ELEPHANT DIALOGUES

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump has made quite a splash in modern politics, and will no doubt continue to leave his mark.  In this episode, the season finale, I sit down with my good friend William Farnbach to talk about why it's so hard to discuss the President of the United States, and how we might do better.  We also attempt to answer some of the big questions that often surround President Trump, and do so in a more productive way than we're used to hearing.  Thank you again for joining us in our experiment in better conversations.  

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President Trump's proposed border wall has become one of the most divisive subjects in current politics.  Jake Christensen joins me in this episode to talk about the real issues behind the border crisis, and what we can actually do to help solve the issue.  We also talk about the ABC's - which stand for Agree, Build, and Compare.  These are handy tools for sharing our opinions  productively.  Hope you enjoy!  

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Whether your goal is to understand others better, or to be more powerful and persuading in your conversations, this one's for you.  In this episode I share some insights from Jonathan Haidt - you can read more about his work in his fascinating book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion".  Other people can certainly be wrong, just as we probably are on some things, but if we can understand that other beliefs might be founded on morals similar to our own, we can better connect with each other and find more empathy and respect, despite our differences.  Hope you enjoy! 

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Is productive, rational conversation on the internet possible?  And if so, what do elephants and 19th century prophets have to do with it? In this episode, I give a few tips on improving our online political conversations.  The internet is a great tool, and if used correctly, can bring us closer together.  I'm still very much working on this one myself, so a lot of this is from personal experience; I can tell you what NOT to do.  And if you have any additional tips, let us know!  [insert "call me" gif]

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Westin Cross joins me for this episode, wherein we discuss possible steps we could take in reducing the extreme gun violence we face as a country.  I also look at some tools for when conversations start getting heated; how we can use Contrasting to de-escalate the situation and restore mutual respect and mutual purpose.  Hope you enjoy!

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As we discuss the Me Too movement, and how we can powerfully stand up for ourselves and for truth, I'm joined by Morgan Reber (the host of She Speaks).  Like Captain America said, sometimes we need to plant ourselves next to the river of truth, and confidently say to the whole world, "No - You move."  Morgan shares 3 P's to better understand sexual assault:

• Power

We also talk about the acronym STATE*, as a powerful way to share our stance:

• Share your Facts

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Have you ever just felt overwhelmed at the thought of politics? Don't know where to start or where to get good, unbiased information? In this bonus episode I share some of my favorite tools for getting news, and some of my favorite books on improving our conversations.  And if you've got a recommendation, let us know! 

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This week I'm with Michael Garrett Johnson to talk about gay rights and faith issues. We also talk about the power of using good questions to enable and further conversation, as questions keep us humble and looking for feedback.  Our goal, again, is to understand each other better, not to prove ourselves right or "win" the debate.  Framing our views and opinions as questions is a great way to do just that.  

Gratitude is one of the greatest forces of good in the world.  There is power in finding gratitude for our diversity, and gratitude for the different perspectives we can give each other. In this episode Ken Nukaya joins me to tell me his story, and talk about how gratitude can change everything.  Its a simple concept, but with so much hate in the world, I think it's one of the most powerful in our tool belt. Huge thanks to Ken for this one.  

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How do we react when someone offers us new information? Do we celebrate, recoil, or counter-attack? In this bonus episode I get a little more detailed with some concrete tips and tricks to improve our conversations. If we truly are blind men working together to understand the bigger picture, we should celebrate when someone helps us see more clearly!  Here's how we can do that.  

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