Reckonings show

Reckonings

Summary: How do we change our hearts and minds? What moves us to shift our political worldviews, transcend extremism, and bring our values into the workplace? Reckonings is an exploration of how we look in the mirror, and grow from what we see. ​Guests have included a deeply conservative Congressman who made a dramatic shift on climate change, a white supremacist who managed to transcend a life of hate, and a national reporter whose crisis of conscience led to a new understanding of objectivity. If you're new to the show, start with this quick intro: bit.ly/1VypoeX Then go for the latest episodes: www.reckonings.show/episodes Reckonings is produced by independent artist Stephanie Lepp.

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 #23 || An uncommon conversation about clergy sex abuse | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 01:02:43

As a young priest, he sexually abused boys in his parish. In high school, she was sexually abused by her Catholic teacher, a former nun. Buckle your seat belts for an *uncommon conversation* about clergy sex abuse. Enormous gratitude to the National Association of Community and Restorative Justice (https://nacrj.org), and to The Gilead Project (https://gileadproject.org) -- a 501(c)3 devoted to healing and preventing sexual abuse.

 #22 || An imaginary reckoning with Pope Francis | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:06:44

If the Pope had a reckoning, what would it sound like?

 #21 || A survivor and her perpetrator find justice | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:56:16

‘I wanted him to be standing with me, and telling our story with me, in a way that didn't just write us into the categories of angelic survivor and evil assaulter. And I think I even told the audience -- if this person comes forward to tell his story, I hope that you’ll listen to him.’ That’s Anwen, speaking about Sameer. What does it sound like for a survivor to get her needs met? What does it sound like for a perpetrator to take responsibility for his sexual abuse of power? Heartfelt thanks to the Friend Foundation, Varda Rabin, and David Karp at the Campus PRISM Project, which helps universities explore the possibility of applying restorative justice to sexual assault: www.skidmore.edu/campusrj/prism.php

 #20 || A journalist reckons with truth | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:44:42

Alternative facts. Fake news. How are journalists grappling with this moment?? Dive into one journalist’s reckoning with truth.

 #19.5 || Behind The Mic | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:07:20

'Behind The Mic' is a series of short pieces I produce periodically, to bring you behind the microphone and reveal a bit of what’s going on back here. This time, I’m pulling the curtain on three things: a new creative adventure, the *kinds* of change Reckonings is interested in, and how to bring you more stories more often.

 #19 || How will we become majestic elephants? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:59:45

‘I could have been a left-wing guerrilla in Columbia. Whatever would have grabbed me at the right time, I was ready for.’ What ended up grabbing Frank was neo-Nazism. What ended up grabbing Jesse was jihadi extremism. What do we see when we look beyond ideology? This episode was produced with generous support from the Gen Next Foundation (www.gennext.com), which leverages a venture philanthropy framework to build paradigm-shifting social ventures with a wide footprint of impact. Their partnership with ISD and Google Jigsaw created the Against Violent Extremism (AVE) network. It is the first and only network of former extremists and survivors of terrorism. Leveraging their powerful and authentic voices, this peer-to-peer solution disrupts radicalization and hate group recruitment.

 #18 || The defection of a Roger Ailes warrior | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:40:13

"Very earlier on, Roger called me Ailes Junior. He told my dad, 'I've never met anyone more like me than Joe.'" As the protégé of Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, Joe Lindsley was closer to the man who built Fox News than any Fox executive. He helped write Ailes' speeches, sat next to him at executive meetings, and went to church with his family on Sundays. What moved the ambitious twenty-something to abandon the conservative media titan? For a deeper dive into his epic odyssey, check out Joe's memoir — Fake News / True Story: https://www.inkshares.com/books/fake-news-true-story

 #17 || A paid climate skeptic switches sides | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:41:51

'I can say to climate skeptics on the right, 'I used to believe what you believe. Hell, I wrote your talking points, and for 20 years, I was there! But let me tell you why I'm not there anymore.'' As the head of the Cato Institute’s climate and environmental policy shop, Jerry Taylor was a leading spokesperson for climate skepticism. He waged TV battles against climate activists on the likes of CNN, NBC, and Fox, and says he won all of them. And yet, he's the only paid climate skeptic who's ever flipped. Why did he shift not just his views on climate change, but his relationship with his views more broadly? This is a joint episode with Inquiring Minds, a podcast exploring where science, politics, and society collide (motherjones.com/topics/inquiring-minds). To hear our previous joint episode about worldview transformation in the 2016 presidential election, visit: http://www.reckonings.show/episodes/inquiring-minds

 #16 || Two teens overcome bullying | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:30:58

'When I'm angry and I don't know how to get it out, I take it out on other people. I call people names, I say they're ugly, I talk about the way they dress. And when I get into fighting mode, I just start swinging.’ When she was in high school, Halley built a reputation for herself as a bully. So did Chris, who even bullied his teachers, going so far as to break one teacher's jaw. Why do we bully? And what moves us to stop?

 #15 || From health insurance spin doctor to truth teller | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:32:37

'I was getting people to make decisions based on misleading information that could have life or death consequences.' That’s Wendell Potter, the former head of public relations for CIGNA. As the executive spin doctor for one of the biggest health insurance companies in the country, he was responsible for concocting tales that enabled CIGNA to deny coverage, discredit critics, and otherwise cast the corporate health insurance machine in a positive light. That was until the numbers in his spreadsheets became actual people with real lives. What happens when a health insurance PR executive confronts the consequences of his spin? Dive into one man's odyssey from health insurance spin doctor to activist truth teller.

 #14.5 || Behind The Mic | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:09:52

‘Behind The Mic' is a series of short pieces I produce periodically, to share what's going on behind the scenes. This time, I'm bringing y'all behind the microphone on two things: 1) an event Reckonings hosted back in December, inviting voters to take a post-election stroll in each other’s shoes (short video: http://bit.ly/2s7OuGD), and 2) the wondrous reason the show has been on hiatus. With that, Reckonings is BACK, and the next episode is imminent…

 #14 || When her daughter became her son (and vice versa) | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:33:37

'You have all these plans, all these dreams, and then it hits you: my daughter's no longer a daughter, she's a son.' In struggling to accept her daughter as a transgender man, Rita DiNicola had to surrender dreams of wedding dress shopping and biological grandchildren. Similarly, in accepting her son as a trans woman, Catherine Hyde had to reckon with the fact that — as a tomboy from a young age — she'd always wanted, and believed she'd gotten, a son as her only child. Together, Rita's and Catherine's stories provide a hopeful window into what might help other parents, and other people more broadly, overcome transphobia and expand our understanding of gender.

 #13 || Navigating wealth within cross-class relationships | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:58:56

'I was taught that money is not something you talk about, because once people know you have it, you’ll get taken advantage of.' Like many young members of the 1%, Michelle inherited immense wealth at an early age. In a separate but parallel tale, so did Abe. For many years, they didn't talk about their wealth or know what to do with it, and ultimately denied its existence. Being involved in cross-class relationships only thickened the plot. Then Michelle and Abe discovered Resource Generation, an organization mobilizing young people with wealth around redistribution. How is learning to talk about wealth essential to doing something with it? How do we navigate wealth disparity within the context of cross-class relationships? And how might that be a microcosm for alleviating wealth disparity in our country? Tune in for a rich, two-story episode. CORRECTION: This episode mistakenly refers to Abe’s trust, which he doesn't have.

 #12 || A conversion on climate change | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:28:34

"When my son said, 'dad, I'm gonna vote for you, but you're going to clean up your act on the environment,' it wasn't a threat. It was my son saying, 'dad, I love you, and I want you to be what you can be.'" The force that propelled then-Republican South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis to shift his position on climate change was, indeed, love. His son and family created a safe environment for him to explore the possibility of changing his views, and loved him unconditionally through what he calls his 'climate metamorphosis.' Which is why Inglis uses this same strategy to mobilize fellow conservatives around climate change: his organization RepublicEn avoids judgment, and leverages love. For his courage on climate, Bob Inglis won the 2015 JFK Profile in Courage award. Today, he stands at the forefront of America's conservative movement on climate change. This episode includes excerpts from Inglis' 2013 TEDxJacksonville talk.

 #11 || The fracture of a fundamentalist worldview | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:34:45

'I don't know if I can convey how comforting it is to believe that you possess the secret to how everything in the universe works. And as a consequence, we had this amazing bonus: we were going to heaven and everyone else was going to hell.' That's how Chris Ladd describes his upbringing in a fundamentalist Christian home in East Texas. But that sense that he possessed the secret to how everything in the universe worked? Well, it eventually cracked, shifting his views on women's rights, homosexuality, race, and everything else in the delicate mobile we call a "worldview." The cost of ideological transformation has been painfully high, but Chris concedes, it's been worth it.

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