Our National Conversation

Misguided Political Anger on Social Media

📅 Published: August 15th, 2025 🎙️ Host: Isabella Carolin, Social Media Intern, Our National Conversation (ONC). 👤 Guest: Masie Zasadny, Chief Content Officer, Our National Conversation. How do we come back together? Should Trump supporters feel tricked? Our political climate is reaching a boiling point. Fingers are being pointed at people on both sides of the aisle and social media is filled with hate messages that are more viral than messages of peace. It is clear that a political shift is occurring in the digital age.Today, Isabella Carolin makes her debut as host and sits down with Masie Zasadny to discuss the dissonance. The entire point of the conversation: understanding politics of the social media landscape and discuss the divide between parties that may or may not be so different from one another.

Undocumented Immigrants: Good or Bad for America?

📅 Published: August 8th, 2025 🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC). 👤 Guests: Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca, Founder of Dreamers Roadmap. Jeff Hall, Former Los Angeles Times VP, Founder and CEO of Our National Conversation. Oscar Ortiz, Video Production Intern, Our National Conversation. Masie Zasadny, Chief Content Officer, Our National Conversation. What should the United States' immigration system look like? How should our population of undocumented immigrants be addressed? In many respects, the Biden and Trump administrations have provided very different answers. Today, I'm joined by a selection of guests and a Zoom audience (thus the poorer video quality). Between the guests and the audience, our conversation benefits from the perspectives of centrists, progressives, conservatives, Trump supporters, and others. We talk about undocumented immigration, immigration more broadly, and what U.S. policy should look like. The entire point of the conversation: to understand alternative perspectives and search for common ground. 🔗 Connect with ONC: 📷 Instagram - / ournationalconversation | 🐦 Twitter - https://x.com/OurNatlConvo | 🎵 TikTok - / ournationalco. . | 💼 LinkedIn - / our-. .

Can Local Journalism Stop Polarization

📅 Published: July 31st, 2025 🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC). 👤 Guest: Jeff Hall, Former Los Angeles Times VP, Founder and CEO of Our National Conversation. There are many theories about polarization in America. One theory, which has some significant support behind it, holds that polarization is partially a product of national- and international-scale media. As local journalism, and local discourse more broadly becomes fragmented and piecemeal, the nuanced and cross-cutting identities of communities are swallowed up in the right-left, progressive-conservative binary of national media. Today, I talk to Jeff Hall about his thoughts on this phenomenon. With extensive experience in regional and local journalism, I believe Jeff can shed some light on the question of local journalism and polarization. 🔗 Connect with ONC: 📷 Instagram - / ournationalconversation | 🐦 Twitter - https://x.com/OurNatlConvo | 🎵 TikTok - / ournationalco. . | 💼 LinkedIn - / our-. . #localnewsmatters #localjournalism #localnews #polarization #respectfuldebate #newsmedia #media #journalism

Does Trump Deserve a Nobel Peace Prize?

📅 Published: July 17th, 2025 🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC). 👤 Guest: Connor Chung, PhD Candidate in Political Science, MA in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma. Recently, Benjamin Netanyahu followed others in nominating Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. To some, this is laughable; to others, it's well-deserved. In this episode, I check in with a young Trump supporter on this topic. Though he supports much of Trump's domestic policy, Connor argues that the administration's foreign policy is a "mixed bag at best," and that Trump has failed to abide by many of the foreign policy promises he made on the campaign trail. We discuss Ukraine, Gaza and the concept of "realpolitik," which, according to Connor, greatly informs the perspective of many young conservatives. I contest Connor's opinions and try to get a deeper understanding of his perspective, and that of the young conservatives he represents. 🔗 Connect with ONC: 📷 Instagram - / ournationalconversation | 🐦 Twitter - https://x.com/OurNatlConvo [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbDZNTmZCVzNZX29JMDYwYzdycG44eDZ2bmRod3xBQ3Jtc0tuc0lOYTE3SmFwR2dhWkNjSW43X3J2c2Q4YVVUSzQxNVg2QVRnaGsxS0pkb3BfRmI0UGJlaDdweWdnakFDRV84VUl6bVNkWFhjQ1AzTTlzVVhoM3Y5NjJtXzh2NGZQa3ZjdkR1dmxrSHh3TXNNZTE0Zw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FOurNatlConvo&v=bQqmgeeCPrU] | 🎵 TikTok - / ournationalco. . | 💼 LinkedIn - / our-. . #nobelpeaceprize [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/nobelpeaceprize] #trump [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/trump] #trumpadministration [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/trumpadministration] #netanyahu [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/netanyahu] #benjaminnetanyahu [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/benjaminnetanyahu] #gaza [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/gaza] #israel [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/israel] #israelpalestineconflict [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/israelpalestineconflict] #ukraine [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/ukraine] #ukrainewar [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/ukrainewar] #ukrainerussiawar [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/ukrainerussiawar] #foreignpolicy [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/foreignpolicy] #internationalrelations [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/internationalrelations] #realpolitik [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/realpolitik] #respectfuldebate [https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/respectfuldebate]

What Does Zohran Mamdani Represent?

📅 Published: July 10th, 2025 🎙️ Host: Sam Taylor, Chief Operating Officer, Our National Conversation (ONC). 👤 Guest: Joseph Arellano, Social Media Intern, Our National Conversation (ONC). An NYC mayoral race has been making headlines over the past week. Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democrat's primary election. It seems that Mamdani's success can be largely attributed to one word: affordability. He believes higher taxes on the wealthy, several city-run grocery stores, free busing and similar policies can improve the lives of everyday New Yorkers. People across the political spectrum are asking: is Mamdani a promising template for Democratic politics after Trump? In this episode, I speak to a Mamdani-supporter to better understand this candidate. Why is he doing so well among young progressives? How do these voters define Democratic Socialism? Is it "Marxism" or "Communism"? And what do these voters think of their conservative critics? 🔗 Connect with ONC: 📷 Instagram - / ournationalconversation | 🐦 Twitter - https://x.com/OurNatlConvo | 🎵 TikTok - / ournationalco. . | 💼 LinkedIn - / our-. . #zohranmamdani #mamdani #nyc #newyork #newyorkcity #nycmayor #ericadams #cuomo #andrewcuomo #socialism #affordability #affordabilitycrisis