Shows / America's Why Project
America's Why Project
To solve America’s toughest challenges, we need to begin by listening to each other’s stories. The America’s Why Project (AWP) creates a space for conversations that invite Americans from all walks of life—and friends of America around the world—to explore their perspectives on America’s past, present, and future. By opening our ears and opening our hearts, we can start to rebuild mutual trust and rediscover our shared purpose. One story, one conversation, one open mic at a time.
Episodes
- America's Why Project
Episode 21: 2026 Midterm Election Special – Why Political Violence Persists and How We Can Break the Cycle
In this pre-election special episode, Professor Robert Pape of the University of Chicago explains how the forever wars of the post-9/11 era have accelerated…
- America's Why Project
Episode 20: Rediscovering Common Ground – How Congress Can Work Better
In the second episode of this two-part series, Casey Burgat, Director of the Legislative Affairs program at George Washington University, explores what could…
- America's Why Project
Episode 19: Insecure Majorities: Why Congress Doesn’t Work
In the first of two episodes diagnosing the ailments of the United States Congress, political analyst Casey Burgat explains how the politics of the perpetual…
- America's Why Project
Episode 18: Democracy on the Brink: America in the Age of Violent Populism
In this special episode, Prof. Robert Pape of the University of Chicago reveals the findings of this year’s most important book on the future of American…
- America's Why Project
Episode 17: Hard Jobs – Generation Z and Preparing for What’s Next
This episode will change the way you think about Generation Z. In Part 2 of our Hard Jobs series, AWP Digital Media Manager Lakshmi Dev speaks with three…
- America's Why Project
Episode 16: Part 2 — Cultivating Strategic Imagination
What does it take to move from wishing for change to actually creating it? In Part 2 of this conversation with Hahrie Han, Professor of Political Science at…
- America's Why Project
Episode 15: Part 1 — Race, Class, and Religion in America: Spanning the Divides
In this episode, we continue our discussion of the powerful role that religious faith can play in healing cultural and political divisions. Host Matt Levinger…
- America's Why Project
Episode 14: How Religion Shapes the Way Americans Listen - Listening Across Religious Divides
Religious faith is a uniquely powerful force for building community and forging human connections; yet conflicts over religion have ignited some of the most…
- America's Why Project
Episode 13: Hard Jobs – Listening on the Front Lines of Healthcare
Some of the most important listening happens in the most emotionally demanding spaces. This episode launches a new subseries within our “How to Listen”…
- America's Why Project
Episode 12: Part 2 — How Deep Listening Builds Trust
What actually changes when people stop talking at each other and start truly listening? In Part 2 of this two-part series, host Matt Levinger continues his…
- America's Why Project
Episode 11: Part 1 — The Power of Listening in Divided Worlds: Narrative, Trust, and Conflict
In a world where everyone is talking, why does it feel like no one is truly being heard? In Part 1 of this two-part series, host Matt Levinger sits down with…
- America's Why Project
Episode 10: Chapter 2 — How to Listen
In this opening episode of Chapter 2, host Matt Levinger brings together the team behind the project to reflect on their journey so far and where they believe…
- America's Why Project
Episode 9: Talking About Migration, Part 2: The Coming Wave
In Part 2 of our deep-dive on migration, writer Sohrab Ahmari continues to explore the future of global mobility and what it means for democracy, culture, and…
- America's Why Project
Episode 8: Talking About Migration, Part 1: ‘It’s Complicated’
Immigration is the hottest flashpoint in American politics, but far too often, the conversation skips past the most important question: why do people leave…
- America's Why Project
Episode 7: How Monopoly Capitalism Challenges American Democracy
What happens when a handful of corporations hold the power to shape everything: what we buy, how we work, even how we connect with each other? In this episode…
- America's Why Project
Episode 6: How the Attention Economy Drives Polarization
In this second installment of our two-part series with Brian Katulis and Danielle Pletka, the conversation shifts from the craft of foreign-policy storytelling…
- America's Why Project
Episode 5: Storytelling in U.S. Foreign Policy
Leadership depends not only on power and policy, but also on the stories that give them meaning. In this first episode of a two-part series, Brian Katulis…
- America's Why Project
Episode 4: The Long Shadow of the Civil War – Part 2/ Leadership in Turbulent Times
In the second half of our conversation with historian Jeremy Suri, we turn from America’s complex past to the pressing question of how leadership works today…
- America's Why Project
Episode 3: The Long Shadow of the Civil War – Part 1/ Slavery and Freedom
What happens when a country loses its unifying story? When the story of 1776 squares off against the story of 1619, when the smoldering legacies of the Civil…
- America's Why Project
Episode 2: The Neuroscience of Human Relationships – Part 2 /The Power of Love
Last week, Dr. David Rock showed us how fear hijacks the brain. This week, he flips the script by diving into the power of love. Host Matt Levinger and Dr…
- America's Why Project
Episode 1: Chapter 1 – Rediscovering America's Why / The Neuroscience of Human Relationships – Part I/The Power of Fear
Modern life pushes our brains in ways they were never built to handle. In this episode, Dr. David Rock, neuroscientist, bestselling author, and the creator of…
- America's Why Project
Welcome to the America's Why Podcast
To solve America’s toughest challenges, we need to start by listening to each other’s stories. Visit our website to learn more about the America’s Why Project…