This July 4th, the United States turned 250.

The anniversary is meant to be a moment to reflect on the country's past and imagine its future.

But it arrives at a time when Americans are deeply divided over politics, rights, power, and even who belongs

in the nation's story. Can storytelling help move audiences beyond caricatures, outrage, and

contempt?

Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

As a social entrepreneur and commentator, Stephen Ola-Kara has spent much of his career trying to close those divides.

Now as founder and CEO of the nonprofit Bridge Entertainment Labs, he's taking

his message of political reform and less combative politics to Hollywood. Can persuasive storytelling

help Americans be more tolerant and accepting of those with different visions for what

America ought to be? Stephen, it is so good to have you here.

Thanks for having me, Dana.

You've spent years working on healing political division,

first through an organization of young elected leaders

and in your own run for the US Senate,

and now through entertainment,

what convinced you that movies and television could reach

people in ways politics couldn't?

Yes. Well, I think culture is upstream from politics. And for this mission that I've been

focused on for the last 15 years, how do we combat the toxic polarization in our society?

I think, you know, there's certainly something you can achieve by political organizing,

and I've done that for many years, but there's something much deeper that you can achieve

...