Kristin Hansen • February 3, 2024 • 8 min read

The difference in this presidential election cycle is how raw and bruised we Americans are already feeling toward each other, after years in which the ‘rage meter’ has been dialed to 11. Kristin Hansen | Opinion contributor Originally published in USA TODAY on Wed, Jan 31, 2024 Six years ago, I quit my private sector […]

Kristin Hansen • September 12, 2023 • 5 min read

Steven Olikara named president of Bridge Entertainment Labs (BEL) to elevate “new stories of us” BEL harnesses popular entertainment to humanize Americans across difference LOS ANGELES – Bridge Entertainment Labs, a non-profit organization dedicated to leveraging the power of entertainment to reduce America’s divisions and strengthen democracy, announced today the appointment of Steven Olikara as […]

Cambria Findley-Grubb • May 2, 2023 • 2 min read

Toxic polarization isn’t only on Twitter. Many companies are witnessing first-hand how contentious social and political issues create workplace conflict and reduce productivity. It’s a bottom-line business issue, and corporate leaders are seeking solutions. How can businesses help repair America’s social fabric — both in and out of the workplace? Hear from experts on how […]

Kristin Hansen • April 10, 2023 • 6 min read

Recent calls for a “national divorce” got a lot of attention. Congresswoman Greene wasn’t alone, of course, in suggesting it’s time to pull the plug on the rapidly fraying, increasingly exhausting relationship between “red” and “blue” America. Secessionist fever is on the rise in states like California, Oregon, and Texas. Governors and statehouses in red […]

Kristin Hansen • March 21, 2023 • 7 min read

How is your alma mater reconciling its commitments to free speech, academic freedom, inclusion, and belonging? Perhaps, like many of us, you’re watching your alma mater grapple with hard questions about how to honor principles of free speech and preserve academic freedom, while also stewarding cultural norms of respect, inclusion, and belonging. In theory, at […]

Heidi Burgess and Guy Burgess • January 10, 2023 • 8 min read

On December 5, 2022, we talked with Kristin Hansen, the Executive Director of Civic Health Project. Kristin has so many important insights that we hope many of you will just jump to the full discussion.  But to draw more attention to it, and to pick up those of you who don’t have 75 minutes to spare to […]

Kristin Hansen • October 18, 2022 • 22 min read

When it comes to reducing Americans’ partisan animosity, anti-democratic attitudes, and tolerance for political violence, what types of interventions work best? And, (how) can the best-performing interventions be scaled and offered to millions of Americans? These were the burning questions that the Strengthening Democracy Challenge team set out to answer when they launched their innovative, […]

Kristin Hansen • January 17, 2022 • 9 min read

“Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn […]

Cambria Findley-Grubb • June 10, 2021 • 2 min read

Kristin Hansen of AllSides named an everyday hero Youtube “We’re all waking up to the potential for harm that technology can unleash on us.” Kristin Hansen is co-founder of AllSides Talks (formerly known as AllSides Connect), a technology platform that brings students from various backgrounds together to engage in constructive dialogue on difficult topics. AllSides […]

Kristin Hansen • February 10, 2021 • 9 min read

In so many arenas of American life, we laud those who demonstrate a “fighting spirit” … our athletes, our business leaders, our movement builders, our politicians.  We have deeply internalized the belief that “some things are just worth fighting for.” That in pursuing a righteous cause, we “shouldn’t go down without a fight.” After all, […]

Kristin Hansen • January 28, 2021 • 7 min read

Civic Health Project, Democracy Fund Voice, Einhorn Collaborative, and the Fetzer Institute, co-sponsors of the documentary film The Reunited States, announced today that they will host the film’s “Red and Blue Carpet Premiere,” a livestream event on Thursday, February 11th, at 5:00 pm PT / 8:00 PM ET. In an effort to reach the widest […]

Cambria Findley-Grubb • December 15, 2020 • 8 min read

With today’s vote by the Electoral College, Joe Biden has been confirmed as the 46th President of the United States. The past few months of American politics have been controversial, marked by spin battles, disagreement, and hostility. That being said, many pre-election anxieties never came to fruition. As we headed into election week, we heard about […]

Caroline Graham • October 1, 2020 • 4 min read

This week, The Reunited States feature-length documentary film continues its marathon tour across the country, with seven upcoming film festival screenings. Civic Health Project, a proud sponsor of The Reunited States, invites you to check out this 3-minute preview of the documentary and to sign up to host your own screening. On February 9th, 2021, […]

Kristin Hansen • September 15, 2020 • 6 min read

  As Election Week 2020 looms, many of us are mentally preparing for worst-case scenarios: a drawn-out result, a contested outcome, a flaring-up of violent skirmishes. Under any scenario, and no matter who wins, we already know this to be true: millions of Americans will be elated, and millions of Americans will be dejected. We […]

Meg Saunders • August 3, 2020 • 9 min read

“While we all agree that wearing a mask is effective, I’m confident that Georgians don’t need a mandate to do the right thing,” said Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, shortly after bringing a lawsuit against Atlanta’s Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. She had recently mandated that masks be worn in public. The Republican governor sued the Democratic […]

Cambria Findley-Grubb • July 29, 2020 • 3 min read

Civic Health Project, a Silicon Valley-based grantmaking organization dedicated to reducing toxic partisanship in the U.S., today announced the launch of its Academic Research Council and Advisory Council. “This is a significant moment in the rapid growth of our organization,” said Civic Health Project’s Founder Rob Romero. “Hyper-partisanship is one of the most corrosive forces […]

Kristin Hansen • June 12, 2020 • 4 min read

America’s founding motto, “E pluribus unum” (from many, one) is fraying. No one would argue that we suffer from a lack of “pluribus” … Americans arguably hold a more diverse array of political opinions than at any time in our recent history, and this is generally healthy in a democracy. Rather, we risk losing the […]

Ann Reidy • June 12, 2020 • 9 min read

America entered the current pandemic in the grip of hyper-partisan politics. In January 2020, as coronavirus began landing stealthily on American shores, President Trump’s impeachment trial was wrapping up in the Senate. Democratic primary candidates were jostling for delegates in Iowa, New Hampshire, and beyond. Media engines began revving to serve up a 24/7 diet of Election 2020 drama. America’s inexorable descent into a bruising, bloody general election season stretched out before us.

Rob Romero • May 1, 2019 • 5 min read

“The real problem of humanity is the following: we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and god-like technology.”   These words, uttered decades ago by scientist E.O. Wilson, never rang truer. Today, democracy in the U.S. and around the world is getting pummeled by a perfect storm of cultural tribalism, weakening institutions, and technology-driven polarization. Healthy […]