Civil Discourse

200 dropped wallets- the 20 MOST and LEAST HONEST cities #video - “I lost my wallet and someone didn't return it. Revenge is a dish best served... with data.”

3 lessons of revolutionary love in a time of rage #video - “What's the antidote to rising nationalism, polarization and hate? In this inspiring, poetic talk, Valarie Kaur asks us to reclaim love as a revolutionary act. As she journeys from the birthing room to tragic sites of bloodshed, Kaur shows us how the choice to love can be a force for justice.”

Argue with me, please #article - “Friendly discourse is at the core of great of product design and UX. How can we get over our fears and use it as a tool?”

The Bad Show #podcast - Radiolab. “With all of the black-and-white moralizing in our world today, we decided to bring back an old show about the little bit of bad that's in all of us...and the little bit of really, really bad that's in some of us."

Break the Bubble! #webapp - "Break the Bubble allows you to find out which books you are statistically unlikely to read. The more narrow your reading tastes are, the more you will be challenged by the results."

A conservative's plea: Let's work together | Arthur Brooks #video - “Conservatives and liberals both believe that they alone are motivated by love while their opponents are motivated by hate. How can we solve problems with so much polarization? In this talk, social scientist Arthur Brooks shares ideas for what we can each do as individuals to break the gridlock. "We might just be able to take the ghastly holy war of ideology that we're suffering under and turn it into a competition of ideas," he says.”

Consider.it - "Consider.it creates CIVIL AND ORGANIZED ONLINE DIALOGUE by visually summarizing what your community thinks and why"

The Doctor's Speech | The Zygon Inversion | Doctor Who #video - "With Kate and Bonnie poised over the big red button, truth or consequences, can the Doctor convince them to sit down and talk instead?"

Drag Racing Against Cops #video

“The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17, NKJV).

The End of Empathy #podcast - Invisibilia. "Invisibilia is a show that runs on empathy. We believe in it. But are we right? In this episode, we'll let you decide. We tell the same story twice in order to examine the questions: who deserves our empathy? And is there a wrong way to empathize? If you or somebody you know might need help, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 or at suicidepreventionlifeline.org."

Free Speech #comic - XKCD

Free yourself from your filter bubbles | Joan Blades and John Gable #video

“He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him” (Proverbs 18:13, NKJV).

How our friendship survives our opposing politics | Caitlin Quattromani and Lauran Arledge #video - “Can you still be friends with someone who doesn't vote the same way as you? For Caitlin Quattromani and Lauran Arledge, two best friends who think very differently about politics, the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election could have resulted in hostility and disrespect. Hear about how they chose to engage in dialogue instead -- and learn some simple tactics they're using to maintain their bipartisan friendship.”

How To Disagree With The Church w/ Ty Gibson #podcast - Stuff Adventists Should Know

How much does a video weigh? #video - “What color is a mirror? How much does a video weigh? Michael Stevens, creator of the popular educational YouTube channel Vsauce, spends his day asking quirky questions like these. In this talk he shows how asking the right -- seemingly silly -- questions can make incredibly effective lessons.”

iDramaLab - "The iDRAMA Lab is an international group of researchers interested in a variety of modern computing and socio-technical concerns. Collectively, we have published work ranging from genomic privacy, to cryptography and Web security, to distributed systems, and even video games. More recently, we have worked on understanding and mitigating modern socio-technological issues such as online harassment campaigns, hate speech and political radicalization, and understanding the subtle ways in which web communities influence each other."

I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper #video

  • Don’t assume bad intent.

  • Ask questions.

    • Helps you understand the other position.

    • Signals that your opponent is being heard.

  • Stay calm.

  • Make the argument.

    • Don’t assume your position is self-evident.

I'm Listening..... #video

I WILL TALK WITH ANYONE… #article - “I set up this table near other individuals and organizations tabling for political, religious and other causes. When people approach I offer to talk to them about whatever they would like.” See also: HOW TO TALK WITH ANYONE

Keep Your Identity Small #article - "I think what religion and politics have in common is that they become part of people's identity, and people can never have a fruitful argument about something that's part of their identity. By definition they're partisan."

Misinterpretation #comic - XKCD

Poll: 62% of Americans Say They Have Political Views They’re Afraid to Share #article - July 22, 2020. "Taking these results together indicates that a significant majority of Americans with diverse political views and backgrounds self‐​censor their political opinions. This large number from across demographic groups suggests withheld opinions may not simply be radical or fringe perspectives in the process of being socially marginalized. Instead many of these opinions may be shared by a large number of people. Opinions so widely shared are likely shaping how people think about salient policy issues and ultimately impacting how they vote. But if people feel they cannot discuss these important policy matters, such views will not have an opportunity to be scrutinized, understood, or reformed."

A Republican mayor's plan to replace partisanship with policy | G.T. Bynum #video - “Conventional wisdom says that to win an election, you need to play to your constituencies' basest, most divisive instincts. But as a candidate for mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, G.T. Bynum decided to skip the smear campaigns, tell voters what he wanted to accomplish and give them ways to measure his success -- and it led him to win the election. In a hopeful, funny talk, Bynum shares how he's tackling his city's most pressing issues and says that we need to set aside philosophical disagreements and focus on the aspirations that unite us.”

The science of analyzing conversations, second by second | Elizabeth Stokoe | TEDxBermuda #video - "Prof. Elizabeth Stokoe takes a run on what she terms the “conversational racetrack”—the daily race to understand each other when we speak—and explains how to avoid hurdles that trip us up and cause conflict."

TED’s secret to great public speaking #video - “There's no single formula for a great talk, but there is a secret ingredient that all the best ones have in common. TED curator Chris Anderson shares this secret -- along with four ways to make it work for you. Do you have what it takes to share an idea worth spreading?”

This is your brain on communication #video - “Neuroscientist Uri Hasson researches the basis of human communication, and experiments from his lab reveal that even across different languages, our brains show similar activity, or become "aligned," when we hear the same idea or story. This amazing neural mechanism allows us to transmit brain patterns, sharing memories and knowledge. "We can communicate because we have a common code that presents meaning," Hasson says.”

This Video Will Make You Angry #video

Lilliana Mason on Uncivil Agreement #podcast #audio - Aug 20 2018. “Political scientist Lilliana Mason of the University Maryland and author of Uncivil Agreement talks about the book with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Mason argues that political partisanship has become stronger in America in recent years because it aligns with other forms of community and identity. People are associating primarily with people who share their political views in their other social activities outside of politics. As a result, they encounter fewer people from the other side. The intensity of partisanship can even overcome ideology as partisans change their policy positions in their eagerness to be on the winning side. The conversation closes with a discussion of what might be done to improve political discourse in America.” #econtalk #russroberts

Megan McArdle on Internet Shaming and Online Mobs #podcast #audio - “Author and journalist Megan McArdle of Bloomberg View talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about how the internet has allowed a new kind of shaming via social media and how episodes of bad behavior live on because Google's memory is very, very good. McArdle discusses the implications this new reality has on how we behave at work and how people protect and maintain their reputations in a world where nothing is forgotten and seemingly little is forgiven.” #econtalk #russrobert

Why Are We Yelling? #book - "Learn the life-changing art of productive disagreement."

Argument and Persuasion

How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure #video - “Have you ever felt like you're talking, but nobody is listening? Here's Julian Treasure to help you fix that. As the sound expert demonstrates some useful vocal exercises and shares tips on how to speak with empathy, he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.”

How To Speak Up For Yourself #video - “Speaking up is hard to do, even when you know you should. Learn how to assert yourself, navigate tricky social situations and expand your personal power with sage guidance from social psychologist Adam Galinsky.”

How Your Friends Can Affect Your Opinions #video - “The people around you have a lot more to do with how you think than you might realize.”

Rhetological Fallacies - “Errors and manipulation of rhetoric and logical thinking. The word ‘rhetological’ is made up. A munge of two things: rhetorical techniques and logical fallacies. Both are used heavily by institutional powers – governments, religions, political parties – across the entire spectrum to sway opinion, confuse and obfuscate. And, unfortunately, we internalise them, like bad habits, into our own decision-making and mental processes.”

Why You Can't Win an Internet Argument #video - “One of the internet's favorite pastimes is arguing, but very few of those arguments ever actually go anywhere. It can be frustrating to watch, but scientists have some ideas on why things play out the way they do.”

Case Studies

2019 Adversarial Collaboration Winners

Accidental Courtesy #documentary

Dolly Parton's America #podcast - "In this intensely divided moment, one of the few things everyone still seems to agree on is Dolly Parton—but why? That simple question leads to a deeply personal, historical, and musical rethinking of one of America's great icons. Join us for a 9-episode journey into the Dollyverse.Hosted by Jad Abumrad, creator of Radiolab and More Perfect.Dolly Parton's America is co-produced by WNYC Studios, home to great podcasts like Snap Judgement, Death, Sex & Money, and Nancy."

How Apple CEO Tim Cook Charmed President Donald Trump #video - "President Donald Trump and Tim Cook's relationship really started after Trump's election win in 2016, when the Apple CEO and several other CEOs visited the president-elect at Trump Tower. Since then, Apple has became the corporate mascot for Trump's trade war against China. And Cook put on the charm offensive to help save the tech giant's bottom line."

Pairagraph - "hub of discourse between pairs of notable individuals"

Part way through WWDC 1997, Steve Jobs handles an incredibly emotionally-charged attack on him personally. Starts at 50:24. #video

Conflict Management

The Art of Conflict Management: Achieving Solutions for Life, Work, and Beyond #course - Audio course. "In 24 lectures brimming with practical tips, tools, and techniques everyone can use to better manage conflict in his or her professional and personal lives, gain the essential skills of conflict management. As presented by Professor Dues, these lectures will show you how to effectively deal with conflicts of all kinds, using the "win-win" model that has dominated the field for the past six decades."

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High #book - "When stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong, you have three choices: Avoid a crucial conversation and suffer the consequences; handle the conversation badly and suffer the consequences; or read Crucial Conversations and discover how to communicate best when it matters most. Crucial Conversations gives you the tools you need to step up to life's most difficult and important conversations, say what's on your mind, and achieve the positive resolutions you want."

Organized Manipulation

DoubleSpeak, How to Lie without Lying #video

How Trolls on Reddit Try to Manipulate You (Disinformation & How We Beat It) #video - "This series is my attempt to shore up society's defenses against the massive disinformation war currently being waged against us. We're on the battlefield whether we like it or not." Playlist.

Renee DiResta - "Renée DiResta is the technical research manager at Stanford Internet Observatory, a cross-disciplinary program of research, teaching and policy engagement for the study of abuse in current information technologies. Renee investigates the spread of malign narratives across social networks, and assists policymakers in devising responses to the problem. Renee has studied influence operations and computational propaganda in the context of pseudoscience conspiracies, terrorist activity, and state-sponsored information warfare, and has advised Congress, the State Department, and other academic, civil society, and business organizations on the topic. At the behest of SSCI, she led one of the two research teams that produced comprehensive assessments of the Internet Research Agency’s and GRU’s influence operations targeting the U.S. from 2014-2018."

Robotrolling 2019/3 #paper

The Web Centipede: Understanding How Web Communities Influence Each Other Through the Lens of Mainstream and Alternative News Sources #paper

Who Let The Trolls Out? Towards Understanding State-Sponsored Trolls #paper

Trolling

Charles Murray vs Milo, and the "good faith" principle #video - "I explain why I think the "good faith" principle implies that we should give people like Charles Murray, but not Milo, a platform to share their ideas. (Not saying Milo should be legally banned from speaking, just that we shouldn't be going out of our way to give him opportunities to speak.) I also argue that the "good faith" principle is inherently subjective and that this doesn't negate its importance."

The world's greatest internet troll explains his craft #video - "Ken M. is probably the world's greatest internet troll. Is it trolling to pick the world's greatest troll? You be the judge. But this is how Ken M does it."

The Psychology of Trolling #video - "As denizens of the internet, most of us are familiar with the trolls. In this episode of SciShow, learn a little about how social scientists think trolls came to be, and how online communities are figuring it all out."

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