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.”
‘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 “Protests, Pile-Ons and Toxic Masculinity”
I am enjoying the podcast and love the way you guys are modeling how to have conversations among people with political disagreements. One comment: it would be great to hear women’s voices on the podcast, especially when talking about subjects like toxic masculinity.