Black Lives
Black lives matter. But black lives are different – and understanding them helps us understand this moment in America.
Morality, Politics and Persuasion | Scott Adams and John Wood, Jr.
How do we overcome the bitterness of American politics and change the way things are done? “Left of Bernie,” yet a consistent defender of President Trump; author, commentator and creator of the comic strip “Dilbert” Scott Adams is a fascinating or infuriating voice in the political conversation, depending on who you ask. But Scott is …
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Morality, Politics and Persuasion | Scott Adams and John Wood, Jr.
How do we overcome the bitterness of American politics and change the way things are done? “Left of Bernie,” yet a consistent defender of President Trump; author, commentator and creator of the comic strip “Dilbert” Scott Adams is a fascinating or infuriating voice in the political conversation, depending on who you ask. But Scott is …
Morality, Politics and Persuasion | Scott Adams and John Wood, Jr. Read More »
Getting Results: Organizing Across the Divide | Sam Daley-Harris
Sam Daley-Harris shares the practices for effective organizing across the partisan divide.
The Media and COVID-19 – featuring Annafi Wahed, Denise Quinn and Monica Guzman
Everybody seems to hate the media. But is it the problem or the solution?
The Work of Unity – A Braver Response to COVID-19
Do not be ashamed of being afraid. Many of us in the United States at this moment are fearful. We may or may not be afraid for ourselves as individuals—but we fear for our loved ones and we fear for our country. That was true for many of us before the pandemic. It is strikingly …
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Social Transformation through Self Transformation: John Wood, Jr. at Visionaries Summit
Braver Angels national leader John Wood, Jr. delivers a passionate address to The Visionaries Summit in Sacramento, California on the power of personal transformation to effect social change through Martin Luther King, Jr.’s principles of non-violence.
The Moral Equivalent of War
Are we at war with each other in America? The language of war is often used to describe our political battles. Is this language helping us? Or do we need to speak in terms of war to move the American people to make a change? John Wood, Jr. looks at the war-like language of our …
Why America is Like Great Jazz | Matt Kibbe interviews John Wood, Jr. for The Blaze
Matt Kibbe, former president and ceo of FreedomWorks and host of Kibbe on Liberty at The Blaze Media network, sits down with John Wood, Jr.
Beyond Depolarization: What Our Movement is Becoming
Braver Angels and other individuals and organizations have been working hard to depolarize American politics. But can the movement to depolarize America break into the mainstream? Or is it transforming into something that can? John Wood, Jr. tracks the rise of this movement to heal our republic, taking us on the inside in this opening …
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Launching: The John Wood, Jr. Show
We’re launching a new podcast: The John Wood, Jr. Show, featuring Braver Angels director of media development, writer, speaker and former congressional nominee John Wood, Jr. “On The John Wood, Jr. Show, I will be making the case for one America – a united country.”
Identity and Conversation with Monica Guzman
John Wood, Jr. and guest co-host Greg Steinbrecher talk to, Monica Guzman journalist and founder of Seattle based publication The Evergrey, about the influence of identity on our culture of conversation in the United States, and how to have difficult conversations across racial and political divides. Hear Monica discuss the shades of identity in the …
Politics, Polarization and President Trump: The Bill Kristol Interview
Editor, political analyst and veteran of previous Republican presidential administrations, Bill Kristol brings a critical take on President Trump and a long range overview of political polarization to this episode of The Braver Angels Podcast. Ciaran O’Connor and John Wood, Jr co-host.
Campfire and a Song by Steve Seskin
June 22nd, St. Louis, MO, Braver Angels Convention Concert Night: A song about coming together from down very different roads, from the great American singer-songwriter Mr. Steve Seskin.
Recapping the Braver Angels Convention
Ciaran O’Connor and John Wood, Jr. fill us in on the uplifting triumph that was the Braver Angels National Convention in St. Louis, June 19th to 22nd.
The Tweets of Wrath
President Trump wields Twitter like a battle-axe. On this, his supporters and detractors agree. He uses it to chop down his political opponents, circumvent the mainstream media, and rally his supporters. He is far from alone in this practice. But no Twitter user in America has proven themselves so able—and so willing—to explode the national …
Why Politics Sucks! with Mike Casentini
Ciaran O’Connor and John Wood, Jr. are joined by stand up comedian and BA Podcast producer Mike Casentini to trade voice impersonations and to talk political tribalism, political hypocrisy, and why its so hard to have reasonable conversations in today’s political climate.
The Beating of Andy Ngo
What are the real lessons to be learned from the beating of Andy Ngo?
The War on Empathy
There is something subversive in empathy that makes it threatening to certain social status-quos.
In Lieu of Tolerance
The idea of tolerance as a guiding value for society has been criticized in recent years, from different sides.
Identity and Democracy: John Wood, Jr. with Christian Picciolini, Mark Gerzon and Merhdad Baghai
John Wood, Jr. discusses the challenges of racial identity in Democratic society In front of an international audience of philanthropists and social entrepreneurs.
John Wood Jr. and Robin Koerner discuss the Political Divide
John Wood, Jr. talks with author Robin Koerner about the political divide in America, and what we can do to heal it.
Conservatism of Connection: John Wood, Jr. at CPAC
Immediately following President Trump, Braver Angels media director and former Republican nominee for congress John Wood, Jr. took the stage from Pepperdine university to discuss the state of the conservative movement in California, and need to restore civil bonds with people on the left.
There Are Evils Worse Than Racism
Growing up in the United States of America—a nation defined in many minds by its fraught racial history—and observing public life at a time when racial sensitivities are constantly prodded and enflamed, it is easy to think that there is no greater sin in the world than racism.
The State of Division
For the first time in American history this month, however, the Speaker of the House of Representatives specifically declined to invite the President to address the assembled houses of Congress on the state of the union.
Protests, Pile-Ons and Toxic Masculinity
Ciaran O’Connor and John Wood, Jr., with fellow Braver Angels leaders Greg Steinbrecher and Randy Lioz, discuss bias and pile on culture in the wake of the protests involving Covington Catholic High School students and participants in an Indigenous People’s Rally, and the Gillette commercial targeting “toxic masculinity.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Challenge of Idealism
Braver Angels Magazine The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15th, 1929. He died, still a young man, April 4th, 1968, the victim of an assassin’s bullet. The night that Dr. King died, Americans, particularly African-Americans in urban centers, rioted across America in agony over the injustice of the slaying of Black America’s …
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Conservatism and the Call of Common Creed
When times are good, when institutions are stable and prosperity abundant, it may be that we are less likely to ask fundamental questions about values in society. Their importance is not as obvious to us when troubles do not appear close. It is when we feel the roots of society seeming pulled upwards by discord …
A Deeper Look at Immigration & the BA State of the Union
John and Ciaran dive back into the government shutdown and immigration debate, imagining a new way forward. J and C also announce the Braver Angels State of the Union event, two days after President Trump’s SOTU and the Democratic response, in Washington D.C.
2018 and the Ominous New Normal
A new new normal among thoughtfully courageous Americans left and right can fill the void of civic virtue that has swelled to a chasm in this past year.