How to Talk About Politics and Other Difficult Topics without Losing Your Friends or Selling Your Soul with Denise Gitsham

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Nowadays, discussions around politics and viewpoints have become increasingly divisive and hostile. Often, differing perspectives are immediately shut down or met with personal attacks, even when we know that progress and growth come from listening to other viewpoints and approaching topics with curiosity.

Today on The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru sits down with his good friend and author Denise Gitsham to discuss politics, polarization, and critical thinking. Denise shares experiences and lessons she learned while working at the highest levels of the federal government and how those experiences helped her change her mindset. Dhru and Denise discuss the importance of listening with curiosity and engaging with people with differing viewpoints to seek out the truth. They also discuss how polarization has disrupted civility and what we can do to bring it back to our conversations even when we disagree.

Denise is the founder of Vitamin D Public Relations, a boutique communications firm that operates at the intersection of law, policy, politics, and the media. She has worked at the highest levels of the federal government, including the White House, the US Department of Justice, and the US Senate, and she's also run for Congress. A recovering attorney and long-time politico, Denise's passion is bridging division and fostering unity by emphasizing principles over partisanship. She recently released her first book, "Politics for People Who Hate Politics: How to Engage Without Losing Your Friends or Selling Your Soul."

In this episode, Dhru and Denise dive into (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):

• Why it’s important to engage with people from different political views and backgrounds (5:10 / 5:10)
• The true story about polarization (6:23 / 6:23)
• The importance of skepticism and critical thinking in seeking the truth (19:17 / 16:53)
• How opinions are more visible (29:52 / 27:10)
• Why people are so triggered in day-to-day conversations (31:40 / 28:50)
• How do you stay informed by staying curious (37:00 / 32:33 )
• The importance of having multiple perspectives (39:45 / 36:00)
• Yearning for unity (53:50 / 49:30)
• Purposely engaging with people who have different viewpoints (57:43 / 53:15)
• The Third Option and committing to what is in the best interest of us (1:13:48 / 1:09:36)
• Bringing humanity back into the conversation (1:28:34 / 1:24:20)
• Where to follow Denise (1:35:05 / 1:30:54)

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Politics For People Who Hate Politics

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