Dear Newsletter,
Every time I speak with you, I feel like I’m home.
Me, the proud liberal immigrant daughter of conservative parents. You, a community forged across the political divide when so many doubt that’s possible.
You and I, we know something others don’t about what’s possible.
It’s in that spirit of striving, and dare I say faith, that I created the podcast A Braver Way three years ago, right here at Braver Angels. And it’s in that spirit that I’m thrilled to stand in front of all of you — my teachers, my co-conspirators — and announce its return.
There’s a tinge of apology in this announcement. The podcast, razor-focused on equipping people with the tools they need to bridge the political divide, has been off the air since November of 2024. Which, let’s be honest, feels like an eternity ago.
There’s also some risk. This moment is new and so, then, is the next chapter of A Braver Way. We are exploring more and editing, believe it or not, less. Every interview — and I’ve recorded several now I can’t wait to share with you — I feel my heart pound. I’m asking tricky questions, venturing with my guests through tough terrain. What if I mess up?
Then I remember what a wise friend told me about polish in difficult conversations: It’s a fiction. If we are going to confront the fault lines tearing us apart, we need to hear it all, withstand it all, learn from it all.
The mess, I’ve learned, is the message.
And the message, I’ve learned, comes down to our ache to be heard, believed, and even loved while standing inflexibly for truth. Even when we disagree on what the truth is, and even when those disagreements shake the very ground beneath our feet.
We are a mess of contradictions, every one of us, and the new A Braver Way is no different. It aims to meet division with strength, in the midst of doubt and vulnerability. It aims to help you stay both grounded and engaged, when the two don’t want to mix, and when the ground itself, it seems, isn’t grounded.
How do you find stability in human-made storms? Direction in human-forged distraction?
I don’t know. But with the help of my guests — each of them people who’ve demonstrated courage crossing the divide — we’re going to try to find out.
And we begin with a friend. April Lawson, the original architect of Braver Angels Debates, is a political Red to my Blue and one of the most brilliant souls in our space. In the first episode of this new era, she and I confront the profound tensions facing anyone who wants to practice courageous citizenship at a time like this.
Like the tension between peace and justice. Bridging and advocating. Humanizing… and enabling.
>> Ready to dive in? You can hear the first episode — Speak out or work it out?: What's yours to do right now? — on your favorite podcast platform, or watch the conversation on YouTube. (That’s right; A Braver Way is now a video podcast!)
And to stay plugged in…
And last but not least: Check out the column April and I wrote in Deseret News after we came up for air from this recording: https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2026/06/05/when-the-world-feels-wrong-political-peacemaking/
I can’t wait to share everything we’ve got cooking up with you. This episode is just the beginning.
Take heart, all. ‘Til next time.
— Mónica Guzmán, Advisor at Braver Angels and host of A Braver Way podcast
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