Emily Kwong

Hey, Emily.

Yeah, this is true for many people I know.

It is feeling tense and data supports this.

Polling data from SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University shows that almost half of the U.S.

electorate thinks members of the opposing party are downright evil.

In a 2022 Pew study, growing numbers of Americans said members of the other party are dishonest.

immoral and close-minded.

So it's not just in our imaginations, we really are becoming more divided.

You know, they say singing like syncopates your heartbeats.

So maybe that worked out in bringing them together.

It's the Renaissance music.

Absolutely.

These conversations aren't always possible because there isn't that baseline of respect or even safety.

But presuming both, presuming the person you're talking to

has those qualities towards you and you towards them, how do you have a conversation?

I'm Rachel Carlson.

And I'm Emily Kwong.

And you're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.

Okay, Rachel, you have ventured into the world of disagreement, like the neuroscience of, and retrieved some info to help us have better conversations.

Let's start with what happens in our bodies when we disagree.