Changed My Mind
Changed My Mind
The Depolarization Project
Changed My Mind is The Depolarization Project’s podcast, hosted by Alex Chesterfield, Laura Osborne and Ali Goldsworthy. We ask guests to tell us a substantive issue they have changed their mind on, why and what they have learned from it. We work with global media outlet Open Democracy to bring this podcast to you.
Accepting American democracy was in mortal danger, with Cass Sunstein
World-renowned behavioural economist Cass Sunstein on why dismissing his friends' fears about democracy being at risk in the US was wrong.
Nov 9, 2021
51 min
Changing your mind on the Iraq War with Ed Owen
Former advisor to the Foreign Secretary at the time of the Iraq War, Ed Owen, on why he now feels differently about the decision to go to war in Iraq. 
Sep 6, 2021
42 min
Realising America's Criminal Justice System Was Broken with Jordan Blashek and Chris Haugh
The Authors of Union: a Search for Common Ground on how an American road trip woke them up to the failings in the criminal justice system and the limitations of beloved media outlets.
Aug 18, 2020
49 min
Danny Finkelstein on Changing Political Allies
Danny Finkelstein, associate editor of the Times and Conservative peer, talks to us about why being able to clearly see both sides of an argument is important but can also feel debilitating in a world that craves certainty. He shares his lessons from switching parties and why it is critical to reduce the cost of people changing their minds.
Aug 6, 2020
43 min
Peter Geoghegan on Unaccountability and Returning Home
Peter Geoghegan, author of Democracy for Sale and investigative journalist, left Ireland as a young man desperate to get away but has returned in lockdown to find a country much changed. He tells us why, from his childhood bedroom, and explains the need to dig deeper into unaccountable money in politics, in the UK as well as the US.
Jul 30, 2020
46 min
Getting Less Liberal About Prostitution with Helen Lewis
Helen Lewis, a journalist at the Atlantic and author of Difficult Women: the History of Feminism in 11 Fights, talks about how she came to question her previous liberal beliefs on prostitution, a former Labour MP who cried after receiving an apology for being deselected when she came out in the 70s, the limits of unconscious bias training, and more.
Jul 23, 2020
50 min
Deciding That People Should Have a Platform with Kajal Odedra
The Director of Change.org in the UK Kajal Odedra talks about realising no platforming tended to backfire, her changing relationship with her own identity and how Change.org's supporters come from a much broader base than most people imagine. 
Jul 9, 2020
34 min
Conflicting Identities with Jamie Susskind
Author of Future Politics, Jamie Susskind, left the Labour Party after 10 years of activism due to antisemitism. He tells us what happened, why he is on the cusp of going back and what politicians need to think about now to prepare for the tech of the future.    
Jun 18, 2020
49 min
On Realising Mainstreaming Is Not Enough with Derek Bardowell
Author Derek Bardowell used to think mainstreaming would be enough to tackle racism. Over decades over work he's realise that on it's own, it is far from enough.
Jun 11, 2020
47 min
Becoming Friends With Your Arch Enemy with Leah Garces
When Leah Garces sat opposite Craig Watts in his living room it was an unlikely occurrence. Leah, a vegan and CEO at Mercy for Animals, did not expect to have much in common with the factory farmer she had spent years campaigning against. Yet, she and Watts were to become unexpected allies in the fight to improve animal welfare. She tells us how that happened, why she changed her mind about people and what her Trump supporting family taught her.
Jun 3, 2020
39 min
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