Growing up, most of us learned one simple rule: don’t talk to strangers.
But American Dialogues is betting on the opposite.
In New York City parks, the group’s organizers set out folding chairs and invite anybody passing by to sit down and talk about politics, culture, and everyday life. The goal is to get strangers to speak honestly and keep listening when the conversation becomes difficult.
Joining us to discuss how American Dialogues began, what happens when strangers disagree, and whether these conversations can help bridge America’s divides are:
Fin Colleton, student fellow at Columbia University’s Trust Collaboratory and the creator of the public conversation tables that grew into American Dialogues
Kratima Divakar, graduate student at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Trust Collaboratory student fellow who leads American Dialogues’ outreach
Check out more about American Dialogues’ work at americandialogues.org or @americandialogues on Instagram.
Preorder Nico’s book and fill out the form for a free tshirt here.
Timestamps:
00:00 Preorder Nico’s book and get a free tshirt!
01:55 Intro
03:36 Fin’s first experiment with talking to strangers
05:54 Kratima’s introduction to Listening Tables
07:32 Bringing American Dialogues to New York City
10:43 Conversations across political divides
14:32 How do they handle disruptive participants?
19:52 The purpose of American Dialogues
28:16 Why New York City is the perfect venue
32:07 Online versus face-to-face conversations
33:56 Expanding American Dialogues
37:34 Outro
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Book cover photo credit: Used with permission of The Oakland Tribune 2026. All rights reserved.
Shirt photo credit: March from Sproul Plaza to Regent’s meeting in University Hall on Oxford St., Steven Marcus Free Speech Movement Photographs, circa 1964, BANC PIC 2000.002--NEG Strip 44:33 © The Regents of the University of California, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. https://digicoll.lib.berkeley.edu/record/54188
