On the Other Hand

In part 2 of April and Glen’s conversation with Dr. Julien Mirivel, Professor of Applied Communication at UA-Little Rock and developer of the positive communication model (www.julienmirivel.com), we explore how to use positive communication practically. One specific example is how to deal with “conflict entrepreneurs” who purposely create or stoke conflict across divisions as a way to gain personally in...

April and Glen’s guest for this episode is Dr. Julien Mirivel, Professor of Applied Communication at UA-Little Rock, an author, teacher, scholar, researcher and academic leader. Julien is a native of France but has lived most of his adult life in the US. He is now a citizen and lives in Little Rock with his wife and 3 children. In this first part of our conversation with Julien, he explains his model of positive communication and b...

 In part 2 of our conversation with Andrew Collins, Democratic state representative and minority leader in the Arkansas House, April and Glen learn about changes Andrew has seen over the course of his 4 terms as a legislator. He also describes his hopes that some “overreaching” by members of the majority party will eventually be understood by Arkansans and they will be corrected by voters. Responding to...

Andrew Collins, Democratic state representative and minority leader in the Arkansas House, sat down with Glen and April to discuss his work in the legislature, including the recently concluded 2025 regular session. In part 1 of our conversation, Andrew describes his early life and values that led to his career and his decision to run for elected office. His voting decisions include many votes for bills ...

For the 3rd and final part of our interview with journalist, author and musician Philip Martin, Glen and April hear from Philip about some of the challenges he encounters as a public figure who offers opinions that are not always welcome by some people. He offers his thoughts on differences between advocacy journalism and that he sees being currently practiced at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Expressing his disappointment in how m...

In the second of our three episodes with Philip Martin - journalist, author and musician - April and Glen explore Phil's views of journalism past, present and future. He offers advice to young persons who may be considering journalism and the qualities that he'd prefer to see in who chooses to pursue that career.  Phil also provides his perspective on the increasing problem of mis/disinformation and suggests some guidelines for whe...

April & Glen welcome Philip Martin, a journalist, author and musician, into conversation about his life and work. In part 1 of our interview with Philip, we briefly review his extensive pursuits over the years, which include a brief stint as a pro baseball player, author of several books, appearances over the years in local and national media, and his love of music (including being a musician and songwriter).  We also explore h...

In part 2 of this conversation with Shana Chaplin, Program Director for the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in Arkansas, Glen and April hear how local government can get its citizens engaged and active. The new Civic Guide, recently published by the Civic Arkansas imitative (https://rockefellerinstitute.org/programs/civic-arkansas/), is posed as one important tool to help citizens get involved. The initi...

Shana Chaplin, Program Director for the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in Arkansas, speaks with Glen and April, focusing on the state of civic health in Arkansas. Born to an Arkansas family but raised in an international setting, Shana's experience and training that prepare her for expertise in civic engagement are traced. We then discuss the Civic Index, which in Arkansas has shown us to be in many way...

For this 5th and final part of our update on political polarization research and thinking, Glen begins with his thoughts on solutions for political polarization related problems, which include research on societal characteristics that are associated with peaceful societies. For the remainder of this final episode, we all discuss several other ideas, which include contact theory, and other positive pract...

In part 4 of our 5 episodes devoted to updates on polarization research and related topics, Glen and April provide specific information that they chose as important in understanding and dealing with various polarization related issues. Glen begins by describing how various behaviors in society are enabled by powerful effects of social modeling, then he focuses on mis- & disinformation as a growing a...

In this 3rd of 5 episodes for our polarization research update, our guest Jerry Henderson starts by providing information on current thinking in Evolutionary Psychology and on origins of tribalism as a powerful force.  Jerry describes how this all relates to understanding polarization and why we are prone to many of the behaviors and problems we currently see in our society related to political differen...

For part 2 of our polarization research update, Jerry and Glen present their thoughts on topic 1 (Why is it important to understand political polarization?), after which April, Glen and Jerry all discuss the new information from Glen and Jerry. Discussion points include the impact of polarization on societal health, both of individuals and of democracy itself; Influences from media and the digital envir...

For this first of 5 parts of an extended conversation, Glen and April welcome a returning guest, Dr. Jerry Henderson, a retired psychologist. In 2022, Glen and Jerry discussed some key research findings and expert opinions on political polarization, formation of beliefs in humans, and related topics. In this new 5-part series, the three of us are updating information in this rich field of study, as we e...

In this second part of our conversation with Little Rock Catholic Bishop Anthony Taylor, Glen and April explore with him how he deals with polarized congregations and other potentially difficult conversations with groups or individuals. One intriguing guideline he suggests following in such situations is to "will the good," an approach he explains in terms of religious and personal strategies. Anthony also provides insight into his...

April and Glen welcome the Bishop of the Little Rock Catholic Church, Anthony Taylor, on our podcast. In this first part of our conversation with Bishop Taylor, he provides us with insight into early influences on his religious and moral values, which include a family history of persecution during the holocaust. Anthony also draws a distinction between the laws of government and religion, the latter of which he describes as a "high...

In the second part of our conversation with UA student and founder of the local Bridge USA chapter at the university, Kate Tandy speaks with April and Glen about various barriers encountered by her fellow students, including some surprising difficulties that reflect the dramatic changes in communication that pose challenges for young people only familiar with the current, largely digitized communication system in our country. Kate ...

#91 OTOH, Kate Tandy, Bridge USA founder at UA, part 1, 1-31-25

Glen and April welcome University of Arkansas student Kate Tandy, who founded the UA Fayetteville branch of Bridge USA, a national organization of college students who are working to build bridges across the political divide with youth in higher education settings. In this first part of our conversation, we hear about how Kate came to have a strong interest in politics...

In this final, 3rd part of our interview with Preston Clegg, Pastor of 2nd Baptist in Little Rock, Glen and April learn more about Preston’s views regarding the importance of living and talking about a positive alternative to the negatives he sees in society.  Using key points from author Parker Palmer, Preston talks about the need for more public spaces and opportunities for citizens in our society, ev...