BEL works with the entertainment industry to promote the creation of content that humanizes political tribes to one another, develops shared cultural spaces for Americans from across the political spectrum, and fosters the preconditions for productive dialogue and collaborative problem-solving across divides.

We have assembled an expert coalition of social scientists, bridging practitioners, and entertainment professionals from the areas of content creation, production, and distribution who are working together to:

• Elevate awareness within the entertainment industry about polarization as an urgent social impact issue. Through podcasts, conferences, events, and summits that bring together stakeholders across the political spectrum, we encourage the industry to wrestle with its role in our crisis of division;

• Equip the industry with research, data, and measurement tools to understand the relationship between entertainment media and social cohesion and translate social science insights into actionable strategies for content creators;

• Enlist a coalition of storytellers committed to promoting social cohesion through entertainment and empowering them to embrace their unique role in shaping a pluralist America.

Interim Project Director Bio:

The Interim Director of Bridge Entertainment Labs is Dr. Ann Reidy. In addition to her role as Interim Director for BEL, Ann serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Civic Health Project (CHP), a grantmaker dedicated to reducing extreme polarization and creating healthier civil discourse in our citizenry, politics, and media. She is also the Founder of American Pals, a national schools-based bridging initiative. Ann brings leadership experience in academia, non-profit management, and education to her roles at both BEL and CHP. She holds a BA in Literature from UC Santa Cruz and a PhD from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.