Busting Out of Your Bubble. How Wesley Warshawer Did It

About this episode

In 2017, data analyst Wesley Warshawer was shocked by a poll that said 50% of Americans supported Donald Trump, about half lived with a gun their home, and a third believed in a literal reading of The Book of Genesis. This didn’t match the views of anyone he knew in Silicon Valley, California. What he read about our country's deep divides led him to sell his apartment in San Jose and spend 18 months living in some of the most conservative parts of America. What he found was that most people across the country, from right wing conservatives to lefty liberals live by a similar ethical code. “I was so shocked to find that we were so similar”, Wesley told us. To his surprise, the bubbles in California and in rural America turned out to be quite alike. In this episode we explore whether Americans are a lot less divided and more friendly than we’ve been told. We consider what can be learned about America when we listen and acknowledge people with different political beliefs. We also discuss this provocative question: Do Braver Angels and other groups in the bridging community have it wrong about how polarized we are? Wesley Warshawer shares moving stories about what he learned fr