Linda Tropp -
story in the public square

On many issues today, Americans are bitterly divided. Many politicians are unwilling to reach across the aisle, and fact-based attempts to bridge these gaps seem to fail. Linda Tropp, award-winning author and professor of social psychology at the University of Massachusetts, argues that face-to face connections and emotion, not data and statistics, can bring disparate groups together.

Duration: 27 minutes and 15 seconds

Episode Number: 404

About Story in the Public Square:

Story in the Public Square is a weekly, public affairs show designed to study, celebrate, and tell stories that matter.

The show is inspired by the power of stories to shape public understanding of important issues.

For example, Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," shined a crucial light on the violence and inhumanity of American slavery, fueled the abolition movement, and inspired Abraham Lincoln, upon meeting the author, to say "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war." Narrative is no less important today-though the vehicles for dissemination are much more diverse.

From a great novel to a film, a song, or even a Tweet, stories still very much impact the way the American public looks at issues.

Our show turns a critical eye to these stories and their tellers.

Visit the Story in the Public Squar... web site

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