Have you ever posted something on social media only to have someone drop in to completely disagree with you? Well, that sort of thing is the genesis of this conversation. Corey's buddy from high school, Rich Weiss, joins us to discuss politics, education, media influence, and the impact of social media on public discourse. Rich Weiss, a musician with the band Guilty Pleasures and an 8th grade teacher, and Corey explore their differing viewpoints on various political and societal issues, including the role of the media, education system challenges, and specific policies from the Trump administration. The dialogue also touches on the importance of listening, the potential benefits of ranked choice voting, and the ways to nurture relationships across differences. And believe it or not, Corey and Rich demonstrate how engaging in meaningful conversations about contentious topics is both possible and beneficial. We can do this!

01:10 Introducing Rich Weiss; 

02:17 The Genesis of the Conversation; 

02:54 Rich's Political Awakening and Journey; 

09:20 Rich's Teaching Experience and Views on Education; 

13:10 Rich's Views on Current Political Issues; 

31:05 Discussion on Media Consumption and Information Sources; 

39:26 The Double-Edged Sword of Media Democratization; 

40:44 The Importance of Discernment in Consuming Media; 

41:41 Challenging Political Assumptions; 

44:14 The Role of Principle in Politics; 

01:03:43 The Importance of Process in Politics; 

01:09:10 Conclusion: The Power of Listening and Understanding

It would mean so much if you could leave us a review on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/TPandRPod

Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other is part of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what’s broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

Please support our sponsor Meza Wealth Management: www.mezawealth.com

You can find Corey on all the socials @coreysnathan such as www.threads.net/@coreysnathan.

Here's how you can follow Rich's band: www.instagram.com/guiltypleasuresmusic/

And here are just a handful of the articles and videos Rich shared:

• ourworldindata.org/grapher/united-states-rates-of-covid-19-deaths-by-vaccination-status