As we near July 4th in our 250th year, we turn our attention to the document that charted a path for a new country—the Constitution. Far from being the source of our problems as has become fashionable to believe, Dr. Yuval Levin argues that the Constitution holds the power to save us. According to Levin, "it doesn't mean thinking alike, it means acting together." Are you wondering how we could possibly act together when we disagree so vehemently? Join us as we meet a scholar who "may be the most important voice in the political culture right now."

Learn more about our guests and find the program online here .

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. View the full series of programs online here.

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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)

By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs
created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was
developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center
for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Lately it's pretty hard to zero in on what we have in common as a people. It often feels like we're living in alternate realities with completely different sets of values and priorities. What would it take for us to more widely agree on a national narrative, and what are the dangers of failing to do so? God Squad will make a valiant attempt to wrestle some transcendent principles out of the partisan mud pit—principles that stand a chance of leading us into a better time.

This program will be moderated by Liz Joyner of The Village Square, who will be joined by God Squad regulars Father Tim Holeda of Co-Cathedral at St. Thomas More, Rabbi Paul Sidlofsky of Temple Israel, and Joseph Davis Jr. of Truth Gatherers Community Church.

Check out the panel and more info about this program here.

Catch up on past God Squad programs here.

Interested in our topic of America's 250th? We've talked about it all year in our UNUM series in partnership with Florida Humanities. Check it out here.

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Village SquareCast is funded in part by the Federation of State Humanities Councils with support from the Mellon Foundation and Florida Humanities.

In this 250th year since the Declaration of Independence was signed, the American idea—an idea that has changed a whole world around it—finds itself under extraordinary pressure. As the Declaration's author, Thomas Jefferson has gifted us with both breathtaking credal words and a life lived so firmly in contradiction to their meaning that we cannot possibly look away. Our very special UNUM guest, Dr. Jane Kamensky, has made history her life's work as the President & CEO of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. She calls our founding idea "leaky," as people of every color and creed both in America and in unfree corners of the globe heard this big idea 250 years ago and believed it could also be for them.

Learn more about our guests and find the program online here.

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. View the full series of programs online here.

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The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)

By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs
created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was
developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center
for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

The hallmarks of high conflict include a narrowing middle ground, the growing sense of a binary "us vs. them" narrative—and absolute clarity that "we" are the good guys in the story, and "they" are the black hats. Some of this might feel a little new to us, but this accelerating vicious cycle of conflict is how most of human history has unfolded. Before there was a Magna Carta and Constitution, life was a Manichaean cosmic struggle between good and evil and (retroactive spoiler alert) it wasn't pretty. After all, if you're convinced you're fighting on the side of "good," what wouldn't you do to defeat "evil?" This will be a wide-ranging discussion encompassing all of human history and a full study of human nature. Please reserve 3 full days. (Naw, God Squad stars that they are, they'll do it in an hour.)

Check out the panel and more info about this program here.

Catch up on past God Squad programs here.

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Village SquareCast is funded in part by the Federation of State Humanities Councils with support from the Mellon Foundation and Florida Humanities.

As we now find ourselves officially in America's 250th anniversary year, we are truly honored to be joined by the legendary scholar Jeffrey Rosen. As the CEO Emeritus of the National Constitution Center and the author of numerous books, Rosen's iconic body of work gives us a richer understanding of the tensions, rivalries, and principles that have shaped the American experiment. His most recent book, "The Pursuit of Liberty," tells the vibrant story of how the tensions in the visions of founders Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton haven't just endured since the founding—they've defined us.

Learn more about our guests and find the program online here.

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. View the full series of programs online here.

————————————————————

The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)

By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs
created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was
developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center
for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

For 15 years now, God Squad has quietly defied the fashion to avoid talking with people who don't look and think like us. From "Ten Paces at High Noon" to "Shut Up and Sing," from abortion to race, The Squad hasn't shied away from much. As we celebrate 15 years of programming, we thought it was high time to get a little meta and talk about what holds us together—year after year after year—when so very much is falling apart. We'll even be joined by two people around at the beginning of God Squad—Liz Joyner and Betsy Ouellette Zierden.

Learn more about the program and meet the God Squad here.

The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

———————————————————

Village SquareCast is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)

By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs
created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was
developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center
for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Navy veteran Dr. Theodore Roosevelt Johnson, his family name a legacy first chosen to honor the new possibilities for Black Americans many presidents ago, writes about a football game when he stood during the National Anthem and his son—on the field as a player—chose to kneel. Both, he argues, are acts of love of country. Ted's life, service and scholarship are a love letter to America—both when he confronts our failure and takes pride in our accomplishments.

Now Ted leads New America's Us@250 initiative which "seeks to reimagine the American narrative with a focus on three themes: pride in the nation's progress, reckoning with historical and contemporary wrongs, and aspiration for a better future."

Learn more about our guests and find the program online here.

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives. View the full series of programs online here.

————————————————————

The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

UNUM: Democracy Reignited is funded in part by Florida Humanities with support from Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Mellon Foundation. (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of our funders.)

By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs
created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was
developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center
for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

"The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults." —Alexis de Tocqueville

When Alexis de Tocqueville traveled to a freshly-minted America, he found a people gathering and talking and deciding on things—they were building, and they were repairing. That's a 250-year-old spirit we're going to need to rediscover, so we're bringing together two young leaders of this very old idea—John Wood and Manu Meel. Of the people, by the people and for the people is how these two have been getting it done.

John Wood is the National Ambassador and Director of Public Engagement at Braver Angels, an effort we at The Village Square have been fans and supporters of since it was still a glimmer in its founder's eye. John is also a columnist at USA Today. Manu Meel is the founding CEO of BridgeUSA, an organization on campuses across America. He's also been named one of Forbes 30 under 30 in education. And (here's the bonus): they are dear friends.

Learn more about our guests and find the program online here.

This program is part of the series in partnership with Florida Humanities — "UNUM: Democracy Reignited," a multi-year digital offering exploring the past, present and future of the American idea — as it exists on paper, in the hearts of our people, and as it manifests (or sometimes fails to manifest) in our lives.

————————————————————

The Village Square is a proud member of The Democracy Group, a network of podcasts that examines what's broken in our democracy and how we can work together to fix it.

UNUM: Democracy Reignited is made possible in partnership with Florida Humanities (Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities.)