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How theatre can can lead to constructive political conversations

Can Theatre Bridge the Divide? | Anthony Moseley & Marcus Robinson with Ciaran O’Connor & Alma Cook

Theater has a long history of impacting social change in America.

One example today is the Collaboraction Theatre Company, a Chicago nonprofit exploring theater's role in social change. Through its year-round programming, the group invites its crew and audience members alike to listen and learn from one another, bringing their disagreements and questions in tow.


In this interview with Braver Angels, Collaboraction's artistic director, Anthony Moseley, and former executive director, Marcus Robinson, share their experiences with hosts Ciaran O'Connor and Alma Cook as they discuss how theater can open people up to more constructive political conversations.

The video explores how the troubles of 2020 affected their work, how people of all political viewpoints can be made to feel more welcome in artistic spaces and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLttzaEExPg&t=2214s

To learn more about how theater can be used to open American’s minds to listening and learning from each other visit collaboraction.org .

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Hollywood Gets Congress Wrong—and It’s Costing America Trust in Democracy

Hollywood sign and The Capitol

AI generated picture

Hollywood Gets Congress Wrong—and It’s Costing America Trust in Democracy

The following article is excerpted from "Citizen’s Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials."

Since the 1970s, public trust in American institutions—including Congress—has steadily declined. Approval ratings for the House and Senate usually hover in the teens. Certainly, some misdeeds by our elected leaders have contributed to this decline, and mainstream national media can claim its fair share of “credit” in portraying Congress in a negative light. Yet another major ingredient in the ugly formula poisoning public opinion of Congress is Hollywood. Movies and TV shows routinely portray Congress as craven, corrupt, selfish, and completely indifferent to the public interest. Regrettably, this is a wholly incorrect portrayal of our nation’s legislators.

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Interfaith Music Aims to Reclaim January 6 for Unity

Elena “La Fulana” Lacayo

Interfaith Music Aims to Reclaim January 6 for Unity

Music has played a significant role in uniting people of different faiths in the United States. From the Civil Rights era to the years following 9/11, Americans have used music to bridge religious divides and affirm their shared humanity. Interfaith music extends beyond worship and remains a lasting way for Americans to remember their common bonds. St. Augustine expressed the power of music in faith when he said “When I sing, I pray twice.”

In this spirit, The Fulcrum highlights stories during the holiday season that reflect universal themes. Messages of love, kindness, hope, and generosity resonate across cultures and traditions, reminding us that shared values are stronger than our divisions.

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A Baseball Team Caught Between Two Countries — a Visa Shift and a Shutdown

The Tucson baseball team playing against the Águilas de Mexicali in the border city of Mexicali. Photo courtesy of the Tucson baseball team

A Baseball Team Caught Between Two Countries — a Visa Shift and a Shutdown

NOGALES, SONORA, MEXICO — What was meant to be a historic first for America’s pastime — a Mexican Pacific League baseball franchise anchored north of the border — has become a bureaucratic curveball.

The newly relocated Tucson, Arizona, baseball team — formerly the Mayos de Navojoa from Sonora, Mexico — has yet to fulfill a long-held dream shared by fans on both sides of the border: bringing professional Mexican winter baseball to U.S. soil.

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From Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar: How Protest Music Still Shapes America in 2025
Bob Dylan | Xavier Badosa | Flickr

From Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar: How Protest Music Still Shapes America in 2025

Pop music has always been more than entertainment. Reflects society’s struggles, dreams, and contradictions.

Across the last fifty years, artists from Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar have given voice to war and peace, protest and resilience, identity and equality, economic struggle and hope. Their lyrics, written for a moment in time, echo with startling relevance in 2025.

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