ELEPHANT DIALOGUES

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump has made quite a splash in modern politics, and will no doubt continue to leave his mark. In this episode, the season finale, I sit down with my good friend William Farnbach to talk about why it's so hard to discuss the President of the United States, and how we might do better. We also attempt to answer some of the big questions that often surround President Trump, and do so in a more productive way than we're used to hearing. Thank you again for joining us in our experiment in better conversations. LINKS --"Trump Is Not Racist, Change My Mind" with Steven Crowder --My List of Reasons - Why I Can't Support the President --My Facebook Post (How NOT to have a good conversation). Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 elephantdialogues@gmail.com

President Trump's proposed border wall has become one of the most divisive subjects in current politics. Jake Christensen joins me in this episode to talk about the real issues behind the border crisis, and what we can actually do to help solve the issue. We also talk about the ABC's - which stand for Agree, Build, and Compare. These are handy tools for sharing our opinions productively. Hope you enjoy! LINKS --Follow Tim Ballard on Facebook --Follow Scott Hicks on Facebook --Chasing the Scream --Border Energy Corridor --Operation Underground Railroad Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 elephantdialogues@gmail.com

Whether your goal is to understand others better, or to be more powerful and persuading in your conversations, this one's for you. In this episode I share some insights from Jonathan Haidt - you can read more about his work in his fascinating book "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion". Other people can certainly be wrong, just as we probably are on some things, but if we can understand that other beliefs might be founded on morals similar to our own, we can better connect with each other and find more empathy and respect, despite our differences. Hope you enjoy! -Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 -- Or at -- elephantdialogues@gmail.com Links: Moral Foundations Theory Pete Buttigieg (Climate Clip)

Is productive, rational conversation on the internet possible? And if so, what do elephants and 19th century prophets have to do with it? In this episode, I give a few tips on improving our online political conversations. The internet is a great tool, and if used correctly, can bring us closer together. I'm still very much working on this one myself, so a lot of this is from personal experience; I can tell you what NOT to do. And if you have any additional tips, let us know! [insert "call me" gif] LINKS --Kid's Guid to the Internet (1994) (trust me - you wanna watch this one) --The Righteous Mind, by Jonathan Haidt Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 elephantdialogues@gmail.com

Westin Cross joins me for this episode, wherein we discuss possible steps we could take in reducing the extreme gun violence we face as a country. I also look at some tools for when conversations start getting heated; how we can use Contrasting to de-escalate the situation and restore mutual respect and mutual purpose. Hope you enjoy! LINKS --Ben Shapiro Clip --President Obama Clip Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 elephantdialogues@gmail.com

As we discuss the Me Too movement, and how we can powerfully stand up for ourselves and for truth, I'm joined by Morgan Reber (the host of She Speaks). Like Captain America said, sometimes we need to plant ourselves next to the river of truth, and confidently say to the whole world, "No - You move." Morgan shares 3 P's to better understand sexual assault: We also talk about the acronym STATE*, as a powerful way to share our stance: Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 -- elephantdialogues@gmail.com Links -- Morgan's Podcast: She Speaks ---- Pop Culture Detective ---- *STATE acronym from Crucial Conversations

Have you ever just felt overwhelmed at the thought of politics? Don't know where to start or where to get good, unbiased information? In this bonus episode I share some of my favorite tools for getting news, and some of my favorite books on improving our conversations. And if you've got a recommendation, let us know! -Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 --Or at -- elephantdialogues@gmail.com Links: Media Bias Chart The New Paper (Daily News Email) Left, Right, and Center (Podcast) Kialo.com

This week I'm with Michael Garrett Johnson to talk about gay rights and faith issues. We also talk about the power of using good questions to enable and further conversation, as questions keep us humble and looking for feedback. Our goal, again, is to understand each other better, not to prove ourselves right or "win" the debate. Framing our views and opinions as questions is a great way to do just that. -The Family: A proclamation to the World -Jack Phillips' Court Case -Encircle Organization -Richard Ostler's podcast - Listen, Learn, & Love -Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 --Or at -- elephantdialogues@gmail.com

Gratitude is one of the greatest forces of good in the world. There is power in finding gratitude for our diversity, and gratitude for the different perspectives we can give each other. In this episode Ken Nukaya joins me to tell me his story, and talk about how gratitude can change everything. Its a simple concept, but with so much hate in the world, I think it's one of the most powerful in our tool belt. Huge thanks to Ken for this one. Speech by M. Russell Ballard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZifeyPjXRI&feature=youtu.be&t=614 Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 --Or at-- elephantdialogues@gmail.com

How do we react when someone offers us new information? Do we celebrate, recoil, or counter-attack? In this bonus episode I get a little more detailed with some concrete tips and tricks to improve our conversations. If we truly are blind men working together to understand the bigger picture, we should celebrate when someone helps us see more clearly! Here's how we can do that. Links: Ben Shapiro and Andrew Neil President Trump and Whataboutism Pete Buttigieg - Town Hall Meeting Pete Buttigieg - Democratic Debate Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 elephantdialogues@gmail.com

I'm joined for this episode by Haley Beckstrand to talk about abortion, and why it's so hard for us to understand one another's motivations. Motive Attribution Asymmetry is the idea that we assume our own ideology is based on love, while our opponent's ideology is based on hate. This makes conversation difficult, and it's easy to believe when politicians tell us all about their opponent's nefarious motives. But if we take the time to talk to our friends and family members, and ask them about their motivations and drives, we'll be better able to address tough subjects. Summary for this episode: Ask about, and then listen to, someone else's motivations. You might find that their underlying values are things you can agree on, even if we disagree on the specifics of reaching those goals. Good News Links: Haley - Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Bryson - Save The Storks Further Reading: Reducing Abortion Rates - Huffington Post Jordan Peterson - Thoughts on Abortion Arthur Brooks - "Love Your Enemies" Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 elephantdialogues@gmail.com

Welcome to the Elephant Dialogues! Our mission is to improve the way we talk about politics, and overcome the contempt, anger and frustration that dominates so much of politics today. In this episode, I'll explain the concept and plan for this podcast, where the name comes from, and how you can get involved. Links: Arthur Brooks - BYU Speech Michelle Stowe - Empathy: The Heart of Difficult Conversations Dieter F. Uchtdorf - What is Truth? Reuters/Ipsos Poll Pew Research Article Here's an essay I wrote a while ago about this idea of improving our conversations. This podcast is based on that essay. Join our Conversation! Leave us a message here: (801) 709-0538 elephantdialogues@gmail.com