After participating in a Better Angels workshop, conservative Christian Greg Smith and liberal Muslim Kouhyar Mostashfi visited each others’ places of worship and became friends. Now they are leaders in the Better Angels movement and advocates for bridging the political divide. In this episode, Better Angels Director of Public Engagement Ciaran O’Connor brings them together for a wide ranging discussion about their background, politics, and how their relationship could be a model for coming together across difference.
‘It absolutely changed my life’: How a conflict-ridden ‘dirtball’ became a legendary bridge builder
09/02/2026
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Growing up in the eighties, his family moved all around the Midwest as his parents chased down steady, blue-collar work: factory jobs, construction, truck driving, whatever could pay the bills. “We were always poor,” Wilk said. And whether they were in Iowa, South Dakota, Colorado, or Minnesota, he often found himself on the outs. “It didn’t matter which side of the tracks we were on,” he said. “It was always the wrong side of the tracks.”
