Village SquareCast
Village SquareCast is the podcast your mother warned you about. We talk politics, religion and race — across color, creed and ideology — and we do it like the partners in democracy that we really ought to be.
At The Village Square, we've had hundreds of conversations with tens of thousands of people — and now we bring you our favorites of these conversations via podcast. We talk in bars, we talk in churches, we talk across a hundred continuous tables in the middle of a street downtown. And through all this talking, we've discovered something truly remarkable — people are hard to hate close up.
Oh, and we really think civics ought not to be boring. We hope you'll join us.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 72 minutes
- Episodes
- 100
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
The Big Sort with Bill Bishop
Pulitzer Prize finalist journalist Bill Bishop joins The Village Square for Dinner at the Square. (See photos from the event here.)
Turns out Americans have been sorting ourselves in every aspect of…
Being Human in Divided Times: A fireside chat with Village Square founder Liz Joyner
In this episode of SquareCast Village Square Founder & CEO Liz Joyner let Village SquareCast Corey Nathan talk her into being the guest in an episode.
It’s hard to get away from the doom scroll that …
Rachel Brown: The Roots of Belonging & The Risks of Othering
In this episode of SquareCast we're joined by the extraordinary Rachel Brown, the Founder of Over Zero—named in reference to the “zero sum game” that exists in sporting events, but becomes dangerous …
Stephen P. Kiernan: Authentic Patriotism
In this age of deep and growing civic divisions, perhaps it's time to revise the comic strip Pogo's iteration of U.S. Navy Master Commandant Oliver Perry's quote from the War of 1812: "We have met th…
God Squad: Ending the Cycle of Mean
Americans are sad and lonely, and we don’t feel like we belong. With depression and “deaths of despair” on the rise, over half of us say that no one knows us well—a truly alarming statistic that does…
God Squad: Shut Up and (Don't) Sing
With our culture wars at a full rolling boil, apparently all it takes to send our enmity over the edge is…a good old-fashioned country song??
The furor over Jason Aldean’s “Try That in A Small Town” …
Dr. Todd Rose | Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions
At the core of the deep societal divisions we navigate every day is an assumption that we share little with “those people” with whom we share a country—a belief that leaves us on dangerous ground as …
Robert Putnam & Shaylyn Romney Garrett | Join or Die: Why you should join a club — and why the fate of America depends on it
“Our national myths often exaggerate the role of the individual heroes and understate the importance of collective effort. —Robert Putnam
This is when you meet a living legend and get the benefit of …
The Way Out: Overcoming Toxic Polarization, with Dr. Peter T. Coleman
“A remarkable combination of scientific insight, practical guidance, and grounded hope.” —Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THINK AGAIN
Toxic polarization and conflict is exhausting…
TP&R Feed Drop | Tim Keller and Michael Gerson, A Tribute with Pete Wehner and Jonathan Rauch
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of Talkin' Politics & Religion Without Killin' Each Other—a podcast we loved so much, we convinced its host to also be our host …
When the People Decide Feed Drop | Libraries as civic spaces
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of When The People Decide, a podcast about how everyday people are shaping democracy. Along with Village SquareCast, they're a m…
How Do We Fix It Feed Drop | The Middle 70%. In This Together: Bill Shireman
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of the "How Do We Fix It?" podcast, from the coolest podcast hosting dynamic duo we know and love, Richard Davies and Jim Meigs…
Let's Find Common Ground Feed Drop | Patriotism: Pride, Race and Reckoning
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you a feed drop episode of the "Let's Find Common Ground" podcast, from the extraordinary national leader in bridging divides Common Ground Committee. …
Democracy Works Feed Drop: Separating News From Noise
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer you an episode of one of the best podcasts in the democracy space—Democracy Works.
Meet them:
The Democracy Works podcast seeks to answer that question…
TP&R Feed Drop: Bob Cusack, Editor in Chief at THE HILL
The Village Square is truly delighted to offer our very favorite listeners (you) this feed drop of one of our very favorite podcasts (that isn't Village SquareCast)—Talkin' Politics & Religion Withou…
A Braver Story: The Braver Angels Story of American Citizenship
The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. —Abraham Lincoln.
This episodes tells the story of one group of people who have risen.
Built by patriotic volunteers, B…
God Squad: Political Football, Inc.
Is political branding of everything really good for anyone?
These days politicians aren’t the only ones who have to state their opinion on every single political disagreement du jour. It seems like p…
Created Equal | Walking Up Hill Both Ways: Black Women & The Fight for Equality
Throughout American history, Black women have been expected to serve and support others. Now, what should be done to support Black women?
Despite Black women being the anchor for their families, netw…
Broken News with Chris Stirewalt
Don’t miss this warm, funny professional’s guided tour of an industry that is failing us—the "Broken News." You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll know a thing or two to do to fix it.
Our very special gues…
God Squad: Love Thy Neighbor. No Exceptions?
Love Thy Neighbor. No Exceptions? Does the admonition to love one’s neighbor really come without exceptions? Must churches welcome white nationalists? Gay couples? January 6 sympathizers? BLM activis…