How do we 'Reimagine Us'?
+A big update regarding Sounds Like Impact
Thank you so much for subscribing to Sounds Like Impact. There are so many new subscribers since the last edition, which makes this next part more difficult for me to share.
After this issue, Sounds Like Impact will be on temporary hiatus, though I hope you will still stick around.
I am hoping it will just be for a month, but the reality is, I just don’t know. Last month—outside of the stressors of the macro environment—was difficult for me as I navigated health challenges and other issues. Then last week I was laid off. January 2023 I was let go, and now two years later I am in the same position. This upset to my financial stability and disruption of my healthcare as I continue to navigate long-COVID challenges, is too much. So, I need to take time away from the newsletter focus on caring for myself. At the latest, I will publish again for the third anniversary of the newsletter (in April), but I don’t want to commit to anything earlier right now.
I will be reaching out to all of those who have pitched recently to let them know of this update, and while the pitch form will still be open, please don’t expect a response prior to April.
I know I am not the only person going through unexpected career disruptions, so I encourage anyone looking to check out the social impact career resources page I created in the first year of this newsletter.
Thank you again for your support of this newsletter. It really means a lot, and I look forward to when I can share social impact podcasts more regularly with you again. In the interim, if you want to support me / the newsletter you can donate here or upgrade to a paid subscription.
Okay, enough sad…on to the newsletter!
There are some updates from our community and a very important interview with the team behind Reimagining Us podcast. It is a show for this moment we are all in, regardless of whether you live in the U.S.
ICYMI: Last edition we recognized the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
#SLI Community
The team behind Cruising: a queer documentary podcast announced season 3! You can read my interview with the creators from last year, here.
Made for Us creator Tosin Sulaiman also announced a new season. You can check out Tosin’s guest curation here.
Gabby Bulgarelli, my friend from Gimlet / Spotify days, and former senior producer of Louder Than A Riot, is hosting a workshop on How to Arrange a Serialized Podcast. Sign up if you are interested!
Congrats to Ruxandra Guidi, creator of Happy Forgetting, for her recent election to AIR Media’s board! Ruxandra is also the host of The Catch, which we discussed in one of the earliest Sounds Like Impact interviews.
Before I Go, A Note:
We Will Survive…but only if we take care of one another.
It goes without saying, but things have been a shitshow in the U.S, and people across party lines agree.
Take care of yourself by limiting your media consumption (yes, that includes social media too). Not only is overconsumption terrible for our health, it’s also driving us further apart.
Know that there are people doing the work, and not all is lost. Want to track the legal challenges to executive orders and other madness? You can do that here. You want a solid, independent, investigative outlet reporting on what the administration is doing and the impact? ProPublica has us covered. People are working to protect the vulnerable among us; please support where you can.
Also,
, host of Death, Sex and Money podcast, is looking for people to share how what is happening in Washington is affecting them, whether it’s a policy, executive order, or other messaging. You can read the request here.
Consider subscribing to
if you want to keep up with what’s going on in the sector (funding, job transitions, job postings, events).Lean into local community and find out what unites us. Read the following interview and listen to the referenced podcast to understand why healing division is what we need.
Jamil Smith, Editor-in-Chief of The Emancipator referenced the book On Tyranny in a recent issue, as well as author Timothy Snyder’s interview on MSNBC. In short, 5 words: Do not obey in advance.
Take care, choose love 💜.
-Ayo, Publisher Sounds Like Impact
📣 Spotlight
Reimagining Us is a podcast series that "lifts the hood" to uncover what's behind our feelings of division today, identify how we can rebuild connection and collaboration across differences in communities. The show is hosted by behavioral scientist Dr. Nichole Argo, the Founder and Executive Director of the TogetherUp Institute & Scott Hutcheson, Executive Director of E Pluribus Unum.
Below is an excerpt from our interview; click the button to get to know the show’s hosts and understand why we need to find a way to come together.
Affective polarization and misperception are two terms introduced in the first episode of the podcast. Everyone should listen to that episode, of course, but can you provide a summary of those two terms and how they explain the division we experience in the U.S. today?
The polarization of our recent past was largely ideological and healthy, even when disagreement was vehement. It revolved around differences in ideas and positions, and those differences often led to more innovative thinking, effective compromises, and/or better legislation.
Affective polarization is different in that it’s not the other party’s ideas that one doesn’t like, it’s the other party’s members. Polarization becomes rooted in social identity rather than ideological positions.
Affective polarization seems to have started with the rise of cable news programs and radio talk shows, and is made worse by social media. Regardless, Americans today harbor strong dislike of members of the other party. This is a problem because when people dislike others just for being cross partisans, they cease to listen to or engage with them. Instead, they flatten positions/issues into binaries of “good/us” and “bad/them,” and no longer investigate the complexity of policy ideas and positions. They focus more on winning “us vs. them” battles than trying to solve problems for the larger “we,” our nation. All of this hurts democracy.
The perception gap refers to the fact that many Americans hold inaccurate beliefs about the other party’s preferences, which leads them to think they are further apart than they are. More in Common has done exceptional work on this, which can be found here. The perception gap is highest for the most partisan Americans, as well as those who are most educated. This is stunning because it means the people who are most involved in civic and political life hold the least accurate views of the other side’s beliefs – and because they are highly engaged and motivated, they are also most likely to be influencing others.
Taken together, affective polarization and the perception gap lead to a vicious cycle involving misperceptions of outgroup partisans, outrage towards outgroup partisans, “us vs. them” rhetoric and strategies by partisan extremes (instead of constructive problem solving for the common good), and exhaustion and disengagement for a majority of Americans. Jennifer McCoy calls this “pernicious polarization” because it incentivizes behavior that undermines democratic norms and institutions. But at the level of our own personal lives, it’s also pernicious – it can drive wedges between friends and family members, and can further the feeling of isolation and loneliness at a time when these things are already at pandemic levels.
The podcast is focused on highlighting the problems alongside sharing the solutions to toxic polarization. It’s so important that we be solutions-oriented so we can move forward as a country! I would argue that there is a greater urgency to move toward solutions given the recent executive orders that have passed.
How do you think those orders complicate the solutions Reimagining Us highlights and what do you all think is the most feasible solution to start stemming the tidal wave of hate and fear that has been unleashed?
There is no doubt that the flurry of recent executive orders raise the urgency for a focus on solutions. But other than the flood of emotions that these orders bring, they don’t really complicate the solutions that Reimagining Us puts forth for individuals and communities across the nation. We say this firstly because, when we interrogate the perception gap, we find that Republicans and Democrats overlap a great deal in their views about what Trump should do. According to a new report from More in Common, “74% of Americans, including 73% of Republicans, believe that he should “always follow the Constitution, even if it means he sometimes can’t get things done.”
According to a new report from More in Common, “74% of Americans, including 73% of Republicans, believe that he should “always follow the Constitution, even if it means he sometimes can’t get things done.” Across party, Americans' perceptions of Elon Musk’s entry into politics receive more concern and ambivalence than appreciation.
Further, majorities across parties support goals such as honoring international alliances, staying out of wars, and protecting other countries from invasion. And lastly, as we talk about a lot in Reimagining Us, both Republicans and Democrats most desire the country to be “united,” they just don’t think it’s a priority for the opposing party.
What is the solution? Americans need first to realize that the other party is not light years away from them on how they view what’s happening in Washington. They need to spend less time listening to media pundits and extremist partisan leaders and spend more time connecting across differences with the people in their lives and their communities— seeking to understand perspectives that differ from them by listening to the values, emotions and stories at play more than the stance or policy view attached to it. In our view, these connections need to be made intentionally, and supported by local institutions or networks. By coming to know one another again as individuals with feelings and stories – all humans are complex! – we begin to understand the experiences that we have not lived, to hold the larger “we” in mind as we think about solutions, and to gain confidence in our ability to collaborate for change that can truly benefit all. As Monica Guzman says, “When people are underrepresented in your life, they are overrepresented in your mind.” Unfortunately, this is true, but the representation is inaccurate and often dehumanizing. To stem the tide of fear and hate that has been unleashed, we need to engage each other. Go towards, not away from. We need to become bridges, not bombs.
