Next Door Strangers

Dec 18 2018 16 mins 17

Next Door Strangers Podcast artwork

From public radio station KUER and journalist Andrea Smardon, Next Door Strangers is a 6-episode series about finding connection in a time of division. We don’t know if this is going to work, but we’re hoping you can help. Each episode ends with a challenge where we ask you to think about your part in all of this, and maybe even change things. It might take you out of your comfort zone, but maybe that’s exactly what we need right now.

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6. Getting Uncomfortable Together

Dec 18 2018 14 mins

Picture this: People are gathered around in the living room talking about politics. Or religion. You know, the big stuff that it seems like nobody agrees on. The people in the room don’t agree either, but they aren’t fighting. Believe it or not, this scene is taking place in living rooms across the country.

5. Rebellion on Campus

Dec 11 2018 16 mins

It’s become an all too familiar story: a conservative firebrand is invited to speak at a college campus known for embracing free speech and contrasting views, a place like UC-Berkeley or NYU. Then, the campus erupts in protests. It some cases, it ends up being more like a fight than an exchange of ideas. Sometimes the protests turn violent or events are canceled altogether. Enter

4: Shadow Work

Dec 04 2018 19 mins

Common beliefs are what hold many groups together. So it’s no surprise that differing viewpoints within a group often cause fear or threaten the status quo. Episode 4 focuses on Maxine Hanks, a Mormon feminist who was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1993. Years later, she returned to the church that rejected her. Andrea talks with Maxine abo

3. Impossibly United

Nov 27 2018 24 mins

There’s a place where we all start to figure out which tribes we belong to. The decisions we make there feel like life or death. And, in a way, it is — those choices really will affect us for years to come, as we continue to decide where we belong and where we don’t. This place is, of course … high school. In this episode, we ask: “Can you unite an entire high school?”

2: The Strength of Tribes

Nov 20 2018 22 mins

We’ve covered how tribalism is wreaking havoc in our lives, but tribes are also a source of strength. They’re how humans have organized themselves to survive for thousands of years. We explore the idea that maybe better, stronger tribes are what we really need to repair the social fabric.

1: Tribalism 101: Pick a Side

Nov 13 2018 15 mins

People on the left and right may disagree on many things, but they generally agree that tribalism is bad for our country. This episode looks at how we are affected by tribalism in our modern lives and whether there is any hope of getting beyond it.

0: Coming Soon

Nov 05 2018 1 mins

Maybe you’ve heard that we are a divided country. Maybe you experience it in your life. Over the course of six episodes, Next Door Strangers is going to peer into people’s lives, getting to the bottom of what divides us and more important, finding ways to connect. We don’t know what we’ll find, but we hope you will join us. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.