The Bridge: a Disagreeing Well podcast

Marc Froese 00:00

I feel like I should say yes, it's a threat to democracy. Frank will say no, it's not.

Jonathan Thomas 00:04

Yes, absolutely I agree with that.

Jamie Arrowsmith 00:06

I think that's where I would disagree.

Diego Lacheze-Beer 00:08

How good are you at discussing, debating and disagreeing with people who hold different views to your own?

Marva Khalid 00:15

Are you tired of hearing the same well rehearsed arguments on an important issue without also hearing those involved seek any understanding of their opponent's perspective.

Diego Lacheze-Beer 00:26

The fact is, if we want to get along better, coexist as communities and find solutions to the challenges we face, we need to learn to disagree better.

Frank Furedi 00:35

Do you not see that there's this double standard at work?

Amina Khanom 00:37

Where I disagree with Eric is I don't think has to do with Britain's GDP

Eric Kaufmann 00:41

I agree with Amina. We need to spend more on facilities.

Diego Lacheze-Beer 00:44

I'm Diego Lacheze-Beer

Marva Khalid 00:45

and I'm Marva Khalid. We're both University College London students and co-producers of the second series of The Bridge; A Disagreeing Well podcast from UCL and Students' Union UCL,

Diego Lacheze-Beer 00:57

As you'll know if you've listened to series one, The Bridge tackles hotly debated issues of our time and seeks to provide us with the tools and techniques to disagree about them better.

Marva Khalid 01:07

In series two, we'll be asking more tough questions, including: does the UK do enough for asylum seekers? Does populism threaten democracy? And 10 years on from Brexit, is it time Britain rejoined the EU?

Diego Lacheze-Beer 01:20

We'll be discussing these and more with the help of UCL based conflict resolution expert, Dr Melanie Garson, who will mediate between our guests using tried and tested communication techniques to find common ground.

Melanie Garson 01:33

Both of you are deeply passionate in finding a resolution to this problem.

Marva Khalid 01:38

We need to have tough debates, but we need to do so in a way that builds mutual respect, not further division.

Diego Lacheze-Beer 01:45

So if you're interested in learning how to disagree better and build consensus, not conflict, make sure you listen to Series 2 of The Bridge

Marva Khalid 01:54

Episodes will be published weekly from 7th May and will be available wherever you receive your podcasts.

Peter Heaton-Jones 01:59

The whole point of this podcast is that mediation is fantastic, but you sometimes can reach a point where the same argument can be used on both sides of the discussion.