America's Why Project

Episode 12: Part 2 — How Deep Listening Builds Trust

What actually changes when people stop talking at each other and start truly listening? In Part 2 of this two-part series, host Matt Levinger continues his conversation with Merissa Khurma, Founder and President of the AMENA Foundation and a strategic communications expert, to move from breaking down the idea of listening to understanding what makes it effective in practice. Through real-world examples—from a funding negotiation to a FIFA policy debate—Khurma shows how listening shifts conversations from assumptions to trust, and from conflict to problem-solving. The discussion highlights how reframing, cultural context, and attention to personal narratives can turn stalled or polarized interactions into meaningful progress. This episode closes the series by showing how listening, when practiced intentionally, becomes a tool for building outcomes that last. Host: Matthew Levinger – Host of the America’s Why Podcast and Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Guest: Merissa Khurma – Founder and President of AMENA Foundation. Explore more of Merissa Khurma’s work at AMENA Strategies: https://www.amenastrategies.com/ [https://www.amenastrategies.com/] Follow AMENA Foundation and AMENA Strategies for more insights and updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/amena-foundation-inc/posts/?feedView=all [https://www.linkedin.com/company/amena-foundation-inc/posts/?feedView=all] https://www.linkedin.com/company/amena-strategies/posts/?feedView=all [https://www.linkedin.com/company/amena-strategies/posts/?feedView=all] Visit our website to learn more about the America’s Why Project and join the conversation: americaswhyproject.com [https://www.americaswhyproject.com/] Listen on: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4hNKeDF6k3tHIy0sUlMc9O?si=6110a042eab84a28&nd=1&dlsi=c81ac62cb4be4ba7] | Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-why-project/id1873058288] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/865603b7-dcd5-4355-b07c-93e9bc5ef182/america's-why-project] The views expressed in the podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent those held by the America's Why Project team or the George Washington University.

Episode 11: Part 1 — The Power of Listening in Divided Worlds: Narrative, Trust, and Conflict

In a world where everyone is talking, why does it feel like no one is truly being heard? In Part 1 of this two-part series, host Matt Levinger sits down with Merissa Khurma, Founder and President of the AMENA Foundation and a strategic communications expert, to explore a critical question: why do people stop listening in the first place? Drawing on experiences from global diplomacy to deeply personal moments, Khurma unpacks how emotion, identity, and narrative can distort understanding, fuel division, and even dehumanize those on the other side. From high-stakes geopolitical conflicts to everyday conversations, this episode reveals the hidden barriers that prevent us from truly hearing one another, and sets the stage for what it might take to overcome them. Host: Matthew Levinger – Host of the America’s Why Podcast and Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Guest: Merissa Khurma – Founder and President of AMENA Foundation. Explore more of Merissa Khurma’s work at AMENA Strategies: https://www.amenastrategies.com/ [https://www.amenastrategies.com/] Follow AMENA Foundation and AMENA Strategies for more insights and updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/amena-foundation-inc/posts/?feedView=all [https://www.linkedin.com/company/amena-foundation-inc/posts/?feedView=all] https://www.linkedin.com/company/amena-strategies/posts/?feedView=all [https://www.linkedin.com/company/amena-strategies/posts/?feedView=all] Visit our website to learn more about the America’s Why Project and join the conversation: americaswhyproject.com [https://www.americaswhyproject.com/] Listen on: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4hNKeDF6k3tHIy0sUlMc9O?si=6110a042eab84a28&nd=1&dlsi=c81ac62cb4be4ba7] | Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-why-project/id1873058288] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/865603b7-dcd5-4355-b07c-93e9bc5ef182/america's-why-project] The views expressed in the podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent those held by the America's Why Project team or the George Washington University.

Episode 10: Chapter 2 — How to Listen

In this opening episode of Chapter 2, host Matt Levinger brings together the team behind the project to reflect on their journey so far and where they believe they should go next. Through personal stories from multiple continents, cultures, and backgrounds, this episode explores why listening is more than a skill; it is a method and a path toward rebuilding trust and mutual respect. As the podcast expands beyond interviewing experts to include voices from all walks of life, this conversation sets the stage for a more open, curious, and grounded exploration of America's story—one that asks: what becomes possible if we start truly listening to one another? Host: Matthew Levinger – Host of the America’s Why Podcast and Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Guest Seda Guneş – Project Manager. Amy McCampbell – Creative Director. Jason Bogovich – International Correspondent. Lakshmi Dev – Digital Media Manager. Blake Nicholas – Correspondent. Visit our website to learn more about the America’s Why Project and join the conversation: americaswhyproject.com [https://www.americaswhyproject.com/] Listen on: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4hNKeDF6k3tHIy0sUlMc9O?si=6110a042eab84a28&nd=1&dlsi=c81ac62cb4be4ba7] | Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-why-project/id1873058288] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/865603b7-dcd5-4355-b07c-93e9bc5ef182/america's-why-project] The views expressed in the podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent those held by the America's Why Project team or the George Washington University.

Episode 9: Talking About Migration, Part 2: The Coming Wave

In Part 2 of our deep-dive on migration, writer Sohrab Ahmari continues to explore the future of global mobility and what it means for democracy, culture, and the American common good. As climate shocks, conflict, and economic pressures displace millions worldwide, Ahmari and host Matt Levinger ask a sharp, urgent question: How do we manage a world on the move without losing our political sanity? This conversation ranges from climate-driven displacement to party polarization, from the limits of technocratic solutions to why genuine democratic debate, not executive orders or expert decrees, may be the only path forward. What this discussion ultimately delivers is not agreement, but orientation, and a renewed sense of how to navigate a future shaped by movement, memory, and hard choices. Host: Matthew Levinger – Host of the America’s Why Podcast and Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Guest: Sohrab Ahmari – Writer, public intellectual, and U.S. Editor of UnHerd. Explore more of Sohrab Ahmari’s writing at UnHerd: https://unherd.com/author/sohrab-ahmariunherd-com/?edition=us [https://unherd.com/author/sohrab-ahmariunherd-com/?edition=us] Visit our website to learn more about the America’s Why Project and join the conversation: americaswhyproject.com [https://www.americaswhyproject.com/] Listen on: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4hNKeDF6k3tHIy0sUlMc9O?si=6110a042eab84a28&nd=1&dlsi=c81ac62cb4be4ba7] | Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-why-project/id1873058288] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/865603b7-dcd5-4355-b07c-93e9bc5ef182/america's-why-project] The views expressed in the podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent those held by the America's Why Project team or the George Washington University.

Episode 8: Talking About Migration, Part 1: ‘It’s Complicated’

Immigration is the hottest flashpoint in American politics, but far too often, the conversation skips past the most important question: why do people leave home in the first place? In this first episode of a two-part series, writer and thinker Sohrab Ahmari joins host Matt Levinger for a candid, surprising, and deeply personal conversation about global migration. Drawing on his own journey from revolutionary Iran to rural Utah, Ahmari opens up about the forces that push people across borders, the economic realities often overlooked in partisan debates, and how his own thinking has evolved over a decade of reporting and reflection. Honest, nuanced, and refreshingly un-TV-ready, this episode peels back the layers on one of the toughest issues of our time and sets the stage for a wider exploration of migration’s future in the second part. Host: Matthew Levinger – Host of the America’s Why Podcast and Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Guest: Sohrab Ahmari – Writer, public intellectual, and U.S. Editor of UnHerd. Explore more of Sohrab Ahmari’s writing at UnHerd: https://unherd.com/author/sohrab-ahmariunherd-com/?edition=us [https://unherd.com/author/sohrab-ahmariunherd-com/?edition=us] Visit our website to learn more about the America’s Why Project and join the conversation: americaswhyproject.com [https://www.americaswhyproject.com/] Listen on: Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4hNKeDF6k3tHIy0sUlMc9O?si=6110a042eab84a28&nd=1&dlsi=c81ac62cb4be4ba7] | Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-why-project/id1873058288] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/865603b7-dcd5-4355-b07c-93e9bc5ef182/america's-why-project] The views expressed in the podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent those held by the America's Why Project team or the George Washington University.