How to Keep Listening When the World Wants a Fight

Listen to any of the Republican candidates and it’s clear that the culture war issues that have driven so much political debates over the past 50+ years, are still going on.

Our political discourse is has polarized as ever. Even to the point where we’ve come to accept that you are never going to change anyones mind about social issues. So when we do talk, when we do try and debate, we simply talk past each other. It’s as if complicated personal issues are being discussed in a boiler factory. For no subject is this more true, than the subject of abortion.

My guest Aspen Baker, thinks there is a better way. A way to discuss perhaps the most contentious of all issues, the the subject of abortion, and use that discussion as a model to discuss other contentious issues. Her organization EXHALE has adopted Pro-Voice as its point of view.

My conversation with Aspen Baker:

Why can't choice be a settled issue?

The debate over artion rights has consumed our politics for decades. It seems that each time the freedom to choose seems like a settled issue, the nation becomes more divided. Why has this issues had such resiliency, why can’t the values of due process and privacy prevail, and why is this still even an issue of debate among young woman?

This story is all the more powerful through the lens of a woman who has been at the forefront of the movement. Her tireless efforts have put herself in danger, while fighting so hard for the rights of other woman. Merle Hoffman shares her story in her new memoir  Intimate Wars: The Life and Times of the Woman Who Brought Abortion from the Back Alley to the Board Room.

My conversation with Merle Hoffman

Click here to listen on your ipad or iphone

According to Gallup this morning, more Americans “Pro-Life” Than “Pro-Choice” for First Time

A very depressing look at pro choice attitudes from Gallup this morning.  This reflects a fascinating trend that's been peculating for some time.  While young people are moving overwhelming toward full acceptance of same sex marriage, the same young people, particularly young woman, are moving away from the pro choice position.  What's going on? Where is the pro choice movement failing? These same young people voted overwhelming for Obama, but are steadily shifting their views on abortion.