Daily: POLES APART – How to HEAL divided societies

The Bunker

Parties are the engines of democratic politics. But they also pit us apart as people and polities. So what are the new ways of political polarization, and what can we do to tackle them? Alison Goldsworthy, CEO of the Depolarization Project and former Lib Dem deputy chair, and behavioural scientist Alexandra Chesterfield are two of the authors of Poles Apart and the brains behind the Changed My Mind podcast. They talk to Ros Taylor about deconstructing confirmation bias, why facts and stats can cause unintentional polarization - and how Jewish family dinners helped deradicalize a member of the KKK…

• “Polarisation isn't always about the extremes. It's about how radically you hold on to your identity.” - Alison Goldsworthy.
• “It makes us feel psychologically uncomfortable, even pained, to change our minds.” – Alexandra Chesterfield.
• “Reputationally, it doesn't fit the perception of a leader to be inconsistent.” – Alexandra Chesterfield.
• “In this government, people are promoted on the basis of loyalty, not talent.” - Alison Goldsworthy.
• “The odds are that you change your opinions based on feelings and allegiances, not facts.” - Alison Goldsworthy.
• “There's an awful lot you can hold Nick Clegg and the coalition government responsible for. The decision to hold a referendum is not one of them.” - Alison Goldsworthy.
• “We saw a member of the KKK, exposed to so-called scientific education, changed his mind.” – Alexandra Chesterfield.

Presented by Ros Taylor. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1119814/poles-apart/9781847942951.html

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/changed-my-mind-a-republicans-journey-to-backing-criminal-justice-reform/

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