Let’s Listen
Podcast
WHY?
“Social media has flooded our consciousness with caricatures of each other. Human beings are reduced to data, and data nearly always under-represents reality. The result is this great flattening of human life and human complexity. That loss of empathy is what I call a breaking of charity. It’s a term that’s associated with the Salem witch trials, and it refers to the moment when two members of a tribe dis-fellowship each other, and become two tribes. That, I think, is the biggest threat to our country, more than any single issue or politician. It’s the fact that the left and the right, the elite and the non-elite, the urban and the rural however you want to slice it up-they no longer see themselves reflected in the other person. They no longer interpret each other as having charitable intent.”
Tara Westover, American memoirist,
essayist and historian, author of “Educated”
We The People of the United States of America, find ourselves at an inflection point in history. With politics as our new religion and social media as our new church, we are more divided than at any point since the civil war. Rage and grievance have become the national mood. We debate not just our opinions but facts themselves, that is, if we debate at all. For the first time in history, we are in a position to choose our facts based on our opinions, as a result we are beginning to lose the “common story” that is integral to the functioning of any community.
We are increasingly living among like-minded people in our own “ideological bubble.” When faced with someone from a different ideological persuasion, we often choose to disavow of the relationship itself, rather than disavowing ourselves from our cherished beliefs. Friends and families across the country have “broken charity” with each other, leading to heartbreak and isolation. Media further reinforces our ideologies when instead of an open-minded debate, we see experts and pundits talking “at” each other. In this cacophony, the Republic itself stands threatened.
Some are calling for a “national divorce”. How does a country divorce itself is unclear. The examples from history – The Balkan Wars, The Indian Partition, The American Civil War – are ghastly. Yet no one seems to be talking about a national period of counseling; something every couple is advised to undergo when things get rocky in their personal relationship. Aren’t nations simply a collection of relationships?
I believe that it is time for “American counseling”; a genuine attempt at discernment and consensus-building. It does not mean people talking faster & louder to convince others of their own facts & opinions. That does not work in any relationship.
The only way we are ever going to find charity with each other again, is if we STOP TALKING AND START LISTENING.
— Swati Srivastava, Creator-Producer
WHAT?
“Empathy is NOT agreeing with the other person’s values and beliefs or giving out hugs. It is about trying to understand a situation from another person’s perspective.”
–Chris Voss, Former FBI hostage negotiator, “The Black Swan” group.
LET’S LISTEN; the world’s FIRST “listen-show” aims to bring together ordinary human beings who have lost friends & family to the religion of politics. Regular folks who have tried all the talking in the world, and are now willing to give “true listening” a chance. The show invites folks who have parted ways due to their political ideologies, to come back to the proverbial table. This takes courage. And there are no guarantees what the process may reveal or where the journey may lead.
BUT, the participants won’t have to make this fraught journey alone. They would be guided by a coach/mentor – expert mediators, counselors & empathizers such as Bill Doherty, Esther Perel, Chris Voss and others. These mentors have made it their life’s work to facilitate empathy where there is contention, consensus where there is conflict and intentional listening where there is discord. “Let’s Listen” offers them a platform through which they can teach by example these precious skills to a fractured, grieving nation.
It’s as if the participants from “Left, Right and Center” with their myriad political persuasions found themselves on Esther Perel’s couch in “Where Should We Begin”.
The series will begin with an episode in which we will learn about Empathy from one or more of our counselors- its meaning, the science behind it, whether we are born with it (very likely “yes”), whether it can be learnt (totally “yes”), and the challenges in learning/applying it. Episodes will comprise:
- mediated conversations between common people;
- post mediation debriefs with the counselor/mediator;
- special episodes with experts in the domain
- questions from the audience so the experts can offer them guidance.
Let’s Listen is not meant to be a political show. However, politics is bound to show up as the very reason for these breakdowns. When that happens, the counselors will leave their own opinions out, guiding the participants to DIG DEEPER to help uncover the REAL FEARS & HOPES underneath the political sloganeering, and remaining steadfast to the intention of creating true listening between participants. The breakthroughs will be cathartic, not only to the participants but to the audience.
Nevertheless, we DO NOT KNOW what the result would be. Each conversation will be different. This is an experiment that has never been done before. But that, is part of the draw for the audience (we hope). In either case, this is a MUCH NEEDED experiment.
The aim is to achieve scale, to be transformative of society itself. If this idea is proved successful as a Podcast, it can easily move to a visual talk-show, i.e. a visual listen-show!
It is possible to call the show something other than “Let’s Listen”. Other names come to mind such as “Let’s Begin”, “Let’s Begin Again”, “The Listening Table”, “Hear Me Out”, “Between the Lines”, “Bridging the Silence”, “The Lost Conversation”, “Unfriended, Reheard” etc. Whatever title works well with the tagline “World’s First Listen-Show”.
WHO?
PARTICIPANTS
Every episode will feature TWO people who once had a relationship but are now living in an empathy gap. Example:
Michele
White female, mid 30s, lesbian. Teacher. Post-grad. Household income 150 K. Pro-choice. Vegan. Atheist. Favorite shop Etsy, Identifies Democrat.
Gary
(Michele's Father)
Retired cop. Small business owner. Household income 150K, Pro-life. Catholic. Favorite restaurant: Steakhouse Identifies Republican.
Cora
Black female, mid 40s. Ancestors were enslaved. Social Worker. Went to community college. Household income 100 K. Guilty pleasure: Dunkin Donuts’ donuts. Identifies Working Families Party.
Geeta
(Cora's Friend)
Indian Female, mid 50s. 1st Gen American. Post-Grad. IT Manager. Household income > 250K. Favorite vacation spot: France. Believes in “model minorities”. Identifies Libertarian.
Joe
White male, late 50s. High-school graduate. Coal Miner. Personal Income 60K. Loves diners, beer & football. Fav Pastime – Playing pool. Identifies Republican.
Jamie
(Joe's Nephew)
White male, early 30s. Went to community college. HVAC Tech. Personal Income 60K. Loves diners, beer & football. Fav Pastime – Playing pool. Identifies Democrat.
WHO?
COUNSELORS
Experts who have built their lives and careers in digging deeper amidst relationship conflict and conflict negotiation. They know when to lead with the head and also when to lead with the heart. They are deep listeners and seeped in the language of empathy. They know how to leave “their own shit” (i.e. their own political and moral prejudices) out of these conversations. Some prominent examples are:
Bill Doherty
Educator. Researcher. Couple and family therapist. Founder Discernment Counseling. Co-founder Braver Angels.
Esther Perel
Famed therapist, author, speaker and creator of the groundbreaking Podcast “Where Should We Begin”.
Chris Voss
Former FBI hostage negotiator, CEO “The Black Swan” group, coined the term “Tactical Empathy”.
Other conflict negotiators such as Shiela Heen, David French, Peter Senge, Priya Parker, Marshall Rosenberg, Greg Williams, Gabriella Blum, William Ury, Guhan Subramaniam…and potentially experts working in Discernment Counseling can be asked to participate.
WHO?
AUDIENCE
From Millennials to Boomers
Based on the 2024 Annual Report by The Infinite Dial, America’s longest-running survey of digital media consumer behavior and other sources over time:
- Podcast listenership is skyrocketing, with 67 percent of Americans aged 12+ having listened to a podcast.
- New listeners are younger, more diverse, and spread out across the entire nation.
- Cultural moments influence listener interest.
- Both GenZ and Boomers cite wanting to learn more about a topic as an important reason and all categories cite friends and family as the primary reason they started listening to podcasts.
- Millennials now lead all other groups in Monthly Podcast Listening, with Gen X a close second.
Impacted, Interested, Invested
Within the universe of Podcast listeners, our listeners would comprise of:
A. folks personally impacted by the political divide;
B. people interested in bridging the political divide – ranging from Moderates & Independents to Political Junkies;
C. professionals invested in personal development, mediation & conflict resolution – Therapists, Coaches, Social workers, Consensus facilitators etc.
We expect groups A & B to be AMPLIFIERS, and group C to be Force Multipliers.
HOW?
Sample Opening
Sample Closing
- introduces the premise of the show,
- introduces the PARTICIPANTS for the episode.
- Participants' voices are intercut where they:
-
- introduce themselves
-
- name upto THREE of their most cherished "values"
-
- speak about their relationship with the other Participant
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- tell us why they decided to appear on the show
- puts a "bow-tie" on the breakthrough of the episode
- wishes the participants all the best
- gives listeners specifics of where to reach out to participate on the show
- smoothly mentions synergistic sponsors
- reminds listeners to follow the show on social media platforms
- leaves listeners with a wholesome / meaningful piece of music.
- Closing Music.
WHEN/WHERE?
WHEN: Now (or as soon as possible) for the world needs it.
Autumn/winter are good times to launch this show as people turn inward, both physically and psychologically.
Creating partnerships with well-known counselors and bringing them on-board is key to the success of this experiment. The show provides a platform for these experts helping them make a wide impact & change the national conversation itself. It’s a WIN-WIN.
The biggest unknown at the beginning would be to find people to participate. This may require social media promotion even before the show begins (having counselors on-board beforehand will help create the buzz). We can launch Season ONE with a dozen “couples”, prove the efficacy of the concept and gain a foothold for further episodes/seasons.
To begin with, the show can be bi-monthly or even monthly. Once we reach critical mass and more people know about it & want to participate, it could become a weekly show.
July 18th is “World Listening Day”. We would CELEBRATE that day/week/month with special episodes/ conversations.
WHERE: Everywhere people access Podcasts. The show would be available on all the regular platforms; iTunes, Stitcher, Podcast Republic etc. All episodes along with their full transcripts would also be made available on the show’s website: www.letslisten.us.
WHO AGAIN?
YOU
The Let's Listen team is looking to collaborate with values-aligned funder, donors and partners.
- Funding will be required to:
- bring on-board a network of coaches and counselors;
- run social media marketing campaigns designed to reach people on "both sides of the aisle" in order to: 1) help find the initial participants, 2) reach a broad audience.
- record & produce the Podcast.
This honest & genuine attempt at societal transformation MAY NOT be an inexpensive endeavor. But it WILL BE way cheaper than a national divorce.
US
- Creator/Producer Swati Srivastava has 10+ years of visual storytelling experience directing, filming, editing, and producing audio-video content for a variety of industries. A voiceover artist herself, she is adept at the art & craft of creating top quality content. An immigrant from India who has called the US her home for 20+ years and who is proud to have friends from both sides of the political aisle, Swati is a deeply empathetic woman of color who brings a uniquely independent & worldly perspective to her projects; something that can be key to the success of Let's Listen.
- Professional Prodction Crew on stand-by, which includes Engineer, Editor, Sound Desiger, Mixer & Master.
- An Art Design Team for all podcast art and marketing.
- Several talented musicians to compose original music.