Can Hollywood help heal America's divides?

Can Hollywood help heal America's divides?

From The Excerpt by USA TODAY

June 3, 2026 · 16 min

About this episode

The episode discusses whether Hollywood can help bridge America's deep political and social divides.

The United States is marking its 250th anniversary at a moment of deep division over politics, rights, power and who belongs in the nation’s story . Steven Olikara, founder and CEO of Bridge Entertainment Labs, says movies and television can do something politics often can’t: move people beyond caricature and contempt. He joins The Excerpt to discuss whether Hollywood can help Americans build more curiosity, complexity and connection across their differences. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com .  Episode transcript available here .  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

People in this episode

Guest: Steven Olikara

Topics covered

  • Hollywood
  • divides
  • politics
  • rights
  • connection
  • entertainment

Keywords

  • Hollywood
  • divides
  • politics
  • entertainment
  • connection
  • rights
  • storytelling

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bridge Entertainment Labs

Places: United States

More episodes of The Excerpt

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Excerpt podcast page.