In this episode of Byron’s Loom, Gregory Mengel is joined by Mary Lynn Hutchison for a wide-ranging conversation about polarization and how we might break out of our informational and ideological silos. Mary Lynn is a former physicist, a professional grandmother, and currently serve as Co-chair of the Central Eastern Washington Braver Angels Alliance. She leans right. Gregory is a culture worker and writer focusing on the social, political, and ecological crises of our time. He leans left. Their conversation touched on many things, from the unintended consequences of local tax schemes, to how Democrat and Republican policies do or do not help rural communities, to Covid era school closures, to the current leadership of our national public health institutions. They agreed that real progress in depolarizing our politics will require not only talking across difference but making space for viewpoint diversity within our silos. And the most important tool we have for both these tasks is listening to people, especially people directly impacted by whatever social problems are up for discussion. More to come …

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