Braver Angels leaders John Wood, Jr. and April Lawson are joined by author, social psychologist and Braver Angels board member Jonathan Haidt to discuss the historical and psychological paths by which the United States has found itself looking over the cliff of chaotic social divisions – and wrestle with how we forge a positive path into the future.
‘Braver Angels really helped me to see the humanity in people from the other side’: One high schooler’s journey to better political conversations
06/18/2026
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A native of Boulder, Colorado, Mia didn’t know many Trump supporters—and she was nervous to engage with them. “I was like, ‘Don’t they hate women? Don’t they hate black people?’” she said. “That was my initial belief because that’s what I had heard about people who voted for Trump.” But she quickly realized she was wrong. During the first Braver Lens session, Mia was able to connect with conservatives in the group and recognize their points of commonality. “When we met, they showed their pictures, and explained their life stories, and I was able to see where our values overlap,” she said.
1 thought on “Arriving at the Grand Divide | Jonathan Haidt, John Wood Jr. and April Lawson”
Looking past the conflicted moment and accepting as a fact that all listening parties are in agreement that AI thru GRIN will slowly replace many current jobs such as driving, delivery, warehouse & retail work, much of the service section and potentially others that the structure of the American republics operating system, capitalism,with socialism’s overtones, success based on GDP growth in many sectors of economic and social life is under assault as it tries to find the right way forward without a wholesale alterations of past systems even though the landscape of change appears undeniable.
Crispers recent success with sickle cell anemia completes a prediction made a couple decades ago that not unlike the Clovis point to Gutenberg press on to the internal combustion engine and computer chip humans have affected not only who, when, where, and why we are, also will more so include what and how we are.
Testosterone based conflict based on aggression, conflict, conquest ultimately ending in war and a reset redo has reached a endgame mutely understood in some deep human hive mind.
Without new hopes, goals and dreams replacing past folkways, mores, and institutions that anchored the amalgamation of 8 billlion people loosely into a functional hive of imperfectly as imperfect has worked in its own ‘natural format’ for 4 billion years. Here we are.
Sickle cell Anemia will have a myriad of additions starting with ‘no pushbacks’ graduating to the gene, protein, amino, or process controlled by processes under human control epigenetic and beyond.
As work, and next money (or rents {usury loses its value with ‘lack’} Sapiens will require a radically altered model to reach out and inward, to our planetary system and to the 75% of our watery world we have not yet brought under our ‘control and serve’
This will all happen this century.
And the new people will live much longer, more of it in prime of life years.
All the humans who suffered a tragic unhappy life of struggle won’t know of it.
They will be dead and gone like all gone before.
Dwelling on the future won’t sit well with the young lives today who are in the meat grinder that the miracle of life is.
The American system came at a time of opportunity with conditions that allowed it. Work & Luck came together not without life’s usually conditional of winners & losers all along the story.
The future shocks, apologies to Alvin Toffler, will be there, it’s a natural fact. And humanity, life itself looms Larger and likely remains that way.