How To!; Talk Politics Without Wrecking Relationships (Encore)
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3.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 21 November 2023
⏱️ 31 minutes
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Summary
On a recent phone call Shannon's mom didn't mince words: The only way she'd vote for Joe Biden is if Jesus himself comes down and tells her to. Growing up in a conservative household, Shannon understands her parents' support for Trump. But she no longer sees eye-to-eye with them and every time they talk about politics it turns into a fight. The result is a complete fraying of their relationship. In this episode of How To!, we bring on Bill Doherty, professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota, and co-founder of the non-profit Braver Angels, to help Shannon and her parents navigate this heated election season. The most important thing to remember, Bill says, is that you can't change your parents' minds. But you can still save your relationship by recognizing shared values and treating each other as people, not political opponents.
If you liked this episode, check out "How To Get a Stubborn Parent to Listen."
Do you have a relationship you'd like to mend? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey how-to listeners, so we're off this week, but we wanted to bring you a useful episode for anyone |
| 0:05.0 | reuniting with family over the holidays and worried about talking politics with your parents, |
| 0:10.5 | or that outspoken uncle, you know the one. |
| 0:14.0 | So we're dusting off an episode from 2020 |
| 0:16.8 | that's still unfortunately relevant to today's |
| 0:19.7 | political landscape. |
| 0:21.1 | I'm gonna turn things over to former host Charles Dewhig and we'll see you back here next week. |
| 0:26.8 | You know, the original idea for this episode was that you were going to come on with your parents. |
| 0:33.2 | Yeah. |
| 0:34.0 | And you brought up that idea with them, right? |
| 0:35.8 | I did. |
| 0:36.6 | How did they react? |
| 0:38.9 | Not great. |
| 0:47.0 | Welcome to how to, I'm Charles Stuwing. |
| 0:57.0 | Thanksgiving is still a month away, but some of us are already dreading the conversations we're going to have to have around the dinner table about politics. Our country is divided, but so are a huge number of American families. |
| 1:02.0 | Trump versus Biden, Fox versus MS-BC. |
| 1:05.0 | What do you do when the people you love are the same people you cannot stand discussing current events with? |
| 1:11.0 | And as we head into the final stages of this election, it can feel like |
| 1:14.5 | there's no safe topics anymore. Like every casual conversation could veer at any moment |
| 1:20.3 | into dangerous political territory. |
| 1:22.0 | My mom said that Jesus himself would have to come down and stand in front of her for her to vote for Biden. |
| 1:29.0 | That's a pretty tall bar. |
... |
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