On the Other Hand

In this first of a four-part “Red/Blue” discussion, Glen and April engage in a free-wheeling conversation on the topic of freedom of speech.  They delve into issues surrounding free speech in the United States, with April speaking from a primarily conservative view and Glen from a generally liberal perspective. Among key points of discussion, April emphasizes free speech as a fundamental constitutional ...

In part 2 of our conversation with Carlton Wing, Glen and April explore his thoughts on how to legislate from principle vs populism. Carlton bemoans the negative influences of extremists on both the left and right, and he cites the challenges politicians face in sometimes having to speak to the base of the party in order to be re-elected. Yet Carlton rejects name-calling as “an intellectual copout.” He ...

Carlton Wing, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from the 70th district, sits down with April and Glen to talk about his career in sports media, his role as a host several years for a worldwide fishing tournament, and as a legislator since 2016.  Carlton traces his early influences on his views and then describes his current work in government as “servant leadership.” He strongly...

In part 2 of April and Glen’s conversation with Jonathan Seaborn, general manager of Little Rock Public Radio, Jonathan addresses criticisms from some listeners who complain of excessive coverage of some right-leaning figures such as Steve Bannon and President Trump. We also discuss the challenges of dealing with misinformation and disinformation in media, and how KUAR is working to meet that challenge....

April and Glen talk with Jonathan Seaborn, general manager of Little Rock Public Radio & KUAR/KLRE radio stations. In this first part of our chat with Jonathan, we learn about his impressive credentials that brought him to Little Rock, as well as the extensive work he now does for Little Rock Public Radio to ensure that the many regulations and compliance requirements for public media are met. While...

In part 2 of April and Glen’s conversation with Dr. Julien Mirivel, Professor of Applied Communication at UA-Little Rock and developer of the positive communication model (www.julienmirivel.com), we explore how to use positive communication practically. One specific example is how to deal with “conflict entrepreneurs” who purposely create or stoke conflict across divisions as a way to gain personally in...

April and Glen’s guest for this episode is Dr. Julien Mirivel, Professor of Applied Communication at UA-Little Rock, an author, teacher, scholar, researcher and academic leader. Julien is a native of France but has lived most of his adult life in the US. He is now a citizen and lives in Little Rock with his wife and 3 children. In this first part of our conversation with Julien, he explains his model of positive communication and b...

 In part 2 of our conversation with Andrew Collins, Democratic state representative and minority leader in the Arkansas House, April and Glen learn about changes Andrew has seen over the course of his 4 terms as a legislator. He also describes his hopes that some “overreaching” by members of the majority party will eventually be understood by Arkansans and they will be corrected by voters. Responding to...

Andrew Collins, Democratic state representative and minority leader in the Arkansas House, sat down with Glen and April to discuss his work in the legislature, including the recently concluded 2025 regular session. In part 1 of our conversation, Andrew describes his early life and values that led to his career and his decision to run for elected office. His voting decisions include many votes for bills ...

For the 3rd and final part of our interview with journalist, author and musician Philip Martin, Glen and April hear from Philip about some of the challenges he encounters as a public figure who offers opinions that are not always welcome by some people. He offers his thoughts on differences between advocacy journalism and that he sees being currently practiced at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Expressing his disappointment in how m...

In the second of our three episodes with Philip Martin - journalist, author and musician - April and Glen explore Phil's views of journalism past, present and future. He offers advice to young persons who may be considering journalism and the qualities that he'd prefer to see in who chooses to pursue that career.  Phil also provides his perspective on the increasing problem of mis/disinformation and suggests some guidelines for whe...

April & Glen welcome Philip Martin, a journalist, author and musician, into conversation about his life and work. In part 1 of our interview with Philip, we briefly review his extensive pursuits over the years, which include a brief stint as a pro baseball player, author of several books, appearances over the years in local and national media, and his love of music (including being a musician and songwriter).  We also explore h...

In part 2 of this conversation with Shana Chaplin, Program Director for the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in Arkansas, Glen and April hear how local government can get its citizens engaged and active. The new Civic Guide, recently published by the Civic Arkansas imitative (https://rockefellerinstitute.org/programs/civic-arkansas/), is posed as one important tool to help citizens get involved. The initi...

Shana Chaplin, Program Director for the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in Arkansas, speaks with Glen and April, focusing on the state of civic health in Arkansas. Born to an Arkansas family but raised in an international setting, Shana's experience and training that prepare her for expertise in civic engagement are traced. We then discuss the Civic Index, which in Arkansas has shown us to be in many way...

For this 5th and final part of our update on political polarization research and thinking, Glen begins with his thoughts on solutions for political polarization related problems, which include research on societal characteristics that are associated with peaceful societies. For the remainder of this final episode, we all discuss several other ideas, which include contact theory, and other positive pract...

In part 4 of our 5 episodes devoted to updates on polarization research and related topics, Glen and April provide specific information that they chose as important in understanding and dealing with various polarization related issues. Glen begins by describing how various behaviors in society are enabled by powerful effects of social modeling, then he focuses on mis- & disinformation as a growing a...

In this 3rd of 5 episodes for our polarization research update, our guest Jerry Henderson starts by providing information on current thinking in Evolutionary Psychology and on origins of tribalism as a powerful force.  Jerry describes how this all relates to understanding polarization and why we are prone to many of the behaviors and problems we currently see in our society related to political differen...

For part 2 of our polarization research update, Jerry and Glen present their thoughts on topic 1 (Why is it important to understand political polarization?), after which April, Glen and Jerry all discuss the new information from Glen and Jerry. Discussion points include the impact of polarization on societal health, both of individuals and of democracy itself; Influences from media and the digital envir...

For this first of 5 parts of an extended conversation, Glen and April welcome a returning guest, Dr. Jerry Henderson, a retired psychologist. In 2022, Glen and Jerry discussed some key research findings and expert opinions on political polarization, formation of beliefs in humans, and related topics. In this new 5-part series, the three of us are updating information in this rich field of study, as we e...