Mónica talks to two friends whose lives changed in profound ways when they discovered that the family of one had owned the family of the other as slaves. Exploring our racial and religious divides as well as our political ones, their conversation takes on tough questions about how we honor past and future in our shared story, and the role repentance and forgiveness can play in relationships burdened by pain. 

*** A Braver Way is produced with financial support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and Reclaim Curiosity.

Mónica talks to two friends whose lives changed in profound ways when they discovered that the family of one had owned the family of the other as slaves. Exploring our racial and religious divides as well as our political ones, their conversation takes on tough questions about how we honor past and future in our shared story, and the role repentance and forgiveness can play in relationships burdened by pain.  *** A Braver Way is produced with financial support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and Reclaim Curiosity.

Done with the divisiveness in our politics and ready to do something about it? Host Monica Guzman is joined by guests from across the political spectrum to unearth tools, insights, and messy real life stories that can guide you over the divide in your everyday life. So whether you’re Red, Blue, or something entirely different, “A Braver Way” will help you hear and be heard by people who confound you.

A Braver Way

Mónica talks to two friends whose lives changed in profound ways when they discovered that the family of one had owned the family of the other as slaves. Exploring our racial and religious divides as well as our political ones, their conversation...

How do you bridge a legacy of pain?

How do you talk across the political divide with someone who might exclude you, fear you, or even believe you shouldn’t exist? And what if it’s your beliefs that seem to paint someone else out of the picture? Award-winning writer, performer, and trans activist Kai Cheng Thom has wrestled with these questions in a more visceral way than most… and in a more universal way than you might expect. Kai shares the groundbreaking ways she manages the tension between advocating and understanding, then April joins Mónica to explore contrasting views on gender and sexuality from the left and the right, and together they face the quagmire at the heart of so many of our toughest clashes: How do you love people well while holding strong to your convictions? 

How do you talk across the political divide with someone who might exclude you, fear you, or even believe you shouldn’t exist? And what if it’s your beliefs that seem to paint someone else out of the picture? Award-winning writer, performer, and trans activist Kai Cheng Thom has wrestled with these questions in a more visceral way than most… and in a more universal way than you might expect. Kai shares the groundbreaking ways she manages the tension between advocating and understanding, then April joins Mónica to explore contrasting views on gender and sexuality from the left and the right, and together they face the quagmire at the heart of so many of our toughest clashes: How do you love people well while holding strong to your convictions?

‘Am I the monster?’ with trans activist Kai Cheng Thom

Who is responsible for building the future we deserve? For making sure that no matter who wins the presidential election, our country won’t lose? With so many liberals and conservatives  believing that defeat on their side would spell disaster and despair,  Moni — with a little help from American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Yuval Levin and Washington Post columnist Amanda Ripley — makes the case for a daring, more muscular kind of hope. 

Who is responsible for building the future we deserve? For making sure that no matter who wins the presidential election, our country won’t lose? With so many liberals and conservatives  believing that defeat on their side would spell disaster and despair,  Moni — with a little help from American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Yuval Levin and Washington Post columnist Amanda Ripley — makes the case for a daring, more muscular kind of hope.

Beat | Can democracy survive without hope?

Getting mad can get results… or get way out of hand. So when everything’s an outrage, how do you navigate your political anger? After 9/11, our guest Wilk Wilkinson found himself incensed by the other side and sinking into a personal crisis. The host of the Derate the Hate podcast shares how he took charge of his anger before it took charge of him. Then, April and Mónica trade notes on the cycles of rage and contempt we see in our politics and in each other, and what to try when anger storms up in someone else. 

Getting mad can get results… or get way out of hand. So when everything’s an outrage, how do you navigate your political anger? After 9/11, our guest Wilk Wilkinson found himself incensed by the other side and sinking into a personal crisis. The host of the Derate the Hate podcast shares how he took charge of his anger before it took charge of him. Then, April and Mónica trade notes on the cycles of rage and contempt we see in our politics and in each other, and what to try when anger storms up in someone else.

How do you bridge a legacy of pain?

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