The Archbridge Podcast

True Progress: Polarization | Episode 1: Defining Division

Episode Summary

In the premiere episode of “True Progress: Polarization,” we delve into one of the biggest issues dividing Americans and the world today: polarization. Our experts try to define what polarization is and how we can best understand its impact.

Episode Notes

Credits

• Written, Edited, and Directed by Arash Ayrom
• Produced by Clay Routledge and Ben Wilterdink
• Narrated by Robert Anthony Peters
• Featuring interviews with:
  • Ben Klutsey, Director of Academic Outreach, Director of the Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange, Mercatus Center
  • Ilana Redstone, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Illinois; Co-Director, Mill Institute, University of Austin
  • Clay Routledge, Vice President of Research and Director of the Human Flourishing Lab, Archbridge Institute
  • Dan Vallone, Director, More in Common, USA
  • Tony Woodlief, Senior Executive Vice President at State Policy Network and Author of  “I, Citizen: A Blueprint for Reclaiming American Self-Governance”

Resources

• The Hidden Tribes of America  [report]
• We Need a Psychology of Progress [essay]
• American Dream Survey [report]
• Undivide Us [film]
• Mill Institute [organization]
• Program on Pluralism and Civil Exchange [organization]
• Lyceum Movement [organization]

About the Show

True Progress is a podcast documentary dedicated to investigating the forces that can move our society forward. Our first installment focuses on one of the biggest and most harmful barriers to progress today: polarization. Polarization is something we’ve all heard about and possibly even felt in our everyday relationships. With another presidential election on the horizon and polls showing America’s widening divides, it’s time to take a serious look at how our society became fractured and what we can do, as individuals and collectively, to heal. In conversations with experts, True Progress explores the causes of polarization, its effects on our society, and pathways to solutions. 

True Progress: Polarization is presented by Profectus Magazine. It is a product of the Archbridge Institute—a non-partisan, independent, 501(c)(3) public policy think tank—whose mission is to lift barriers to human flourishing.