conversations

From Conflict to Convergence with Mariah Levison and Rob Fersh [Ep. 34]

Bridging Divides: Conflict Resolution with Rob Fersh and Mariah Levison
In this episode of the Conflict Tipping Podcast from Mediate.com, host Laura May interviews Rob Fersh and Mariah Levison about their work and their co-authored book, 'From Conflict to Convergence: Coming Together to Solve Tough Problems.' Rob, founder and senior advisor at Convergence, and Mariah, the president and CEO, discuss their extensive experience in conflict resolution, spanning policy differences and community mediation. They share powerful case studies from their book, including successful collaborations on healthcare and police-community relations. The episode includes the methodologies they use to foster trust, build relationships, and achieve consensus, as well as the challenges in convening people and implementing solutions. The conversation highlights the importance of collaborative leadership and offers practical advice for listeners dealing with conflicts in their own lives.
"From Conflict to Convergence" comes out on 30 July 2024, and you can order and pre-order it wherever you buy good books.
Convergence website: https://convergencepolicy.org/
Buy the book: https://convergencepolicy.org/from-conflict-to-convergence/
Rob's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-fersh-8b752314/
Mariah's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariah-levison-130b2716/
Chapters
00:00 Meet the Authors: Rob Fersh and Mariah Levison
01:33 Inspiration Behind 'From Conflict to Convergence'
05:01 The Emotional and Relational Approach to Conflict Resolution
08:06 Higher Ground Solutions: A New Mindset
10:19 Real-Life Stories of Conflict Resolution
17:24 Methodologies and Strategies for Conflict Resolution
24:59 Challenges and Future of Collaborative Problem Solving
About the guests
MARIAH LEVISON serves as the President and CEO at Convergence. Mariah uses a deep understanding of human relations to build trust and relationships across differences which lead to consensus-based solutions to complex and contentious issues. Prior to joining Convergence, Mariah led the Minnesota State Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution and has worked for several nonprofit dispute resolution centers. Additionally, Mariah has been teaching collaborative problem-solving for twenty years in settings ranging from community trainings to law schools to trainings for foreign governments.
ROBERT FERSH is the Founder and Senior Advisor of Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, which he started in 2009 to promote consensus solutions to issues of domestic importance. Convergence has successfully addressed a wide array of national and state level concerns including health care, K-12 education, incarceration, economic mobility, nutrition and wellness, and more. Previously, Rob served on the staffs of three Congressional committees, directed a national anti-hunger organization, and served as the U.S. country director for Search for Common Ground, an international conflict transformation organization.

Amanda Ripley's "High Conflict", with Ankur Delight [Ep. 33]

Join special guest Ankur Delight and Laura May as we review Amanda Ripley's book, "High Conflict".
Book blurb:
New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley investigates how good people get captured by high conflict—and how they break free.Our journey begins in California, where a world-renowned conflict expert struggles to extract himself from a political feud. Then we meet a Chicago gang leader who dedicates his life to a vendetta—only to find himself working beside the man who killed his childhood idol. Next, we travel to Colombia, to find out whether thousands of people can be nudged out of high conflict at scale. Finally, we return to America to see what happens when a group of liberal Manhattan Jews and conservative Michigan corrections officers choose to stay in each other’s homes in order to understand one another better.All these people, in dramatically different situations, were drawn into high conflict by similar forces, including conflict entrepreneurs, humiliation, and false binaries. But ultimately, all of them found ways to transform high conflict into something good, something that made them better people. They rehumanized and recatego­rized their opponents, and they revived curiosity and wonder, even as they continued to fight for what they knew was right.People do escape high conflict. Individuals—even entire communities—can short-circuit the feedback loops of outrage and blame, if they want to. This is a mind-opening new way to think about conflict that will transform how we move through the world.
 
Books, authors, and episodes mentioned
High Conflict, by Amanda Ripley
Ankur's podcast, 10k heroes: http://10kh.show/
George Lakoff, e.g. The Political Mind
Episode on Colombian conflict with Solveig Richter and Laura Camila Barrios: https://conflicttipping.podbean.com/e/reincorporating-combatants-in-colombia-with-dr-solveig-richter-and-laura-camila-barrios-sabogal-ep-19/
Episode on Convergence with Rob Fersh and Monika Glowacki https://conflicttipping.podbean.com/e/episode-2-rob-fersh-and-monica-glowacki-of-the-convergence-center-for-policy-resolution/
Episode on the Interactivity Foundation with Shannon Wheatley Hartman: https://conflicttipping.podbean.com/e/making-lives-more-complex-and-democratic-with-shannon-wheatley-hartman-ep-17/
Episode on peacebuilding with Juan Diaz-Prinz: https://conflicttipping.podbean.com/e/episode-4-juan-diaz-prinz-of-the-united-states-institute-of-peace/
Laura's PhD thesis: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351515871_Blame_Making_a_Villain_out_of_EU
Samantha Hardy's book on conflict stories: Conflict Coaching Fundamentals
Episode with Sam Hardy: https://conflicttipping.podbean.com/e/episode-5-dr-samantha-hardy-lawson-principal-at-conflict-coaching-international/
Book about Derek Black: Rising Out of Hatred, by Eli Saslow
Against Empathy, by Paul Bloom
Business Plan for Peace, by Scilla Ellsworthy
Ank's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankurdelight/
And website: https://tenthousandheroes.club/
 
00:00:00 Introduction00:01:25 The Book00:03:06 The Concept of High Conflict00:06:38 Gary Friedman's story00:13:49 Curtis' Journey00:15:37 The Challenge of Escaping Conflict00:19:21 Complexifying Identities to Address Conflict00:22:16 Sandra's Story00:24:12 A fruity segue00:25:18 Sandra's Journey to Freedom00:27:09 Breaking Down Stereotypes00:29:15 The Power of Storytelling00:35:25 Key Takeaways00:44:54 Final Thoughts

Empathy across political divides with Luiza Almeida Santos [Ep. 22]

In this episode, learn about Stanford PhD candidate Luiza Almeida Santos' research into fostering empathy across political divides.  Listen if you are interested in learning more about:
What empathy is (and is not)
How empathy helps us - and 'them'
Building common ground
Carrying out conversations across divides
 
About Luiza:
Luiza is a psychology Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University, studying how political conflicts develop, and how to minimize their most corrosive aspects. Originally from Brazil, Luiza examines how political beliefs become moral convictions, how to reduce empathic failures across group divides, how to foster more productive cross-partisan conversations, and how to improve support for democratic principles.
Luiza's website is luiza-santos.com, and her Twitter handle is @luiza_a_santos.  You may be interested in reading her already-published paper:
Santos, L., Voelkel, J. Willer, R., & Zaki, J. (2022) Belief in the Utility of Cross-Partisan Empathy Reduces Partisan Animosity and Facilitates Persuasion. Psychological Science (view)
 
Her supervisor Dr Jamil Zaki's book, referenced in the episode, is "The War for Kindness".
 
About the host:Laura is a facilitator, people and culture director, and former Executive Director of the International Mediation Institute.  Her doctoral research asked “in what ways does blame make villains in politics” and covered the gamut from literature studies and linguistics to psychology and neuroscience, victimology to political science.  Her expertise includes emotions, polarization, blame, and international politics.  Feel free to connect with her on  LinkedIn or ResearchGate—or even both!

Making lives more complex (and democratic) with Dr. Shannon Wheatley Hartman [Ep. 17]

In this episode, Laura speaks with Dr. Shannon Wheatley Hartman of the Interactivity Foundation.  Listen if you are interested in learning more about:
A collaborative approach to academia and the classroom
Dealing with group think
When NOT to collaborate
Embracing cultural humility
Community conversations and democracy as an aspirational idea
Avoiding both-sides-ism
Bringing together communities and building inclusive events
 
About Shannon:
 
Shannon is vice president of the Interactivity Foundation in the US, an organisation that engages citizens in the exploration and development of possibilities for public policy. Prior to working at IF, she was full-time lecturer of international relations at Arizona State University, and her academic interests include nonviolent resistance, postcolonialism, participatory action research, and deliberative democracy. 
 
Links:
https://www.interactivityfoundation.org/people/shannon-wheatley-hartman/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-wheatley-hartman-420ba41b
https://www.collaborativediscussionproject.com/
 
About Laura:
 
Laura is a former Executive Director of the International Mediation Institute and a negotiation and mediation lecturer.  Her doctoral research asked “in what ways does blame make villains in politics” and covered the gamut from literature studies and linguistics to psychology and neuroscience, victimology to political science.  Her expertise includes emotions, polarization, blame, and international politics.  Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn or ResearchGate—or even both!

Reducing partisan animosity and anti-democratic attitudes with Jan Gerrit Voelkel [Ep. 09]

In this episode Laura interviews Jan Gerrit Voelkel, who is a Ph.D. Student in Sociology at Stanford University. Jan's research studies intergroup and interpersonal relationships with two guiding research questions. First, what causes people's willingness to harm others and defend inequalities? And second, how can personal or societal change be achieved that increases equality and/or reduces harm? Jan has developed interventions that increase support for policies that aim to reduce economic inequality or increase opportunity for immigrants. Jan has also led the Strengthening Democracy Challenge, a megastudy that tested 25 crowdsourced interventions for reducing anti-democratic attitudes and partisan animosity.
Jan's academic page: https://sociology.stanford.edu/people/jan-gerrit-voelkel
Jan's twitter: https://twitter.com/jgvoelkel
Project: https://www.strengtheningdemocracychallenge.org/
Lab twitter: https://twitter.com/pascl_stanford

Peer mediation amongst refugees with Helen Winter [Ep. 06]

In this episode Laura interviews Helen Winter, Co-Founder and CEO of R3SOLUTE.com, a program that strives to accelerate mutual integration of refugee and local communities and the rebuilding of refugee lives. R3SOLUTE aims to foster sustainable peace by reducing the social and economic costs of conflicts and maximizing the value of constructive debate for individuals, organizations, and communities.
Helen is an avid certified mediator and lawyer. She previously worked as a mediator with L. A. Superior Court and consultant with OnDeckMediation where her expertise included anti-discrimination law. In addition, her experience includes working with the United Nations Office of the Ombudsman and Mediation Services where she analyzed and addressed systemic issues within the organization. She is also an ambassador with International Justice Mission in Germany.
https://r3solute.com/

Convergence with Rob Fersh and Monika Glowacki [Ep. 02]

Step into the world of consensus building and collective action as Laura speaks with Rob Fersh and Monica Glowacki from the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution in the US, which is all about bringing diverse voices together to tackle critical national issues. From education to gun violence, they've seen it all! But what sets them apart is their secret sauce: the magic of co-creation and empathetic listening. Get ready to dive into this first full episode of the Conflict Tipping podcast, where Rob and Monika spill the beans on their successes, failures, and the transformative power of consensus building.
In this episode, you'll discover:
The fascinating stories behind Convergence's projects, like how they brought gun control activists and Second Amendment enthusiasts together, and the impact they've made on the Affordable Care Act.
The nitty-gritty of consensus building and why it leads to higher quality and more innovative solutions by incorporating diverse perspectives.
How co-creation can transform adversarial interactions into cooperative problem-solving sessions, where all voices are heard and respected.
The early successes that paved the way for Convergence's groundbreaking work, including their involvement in healthcare reform.
The innovative project on digital disinformation, where they're bringing together tech platforms, media, academia, and more to combat the harmful effects of false information in our society.
The challenges of power imbalances and disparities that they grapple with while striving for consensus and how they navigate those complexities.
So, if you're ready to explore the unexpected connections and transformative potential of consensus building, tune in to hear from Rob Fersh and Monica Glowacki as they take you on a journey of co-creation, collective action, and the pursuit of common ground.
===========================
About the guests:
Prior to co-founding Convergence, Rob served as the United States country director for Search for Common Ground, an international conflict resolution organization. While at SFCG, he directed national policy consensus projects on health care coverage for the uninsured and U.S.-Muslim relations. In the 1986-98 period, Rob served as president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a leading NGO working to alleviate hunger in the United States. Rob also served on the staffs of three Congressional committees, working for U.S. Representative Leon Panetta and for Senators Patrick Leahy and Edmund Muskie. While a Congressional staff member and at FRAC, he was deeply involved in shepherding passage of bipartisan legislation to reduce hunger in the United States.
Monika is the Director of the initiative on Digital Disinformation at Convergence, where she will bring together people across differences to explore the root causes of problems with online information and media systems, and pathways towards a more equitable vision for the future of the internet. Monika has worked in research and analysis exploring the intersection of technology, people, politics and power. She is interested in critical analysis of the impact of technology on our lives, societies and economies, as well as how technology can be reimagined to serve the public interest and our wellbeing.
Learn more at http://convergencepolicy.org
 
About the host:Laura is a facilitator, people and culture director, and former Executive Director of the International Mediation Institute.  Her doctoral research asked “in what ways does blame make villains in politics” and covered the gamut from literature studies and linguistics to psychology and neuroscience, victimology to political science.  Her expertise includes emotions, polarization, blame, and international politics.  Feel free to connect with her on  LinkedIn or ResearchGate—or even both!