Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it's finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.

The Flying Pig Academy is kind of an insider's how to.

This Flying Pig Episode: Politics are a mess, the American electorate is fed up. So what do we do about it? Way too many of us doom scroll through the latest political news from the comfort of our couch in the suburbs. Rightly disturbed that younger generations of Americans don't understand civics, way too many of us aren't practicing civics that would have direct impact on the communities, states and nation where we live. We've become political hobbyists and it's fueling the demand for performance art in our elected leaders.

Mentioned: Eitan Hersh on the dangers of political hobbyism.

Miss the first Flying Pig Academy Episode? Find it here.

The second in the series, after "Location, Location, Location" is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

Here are the rest of our Flying Pig episodes:

• Carom Shots: Why Working Upstream From Conflict is So Powerful OR how to become a civility pool shark
• Criss Cross Applesauce OR Complexity Changes Everything
• Core Catalyst Model OR What Old Trees Have to Teach Us About Rebuilding Civic Life

As we begin our reflections of the 250th year of our shared experiment—in the 5th season of our UNUM series—we are truly honored to bring you the current president of The American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Dr. Laurie L. Patton.

Fresh from the founding of a brand new country with a Big Idea (but still in the throes of the Revolution), John Adams was among the founders of the storied American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Devoted to bringing diverse thinkers, professions and talents to the task of creating and communicating knowledge to serve this new nation, the earliest members of the Academy included George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Its membership through these centuries are civilization's legends—like Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

Find the program online here.

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.

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The Village Square is a proud member 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.

UNUM: Democracy Reignited is made possible in partnership with Florida Humanities (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities.)

Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it's finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.

This Flying Pig Episode: So how in the world do you build a community of people who look and think differently at a time when birds of a feather are not only flocking together, but not really caring too much for different kinds of birds? It's easier than you thought if you begin with a small core of relationships across differences and grow it out in stages, like the rings of a tree as it grows.

Miss the first Flying Pig Academy Episode? Find it here.

The second in the series, after "Location, Location, Location" is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

Here are the rest of our Flying Pig episodes:

Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it's finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.

This Flying Pig Episode: If you're trying to build community in this fractured time (for anything), have we got a hack for you. At a time when binaries rule the day (you're either with "us" or "them," with us or against us), "complicating the narrative" between groups has a powerful effect on the conversations and relationships that are even possible. That means civic entrepreneurs need to be on the lookup for unexpected combinations—of traits in people, of relationships between people, of coalitions of groups. We call it being criss-crossey, a term we're just sure is going to sweep the nation.

Miss the first Flying Pig Academy Episode? Find it here.

The second in the series, after "Location, Location, Location" is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

Oh and if you haven't watched the "hive switch-y" Almost Famous Tiny Dancer scene we mention toward the end of the episode, here's your chance.

Find the full list of Flying Pig Academy Episodes online here.

The Village Square is a proud member 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.

We're making our way through a time of extreme disruption, led by rapid transformation in technology, especially in how we communicate information. According to our special guest Renée DiResta, the way power and influence have been profoundly transformed reveals how a virtual rumor mill of niche propagandists increasingly shapes public opinion.

By revealing the machinery and dynamics of the interplay between influencers, algorithms, and online crowds, DiResta vividly illustrates the way propagandists deliberately undermine belief in the fundamental legitimacy of institutions that make society work.

Find the program online here.

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.

The Village Square is a proud member 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.

Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

We're wondering if the secret to a healthy America is to… wait for it… put "America Fourth!" Perhaps too much of our lives are now wrapped up in this life or death, us v. them struggle for us to be happy people. According to political scientist Eitan Hersh, this is making us insufferable "political hobbyists" who need to get a life? What if we can rediscover other higher loves — faith, family, art, travel, Star Wars trivia, whatever floats your particular boat. And in finding our loves again, maybe we even find each other?

Facilitated by Pastor Latricia Scriven of St. Paul's United Methodist Church — God Squad is on it.

Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here.

The Village Square is a proud member 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.

Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it's finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.

The bigger, gnarlier and more all-encompassing a conflict grows, the more we naturally rush right to its epicenter to try to break it up. It demands so much attention it's hard to look away. But we're going to give you our hottest tip for handling the most difficult conflicts — do it indirectly. Named by our very own Bill Mattox (this episode's guest), who may or may not know a lot about a carom shot in billiards (hitting a ball to hit another ball into the pocket), but he certainly knows a lot about human beings.

The Village Square is a proud member 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.

Featured in this episode: A reference to the Heineken Worlds Apart ad, which is well worth a watch.

Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Introducing the newest thing in higher (and we really mean higher — like look UP) education: The Flying Pig Academy. A dream of The Village Square (with support from Florida Humanities) for many years, it's finally aloft. The division in American society is big and seems impossible at times to address.

The second in the series, after "Location, Location, Location" is an homage to our intellectual hero (and lucky for us, our friend and colleague) Dr. Jonathan Haidt who - literally - wrote the book for Pigs With Big Dreams. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion.

Miss the first Flying Pig Academy Episode? Find it here.

Oh and if you haven't watched the "hive switch-y" Almost Famous Tiny Dancer scene we mention toward the end of the episode, here's your chance.

The Village Square is a proud member 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.

Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Why does it feel like those on the "other side" are not just different but dangerous?

According to our special guest UNC psychologist Kurt Gray in his new book OUTRAGED: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground the conflict lies in our human instinct to protect ourselves and the ones we love from harm.

Find the program online here.

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.

The Village Square is a proud member 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.

Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

We have become a most tediously offended people. We're not talking about the big stuff — it's the "little" things we wonder about.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones" and "water off a duck's back" seem quaint and anachronistic in today's culture of maximal aggrievement. Provoked by even the slightest offense — that, mind you, we seem to be on constant vigilance to find — we're on a hair trigger that sends us into conjuring up "us vs. them" and "good vs. evil" thinking and language.

Scholars have written that this sad state of affairs reflects a wider shift in our culture, from what they call a "dignity culture" to an "honor and victimhood culture." Humanity has been here before (in the days of yore when the Secretary of the Treasury killed a sitting vice president, or that one time a U.S. Senator was caned on the Senate floor) — and it doesn't end well.

Led by Rev. Josh Hall of First Baptist Church — God Squad is on it.

Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here.

The Village Square is a proud member 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.

Funding for this podcast was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.