Resources
If you want to learn more about the bridge-building field, here are a few starting points.
Related Organizations:
Mediators is part of an expansive ecosystem of organizations that have evolved over many decades. Here are just a few of our sister organizations that have made complementary and important contributions to the field.
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Bridge Alliance
What began as a Mediators Foundation project now has over 100 organizations working to upgrade our democracy.
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BridgeUSA
A youth-led non-profit organization that creates spaces on high school and college campuses for open discussion between students about political issues.
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![Braver Angels Logo]()
Braver Angels
A national movement to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.
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Citizen Connect
Citizen Connect puts the events of 500+ member organizations working to fix our politics right at your fingertips.
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Listen First Project
500 organizations bringing Americans together across divides to find common ground by pledging to “listen first to understand”.
Videos:
Our work over the years has brought us the opportunity to speak at major conferences like TEDx, as well as communicate our initiatives through video. Here are a few of our favorites, along with:
Bridging Divides for a More Courageous Democracy | Brooke Deterline| TEDxSonoma County
Loving Your Country, Loving Yourself | Mark Gerzon | TEDxVail
Your third place is waiting-One conversation at a time | Kalinda Fisher | TEDxFranklin
How Curiosity Will Save Us | Mónica Guzmán | TEDxSeattle
Recommended Reading:
These books have expanded our hearts and minds. Our list is not exhaustive, and it includes books written both by Mediators Foundation members and project directors and other leading thinkers in the bridge-building field.
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The Reunited States of America: How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide
Written by Mediators Foundation President, Mark Gerzon.
At a time when loyalty to party seems to be overpowering love of country, this book not only explains how we can bridge the partisan divide but also tells the untold story of how our fellow citizens are already doing it. -
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Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
Written by Side3 Project Director, William Ury.
A classic in the conflict resolution field for over thirty years, this book offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict.
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The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
Written by American social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt.
Drawing on 25 years of groundbreaking research on moral psychology, this NYT Bestseller shows why liberals, conservatives, and libertarians have such different intuitions about right and wrong, and why each side is actually right about many of its central concerns.
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I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times
Written by Director of Digital & Storytelling at Braver Angels, Mónica Guzmán
Overcome the fear and certainty that surrounds you to finally do what only seems impossible: understand and even learn from people in your life whose whole worldview is different from or even opposed to yours.
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Why We're Polarized
Written by N.Y. Times journalist, Ezra Klein.
Revealing potential structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction, this book offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Trump’s rise to the Democratic Party’s leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture.
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Bringing Citizen Voices to the Table: A Guide for Public Managers
Written by Executive Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer
This important resource offers seven field-tested strategies for public managers to help them maximize citizen engagement, including project and leadership case studies from major federal agencies.
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A House Divided: Six Belief Systems Struggling for America's Soul
Written by Mediators Foundation President, Mark Gerzon.
Outlines the opposing political viewpoints that have divided and polarized the American people, and discusses the need to find common ground to move beyond these viewpoints and form a new kind of patriotism.
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Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State
Written by American political activist, Ralph Nader.
This book explores the emerging political alignment of progressives, conservatives, and libertarians against converging corporate-government tyranny, and how Left-Right coalitions can prevail over the corporate state and crony capitalism.
Podcasts:
Podcasting is an excellent format for bridge-building, as long-form conversations give the time and space to hear out those with opposing views. Here are some of our favorite non-partisan shows and episodes:
Common Ground Committee’s Let’s Find Common Ground Podcast
Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy’s Democracy Works Podcast
HeartMath’s Add Heart®
Podcast
KCRW’s Left, Right & Center
Podcast
