For this episode, we talk to Daniel Yudkin about Potentialism, the emerging political philosophy at the center of the Beacon Project, as an effort to answer one of the oldest civic questions: What do we owe each other? Drawing from social psychology, political theory, and moral philosophy, Daniel argues that every person possesses a unique gift and that society should be organized around both the right to develop that gift and the responsibility to share it. Rather than positioning Potentialism as a radical break from American political traditions, he presents it as a recovery of forgotten ideas about contribution, virtue, and mutual obligation that have been obscured by contemporary political polarization.

The conversation moves beyond politics into questions of identity, formation, and human nature. Daniel shares personal stories about his own experiences of hybridity, belonging, and identity, while we draw connections to religious traditions, civic formation, and the moral frameworks that shape communities. Throughout the discussion, the conversation returns to the tension between rights and responsibilities, institutions and culture, individual freedom and collective obligation, asking not only how societies should be organized, but what kinds of people democratic societies require.

Our sponsor is The Brueggeman Center for Dialogue at Xavier University, here in Cincinnati, which is dedicated to deepening understanding across faiths and promoting systemic change.

Avenue M is produced by Bespoken Live with music by Zach Swelber, who plays in Circle It and Mosant.