A Conversation About Differences: Sue Lani Madsen

A Conversation About Differences: Sue Lani Madsen

From How Do We Fix It? by DaviesContent

June 6, 2026 · 42 min

About this episode

The episode features a conversation between Richard Davies and Sue Lani Madsen about bridging political divides through understanding and dialogue.

It's very easy to be outraged or depressed about American politics today, and much more challenging and interesting to consider how things might be better. Instead of dismissing our political opponents or viewing them with disdain or disgust, how can we understand them better and learn from them? That's where Braver Angels  1:1 Conversations come in . Two people from different backgrounds and beliefs use a structured list of questions. The goals are for both of them to better understand their experiences, feelings and beliefs, find out what you may have in common, and learn how to bridge divides. In this episode, our podcast host Richard Davies has a lively and fun 40 minute 1:1 Conversation with Sue Lani Madsen about their red/blue, rural/urban differences. Along the way, they learned a lot of interesting things about each other. Sue Lani Madsen  is an architect and founding partner of a major regional architecture and interior design firm with over 40 years of experience serving public and private clients. She writes frequently  on Substack , is a US Army veteran, volunteer firefighter and mother of five who lives on a ranch in rural Eastern Washington. A…

People in this episode

Host: Richard Davies

Guest: Sue Lani Madsen

Topics covered

  • political discourse
  • understanding differences
  • Braver Angels
  • red/blue divide
  • rural/urban differences

Keywords

  • American politics
  • political opponents
  • 1:1 Conversations
  • architecture
  • veteran
  • Braver Angels

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Braver Angels, ABC News Radio

Places: Eastern Washington, America

More episodes of How Do We Fix It?

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the How Do We Fix It? podcast page.