Blog Posts by Tag

Four Steps for Depolarizing with Mass Messaging: The Power of Commonality, Uniqueness, Elevation, and Togetherness

Recommended Reading / March 11th, 2021 / By James Coan

Political sides in the U.S. have the potential to see each other in highly negative ways. They can see each other as an out-group that is distant, stereotyped, lesser, and to be avoided, as I argued in my last article . This article focuses on the corresponding solutions. Each of those...

Polarization, Political Polarization

We’re on a Hill, They’re in a Valley: The Four Steps that Happen When Animosity Grows Toward the Other Political Party

Recommended Reading / March 11th, 2021 / By James Coan

What happens if animosity grows toward those in the other political party? What are negative ways we can feel about any group that is not our own? These are not just academic questions, but they are important to answer in order to figure out how to reduce political polarization. This...

Polarization, Political Polarization

Survey: Where the Left and Right Agree/Disagree on Media Bias

Bias / December 17th, 2020 / By Rick Wytmar

In a year of increased political polarization , those on opposite sides of the aisle might think that they have very little in common. However, every time we survey our readers for a Blind Bias Survey , we often find that they agree on a lot more than they realize. In September, we...

Political Polarization, Media Bias, Blind Bias Survey

When Two Parties Aren’t Enough For Some People

Recommended Reading / December 2nd, 2020 / By Dan Schnur

It is deeply frustrating for many Democrats that Dianne Feinstein and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are members of the same political party. Most Republicans are equally unhappy that they are forced to count both Mitt Romney and Donald Trump, Jr. within their ranks. Such is life in a two-party...

Democratic Party, Political Polarization, GOP, Unity

Putting a “Lid” On Our Demands of the American Public: Let’s Focus on “Lower-Intensity Depolarization” (LID) Strategies

Recommended Reading / November 19th, 2020 / By James Coan

My previous article investigated the methods used by most groups focused on reducing political polarization. I argued they can be effective, but they usually ask for too much time and effort from the American public. Most Americans do not have the time or interest to engage deeply with...

Political Polarization

Current Depolarization Activities Ask People to Work Too Hard, are Unlikely to Reach Enough Americans

Recommended Reading / November 19th, 2020 / By James Coan

The election is now over. Yet the work to depolarize the country must continue. Having some new leaders can help, but they cannot fully reverse forces that have led to increasing political division. At the heart of efforts to reduce political polarization – especially improving the...

Political Polarization

Braver Angels Podcast: Depolarizing the Media

Bias / July 22nd, 2020 / By AllSides Staff

What are the forces driving the breakdown in our media system? How do media polarization, hyperpartisanship, and disinformation threaten our values and democracy? And what can we do about it? Ciaran O’Connor, CMO at Braver Angels , talks to the leaders of two organizations working to free...

Polarization, Political Polarization, Media Bias, Liberal Media Bias, Conservatives

Union: A Democrat, A Republican, and a Search for Common Ground

Bias / July 20th, 2020 / By AllSides Staff

In the year before Donald Trump was elected president, Jordan Blashek, a Republican Marine, and Chris Haugh, a Democrat and son of a single mother from Berkeley, formed an unlikely friendship. Over the months, Jordan and Chris’s friendship blossomed not in spite of but because of their...

Unions, Political Polarization

Arriving at the Grand Divide | Jonathan Haidt, John Wood Jr. and April Lawson

News / June 17th, 2020 / By John R. Wood Jr.

American social fabric is tearing apart at catastrophic speed. How did we get here and where does hope come from for the future? Braver Angels leaders John Wood, Jr. and April Lawson are joined by author, social psychologist and Braver Angels board member Jonathan Haidt to discuss the...

Polarization, Political Polarization, Morality, Braver Angels

Black Lives

Recommended Reading / June 11th, 2020 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on Braver Angels . This past December, before the world changed but at a moment when most of the problems that led us here were in full view, I was invited to speak at an event organized by Bishop Omar Jawar of Dallas, Texas, in front of the...

Black Lives Matter, Political Polarization, Braver Angels

Boos Toward a Republican at a Mindfulness Conference — Good Humor or Hateful?

Bias / March 6th, 2020 / By John Gable, AllSides Co-founder

Last year, Joan Blades and I spoke at the Wisdom 2.0 conference in San Francisco, an inspiring event that merges mindfulness and ageless wisdom with modern technology and society. It was an extraordinary event and going on again right now. I highly recommend it. Being the lone Republican...

Political Polarization, Media Bias, San Francisco

Political Diversity and the Wisdom of Boos

Bias / March 5th, 2020 / By Brandon Rennels

Editor's Note: See John Gable's take on this event here . Over the past decade I’ve been a regular attendee at the Wisdom 2.0 Conference in San Francisco. It’s an annual gathering that brings together thousands of like-minded and like-hearted people, and features a marvelous array of...

San Francisco, Political Polarization, Polarization, Diversity

Political Polarization Is No Longer Just Red v Blue: It’s About Memetic Tribes

Bias / January 9th, 2020 / By Julie Mastrine

The United States is politically polarized — but perhaps not in the way you think. We tend to think of “polarization” as two competing red and blue tribes, each far away from the other in belief, values, and ideas, battling for political territory. Republican versus Democrat. Elephant...

Culture, Culture War, Polarization, Political Polarization, Media Bias

Study: Political Views May Lead to Hiring Discrimination

Bias / December 20th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

Political affiliation may impact hiring decisions, according to an article published in the Journal of Applied Psychology that focused on two studies exploring the concept. Researchers sought to answer the question: Does an applicant’s political affiliation affect how a recruiter...

Media Bias, Polarization, Political Polarization

Teaching Children to Resolve Conflict: Q&A with "Two Tribes "Author Tyler Storlie

News / November 8th, 2019 / By Julie Mastrine

Earlier this summer, we wrote about a new children's book, Two Tribes , that exposes the dangers of political polarization and shows that solutions and compromises are both possible and necessary for humans to thrive and get along in peace. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, Two...

Media Bias, Political Polarization, Polarization

Beyond Depolarization: What Our Movement is Becoming

Bias / November 6th, 2019 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared on Better Angels . Better Angels and other individuals and organizations have been working hard to depolarize American politics. But can the movement to depolarize America break into the mainstream? Or is it transforming into something that...

Media Bias, Polarization, Political Polarization

Podcast: The Effects of Political Polarization on Our Culture

Bias / November 4th, 2019 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on Better Angels . Bret Weinstein is a professor of evolutionary biology. He was at the center of the moral panic at Evergreen State College in May of 2017, after which time his public commentary led him to a place of prominence in the cross-...

Political Polarization, Civil Discourse

Ellen DeGeneres Moves America Beyond Harmful Polarization

Bias / October 15th, 2019 / By Samantha Shireman

Last week, Ellen DeGeneres was criticized on Twitter after photos of her sitting next to former First Couple George W. and Laura Bush at a Dallas Cowboys game surfaced online. Ellen responded to the criticism in a monologue on her show, saying, "I'm friends with George Bush. In fact, I'm...

Civility, Ellen DeGeneres, George Bush, Political Polarization

Pop-Culture and Polarization: with Chloe Valdary

Bias / August 21st, 2019 / By Tara Parekh

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on Better Angels. Listen to Ciaran O’Connor and John Wood, Jr. break down the political and racial divides alongside special guest, Chloe Valdary. Chloe Valdary is a writer and the founder of the Theory of Enchantment, a curriculum which...

Political Polarization, Polarization, Culture, Race And Racism, Politics

The War on Empathy

Bias / August 19th, 2019 / By John R. Wood Jr.

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared on Better Angels . Take a look at the meaning of the word empathy. Ruminate on its definition— "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another." It is the light by which we may call forth the best qualities of our fellow Americans...

Media Bias, Polarization, Political Polarization

Tag: Political Polarization

Four Steps for Depolarizing with Mass Messaging: The Power of Commonality, Uniqueness, Elevation, and Togetherness

We’re on a Hill, They’re in a Valley: The Four Steps that Happen When Animosity Grows Toward the Other Political Party

Survey: Where the Left and Right Agree/Disagree on Media Bias

When Two Parties Aren’t Enough For Some People

Putting a “Lid” On Our Demands of the American Public: Let’s Focus on “Lower-Intensity Depolarization” (LID) Strategies

Current Depolarization Activities Ask People to Work Too Hard, are Unlikely to Reach Enough Americans

Braver Angels Podcast: Depolarizing the Media

Union: A Democrat, A Republican, and a Search for Common Ground

Arriving at the Grand Divide | Jonathan Haidt, John Wood Jr. and April Lawson

Black Lives

Boos Toward a Republican at a Mindfulness Conference — Good Humor or Hateful?

Political Diversity and the Wisdom of Boos

Political Polarization Is No Longer Just Red v Blue: It’s About Memetic Tribes

Study: Political Views May Lead to Hiring Discrimination

Teaching Children to Resolve Conflict: Q&A with "Two Tribes "Author Tyler Storlie

Beyond Depolarization: What Our Movement is Becoming

Podcast: The Effects of Political Polarization on Our Culture

Ellen DeGeneres Moves America Beyond Harmful Polarization

Pop-Culture and Polarization: with Chloe Valdary

The War on Empathy

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