47: Demystifying Polarisation: A conversation with Laura Osborne and Alison Goldsworthy
47: Demystifying Polarisation: A conversation with Laura Osborne and Alison Goldsworthy: The last 18 months have deepened the divide amongst people across the world. These divisions have been amplified by the worsening social and economic realities of a post pandemic society. As individuals the fissures mean that households/friends are often on different sides of the divide, neither side willing to concede or find middle ground. The ubiquitous social media platforms that have made our world shrink are often the battlegrounds to perpetuate ideologies along with a liberal doses of misinformation. What does this mean for all of us (not just comms practitioners)?
To dig deeper into this phenomenon that threatens to tear asunder the world, I spoke with Laura Osborne and Alison Goldsworthy, two of the three authors of the book "Poles Apart: Why People Turn Against Each Other". We spoke about the inspiration for the book and the collaboration amongst the three authors
👉🏾 The essential premise behind the book
👉🏾 Affective polarisation and what it means
👉🏾 The role of misinformation and uncertainty in reinforcing divisions
👉🏾 Recognition of polarisation as a business risk and preparedness
👉🏾 What leaders can do to prepare for impact of polarisation
Want to know more, listen here 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾
Om Podcasten
The Elephant in the Room Podcast is a curated safe space to have uncomfortable conversations about the pervasive inequalities in society and our workplaces.
The idea of the podcast was born from my sense of conflict about identity, self and the concept of privilege and fuelled by my own need to understand how my overlapping identities and experiences had impacted and would continue to impact my life chances.
Two years ago I decided to ‘opt out’ to find my own purpose and focus on passion projects including learning about the systemic biases that are endemic in business and society. The Podcast is my very own listening project, a step towards being more intentional in my learning.
The Elephant in the Room Podcast is for people who want to be a part of the change, for those who want to step up & speak out, for those who want to learn more about biases, barriers and best practice, for business leaders and for individuals, anyone who is interested in a fairer, more inclusive and compassionate society and workplace.
Each week I will interview inspiring speakers from across the world on issues that are taboo and deserve to be mainstream including(but not limited to) systemic and institutionalised racism, discrimination based on further eight protected characteristics, poverty, mental health, climate change. The podcast will also talk about cognitive inclusion, culture, purpose, ethics and the importance of empathy, cultural intelligence and how conversations on identity and disadvantage would be incomplete without considering intersectionality.
With the podcast I hope to share stories of people with lived experiences, stories that may have never been told, stories that galvanise us to take action for change and keep the conversations alive by raising the decibel on issues of inequity, inequality in our search for a fairer and more inclusive world.