Christine Todd Whitman is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the States United Democracy Center and she is the President of The Whitman Strategy Group. Governor Whitman served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and was the 50th Governor of the State of New Jersey, serving as its first woman governor. Governor Whitman also serves a number of non-profit organizations including as Chairman of the American Security Project, Vice-Chairman of the Trustees of the Eisenhower Fellowships and Advisor on Renew America Movement. Among quite a few other non-profits and causes, she was co-chair of the Commission on the Rule of Law and Democracy at the Brennan Center at New York University. Also during the 2020 election cycle she served as Chair of Republicans and Independents for Biden. And on top of all of that, she is the author of a New York Times best seller called It’s My Party Too: Taking Back the Republican Party... And Bringing the Country Together Again."
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group. Check out one of our fellow network podcasts here: Democracy Works
“Trenchant and groundbreaking work.”
—Molly Ball, National Political Correspondent, TIME Magazine
“The go-to source for understanding how demographic change is impacting American politics.”
—Jonathan Capehart, The Washington Post and MSNBC
How do societies respond to great demographic change? This question lingers over the contemporary politics of the United States and other countries where persistent immigration has altered populations and may soon produce a majority minority milestone. Or where the original ethnic or religious majority loses its numerical advantage to one or more foreign-origin minority groups. Until now, most of our knowledge about large-scale responses to demographic change has been based on studies of individual people’s reactions, which tend to be instinctively defensive and intolerant. We know little about why and how these habits are sometimes tempered to promote more successful coexistence.
Dr. Justin Gest is an Associate Professor of Policy and Government at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. He is the author of six books, primarily on the politics of immigration and demographic change—all from Oxford University Press or Cambridge University Press.
Dr. Gest's research has been published in journals including the British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Comparative Political Studies, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Global Governance, Global Policy, International Migration Review, Migration Studies, Polity, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. He is the editor of Silent Citizenship: The Politics of Marginality in Unequal Democracies (Routledge, 2016), special issues of Citizenship Studies, and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
He has also provided commentary, analysis, or reporting to a number of broadcast networks, including ABC, BBC, CBC, CNN, and NPR, and news publications including The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, POLITICO, Reuters, The Times, Vox, and The Washington Post.
Find this program online at The Village Square.
This podcast series is presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group. Check out one of our fellow network podcasts here: How Do We Fix It?
Dr. Kurt Gray of UNC Chapel Hill joins us for this timely and intriguing discussion about intellectual humility. Simply put, we'll be exploring the importance of knowing you might be wrong (gasp! yes, even you), why this is so important, and what we can do about it to help build human connections and bridge our divides. At a time when complex technology of all sorts is exploding and voluminous information about the world is at our literal fingertips, one commodity in oddly short supply is intellectual humility. And in these polarized times, we've become shockingly convinced that somehow our political allies can decipher reality with utter clarity and it's only our ideological foes who are thoroughly, utterly and so very dangerously WRONG.
Kurt says our brains are designed to notice patterns and make generalizations to keep us safe, not so much to find truth with accuracy, and this design quirk leads to us overgeneralizing what we think we know in unproductive ways. He brings a strong argument that this describes you too, sorry (you'll actually be as entertained as you can be when you're learning just how deluded you are). We'll imagine what we might achieve together if we remember to restore intellectual humility to our politics, to our planet, and to our lives.
Kurt is an Associate Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs both the Deepest Beliefs Lab, which studies beliefs around morality and religion, and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. With Harvard's Dr. Daniel Wegner he is the co-author of the book "The Mind Club: Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters."
Discussion facilitated by Christine White, Executive Director of The Village Square.
100 Coffees. Coffee and people are two of the joys of Alex Workman’s life. He has a long-standing goal of trying to have coffee with someone he’s never met (or doesn’t know very well) once a week. In 2021, Alex embarked on a challenge to meet 100 people for coffee – he reached his goal by May and kept right on going. 163 coffees later he tells us what he learned. We think it will change your life.
Countless dinner guests. Alex and Chelsea Workman are a husband-and-wife creative team in Tallahassee, FL who help individuals, businesses and organizations tell their story. By chance, they ended up with many political clients – on both sides of the aisle. Ignoring advice that they’d have to pick a side, they show us how we can chart our own path and make our community a better place along the way. Oh, and their signature move is to invite clients over for dinner.
Intentional living. You can’t spend time with Alex and Chelsea without noticing that family is everything. Their marriage is strong; their kids are in tow; they revel in the journey. And just like they’re all-in with each other, they’re all-in with their community. They believe that instead of just complaining about how things are, we should work to make things better. And they do exactly that – check out their impressive list of community projects on their website.
Aren’t they smart?! Alex & Chelsea’s way of life demonstrates how to put some of The Village Square’s best advice into action: spend time with people of various backgrounds and viewpoints; lead with relationships instead of issues; and connect in inviting social settings. (We must be soul mates because they didn’t even realize they were taking our advice.)
The Workmans challenge each of us to “make our community a place where people are KNOWN instead of just being KNOWN OF!” Join us for this chat with Alex and get ready to be inspired.
Are you tired of us vs. them, good vs. evil, partisan politics? Join us on Village SquareCast, "the podcast your mother warned you about,” for a fresh take on the topics you're not supposed to discuss in polite company—politics, religion and race—between people who don't look or think alike—with respect, friendship, even laughter. Over 15 years, The Village Square has hosted hundreds of gatherings with tens of thousands of people—in bars, in churches, and even across 100 continuous tables in the middle of a downtown street. And now we bring you our favorite conversations, from inspiring leaders to cool people exhausted by the political rancor and looking for a better way. Subscribe to Village SquareCast wherever you listen to podcasts.
A conversation about how to really fix extremism.
Given the dangerous rise of political extremism in America, it's well past time we stopped wagging our fingers and do a bit of soul searching of our own about why our society is producing so many citizens unmoored from the connections that support moderation. Many experts point to the epidemic of loneliness or mass loneliness, what Hannah Arendt called "the seedbed of tyranny." Others believe changes in relationships between men and women in the digital age contributes. We'll consider our young men on campus and off, who seem especially susceptible to the kind of loneliness that can drive extremism.
We are delighted to gather with God Squad regulars Pastor Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church, Dr. Dan Leshem of FSU Hillel, Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, and Pastor Joseph Davis, Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church.
Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America
“We can be different and united—the value of the American experiment is contingent on the truth of this proposition.” —Theodore Roosevelt Johnson III
Dr. Theodore R. Johnson is the great-grandson of sharecroppers who, unfathomably, believed in what Johnson calls “the Promise,” that we Americans are created equal and that “each of us will respect and defend the rights and liberty of others.” Willie and Annie Johnson so believed in that promise that they named Dr. Johnson’s grandfather and namesake Theodore Roosevelt Johnson, after our 26th president invited the first black man, Booker T. Washington, to the White House for dinner. Dr. Johnson shares his family’s deep reverence for this American experiment, but also believes our failure to bind together around our highest ideals is an existential threat to our future.
Join us as Dr. Johnson makes an invitation—and a challenge—to all of us, born of lived experience as a black son of the American south and love of this country he took an oath to preserve.
Facilitated by Dr. Nashid Madyun, Executive Director of Florida Humanities.
Dr. Theodore R. Johnson is a public policy scholar and military veteran who served as a White House Fellow and speechwriter to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Ted is currently a Senior Fellow and Director of the Fellows Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law. He holds a Doctorate of Law and Policy, and his research focuses primarily on African American political behavior as well as civic solidarity.
Find this event online at The Village Square.
This podcast series is presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group. Check out one of our fellow network podcasts here: Democracy Paradox
It’s easy to lose touch with just how extraordinary it is that America’s charting Declaration named “the pursuit of happiness” right up there with life and liberty as our opening argument to stick it in the king’s eye. So are we happy? If you look at objective measures of late, the answer is “no.” And our sense of it is that if “we the people” are miserable, this can’t be good for the American experiment.
Join us as we become bound and re-determined to be happy. And we’re beyond delighted to announce that our special guest in this journey is the extraordinary Arthur Brooks—a one man beacon of inspiration toward both happiness and radical decency in politics. This former AEI President, bestselling author, Atlantic columnist and Harvard professor is devoting the most recent chapter of his extraordinary career to discovering how to live our best lives. Fresh off the release of his most recent book, “From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life,” Brooks made one of his first stops to see us.
Arthur is the bestselling author of 11 books on topics ranging from economic opportunity to human happiness. His recent bestseller, Love Your Enemies, released in March 2019, is a guide to building a better country and mending personal relationships amidst our culture of political polarization. In February 2022, Arthur released From Strength to Strength, a new book on finding meaning, success, and deep purpose in the second half of life. Read more about our special guest here.
Facilitating the conversation is our friend and owner of Midtown Reader, Sally Bradshaw. Sally’s extensive career includes serving as Jeb Bush’s campaign manager during his successful bid for Governor in 1998, and as his Chief of Staff from 1999 until 2002. She has also acted as a senior advisor to Mitt Romney and Florida’s Republican Party. In 2016, after years of consulting, Sally opened Midtown Reader.
Find this event online at The Village Square.
This podcast series is presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group. Check out one of our fellow network podcasts here: The Bully Pulpit
Prepared to explore “Empathy in the Age of Schadenfreude,” the God Squad showed up to a room full of people disturbed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It turns out our planned topic was just the opening we needed to explore how one addresses the moral complexities of the war in Ukraine.
Join us for this timely conversation as we seek spiritual reinforcement from God Squad originals Pastor Betsy Ouellette Zierden of St. George Island United Methodist Church, Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral, and Rabbi Jack Romberg, author of "A doorway to Heroism: A decorated German-Jewish Soldier who became an American Hero."
Schadenfreude = the experience of feeling joy due to another person’s misfortune.
As the political landscape has devolved into a Mad Max hellscape of blame and retribution (and sometimes even worse), can we find a way to wrestle up a little empathy for our fellow human, even the ones who we don’t agree with — liberal or conservative; Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Atheist; black, white or brown and everyone in between? Is it possible to find humanity amidst the age of political ruin? We’ll find out.
Find this event online at The Village Square.
This podcast series is presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group podcast network.
It's hard to reconcile that the author of the most central and sacred words in the American experiment—that all men are created equal—enslaved people. Always game for a challenge (or possibly lacking the good judgment our mothers raised us to have), we've invited Jefferson scholar and host of "The Thomas Jefferson Hour" and author of the recently released "Repairing Jefferson's America" Clay Jenkinson to help us wrestle with a healthy and historically full picture of this man so deeply central to our story as a nation, in both its glory and its shame.
Find this event online at The Village Square.
This podcast series is presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group podcast network.
Think it's impossible to bridge today's divisions? We beg to differ. Join politically diverse Village Square moderators looking back on the "best of" fifteen years—and now 50 podcast episodes— of bringing people together who don't look or think alike to discuss the thorniest issues of our time, while actually having fun. You'll hear about what made them laugh and cry, what inspired them, and other behind-the-scenes moments they've been mum about (until now, that is).
Bill Mattox, Vita Woodrich, and Liz Joyner take a trip down memory lane while the rest of us pull out our notepads and soak up their wisdom. This 50th SquareCast episode is packed with practical tips used by our guests as they navigate the challenges and joys of building bridges in their personal lives and with their beloved Village Square family.
Find this event online at The Village Square.
This podcast series is presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Village SquareCast is part of The Democracy Group podcast network.
A year-long project by More in Common came up with a description of most of America that a lot of us relate to: “the exhausted majority.” Everything has become political, high conflict, and seemingly inescapable as the electromagnetic suck of angry politics forces us to be either “us” or “them,” when most of us would rather do nothing of the sort. If we have ever needed one, now’s the time to chart a path forward that takes the higher ground. And is it even possible that by turning our attention to something else we might — unfathomably — be doing exactly what just might fix the political mess? We’ll find out together, with God Squad sherpas leading our way.
Joining us are God Squad regulars Pastor Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church of Tallahassee, Dr. Dan Leshem of Hillel FSU, Betsy Ouellette Zierden, and guest Latricia Scriven of New Life United Methodist Church to guide us through this discussion.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event online at The Village Square.
Check out the More in Common study here.
Online trolls and political disinformation. Cancel culture and Twitter pile-ons. We're living in a time when truth itself is under perpetual assault by growing numbers of our fellow citizens (and more than a few Russian bots) who simply don't want to believe anything that they — well — didn't already want to believe. This rising tide of illiberalism from across the political spectrum has many of us yammering on until we turn blue about respectful disagreement and the marketplace of ideas. But what if defenders of truth are missing the most fundamental conceptual revolution at the very core of this American experiment and the enlightenment — of western civilization itself? Jonathan Rauch connects our past to our present challenge as he introduces us to "The Constitution of Knowledge" — the extraordinary system of how we flawed humans gain knowledge that scales and endures. Rauch argues we must know the constitution of knowledge exists if we are to have any hope of defending it.
This frame-shifting conversation is offered in partnership with Florida Humanities as a part of a multi-year series "Unum: Democracy Reignited," exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests in our lives.
Facilitated by Aaron Sharockman, Executive Director of Politifact, based at the Poynter Institute.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
We’re past due for a neighborly heart-to-heart about the tectonic shifts across the political landscape as powerful forces drive globalization inevitably onward and a certain number of citizens – near and far – are dragging their feet as they cumulatively scream stop! This is ultimately a conversation about the roiling class, education and geographic divides here at home. Joining us for the conversation is Dr. Justin Gest, author of The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
There are few areas of the culture war with deeper and more consequential divisions than the ongoing clash between faith and science. And just like with our other divisions, we’re having difficulty navigating the complexities of both faith and science without falling into our angry tribes (tribes that diminish either faith or science).
Rather than having an ongoing conversation of substance about how to apply our exploding understanding of the world around us to solve problems, our communication descends into name-calling and made-up “facts” that support what we want to believe is true (but isn’t necessarily). People of faith feel attacked and marginalized in a world where rapid scientific and technological advancements seem to outpace our ability to use them wisely.
Rabbi Jack Romberg is back to facilitate this program. Joining our panel is FSU Physicist Dr. Harrison Prosper, on the team at CERN in Switzerland that discovered Higgs boson, referred to by some as the “God particle.” Bringing a deeply personal perspective to the conversation is Mike McHargue – or Science Mike – who talks faith “in an age where science explains our world so well.” We’re also delighted to be joined by Fr. Matthew Busch of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
The name for this program comes from the insights of a former Catholic nun, author Karen Armstrong – that mythos (intuition, wisdom, meaning) and logos (rational, pragmatic, and scientific thought) are simply different ways of knowing.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
One enduring reality makes every challenge of democratic self-governance more difficult: human beings. The founders integrated their deep understanding of our flawed nature into the form of government they designed — the checks and balances, the rights of the minority to control the power and excess of majority factions. Now that those dudes are no longer around and it’s our job to steer the ship of state, are we adequately contemplating how the most essential truths of our psychology as a species affect our ability to live and govern together? Are we making good decisions given, uh, humans?
Add to the complex stew of human nature the politics of power – who’s in (and likes order), and who’s out (and will flirt with the change that chaos can bring) – and all the disruption we’re currently experiencing starts to have a story arc.
Making everything just that much worse, we’ve effectively (though accidentally) used technology to weaponize human nature. In today’s angry partisan throwdown, we’re remarkably able to overlook human error in “us” even as we make a hobby out of obsessively pointing out what’s wrong with “them.” (Turns out this is human nature too.)
We’re joined by psychologists Dr. Paul Conway and Dr. Bo Winegard — who have different worldviews, but talk anyway — whose verbal jousting we’ve found truly riveting. We talk people, partisanship, power, and presidents. (No topics that don’t start with a “p”.) Tune in to see if our facilitator, Jovita Woodrich, can get a word in edgewise.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
Founder of Braver Angels and the Institute for American Values, David Blankenhorn has spent his career thinking creatively and provoking constructive discourse about some of the most important and controversial cultural issues of our time. As we find ourselves increasingly locked down inside ideological camps, David defies categories, crosses boundaries, and offers fresh and compelling thinking where we seem most stuck.
Our discussion is wide-ranging and free-wheeling and focuses not just on problems (like hyper-partisanship) but also on solutions (like how to build stronger communities). Facilitated by his long-time friend and Village Square board member, Bill Mattox. If you’re tired of thinking inside the box then this one’s for you.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
Join us for a conversation with very special guest Dr. Danielle Allen — Harvard Professor, classicist, and political scientist, and the author of “Our Declaration,” a book about this critical moment in the future of building a multiracial democracy.
At a time when the future of American democracy is under threat from across the political spectrum — when a disturbingly high number of citizens seem to no longer believe in the American project — Dr. Allen’s body of work “thrillingly affirms the continuing relevance of America’s founding text, ultimately revealing what democracy actually means and what it asks of us.” Part democracy’s orator and part its master mechanic, Dr. Allen is uniquely equipped to guide us to the other side of our current crisis of faith in democracy.
Dr. Allen’s contributions to this moment in history are tangible and impactful — she recently co-chaired the comprehensive report Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century. Find Danielle Allen’s piece “How the Declaration of Independence Offers a Roadmap to a Better Union” in the Spring 2020 “Democracy Edition” of Forum Magazine (begins on page 22).
Join us for this important conversation about our future you won’t soon forget, facilitated by Dr. Nashid Madyun, Executive Director of Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
At a time when too often bad manners and ill-tempers replace conversations of substance, sometimes free speech seems to have simply gone to seed – and we find ourselves wishing someone would control the din. At the same time, our society’s reaction to legitimately held and asserted opinion that differs from our own has at times become toxic and damaging in its own right. While charges of “hate speech” sprout like crabgrass on an un-mowed lawn and college students debate micro-aggressions, when a bad choice of words can tank your career, we seem to be in a societal-wide spitting match about just who is the most tediously offended.
And before we get too haughty about those who might possess a somewhat more sensitive constitution, we have to admit that as a people we seem to be doing a near-professional job of elevating being offensive to an art form. In the current age of opinion overload – when it’s usually the most despicable sentiments that break out of the pack – at a time when a graduation speaker better hew to our own beliefs or we won’t even listen, how do we walk the fine line between protecting the critical right to free speech and maintaining something quaintly reminiscent of being civilized? Is it possible that everyone has gone a wee bit too far?
Joining us for this discussion: Jonathan Rauch and Chuck Hobbs. Facilitated by Rabbi Jack Romberg.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
BYU is the nation’s most consistently “stone-cold sober” school with a focus on upholding traditional values. UC Berkeley has become the country’s quintessential progressive bastion with a reputation for challenging the status quo whenever possible. It would be hard to find two campuses that better capture the political divisions roiling college campuses across America, divisions also striking deeply – even dangerously – at the heart of America herself. These are two of the college campuses the Village Square has worked on in their college campus project, Respect + Rebellion.
Yet for those seeking solutions to this divisive status quo, we think it might be equally prescriptive to look past campus differences and attend to a striking generational commonality university students everywhere likely share: fewer Millennials reportedly believe that it’s “essential to live in a democracy.” For young liberal Americans, vulnerable groups perceive the larger ideals of democracy as having failed or disadvantaged them. For young conservatives, globalization of democracy has brought forces they think are deeply hazardous to the health of civil society itself. Is democracy down for the count in the next generation?
Universities have long been seen and experienced in Western cultures as a place where the ideals of free inquiry and deliberative democracy are embodied – even as the paragon of these values and convictions. But in recent years, colleges across the nation have become front-page news for alarming instances of censoring particular voices and protests escalating to near violence when two ideas come into conflict. Universities may now represent a kind of collective “canary in the coalmine,” which is what makes campus difficulties especially concerning.
We bring you a panel of people who work to keep the spirit of dynamic disagreement alive and well – and respectful – on American college campuses. Who care about the young people making their way at this time of deep and unsettling division.
Joining the conversation:
Musa al Gharbi, Heterodox Academy, Columbia University
Dr. Sam Staley, DeVoe Moore Center, Reason Foundation
Shane Whittington, FSU Center for Leadership & Social Change
Liz Joyner, Founder & CEO of The Village Square
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over. New York Times bestselling author and award-winning investigative journalist Amanda Ripley joins us to offer up a brilliant and frame-shifting understanding of conflict — from the most distant political conflict to the most intimately personal conflict in our closest relationships — from her most recent book “High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out.” As Amanda introduces us to compelling people in high conflict situations — somehow written more like a great novel you can’t put down — we learn how very human it is for us to let the unique dynamics of high conflict take over, and the dire consequences of doing so. Lucky for us Amanda also hands us ingenious and easy-to-implement ways out. We think this book will change your life — it did ours.
Years ago now, we got a call from Amanda Ripley who was researching bridge building work. That’s when we learned that Amanda was a thinker we intended to follow. From there, we’ve read Amanda’s refreshing and deeply thoughtful takes on the important challenges of our time. One of our favorites is a re-imagining of the very underpinnings of journalism “Complicating the Narratives,” and we’re betting you might have seen her extraordinary feature piece in The Atlantic, “The Least Politically Prejudiced Place in America.”
Her work has also appeared in Time Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Slate, Politico, the Guardian and the Times of London. To discuss her writing, Amanda has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX News and NPR. She has spoken at the Pentagon, the Senate, the House of Representatives, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
Oh, and The Village Square.
Learn more about Amanda here.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
“All Men are Created Equal,” but not everyone feels they are. Have we gone too far with insuring equality or not far enough? In “Created Equal + Breathing Free,” we’ll examine the straining of the central – and sometimes competing – principles of equality and freedom. Does your freedom threaten my equality? And does my equality limit your freedom? We’ll dive into topics of religious freedom, gay rights and the appropriate role of the law in both insuring equality and safeguarding freedom.
At this time of deep, heart-wrenching division across race, religion and political perspective – division that seems too often to create civic dialogue that finds the worst in us instead of calling our better angels – we think this is a conversation for our time, a checking back to consider how well we are hewing to the ideals of America, and perhaps a renewed promise to get there.
This program features Father Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral and Terry Galloway, Co-founder of The Mickee Faust Club. Facilitated by Bill Mattox of James Madison Institute and Village Square Board of Directors.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
As current events batter the institutions of democratic self-governance designed by our founders, an imperfect though once seemingly stable foundation seems deeply shaken. Never mind our inability to solve real problems together, it’s increasingly more difficult to even navigate how we gather together under the banner of “e pluribus unum.” We’ll be joined by presidential scholar Clay Jenkinson of The Thomas Jefferson Hour to get as close as metaphysics allow to talking to the author of the lofty ideals that we hold so dear, but struggle to live into. We’ll dive into the issues surrounding the upheaval of our times – with an eye toward understanding its lessons – through the eyes of a man who has spent his lifetime struggling to understand both the promise and failures of our history as a people.
Clay Jenkinson has lectured about and portrayed Jefferson in forty-nine states over a period of fifteen years, having performed before Supreme Court justices, presidents, eighteen state legislatures, and countless public, corporate and student audiences as well as appearing on The Today Show, Politically Incorrect, The Colbert Report and CNN. Clay is a humanities scholar, Rhodes Scholar, author and social commentator who is considered one of the most entertaining and articulate public speakers in the country.
Back to facilitate another riveting discussion with Clay Jenkinson is Steve Vancore, president of Vancore Jones Communications.
Also joining the discussion is God Squad regular Pastor Darrick McGhee of Bible Based Church and of Johnson + Blanton.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
Join us as we discuss the impact of Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947 – why it was such a momentous breakthrough, how it laid the groundwork for the subsequent success of the civil rights movement, and what we can still learn from Robinson’s example today.
We’re delighted to be joined by Jackie Robinson’s cousin, Dr. Linda Walden, who lives in southwest Georgia. Dr. Walden spearheaded the effort to have Jackie’s birthplace placed on the Historic Registry. Also joining our discussion is special guest Fred Flowers, who — as the first black Seminole to put on a Florida State University uniform — broke FSU’s color barrier soon after integration began. Fred is the athlete commemorated in the statue “Integration,” which was dedicated in 2004. Also joining us is Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Bob Sanchez, whose career began writing sports columns in the Florida Flambeau during the civil rights protests of the 60’s, continued as he taught journalism at FAMU and wrote for The Miami Herald.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
In a live audience taping of The Thomas Jefferson Hour, we looked through the eyes of the author of the Declaration of Independence and marked our progress toward a more perfect union. We considered what both Mr. Jefferson and those of us charged with perfecting America today might think is yet to achieve. Thomas Jefferson is portrayed by Presidential Scholar Clay Jenkinson, who has spoken as Jefferson in forty-nine states over a period of fifteen years, having performed before Supreme Court justices, presidents, eighteen state legislatures, and countless public, corporate and student audiences as well as appearing on The Today Show, Politically Incorrect, The Colbert Report and CNN. Clay is a humanities scholar, Rhodes Scholar, author and social commentator who is considered one of the most entertaining and articulate public speakers in the country.
Clay will be joining us again soon for Dead Presidents + Living Statues as we continue the conversation and talk openly about Jefferson's hypocrisy and the debate around statues in our country.
This program is part of the Created Equal and Breathing Free podcast series presented in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
From the hearts of the enslaved, to the dreams of freedmen, to the urgent pleas of today’s black American citizens, the journey toward the full franchise of freedom lives on. We’ll celebrate what’s come before — and consider what’s yet to be done.
This year’s Created Equal program commemorates Emancipation Day in Florida, which is recognized on May 20. More than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, Union General McCook announced Emancipation to the state of Florida from the Knott House in Leon County on May 20, 1865.
The journey toward freedom that began 156 years ago, continues today in our community. Join us as we celebrate this legacy and consider our generation’s work still to do.
Across the years, across the state — we’ll connect our past, present and future to consider the legacy of Emancipation Day in Florida. To honor the past and look to the future, Created Equal 2021 will highlight both local and state-wide historians as they discuss Florida’s history of enslavement, civil rights and how we continue to stretch towards freedom today. We also clear up the confusion about Juneteenth vs. May 20.
Presented in partnership with Leon County Government.
This program is the first in a collaborative podcast series in partnership with Florida Humanities.
Find this event, including speaker bios, online at The Village Square.
Meet The Reverend Dr. Gary Mason, a Methodist minister who has spent a career in inner city Belfast building peace across the “ghosts of religious division which have dogged this island for hundreds and hundreds of years.” He brings wisdom from the Irish legacy of sectarianism to America’s current divisions. Gary’s organization, Rethinking Conflict, is a UK based non-profit social enterprise working in the field of conflict transformation, peacebuilding and reconciliation. Our sincere thanks to Good Samaritan United Methodist Church for providing Dr. Mason for this important program.
After we hear from Dr. Gary, the God Squad joins the discussion, offering unique perspectives on tackling conflict in our communities.
In this episode, we also reveal our summer reading recommendation - and you won't want to miss this because the author will be joining us at The Village Square soon! Listen in for details.
Somewhere between white supremacists marching, an unbearable number of wrongful deaths of black youth, and police officers being gunned down in broad daylight sits the American citizen – overwhelmed by the escalating anger, confused by what’s true and what isn’t, not knowing where to turn to figure it out. Forced to choose between media sources that are increasingly partisan and without the time to launch our own research projects, we’re left paralyzed, polarized and more than a little bit angry ourselves.
In partnership with Florida Humanities Council and the Poynter Institute, we’re bringing you three powerful voices – two seasoned journalists and one student of human nature – to confront this central challenge of our time. Just how should those who write “the first draft of history” tell these stories in a diverse democracy like ours? Can a media that fans the flames of racial division also provide the inspiration we need to transcend it?
Joining us are:
Alexios Mantzarlis, Director of Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network, The Poynter Institute
Eric Deggans, TV Critic, NPR
Cory Clark, Director of the Adversarial Collaboration Project and a Visiting Scholar in the Psychology Department at University of Pennsylvania
What if we turn our eyes from Washington and rededicate ourselves to the most essential aspect of democratic self-governance that Washington doesn’t ultimately control — the “of, by, and for the people” of it all? And what might happen in Washington if we did? Do we have to forget about Washington if we’re ultimately going to save America? To attempt to answer this question we’re joined by Former U.S. Congressman Jason Altmire, author of the book “Dead Center” who has got unique insider knowledge and a determination to doggedly tell the truth.
Jason Altmire served three terms in the United States House of Representatives. He was a bipartisan centrist known for working with both sides of the aisle – ultimately having 29 of his legislative initiatives signed into law. During his time in office, the nonpartisan National Journal calculated Altmire’s voting record to be at the exact midpoint of the House — the Dead Center — giving him the most centrist voting record in Congress.
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that America is awash right now in conspiracy theories — a phenomena that thrives when anxiety and isolation is high (uh, now). It’s not just the pandemic and unrest in the streets that drives its spread — conspiratorial thinking has found its most fertile ground in all of human history in the dark (and ever-expanding) corners of the internet. Throw in a bunch of trolls and a hostile foreign power or two and, well, it may be here to stay. We’ll avoid the usual finger-pointing and talk about how civil society and faith communities navigate the rising tide of bonding around things that just aren’t true, and how we provide the belongingness and meaning people seem to hunger for.
Facilitated by Dr. Gary Shultz of First Baptist Church of Tallahassee.
Ask yourself how much time you spend really talking with friends or acquaintances who disagree with you ideologically? If you’re like most Americans, the answer is “hardly ever.” And despite all panic about the failure of democracy, we don’t act to change that — even when there’s lots of evidence that suggests that if we’d just spend more time with each other as human beings it would actually make a difference.
Join us to meet pairs of friends on opposite sides of the political division who maintain close friendships that deepen and enrich their lives anyway. You’ll meet Berny + Geston (they disagree on almost everything, except that they both love their country), Marian + Derek (a lesbian pastor and conservative Latter Day Saint who work together on the thorny issues of religious liberty and equal rights), and you’ll meet Village Square Founder & CEO Liz Joyner’s friend Dr. Jacob Hess, co-author of “You’re Not as Crazy as I thought (but you’re still wrong).” Liz and Jacob have joined forces to convince the rest of America that friendships across differences are the very best kind (see their Respect + Rebellion project).
Program title “Let Friendship Redeem the Republic” came from Patricia Nelson Limerick.
Presented in partnership with Florida Humanities and Tallahassee Democrat, through the generous support of Florida Humanities and season sponsor Johnson & Blanton.
It wasn’t long ago when a reference to cancel culture would provoke mostly quizzical looks in anyone over 23. Now no matter your age, it’s the new normal — if your opinion doesn’t conform and the Twitter mob finds you, you’re not only exiled but life as you know it could be over. This isn’t a partisan phenomenon (although partisans would have you believe it is), rather it’s a part of a new way of doing business driven by social media and practiced in earnest from American college campuses to the halls of power in Washington, D.C. In a country that calls us to follow our conscience and express our beliefs, how has it come to this and how can mutual understanding navigate our way out of it? Moderated by Fr. Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-cathedral.
Join us for a discussion with our panelists, Rabbi Jack Romberg, founding member of the God Squad and retired Rabbi of Temple Israel; Pastor Joseph Davis, Jr. of the Truth Gatherers Community Church; Reverend Trinity Whitley of Faith Presbyterian Church; and Jack Denton, former Senate President at Florida State University.
We're bringing back our two favorite former Congressmen who served on opposite sides of the aisle and were repeatedly thwarted by a dysfunctional system when they (wait for it) tried to work across the aisle in Congress. A lot has happened since we chatted with them last time in 2018 — including their consideration of mounting bipartisan ticket for the presidency, and one of them leaving his political party — so we thought it was time to hang out again. Oh and they wrote a book together.
A Divided Union delves deep into ten pressing political challenges that former US Representatives Patrick Murphy and David Jolly (serving on opposite sides of the aisle in Congress) have identified over their multiple terms in Congress and that continue to plague the American electorate today. In an introduction describing their unique paths to Congress, Murphy and Jolly focus in detail on key institutional barriers they faced in Washington in attempting to do the job voters elected them to do. They introduce us to geographic challenges, demographic change, a polarized media, gerrymandering, the role of money in politics, the structure of primary elections, and several other aspects of political life on Capitol Hill.
Presented in partnership with Florida Humanities and Tallahassee Democrat, through the generous support of Florida Humanities.
We’re back for Q&A with the filmmaker of The Reunited States, the author of the book that inspired the film, and three other heroes featured in the film. Watch the film here.
At a time when America is ripping apart at the seams, The Reunited States is a powerful and urgent documentary that follows the unsung heroes on the difficult journey of bridging our political and racial divides. Susan Bro, who lost her daughter when a car drove through a group of counter-protestors in Charlottesville, and David and Erin Leaverton, a Republican couple who travel to all fifty states in an RV to find out what divides us, are just a few of the characters profiled in the film. Each of these bridge-builders have realized that while our divides run deeper than they ever could have imagined, so does the love and hope to bring our country back together. Based on the book of the same name (which features The Village Square) the film urges us to consider that everyone has a role to play in reuniting the country.
At a time when America is ripping apart at the seams, The Reunited States is a powerful and urgent documentary that follows the unsung heroes on the difficult journey of bridging our political and racial divides. Susan Bro, who lost her daughter when a car drove through a group of counter-protestors in Charlottesville, and David and Erin Leaverton, a Republican couple who travel to all fifty states in an RV to find out what divides us, are just a few of the characters profiled in the film. Each of these bridge-builders have realized that while our divides run deeper than they ever could have imagined, so does the love and hope to bring our country back together. Based on the book of the same name (which features The Village Square) the film urges us to consider that everyone has a role to play in reuniting the country.
We’ll be joined by the author of the book, the filmmaker, Heather Heyer’s mother, and former Senior Field Director for Republican Senator Bob Corker for an important conversation about what citizens can do to heal the gaping divisions damaging America. Watch the film here.
In celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday we begin 2021 with an important conversation about one of the most iconic and impactful writings in American history. As we approach the anniversary of George Floyd’s death and consider the tectonic shifts in America since the tragedy, we ask you to re-read Dr. King’s letter and we talk about its prophetic wisdom and its application to our realities of race in America today. In partnership with FAMU Cooperative Extension Program, Save One Life Foundation, Black History Month Festival, 100 Black Men of Tallahassee and Legacy Taste of the Garden we have an extraordinary opportunity to hear from young black students in their own words about their view of the legacy of King's letter and message in today's world. Program facilitated by Betsy Ouellette Zierden.
Read and view student submissions here.
We thought the holiday season might be just the time of year to walk a mile in the shoes of minority faith traditions, as they navigate both the yuletide season and the broader predominantly Christian culture around them. We’ll hear from a wide range of minority faith communities to better understand the impact in their communities, then we’ll consider how to best handle (and embrace) our diversity inside the public institutions we share. In these shared spaces how do we navigate the things parents would rather not have their kids exposed to — and respect our differences? And we’ll stretch to consider whether there is unexpected common cause between parents taking a pass on the Good News Club and those who say “no thank you” to instruction on evolution and sex ed instead.
Facilitated by Rabbi Michael Shields of Temple Israel.
America’s hardcore polar political opposites seem to have something striking in common — they evoke a blind, unquestioning faith that feels like religion run amok. Religious scholar Reza Aslan likened Trump rallies to a religious revival, “complete with ritualized communal chants,” and he most loyally draws evangelicals who don’t really go to church. Columbia’s John McWhorter observes that the left’s true believers have their own version of Original Sin, rituals and dogma (and, notably, excommunication). We’ll talk about what this means about where we are — and what in the world we do about it. (Conversation predicted to include some whining about social media).
Moderated by Fr. Tim Holeda of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral. Panelists include Pastor Gary Shultz of the First Baptist Church of Tallahassee; Pastor Joseph Davis, Jr. of the Truth Gatherers Community Church; Dr. Dan Leshem, Director of Hillel at Florida State University; and Dr. Audrey Casserleigh, Professor of Emergency Management at Florida State University.
In part 2 of A Local Press, we expand the circle of wisdom and experience with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Bob Sanchez and local nonprofit startup Tallahassee Reports' Steve Stewart.
Plus former Tallahassee Democrat publisher Skip Foster and Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas stick around for Q & A. This program is facilitated by Jennifer Portman, Enterprise Editor for USA Today.
No longer represented by local shoe leather reporting done by a journalist you knew and saw at town meetings, many American communities now only think of the media as distant strangers who can't be trusted. So the scarcity of hometown newspapers doesn't just make it so some communities are dark on local news, but it's actively feeding our lack of trust and the partisan divide at a national level. Add this together with the rise of multimedia conglomerates and partisan news sources and it's obvious why our problems in journalism are Big Wicked Problems, and time might be short to stop the most profound consequences that lie ahead. And if we lose our paper, just who can we blame but ourselves?
Join us for a discussion offering insights into the current challenges facing the media industry and hear creatives ideas for keeping local journalism healthy and alive for the decades ahead.
In 1798 James Madison wrote of the press: "To the press alone, checkered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression." In 2020, if Madison was correct then reason and humanity could be in for an even rougher ride, with hometown newspapers collapsing across the country. But to think of this threat to hometown journalism as being just a local story is to miss the bigger story.
No longer represented by local shoe leather reporting done by a journalist you knew and saw at town meetings, many American communities now only think of the media as distant strangers who can't be trusted. So the scarcity of hometown newspapers doesn't just make it so some communities are dark on local news, but it's actively feeding our lack of trust and the partisan divide at a national level. Add this together with the rise of multimedia conglomerates and partisan news sources and it's obvious why our problems in journalism are Big Wicked Problems, and time might be short to stop the most profound consequences that lie ahead. And if we lose our paper, just who can we blame but ourselves?
In keeping with our theme for the year - that it's in our hometown where we ultimately decide who we are to each other and (in this case) what we know about our government, our community and our neighbors. So we also talk specifically about how we keep our local journalism healthy and alive for the decades ahead.
Our conversation begins with former Tallahassee Democrat publisher Skip Foster and Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas, both of whom have copious wisdom to share on our topic. Mary Ellen spent a year as a Harvard Niemen fellow studying the deep connectedness between the health of local journalism and the health of democracy. Read "Less Local News Means Less Democracy" here.
In part 2 of this program, we expand the circle of wisdom and experience with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Bob Sanchez and local nonprofit startup Tallahassee Reports' Steve Stewart.
The program is facilitated by Jennifer Portman, Enterprise Editor for USA Today.
As we do our best to (literally) survive a global pandemic and rising racial tensions in a country that seems incapable of finding any common cause at the moment, and find ourselves in the horrific homestretch of the 2020 election we leave behind all the recriminations about how we got here or whose fault it is for a single golden hour to just be human together. We talk about values we share and imagine how we can live into a better place together as we will be putting the election behind us (hopefully) soon. We remember that when it’s all said and done, we’re neighbors. No politics, just people. Bring your forgiveness. (Also wish us luck.)
Meet the God Squad, the brains behind our series “Faith, Food, Friday: Improbable conversations for people of faith and no faith at all (because talking politics wasn’t hard enough)." We hope you’ll join us as we explore what happens when people of good will who might not agree cross each others’ thresholds and break a little bread together. Whoever you are, whatever your beliefs, bring an open mind and open heart for a continuing conversation on the topics your mother taught you to never broach in polite company.
What's happening to us? A conversation between neighbors. The God Squad is introduced to podcast listeners in this throwback program from November 2018, just after the synagogue tragedy in Pittsburgh and just before the 2018 election. As we approach the 2020 election during a time of deep divisions and a global pandemic, we find ourselves astonished at how relevant this program is today. Even the short description from this event could have been written for 2020:
"The tragic events of the last week have devastated an already polarized country. As we head into a divisive election we seem to lack the capacity to be together even in times of national grief and trauma. So we’ve asked the God Squad to provide some much-needed perspective in this storm. Whether you’re a God Squad regular or you’ve never been, we hope you’ll join us."
Nearly all we ever talk about in the public square is how we are to understand the divisions that are roiling not just America, but the western world. In some ways, the memory of the Holocaust has never been so vivid and present for us than as we struggle through our current circumstance. But too often we use it thoughtlessly – and as a political bludgeon – rather than to remind ourselves of the questions we human beings must always ask ourselves if we are to insure this level of human tragedy will never happen again. We must bring the past to the present with kindness and self-reflection rather than judgement and condemnation – understanding that hate is a human condition that we have to confront and own and not assign only to the other. Why should we remember? What is my responsibility?
Our polarization doesn’t exist in theory in far-off places – ultimately it’s a dysfunction that takes roots (and can grow) in who we are to each other right here where we live. We have already seen signs of the percolation of the anger we feel toward each other in incidents across our community. We’re who give hate oxygen to grow – or refuse to. We can refuse, and to refuse we have to talk. So let’s start the conversation. We’ll talk about hate planted in our homes, our schools and our media – and what we do about it.
Mentioned in this program:
- School Swap Video
- Leon High School Hijab Day
- Why? Explaining the Holocaust by Peter Hayes
Nearly all we ever talk about in the public square is how we are to understand the divisions that are roiling not just America, but the western world. In some ways, the memory of the Holocaust has never been so vivid and present for us than as we struggle through our current circumstance. But too often we use it thoughtlessly – and as a political bludgeon – rather than to remind ourselves of the questions we human beings must always ask ourselves if we are to insure this level of human tragedy will never happen again. We must bring the past to the present with kindness and self-reflection rather than judgement and condemnation – understanding that hate is a human condition that we have to confront and own and not assign only to the other. Why should we remember? What is my responsibility?
Our polarization doesn’t exist in theory in far-off places – ultimately it’s a dysfunction that takes roots (and can grow) in who we are to each other right here where we live. We have already seen signs of the percolation of the anger we feel toward each other in incidents across our community. We’re who give hate oxygen to grow – or refuse to. We can refuse, and to refuse we have to talk. So let’s start the conversation. We’ll talk about hate planted in our homes, our schools and our media – and what we do about it.
Mentioned in this program:
- School Swap Video
- Leon High School Hijab Day
- Why? Explaining the Holocaust by Peter Hayes
Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, shares a riveting explanation for the deepening and seemingly intractable partisan division in America’s politics. Turns out it has a lot more to do with the basics of human psychology and our moral reasoning habits than we’d care to admit. And – strangely enough – “elephants” are involved.
In this episode (part 2 of The Righteous Mind program), Dr. Haidt takes questions from the audience and we hear reflections from engaged citizens who were present for Dr. Haidt's talk.
Social Psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, has a riveting explanation for the deepening and seemingly intractable partisan division in America’s politics. Turns out it has a lot more to do with the basics of human psychology and our moral reasoning habits than we’d care to admit. And – strangely enough – “elephants” are involved. Whether you’re frustrated by our inability to engage constructively to solve problems, or just permanently perplexed by the thinking of people on the opposite side of the political divide, you won’t want to miss Jon Haidt. You’ll never see politics quite the same again – with the way things have been going lately, we think that’s probably a good thing.
By today’s measure, the false viral email memes of a couple decades ago seem almost quaint – a mere nuisance-level concern to The Fourth Estate. Now fortified by the perfect electronic Pandora’s Box of social media platforms and weaponized by everyone from toxic chatrooms to The Kremlin, falsehoods are delivered to us with targeted precision by firehose. A painstaking journalistic dedication to the search for truth in pursuit of the highest ideals of democracy – admittedly not perfectible, but at least heading the right direction – can’t not be swamped by the speedy profusion of viral lies now being exponentially spewed.
So, what’s a country to do? We’ll ponder just how public discourse beats the profusion of propaganda when the online odds are stacked against it. We’ll talk electronic gaslighting, the first amendment and the re-pursuit of objective reality.
Facilitated by:
Neil Skene, former St. Petersburg Times Capital Bureau Chief, Florida Trend columnist, and a former editor of Congressional Quarterly.
Joining the conversation:
Aaron Sharockman, Executive Director of Politifact
Dr. Michelle Ferrier, Dean School of Journalism & Graphic Communication at FAMU and Founder of TrollBusters
Bill Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat Journalist and Florida Press Corps Hall of Fame
As part of our Local Color project, we're thrilled to partner with Ology Brewing Co to bring you "Beer + Conversation" in conjunction with a nationwide brewing coalition of a stout named Black Is Beautiful. Inspired by San Antonio's Black-owned Weathered Souls Brewing Co, Ology brings a commitment to listen, learn, and lead by example to Tallahassee by inviting racially diverse pairs across the community to have real conversations seeking to truly understand. After these pairs met for one-on-one dialogue, we gathered a few of them (virtually) to share a beer or two — and their experience — with you. Join us for this powerful conversation hosted by Local Color facilitator, Jovita Woodrich.
Crack open a Black Is Beautiful stout (swing by Ology to grab yours) and learn something about walking in another person’s shoes. Oh, and Ology is donating the proceeds of their Black is Beautiful sales to our Local Color project. Does it get better than that?
Our Local Color Project 2019-20 season is made possible by the generous support of Bank of America.
As our beloved community joins others around the nation in the important unfinished work to make the promise of equality a reality, constructive conversation helps to illuminate the path to progress and meaningful change. In that spirit, a group of community leaders shares diverse perspectives about critical and relevant issues in a special series of Town Hall presentations — presented by The Village Square in partnership with Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, and Sachs Media Group.
The final program in our series “Equality in Life: The Role of Government,” is facilitated by Lila Jaber, President of the Jaber Group and Founder of the Florida’s Women in Energy Leadership Forum.
Joining the conversation:
Mayor John Dailey, City of Tallahassee
Commissioner Nick Maddox, Leon County Commission
Deputy City Manager Cynthia Barber, City of Tallahassee
Sha’Ron James, Chair, Leadership Tallahassee Board
Wanda Hunter, Assistant County Administrator, Leon County
You can view the results of the Sachs Media Group Survey on equality in our hometown here.
Mentioned in this program:
Community Human Service Partnership
TEMPO-Tallahassee
Tallahassee Future Leaders Academy
2-1-1 Big Bend
Our Local Color Project 2019-20 season is made possible by the generous support of Bank of America.
As our beloved community joins others around the nation in the important unfinished work to make the promise of equality a reality, constructive conversation helps to illuminate the path to progress and meaningful change. In that spirit, a group of community leaders share diverse perspectives about critical and relevant issues in a special series of Town Hall presentations — presented by The Village Square in partnership with Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, and Sachs Media Group.
Part 2 in our series focuses on “Equality in Life: Business and Growth,” facilitated by Heidi Otway, President of SalterMitchell PR.
Joining the conversation:
Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox, Tallahassee City Commission
Commissioner Bryan Desloge, Leon County Chair
Beth Corum, Chair of the Board, Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce
Katrina Tuggerson, Capital City Chamber of Commerce
Antonio Jefferson, President, Big Bend Minority Chamber of Commerce
Peter Boulware, Owner, Legacy Toyota
Dominick Ard’is, Founder & CEO at ACT House, INC
Dr. Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Dean, FAMU School of Business and Industry
Our Local Color Project 2019-20 season is made possible by the generous support of Bank of America.
As our beloved community joins others around the nation in the important unfinished work to make the promise of equality a reality, constructive conversation helps to illuminate the path to progress and meaningful change. In that spirit, a group of community leaders share diverse perspectives about critical and relevant issues in a special series of Town Hall presentations — presented by The Village Square in partnership with Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, and Sachs Media Group.
As Americans unite in a shared mission about the civil rights issues of our time in the aftermath of the tragic killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, former Tallahassee Democrat publisher Skip Foster moderates a dialogue and takes questions from the public for the first program “Equality in Life: Justice and Law Enforcement.” Subsequent topics include “Equality in Life: Business and Growth,” facilitated by Heidi Otway, President of SalterMitchell PR; and “Equality in Life: The Role of Government,” facilitated by Lila Jaber, President of the Jaber Group.
Joining the conversation:
Reverend R.B. Holmes, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
Attorney Ben Crump, Attorney for the family of George Floyd
U.S. Attorney Larry Keefe, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
Rachel Rojas, Special Agent in Charge, FBI
State Attorney Jack Campbell, 2nd Judicial Circuit
Sheriff Walt McNeill, Leon County
Chief Lawrence Revell, Tallahassee Police Department
Adner Marcelin, President, Tallahassee NAACP
Talethia Edwards, Founder & President, Greater Bond Community Neighborhood Association
Mentioned in this program:
You can view the results of the Sachs Media Group Survey on equality in our hometown here.
And please watch this truly extraordinary video (made by high school students) about poverty in Tallahassee mentioned by Ms. Talethia Edwards during the program.
To learn more about 2-1-1 Big Bend including the critical role they play in providing front line mental health support, check out episode 9 of Let’s Get Local Tallahassee podcast.
Our Local Color Project 2019-20 season is made possible by the generous support of Bank of America.
From conversations between friends who've been gathering for 3 years to talk about race, no matter how much white people care about the Floyd tragedy and its aftermath, it's hard to comprehend just how visceral the trauma is for black people — and how bracing the impact is on their lives.
Part 2 of this Local Color "listen-in" begins with thoughts on the Amy Cooper situation – she’s the white woman who recently called the police on a black man in Central Park when he reminded her that her dog was supposed to be on a leash.
Learn more about The Village Square here: villagesquare.us
Find more Village SquareCast episodes here: tlh.villagesquare.us/squarecast/
Our Local Color Project 2019-20 season is made possible by the generous support of Bank of America.
In the wake of the tragic killing of George Floyd, join us for a Local Color “listen-in” to hear from 5 community members who open their hearts and minds to help us all grow in our understanding for our fellow human beings… our neighbors. In this episode, you'll hear an open discussion on racism in America, particularly focused on recent events, by a group of Local Color participants who have been meeting for 3 years to discuss race in our society. They have built strong relationships among a diverse group of people, in an effort to come together to make progress on one of our nation’s most critical issues.
As discussed in Part 1, click here to access the Everyday Discrimination Scale by Harvard's David R. Williams.
Learn more about The Village Square here: villagesquare.us
Find more Village SquareCast episodes here: tlh.villagesquare.us/squarecast/
Village Square's Founder & CEO, Liz Joyner, riffs on the inspiration and story behind The Village Square, how they do what they do and why it's easier than you think to change people's minds about each other. She also shares why she has hope (and you should too).