Welcome to News in Context. I’m Gina Baleria.

In this episode, we explore how bridging by building relationships and being curious can connect people across differences - as well as provide lessons for news organizations that seek to inform.

My guest is Monica Guzman, Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels; and author of I never thought of it that way: How to have fearlessly curious conversations in dangerously divided times.

Welcome to News in Context, I’m Gina Baleria. In this episode, we talk with New York Times columnist David Brooks, about his new book - How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.

Brooks has been discussing politics and policy in the Times and on NPR for years. But as the social fabric of the U-S began to fray in recent years, he became more and more interested in how to weave community across differences and points of privilege as a way to strengthen that fabric.

His latest book offers stories, tips, and examples to help all of us practice seeing the humanity in others and contribute toward strengthening our communities.

In this episode, we explore the importance of strong neighborhood and community relationships to the health of nations… and discuss how many neighborhoods in the U.S. don’t have strong local ties and need structural and systemic help.

My guest is Seth Kaplan - Author of Fragile Neighborhoods Repairing American Society One Zip Code at a Time. Seth is also an international relations expert whose job is to help fragile states around the world. He consults with organizations such as the World Bank and U.S. State Department, and he teaches international relations at Johns Hopkins University.

This is Civity Week on News in Context. Civity is a culture of deliberately engaging in relationships of respect and empathy with others who are different moving from Us vs. Them to We All Belong.