Let’s Find Common Ground

Most of us live comfortably in our bubbles, interacting with people who think and often look like us. We may sift out others who don’t fit our mold.

A long pandemic hasn’t helped: Covid has made many people wary of being around strangers, let alone talking to them. If you live in a city you operate by invisible rules where you pay just enough attention to a stranger, allowing each of you the space to carry on politely...and distantly. But our guest on this episode says taking the time to talk to people you don’t know can bring unexpected pleasures, and lead to more openness and tolerance.

Kio Stark is a qualitative researcher and the author of the book When Strangers Meet. She says when you engage with another person in a store, on a park bench, in line at the DMV, you are getting a peek into someone else’s world and entering into a shared humanity. You’re forging a connection that may help you see the world from another person’s perspective.

As Kio says, “a conversation with a stranger can open up your idea of who you think of as part of the society in which you live.”

Hear more on the latest episode of Let’s Find Common Ground.

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Want to know one of the most exciting and innovative ways to find common ground? Get people out of their political bunkers and move them beyond rigid polarization in our divided nation. Consider local grassroots efforts, such as the one we profile in this podcast episode.

Journalist Simon Montlake of The Christian Science Monitor tells us about his reporting on a lively grassroots effort in northeast Ohio to help people of all political stripes disagree constructively. Participants meet first over dinner at a community center and then debate a hot topic. The audience is invited to discuss a controversial proposition, listening to different points of view. It’s called Dinner and a Fight with the word "fight" crossed out and replaced by "dialog".

Event organizers Ted Wetzel and Tom Hach explain how the evenings work and why they can be part of a broader effort to rebuild civic bonds. Ted is the founder and executive director of Fighting-To-Understand, a nonprofit group that encourages people to be more skilled at healthy disagreement. Former IT program manager and retired Navy Reservist Tom Hach is the Director of Ohio Freedom Action Network (OhioFAN).

Please tell us what you think! Share your feedback in this short survey. For every survey completed we’ll plant 5 trees. Common Ground Podcast Feedback Survey (qualtrics.com)

American business can be a force for finding common ground, but large corporations must now answer to a growing array of stakeholders, who often have opposing views on hot-button issues. In recent years, social media has also forced companies to respond immediately to a variety of conflicting demands.

We discuss these challenges with Davia Temin, a highly respected marketing and reputation strategist, crisis manager and communications coach. We also learn the ways that business can help contribute to improving public discourse at a time of polarization and political conflict. "I think the landscape is almost unrecognizable for businesses these days, versus ten years ago," Davia tells us.

In this episode, we hear about the daily hazards and opportunities for corporate leaders, and get practical lessons on how they can respond to today's changing political, cultural and social landscape. in a clear, caring and authentic voice.

In a world of crises and catastrophes, we look at a handful of extraordinary problem solvers: People who use their passion and personal experience of life to make a difference. Dave Scott, Engagement Editor at The Christian Monitor, tells us about remarkable individuals who use generosity, hope, and innovation to inspire others to uplift their fellow human beings.

With origin stories and personal anecdotes, we hear how listening and trust are essential elements in constructive change and finding common ground.

This special year-end episode includes excerpts from the Monitor's new podcast, "People Making a Difference". We hear about what a 12-year-old can teach us about empathy and kindness; how the Sewing Machine Project has repaired thousands of lives around the world, and why LavaMaeX is providing hot showers, pop-up care villages, and radical hospitality for homeless people in California.

Co-hosts: Richard Davies and Ashley Milne-Tyte.

At a time of increasingly urgent calls for climate action, the world also faces ever-rising demand for energy. How can these two trends be reconciled as we experience soaring gas prices and supply chain disruptions?

Our guest is Pulitzer Prize-winning author and energy expert Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of IHS Markit and chairman of CERAWeek, which CNBC has described as “the Super Bowl of world energy.” Dr. Yergin says the energy transition is very complicated, and the degree to which the world still depends on oil and natural gas is not well understood.

In this episode, we look at the prospects for common ground among environmentalists and energy industry executives. We examine why a new map of energy and geopolitics is emerging. Daniel Yergin explains how future innovations in green energy could prove to be just as surprising as the "shale revolution” in oil and gas which transformed the American economy and ended an era of energy shortage.