Can Talking to Strangers Fix Our Politics?

How often do you talk to someone you disagree with—not in a Twitter pile on, but face to face?  With Donald Trump’s inauguration fast approaching (plus holidays full of opinionated relatives), Jon sits down with Dave Isay, the founder of StoryCorps, to talk about the healing power of conversation. StoryCorps is a segment on NPR’s Morning Edition, a podcast and the largest single archive of personal narratives in the world. Since 2016, it’s also facilitated conversations between Republicans and Democrats as part of its One Small Step Initiative, and the results are surprisingly heartwarming. Jon and Dave talk about strategies to overcome political polarization, what we learn when we talk to strangers, and how to have productive conversations with people who disagree with you.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.