Politics with Paul

Approachable, nonpartisan, and nonideological analysis of various political topics by nonpartisan political analyst, writer, researcher, and speaker Paul Rader.

Politics with Paul #51: How to Have Constructive Political Discussions w/ Guy and Heidi Burgess

E52 • Jul 29, 2025 • 74 mins

On today's guest episode, Guy and Heidi Burgess of the Conflict Information Consortium share 40 years of insights into the broken state of America's political discourse and how to fix it. Among their works are the Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base, Moving Beyond Intractability, and the Constructive Conflict Initiative, projects dedicated to making our conversations about the most divisive issues more productive and encouraging. How do we improve America's political dialogue? What are intractable conflicts that need more constructive ways to be discussed? How do we come to a better understanding of each other and take steps to solve our intractable conflicts? Are we more polarized than ever? Tune in to hear Guy and Heidi's expertise on these questions and more!

Key Points

Polarization is often exacerbated by a lack of understanding and communication, but fostering respect and active listening can mitigate these issues.
The concept of massively parallel democracy building encourages numerous small-scale efforts to address different aspects of political conflict, leveraging individual expertise and influence.
Shifting from "blame" (which only asserts one side is at fault) to "contribution" (which acknowledges how all sides can improve) allows for more effective problem-solving and understanding.

Guy and Heidi's links:

Beyond Intractability website: https://www.beyondintractability.org/
Beyond Intractability newsletter: https://beyondintractability.substack.com/

My links:

Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65

Speakers

Paul Rader

Host • 23%

Heidi Burgess

Guest • 34%

Guy Burgess

Guest • 42%

Chapters

0:00	Introduction to Political Conflict Resolution
1:54	Why Guy and Heidi Started the Conflict Information Consortium
5:01	How has Polarization Changed or Stayed the Same for the Past 40 Years?
10:40	Are We More Polarized Than in the Past Few Decades?
16:57	Is Most of Our Polarization "False Polarization"?
19:48	Key Impacts that Heidi and Guy Have Had with the CIC
27:09	Shifting from "Blame" to "Contribution"
36:45	More Examples of Intractable Conflicts
45:07	Pushing Back Against "Ends Justify the Means"
52:49	Simple Tools for Individuals to Tackle Intractable Conflicts
59:10	Will Recent Political Violence Lead to a Breakthrough in Dialogue?
1:03:25	Random Question: What Job Besides Your Current One Would You Want to Do?
1:09:39	Closing and Our Other Media

Transcript

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