Beyond Polarization: Why you might be wrong about the 'other side'

Political polarization in the U.S. can feel like a lost cause. Trying to have productive conversations with people you disagree with over politics can seem pointless, especially now. News media and social media often reduce “the other side” to its most extreme forms. This creates a negative feedback loop, weakening our ability to function as a democracy.

But research suggests that Americans — on both the Left and the Right — often misperceive how hostile, uniform, or different their opponents really are.

In our seven part Beyond Polarization series, we're talking to experts and practitioners from across the political spectrum — in journalism, education, government, and more — about what it’s costing Americans, and what we can actually do about it. The point isn’t to agree (not gonna happen), or even to move toward the center. As our guest for this first episode Julia Minson puts it, we need to learn to “disagree better.”

Julia Minson is a social psychologist and professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She’s the author of How to Disagree Better published in March 2026, and the founder of the behavioral science consulting firm Disagreeing Better, offering speaking and training on effective management of conflict. In this episode she shares some of her research findings about what we get wrong about each other, and what interventions have worked to correct misperceptions. Plus, a proven formula you can use to have a meaningful conversation in conflict situations.

Thoughts on this episode? Find us on social media @makingpeacevisible (details below) or email info@makingpeacevisible.org. The Beyond Polarization series publishes biweekly through October 2026, with our second episode on August 4.

LEARN MORE:

Read an excerpt from Julia Minson’s book How to Disagree Better

Strengthening Democracy Challenge megastudy led by Stanford University

Heineken – Worlds Apart: Watch the 2017 beer commercial that proved most effective at reducing polarization in the Stanford study

The political polarization of COVID-19 treatments among physicians and laypeople in the United States, published in PNAS

Special thanks to Adam Dusenberry and Harvard University Education Support Services.

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Making Peace Visible podcast is hosted by Jamil Simon and produced by Andrea Muraskin. The associate producer and graphic designer is Faith McClure. Learn more at makingpeacevisible.org

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