How do you engage in civil discourse when the world feels so heavy?
Today we're sharing a conversation from our partner podcast, Behavioral Grooves, because it speaks directly to a question many of us are quietly carrying right now: How do we stay human with each other when everything feels polarized, personal, and on edge?
Behavior Shift has deep roots in Minneapolis -- our cofounder, Kurt Nelson, lives just a few blocks from where the shooting of Alex Pretti occurred. His friends and neighbors run the shops and restaurants that line that street. When events like this happen so close to home, they stop being abstract headlines and start reshaping how you see your community, your neighbors, and the conversations unfolding around you.
When political tension is high, factors like fear, proximity to events, and social identity can quietly amplify polarization. Our brains look for shortcuts; we see who is involved or where something happened, and then we auto-fill the narrative based on group identity rather than evidence. Confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and a myriad of other biases and heuristics do the rest.
The result? Conversations that feel doomed before they start.
We’re sharing this episode because we believe these moments call for more curiosity, not less. More patience and more willingness to stay in the conversation, even when it feels uncomfortable. We are deeply passionate about understanding human behavior and this conversation brings together Kurt’s lived experience as well as a deep dive into the behavioral science to explore why civil discourse feels so fragile right now.
We hope this opens space for reflection, empathy, and a more constructive dialogue at a time when it often feels easier to disengage.
Thanks for being here with us.
- Kurt, Ben & Alex