In the fall of 2016, former journalist Erin Ruberry set out to create In Better News, a newsletter that highlights acts of kindness from Americans across the country. Erin built an online space focussed on the Good joins Sanity to talk about her mission to make the internet a happier place (and to talk about the one and only Dolly Parton!).
Read MoreEricka Andersen is a conservative author, speaker, and podcast host who is living proof that we can disagree with each other but still respect those with opinions different from our own. Through lived experiences and bipartisan friendships, over the years Ericka transformed from being a very partisan person to someone who sees that few issues are black and white.
Read MoreAfter growing increasingly frustrated by partisan gridlock in Washington, in 2016 Jonathan Perman teamed up with the Bipartisan Policy Center to create the American Congressional Exchange, a program that matches sets of Republican and Democrat Members of Congress and facilities visits to each other's districts. Combining his passions for politics and travel, their hope is to help build trust in Congress.
Read MoreRyan Bernsten, an American playwright and Oxford grad student, is in the middle of a cross-country journey covering all 50 states. Over the past few months he's attended a Trump rally the night before Election Day, chatted with mayors of big cities and teeny-tiny towns, stayed with 21 different families, and enjoyed crab cakes, ice cream, and other American delights.
Read MoreIn the fall of 2016, former journalist Erin Ruberry set out to create In Better News, a newsletter that highlights acts of kindness from Americans across the country. Erin built an online space focussed on the Good joins Sanity to talk about her mission to make the internet a happier place (and to talk about the one and only Dolly Parton!).
Read MoreAs the co-founder of moveon.org, momsrising.org, and Living Room Conversations, Joan Blades is a progressive activist whose main mission these days is to bridge strengthening political. She made headlines when she hosted a Living Room Conversation with Mark Meckler, a co-founder of the Tea Party movement. In this episode, Joan talks about what she’s learned about finding common ground in a tense climate, about benefits of outdoor walking meetings, and about her bipartisan TED Talk, “Free yourself from your filter bubbles,” which received 1.2 million views.
Read MoreOn June 25th, 2018 in Old Saybrook, CT, Red Hen restaurant owner Shelley Deproto started her morning with a stream of online threats targeting her restaurant. The night before, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders had been asked to leave an entirely different, unaffiliated Red Hen restaurant in Virginia. Overnight, Shelley became the focus of national media attention. Her Yelp review dropped from a 4.5 to a 2. But she refused to get political, and instead shared her positive message about kindness and pursuing one's passion even amidst a divisive time.
Read MoreIf you think Thanksgiving meals are getting tenser across the country, look to Dr. Keith Chen’s research for concrete proof. By analyzing over 21 billion pings of smartphone data, Chen and his co-author, Ryne Rohla, found that in 2016, families that celebrated Thanksgiving across partisan lines cut their meals 30 to 50 minutes shorter than those who stuck with company with similar political beliefs.
Read MoreFollowing the 2016 election, Sherri and Larry Athay set out to spread some peace, love and happiness in their small Connecticut town by way of a rubber duck shop. Their number one seller? The Trump Duck.
Read MoreFor Sanity’s first live audience episode, we traveled to Washington D.C. to help kick off a 50-person bipartisan dinner party celebrating “A (GOOD) AMERICAN,” an art exhibit at the Heurich House Museum curated by Philippa Hughes and sponsored by American University School of Public Affairs and The Pink Line Project.
Read More
