Heading: Resources

In addition to participating in one of our highlighted events and taking part of the exciting dialogue opportunities in the community, there are several ways you can engage in practices of civil discourse.

  • Consider taking the small but meaningful step of reflecting on how you relate to your friends, family, and co-workers with our Conversation Guide.
  • Learn more through podcasts, videos, books and national organizations with our list of Resources below.

Do you know of an event or resource that is not posted? Let us know, and we can help spread the word!

Living Room Conversations: Healing divides starts with conversation, and this website provides a conversational model developed by dialogue experts to facilitate connection between people despite their differences. Explore current topics of conversation and join and upcoming online conversation event to experience it for yourself.

#ListenFirst Coalition: The National Conversation Project—an  overarching collaborative platform powered by the ~250 organizations in the Listen First Coalition—is designed to reach farther and impact greater than any one organization by aggregating, aligning, and amplifying the many conversation efforts already underway while welcoming more Americans into conversations. National Conversation Project promotes National Weeks of Conversation, #ListenFirst Fridays, and any conversation inviting people of different perspectives to revitalize America together.

Everyday Democracy: Everyday Democracy supports organizing across the country by bringing diverse groups of people together, helping them structure and facilitate community dialogue on pressing issues, and training them to use a racial equity lens to understand longstanding problems and possible solutions. 

On Being Civil Conversations Project: The Civil Conversations Project is an evolving adventure in audio, events, resources, and initiatives for planting relationship and conversation around the subjects we fight about intensely — and those we’ve barely begun to discuss.

Braver Angels: Braver Angels is a New York-based 501 nonprofit dedicated to political depolarization. The organization runs workshops, debates, and other events where "red" and "blue" participants attempt to better understand one another's positions and discover their shared values.

BridgeUSA: BridgeUSA is a multi-partisan student movement that champions viewpoint diversity, responsible discourse, and a solution-oriented political culture. The website has resources for university stakeholders to get involved in championing understanding, empathy, open-mindedness and a willingness to engage those who are different from us.

All Sides: Balanced news and ideas from across the political spectrum.

Common Ground Scorecard: A tool for helping voters learn which elected officials and candidates seek common ground on issues.

Disagree Better (U.S. Governors' Initiative): Through the Disagree Better Initiative, Governors are joining forces to reduce partisan animosity and foster healthy debate by modeling a more positive and optimistic way of working through policy problems.

" A Braver Way Podcast  with Mónica Guzmán: "How Can We Cure Our Social  Blindness?" (special guest, David Brooks)

  • Mónica welcomes David Brooks, author and New York Times columnist, to break down an essential and endangered skill for talking politics – hearing deeply and being deeply heard. Then April joins Mónica to ask what it all means for liberals and conservatives, and we hear from a man who runs a Pennsylvania barbershop where debating diverse viewpoints is on the house.

"Can We Disagree Better?" (No Stupid Questions Podcast)

A Braver Way  (podcast series hosted by Mónica Guzmán)

TedTalk:  The Power of Listening (15-minutes)

TedTalk: Why it's worth listening to people you disagree with (11-minutes)

TedTalk:  10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation (12-minutes)

Dialogue Lab: America (2022) (57-minute documentary film)

I Never Thought of it That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times (book by Mónica Guzmán)

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth  (book by Jonathan Rauch)

Beyond Your Bubble: How to Connect Across the Political Divide(book by Tania Israel)

The Way Out: How to Overcome Toxic Polarization (book by Peter T. Coleman)

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time  (book by Susan Scott) 

Try to Love the Questions: From Debate to Dialogue in Classrooms and Life (book by Lara Schwartz)

Civil Discourse: Classroom Conversations for Communities (book by Joe Schmidt & Nichelle Pinkney)

Lunch & Learn with Gleaves Whitney: Lisa Perhamus: Gleaves Whitney is joined by Dr. Lisa Perhamus, director of Grand Valley State University's Padnos/Sarosik Civil Discourse Program, to discuss ways to create spaces that spark civil discourse. (The audio is a little choppy to start, but it does smooth out.)



Page last modified April 19, 2024