A Braver Way

What do we owe each other when we can’t stand each other?

Recorded live at the Braver Angels Convention 2026 — in front of 1,000 people split evenly between red and blue — this episode brings that key question to a renowned civic scholar whose work gives Moni the most hope. Yuval Levin of the American Enterprise Institute has a surprising answer to what's really threatening the country — and it isn't division. It’s passivity: treating ourselves as spectators instead of citizens. Together, he and Mónica dig into why conflict is our solution rather than our problem, what it actually means to be "responsible" for a country, and — because Levin can't resist a good historical tangent — which founding father would love America today, and which one would be horrified.

Guest: Yuval Levin, director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute

Show notes with credits and full transcript can be found here: https://www.reclaimcuriosity.com/post/a-braver-way-episode-29

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do you do when someone on your own side lets you down — or a family member says their politics are “none of your business”? In our second mailbox episode, Mónica and producer Jessica Jones tackle listener questions about whether America’s founding was a failure to bridge, how to recognize our own blind spots, and what Mónica’s parents really think of President Trump. Plus, April Lawson joins in with advice for approaching a firmly closed door. Want to send us your question? Email [email protected]!

Show notes with full credits, reference links and transcript can be found here: https://www.reclaimcuriosity.com/post/a-braver-way-episode-28

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Researcher Jaime Settle has found that just anticipating a political conversation with someone who disagrees can send your heart rate soaring — sometimes by as much as it rises during a panic attack.

Will this damage a relationship? Will I be judged? Is it safer to hide what I believe? Those calculations happen fast, often pointing you toward the exit. So what does it take to make the riskier choice?

Jaime joins Mónica to explore what to do when your body hits the alarm, why admitting "I'm nervous about this" can lower the temperature, and how talking about the conversation before having it can make honest disagreement a whole lot easier.

This episode's guest: Jaime Settle, Department Chair and Professor of Government at William & Mary

Show notes with full credits, reference links and transcript can be found here: https://www.reclaimcuriosity.com/post/a-braver-way-episode-27

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moni is liberal. Travis Tripodi is conservative libertarian. Much of what he supports terrifies her… and vice versa. But when Trump returned in 2025, they knew they had to talk. In a new A Braver Way experiment, the two friends let you in on what’s become a critical exercise: bringing each other the headlines that bother them most, saying what they really believe, and having it out.

This isn’t a tidy debate or performance of “civility”. In good faith clashes over everything from socialism to political retaliation, Moni and Travis push, challenge, and *try* to listen even when they hate what they hear. Then, they debrief: Did Moni get too mad — or not mad enough? Did Travis listen, or just assume he did? And in all that heat, did they find any light? Note: This conversation was recorded on July 30.

Show notes with full credits, links and transcript can be found here: https://www.reclaimcuriosity.com/post/a-braver-way-episode-26

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special episode, Mónica and producer Jessica Jones explore questions from curious listeners about fear, family conflict, patriotism when we’re so at odds, and the unforeseeable ways we come to believe what we believe. Also on deck: Advice to a mom caught in a political rift between father and son, what happens when Moni loses her temper, and bridging tips from Mother Nature. Want to send us *your* question? Email [email protected]! 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Happiness” is the last thing many of us expect to find on a call with a stranger from the opposite political side. But when Axel Bouchon and his team placed one very unusual phone booth in deeply liberal San Francisco, California, and another in deeply conservative Abilene, Texas, that was exactly what they were hoping to spark. 

Bouchon, a neuroscientist driven to understand our strongest emotions, joins Moni to expose their power in our politics and beyond. Together they explore how emotions are far more infectious than viruses, how we humans can avoid reacting from the most primitive parts of our brains, and how disagreeing can be better for us than we think.

Show notes with full credits, links and other information can be found here: https://www.moniguzman.com/post/a-braver-way-episode-24

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anne Marie Denman was the “angel” of the family: obedient, attentive, with plans to become a nun. When she came out as gay to her conservative Catholic parents, a deep rupture drove them apart.

How do you stay close to people who won’t share your worldview? Can love exist while someone feels rejected? And can you invest in the relationship without condoning the other’s convictions? These are some of the questions Anne Marie and her mother, Sharon, wrestled with over the years, as they fought to protect a connection that was threatened by their differences.

Mother and daughter join Mónica for an intimate and vulnerable conversation about the ups and downs of that journey — and what it takes to stay connected without demanding agreement.

Show notes with full credits, links and other information can be found here: https://www.reclaimcuriosity.com/post/a-braver-way-episode-23

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For most of human history, offensive speech was equal to violence, and saying the wrong thing could get your tongue chopped off. Today, we aim to use words instead of violence. But what do you do when those words really hurt?

This week on A Braver Way, Moni sits down with Greg Lukianoff, who she fondly calls “the free speech guy.” Greg is an attorney, author and president of the mighty Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). Together, they explore the complicated relationship between speech and safety, and how what we let ourselves say determines how we let ourselves live.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With political tensions at a new peak, the pressure to take a stand — or keep the peace — can be intense. But how do you know the difference between the move that feels right and the one that is right?

In our first episode after a long break, Mónica, a liberal, talks with her conservative friend and fellow bridge builder April Lawson about what it takes to know what’s truly yours to do at this moment. Drawing on ideas from people who’ve seen the best and worst of humanity, along with their own struggles to navigate what feels like an increasingly scary world, Moni and April explore how to step out of the heat long enough to ask: 

• How do I avoid using "peacemaking" as a cover for a lack of courage?
• What's the line between humanizing someone … and enabling them? 
• When it comes to division in my community, my family, and my country: What will I wish I had done when my grandchildren ask what I did?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two weeks after the 2024 election, left-right tensions are through the roof. In this special “Ask Us Anything” episode, a cross-partisan panel of Trump and Harris voters take on a fiery handful of YOUR toughest questions about how in the world we bridge political divides from here… just in time for the holidays. Join host Moni, April, and our special guests — Angel Eduardo, Shira Hoffer, and Travis Tripodi — as they close out this season of A Braver Way with a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Featuring:

• Angel Eduardo, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

• Shira Hoffer, Institute for Multipartisan Education

• Travis Tripodi, Braver Angels New Hampshire

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.