When We Disagree

Anatomy of a Digital Boycott: When the Crowd Demands Retribution

Katherine Brodsky [https://www.katherinewrites.com/], host of the Forbidden Conversations podcast and author of No Apologies: How to Find and Free Your Voice in an Age of Outrage [https://www.amazon.com/No-Apologies-Outrage_Lessons-Silenced-Majority/dp/1634312503], was the target of a cancellation attempt. While managing an online professional network for women journalists, an Fox News job posting on the forum triggered a cascade of intense community outrage. Brodsky explores the severe consequences she faced when she tried to steer the forum away from partisan politics and personal attacks, including online cancellation campaigns, bad-faith labels, and attempts to weaponize her past employers against her. This conversation pulls back the curtain on the hyper-reactive nature of digital spaces and the intense social pressure to conform, tracing how a self-described "people pleaser" found her own voice by navigating an online thunderdome. Tell us your argument stories!  * Email guest and topic suggestions to us at whenwedisagree@gmail.com * Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/whenwedisagree?igsh=MWh2eXJlOWsxa3JkcQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr]

Don't Give Up on People: The Radical Moderate's Guide to Polarization

Lauren Hall [https://www.prohumanfoundation.org/people/lauren-k-hall-phd], author of The Medicalization of Birth and Death [https://www.amazon.com/Medicalization-Birth-Death-Lauren-Hall/dp/1421433338] andThe Radical Moderate's Guide to Life [https://radicalmoderatesguide.substack.com/] Substack and the co-host of the We Made This Political [https://thepodcastcollaborative.com/view/podcast_discovery_database/entry/41523/] podcast, breaks down why labeling half the country as unreachable is empirically incorrect, morally flawed, and strategically self-defeating for a liberal democracy. Backed by data tracking the shifting, diversifying realities of the American electorate, she reveals how voter choice is rarely a total ideological affirmation, but rather a complex, often reluctant compromise centered on narrow individual priorities. Instead of succumbing to the fundamental attribution error that strips our neighbors of their humanity, she offers concrete practices to "complexify" our worldview, dismantle artificial binaries, and rebuild essential social coalitions through localized, in-person community connections.  Tell us your argument stories!  * Email guest and topic suggestions to us at whenwedisagree@gmail.com * Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/whenwedisagree?igsh=MWh2eXJlOWsxa3JkcQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr]

Every Leader Needs a Listening Tour

Annie Rappeport [https://www.annierappeport.com/], who brings 15 years of dialogue design and facilitation experience at various universities, explores the professional friction between immediate productivity and deep, collaborative engagement. She has frequently navigated a specific disagreement [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annierappeport/]: critics argue that a new leader should focus on rapid execution and desk-based visibility, while Rappeport insists that the initial priority must be meeting and listening to every team member. She maintains that relying only on past experiences or theoretical research rather than the lived experiences of a new environment risks leading a group astray. By prioritizing connective conversations and collaborative imagination, she advocates for a leadership model rooted in building resiliency and bridging practices rather than just speed. Tell us your argument stories!  * Email guest and topic suggestions to us at whenwedisagree@gmail.com * Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/whenwedisagree?igsh=MWh2eXJlOWsxa3JkcQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr]

The Young Problem-Solver: Teaching Conflict Mediation to Kids

Attorney, certified mediator, and conflict resolution educator Catherine Wilhoit [https://www.addressingbasicconflict.com/aboutus] discusses how to bring problem-solving tools to young learners as early as possible. She explores how the philosophy of the "trained neutral," typically reserved for legal mediation, can be adapted into a teaching approach that empowers students to communicate effectively and resolve their own disagreements. Rather than relying on external authorities to impose outcomes, she advocates for a model that teaches kids to navigate their own paths toward productive, positive results. This conversation highlights the transformative potential of integrating mediation techniques into childhood education, fostering a foundation for healthy conflict engagement throughout life. Tell us your argument stories!  * Email guest and topic suggestions to us at whenwedisagree@gmail.com * Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/whenwedisagree?igsh=MWh2eXJlOWsxa3JkcQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr]

The Division Industrial Complex: Who Profits From Your Anger?

Steven Olikara [https://www.stevenolikara.com/] (founding CEO of Bridge Entertainment Labs [https://bridgeentertainmentlabs.org/], former U.S. Senate candidate in Wisconsin, and one of the stars of the documentary The Reunited States [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/movies/the-reunited-states-review.html]) pulls back the curtain on what he calls the "division industrial complex." This conversation shows how political operatives, traditional media, and social media algorithms purposefully manufacture outrage and blood sport for profit. Olikara shares surprising behind-the-scenes stories of rivals sharing photos of their kids in the "green room" before going on air to perform the very animosity they’re selling to the public. Rather than calling for a boring middle ground, he argues for an elevated WWE style of discourse where we embrace the joy of healthy, fiery debate without dehumanizing those across the aisle.  Tell us your argument stories!  * Email guest and topic suggestions to us at whenwedisagree@gmail.com * Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/whenwedisagree?igsh=MWh2eXJlOWsxa3JkcQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr]