Reimagining Us
by Nichole Argo
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Power as Care: Designing Civic Life People…
About this podcast
Reimagining Us is not just another conversation series—it’s a vital tool for healing divisions, designing our lives and communities for belonging, and empowering a movement of “builders.” Hosted by two distinguished leaders from the fields of psychology and equity-building, the show takes a nuanced look at the forces that fuel division and highlights actionable paths toward reconnection. As the nation navigates a post-election landscape rife with challenges, Reimagining Us offers a timely and necessary space for discovery, dialogue, and change.
Throughout America, our neighborhoods and local communities find themselves at an unprecedented moment. Pundits and political leaders roil us in toxically polarized, "us vs. them" narratives. In many places, our communities are marked by mistrust, fear of or inability to engage neighbors across differences, and loneliness & isolation.
What can make us resilient? The answer is easy but profound: Each other. Our communities thrive when they are places of belonging for all. It’s time to rebuild the “we” – a bigger sense of “we” than what we see around us today. And no moment could be more critical to do this than now: Regardless who emerges victorious in November, half the country will feel left behind, or worse, betrayed.
Local communities are the life force of democracy, but belonging doesn’t just happen by default. The way for folks to begin to imagine a feasible/fair future is to begin to experience themselves as mattering, as belonging in their communities, now – in their families, their neighborhoods, their grocery stores, their town halls, in all aspects of their daily lives. And we’re not talking about being “nice” or polite. We–all of us— need to design our lives and communities for belonging, to be intentional about how we show up, and how we create spaces for others to show up—both through our interactions and the structures and systems we put in place. And we need to start at home, in our communities.
HOSTS:
Nichole Argo is the Founder and Executive Director of TogetherUp Institute
Scott Hutcheson is the Executive Director of E Pluribus Unum
Produced by Next Chapter Podcasts
Episodes
- Season 2 - Episode 4 - Power as Care: Designing Civic Life People Want to Join · 39 min · Season 2 Episode 4People want to contribute to their communities. So why do so many feel disconnected from the places where decisions get made? This episode opens in a room Scott has sat in more…
- Season 2 - Episode 3 - What Makes Civic Life Sacred? · 31 min · Season 2 Episode 3What makes a group of strangers become the kind of people who visit one another in the hospital, check on an elderly neighbor, or come together when their community is in crisis?…
- Season 2 - Episode 2 - Embracing Complexity, Letting Go of Control · 42 min · Season 2 Episode 2Why do so many well-intentioned efforts to bridge our political and social divides struggle to create lasting change? In this episode of Reimagining Us, Dr. Nichole Argo and…
- Season 2 - Episode 1 - The Architecture of Belonging · 39 min · Season 2 Episode 1What if belonging isn't something we find, but something we can intentionally create? In the Season 2 premiere of Reimagining Us, hosts Nichole Argo and Scott Hutcheson shift…
- Introducing...Season 2 of Reimagining Us · 1 min · Season 2In Season 2 of Reimagining Us, we go deeper... If you care about connection, community and real change, this season is for you! Reimagining Us is a podcast series that "lifts…
- Episode 8 - "Bright Spots: The Needham Resilience Network” · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 8In this episode, Nichole and Scott explore how philanthropy is getting behind work to connect and collaborate across differences at the local level with Kristen Scott Kennedy of…
- Episode 7 - "Transforming Our Communities" · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 7In this episode, Nichole and Scott talk about how individual and group efforts to revitalize connection in communities are necessary---but may not be sufficient for sustained…
- Episode 6 - "Be The Change - Part II - Tool Chest" · 52 min · Season 1 Episode 6Imagine that four experts on bridging divides came together to advise you on how to handle your next challenging conversation…Voila! Meet the “Be The Change” tool chest! On this…
- Episode 6 - "Be The Change - Part I - Key Insights” · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 6In Part I, Nichole and Scott invite three top thought leaders to share foundational insights that can help listeners connect across differences. Curiosity is a bridge to…
- Episode 5 - "Belonging: A North Star for our Communities” with john a. powell · 47 min · Season 1 Episode 5In this episode, Nichole and Scott are joined by john a. powell, who leads them in an exploration of belonging while contrasting it with the damaging effects of othering. By…
- Episode 4 - “Want to be Resilient? Build Local, Build Now” with Seth Kaplan and John Paul Lederach · 46 min · Season 1 Episode 4In this episode, Nichole and Scott begin with a startling figure from Amanda Ripley’s book, Unthinkable: 90 percent of counties in the U. S. were declared federal disaster zones…
- Episode 3 - “Know It, Name It, Inoculate Against It” with Peter Coleman and Stephen Hawkins · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 3In this episode of Reimagining Us, co-hosts Nichole Argo and Scott Hutcheson delve deeper into the pervasive dynamics of toxic polarization, exploring how societal divisions…
- Episode 2: "Toxic Polarization and Its Antidote---Pluralism," with Daniel Stid · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 2On this episode of Reimagining Us, co hosts Nichole Argo and Scott Hutcheson have a conversation with Daniel Stid focused on toxic polarization and the importance of pluralism in…
- Episode 1 - Why This Podcast, Now? Bridging Divides and Rebuilding Communities · 30 min · Season 1 Episode 1On the debut episode of Reimagining Us, Nichole and Scott share their personal stories, explain how they came together to cohost the show and relay their vision and the purpose…
- Introducing...Reimagining Us · 1 min · Season 1Reimagining Us is a podcast series that "lifts the hood" to uncover what's behind our feelings of division today, identify how we can rebuild connection and collaboration across…







