{"id":172664,"date":"2026-04-21T12:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=172664"},"modified":"2026-04-22T08:45:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T12:45:05","slug":"shankar-vedantam-offers-fireside-chat-on-dialogue-across-differences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/21\/shankar-vedantam-offers-fireside-chat-on-dialogue-across-differences\/","title":{"rendered":"Shankar Vedantam offers fireside chat on dialogue across differences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How can we connect when we find ourselves locked in disagreement? How can we engage in dialogue if we come from different perspectives? These are among the questions that Shankar Vedantam asked when he was the speaker during the second installment of\u00a0the new program Bates Open Network on Dialogue. Vedantam, journalist, author, and host of the Hidden Brain<\/em> podcast, had visited Bates before in 2023 when he was a recipient of a Doctor of Letters honorary degree.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Shankar Vedantam in conversation with Charles Nero, Benjamin E. Mays \u201920 Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies, and Elena Maker Castro, assistant professor of psychology at Bates’ second BOND event of the year. (Theophil Syslo\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Facilitated by Charles Nero, Benjamin E. Mays \u201920 Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies, and Elena Maker Castro, assistant professor of psychology, the conversation built upon Vedantam\u2019s focus on human behavior from a behavioral and psychological perspective. In his podcast and in his talk on April 2 in Olin Arts Center, Vedantam emphasized the ways that our brains work, pointing out that most anger has its basis in fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a useful thing to keep in mind,\u201d Vedantam said, \u201cbecause I think so often when we have conflict, it’s very easy to see ourselves in a position of vulnerability. And it’s very difficult for us to acknowledge that our opponents might be coming at a discussion from a place of fear, from a place of vulnerability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vedantam moved beyond understanding and framing toward action, when Nero asked him for strategies to call upon in difficult conversations across differences.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne technique that is useful is to start with saying, \u2018This is actually what I’m afraid of,\u2019\u201d Vedantam said. \u201cAnd you will find that if you actually are able to articulate what it is that you’re afraid of, the thing that you are worried about is something that the other person can relate to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Vedantam, we communicate across differences constantly, and often manage it well. But when it comes to issues that we deem controversial, we have set up the wrong model. Most of us learn debate in high school, where the goal is to win \u2014 even if your assigned perspective doesn\u2019t align with your values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a difference between debate and dialogue,\u201d Vedantam said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This idea is at the very heart of Bates Open Network on Dialogue (BOND). Leana Amaez, vice president for equity and inclusion, described BOND as \u201ca two-part program that promotes dialogue across differences, creating opportunities for meaningful discussions outside of the classroom, where students, staff, and faculty can discuss relevant, timely topics while building empathy, challenging assumptions, and deepening our understanding of one another.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Following
Nate Menifield, equity and inclusion program manager, facilitates a dialogue after Shankar Vedantam’s presentation during the second installment of\u00a0the new program Bates Open Network on Dialogue.\u00a0(Theophil Syslo\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Following the discussion in Olin Arts Center, which included robust Q&A (where every question was posed by a Bates student), guests were invited to come together in Commons for a dinner and dialogue facilitated by Nate Menifield, equity and inclusion program manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A group composed of students, staff, faculty, and community members gathered to talk more about the ideas that Vedantam had stirred as he spoke about understanding \u201cthe complexity of how our minds work and the errors and the filters that are embedded inside our heads\u201d as we strive toward dialogue. Menifield began by outlining the structure for the evening\u2019s small group discussions, taking place at each table. Leading the groups through three brief rounds of discussion, Menifield framed the approach for each round from a new angle. Participants were encouraged to \u201ctake space and make space,\u201d with attention to the engagement of everyone at the table. This awareness shifted some tendencies in how we interact and aimed to invite more voices into the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Following
Students, faculty, staff, and community members engage in a facilitated dialogue over dinner. (Theophil Syslo\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kika Stump, assistant director of Institutional Research, Analysis & Planning, attended the talk and the dinner, drawn by \u201cconcepts of dialogue and community\u201d at the heart of the BOND programming. At her table, Stump talked with three students, two community members and three other staff members, following Menifield\u2019s guidance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs someone who often speaks and feels obligated to keep dialogue \u2018going,\u2019 it was welcome to have a practice that encouraged more voices to be heard and put time limits on my own,\u201d Stump said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One idea that came up at the dialogue following Vedantam\u2019s talk was the tension between the optimism that dialogue can bring us together and a distrust in our potential to connect in such divided times. Consensus was not necessarily the goal of the BOND session; instead Menifield led the group to focus on empathizing with and deeply listening to other perspectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Moments
“Hidden Brain” podcast host, Shankar Vedantam, during a fireside in the Olin Concert Hall. (Theophil Syslo\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Colleges can play a critical role in connecting across differences, and programs like BOND offer a research-driven approach to a facilitated dialogue with the goal of expanding understanding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the great values of college is that you’re coming into contact with people who are different from you and you’re forming bonds with them,\u201d Vedantam said. \u201cAnd hopefully some of those bonds will persist as you go through your life, and you might become a Republican, they might become a Democrat, but down the road you’re remembering back to the time that you are freshman year roommates and you ask yourself, \u2018Can that bond hold you together when you have these things pulling you apart?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How can we connect when we find ourselves locked in disagreement? How…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1917,"featured_media":172692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":["elena-g-maker-castro","charles-i-nero"],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[12455,2132,12457,12456],"class_list":["post-172664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-batesnews","tag-bond","tag-charles-nero","tag-dialogue","tag-elena-maker-castro"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1917"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172664"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172745,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172664\/revisions\/172745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}