An Inside Look at Perspectives that Challenged the Top of Mind Team this Season

12/11/23 • 46 min

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We’ve spent the last several months on Top of Mind assessing the assumptions that drive our decisions. And we hope you’ve had a few “Stick With It Moments” as you’ve heard a perspective that challenged you, but you chose to stay open and curious – and keep listening! And hopefully that’s been good practice for “sticking with it” when you encounter challenging perspectives in your daily life. Because leaning into that discomfort leads to new empathy, more clarity on complicated issues, and a better ability to advocate for the things you really care about. While we’re producing the podcast, we have Stick With It moments, too. So in this podcast episode to wrap up Season 4, our host Julie Rose talks with the Top of Mind team about moments that challenged them in recent episodes about adoption, end-of-life decisions, immigration, police reform and political disagreement. Have you had a Stick With It moment listening to an episode of Top of Mind? We’d love to hear it. Email your story to [email protected]. Podcast Guests: Top of Mind producers Samuel Benson, Alayna Beck, Vanessa Goodman, Amber Mortensen, and James Hoopes.

Previous Episode

How Native Americans are Reclaiming Their Narrative

More than three-quarters of Americans say they know little to nothing about Native Americans. Nearly the same percentage also say they rarely or never encounter any kind of information about Native peoples. What Americans DO know about Native Americans likely comes from inaccurate history lessons that keep tribes situated in the past. Or maybe from the antiquated characterizations in Hollywood films and TV shows. But a new wave of research, activism, and representation is changing the conversation; Native Americans are reclaiming their narrative. So today, what assumptions do non-Native people in America have about Native Americans, past and present? In this episode of the podcast, we talk to a former teacher and curriculum designer about bringing contemporary Native American history into the classroom through the arts, a researcher and media consultant about the consequences of invisibility, a reconciliation advisor about healing from appropriation, and a former elected tribal leader about the importance of strengthening Tribal sovereignty. Podcast Guests: Brenda Beyal, program facilitator of BYU ARTS Partnership Native American Curriculum Initiative Crystal Echo Hawk, president, CEO, and founder of IllumiNative; co-leader of the Reclaiming Narrative Truth project Adrienne Benjamin, multifaceted artist, educator, and reconciliation advisor to companies including Minnetonka Wayne Ducheneaux, founding and former executive director of the Native Governance Center and former Cheyenne River Sioux tribal council member

Next Episode

Is Perspective-Taking the Key to Overcoming Polarization?

Why is it so hard to see things from a perspective other than our own? Our perspectives are shaped by our life experiences and our biology – some people are color-blind, for example. As a result of these differences, no two people see the world in exactly the same way. And yet, when it comes to differences of opinion on issues that we really care about, we are quick to demand that everyone else see things the way we do. Psychologists call the ability to see from a different vantage point “perspective taking.” Is perspective-taking the key to overcoming polarization in society? In this podcast episode, we learn how our brains are wired to process information differently – some think in words, others pictures. We get practical tips on how to practice perspective-taking during difficult conversations. And, we learn about the potential pitfalls of focusing only on developing empathy to bridge differences, because some empathy leads to helping, some does not. Podcast Guests: Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at Colorado State University and author of “Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People who Think in Pictures, Patterns and Abstractions,” “Different Kinds of Minds” and “Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism” Monica Guzman, senior fellow at Braver Angels, host of A Braver Way podcast, and author of “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times” Alison Jane Martingano, professor of psychology at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, empathy researcher, host of “Psychology and Stuff” podcast