Civility is not politeness, compromise, or “finding common ground.” In a polarized country—where fights over immigration, gender, public meetings, and online pile-ons feel existential—Aaron Renn talks with Carmel, Indiana city councilor and civic leader Jeff Worrell about what it actually takes to disagree hard without destroying the relationship.

Worrell, founder of Project Civility, argues that it's possible to "bring the heat," but not burn the house down. They cover internal posture (goodwill, humility, compassion), seeking the larger story in the other person, “do no harm,” civil departure when a relationship is toxic, why institutions so often avoid real dissent, and how leaders can give people permission to disagree without becoming enemies.

Visit Project Civility: https://www.projectcivility.com

CHAPTERS:
(00:00 Introduction)
(01:52 What civility looks like when the country is deeply divided)
(04:01 “How can you talk civility when the stakes are existential?”)
(07:02 Does incivility work—and how do you avoid being a beautiful loser?)
(11:30 How to respond when you’re personally attacked)
(17:53 Disagreement gets a bad rap)
(22:12 The principles: internal posture, the larger story, do no harm)
(30:27 Advice for leaders—and staying positive about your community)

CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN:
🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn
🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/

Aaron Renn talks with technology and media writer James Poulos about Human Forever — and why the real digital disaster is not a future AI apocalypse, but a transformation that has already happened.

Poulos argues that the print-and-television age ran on imagination (“if you can dream it, you can do it”). Computational technology flipped that. Machine memory now dominates: infinite archives, permanent records, surveillance, and a culture of searching and scrolling instead of dreaming. That shift, he says, is why so much of American life feels like fallout — and why older, memory-based forms of life, including traditional Christianity, are suddenly making sense again.

They discuss Marshall McLuhan’s “flip,” the return of the medieval, literacy’s collapse, accelerationism and transhumanism, why Christianity and America are the two things Poulos thinks can still stand, father-to-son rites of passage, practical politics around data centers, and why he published the book on the Bitcoin blockchain.

James Poulos is the author of Human Forever and the forthcoming Golden Age Problems. He is editorial director of Frontier at Blaze Media and a non-resident senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation.

CHAPTERS:
(0:00 Introduction)
(1:20 The digital catastrophe already happened)
(9:07 From imagination to memory)
(12:08 Why the digital age retrieves the medieval)
(15:24 Ancient liturgy and the search for spiritual authority)
(24:18 Accelerationism, cyborgs, and running from responsibility)
(32:31 What if AI outdoes every human faculty?)
(41:39 Why Christianity and America still stand)
(47:39 How to remain human: space, politics, and attainable goals)
(54:38 Father-to-son rites of passage)
(58:28 Why the book is on the Bitcoin blockchain)

JAMES POULOS LINKS:
📖 Buy Human Forever: https://canonic.xyz/p/1YV9yExbmJ9mgBXNM81TouJuDtqxH2PpL
🌐 Frontier Magazine: https://www.blazeunlimited.com/frontier

CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN:
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Is local leadership declining, even in America’s fastest-growing cities?

Aaron Renn sits down with Mark Barbash, a longtime economic development professional in Columbus, Ohio, to examine the quiet crisis of civic and corporate leadership. They discuss how generational change, corporate consolidation, shifting philanthropy, and a K-shaped economy are weakening the institutions that once held cities together—while headline growth continues.

Using Columbus, Ohio as a case study, they explore what it will take to rebuild commitment to the common good. Topics include the decline of place-based corporate leaders, the rise of donor-advised funds, workforce and housing constraints, the limits of economic development incentives, and whether there’s still a “burning platform” for meaningful change.

CHAPTERS:
(00:00 Introduction: The Leadership Crisis in American Cities)
(02:05 How Civic and Corporate Leadership Has Changed Over the Decades)
(08:15 Generational Shifts and the Decline of Place-Based Leadership)
(15:00 Economic Development in a Globalized, Industry-Focused World)
(17:00 The K-Shaped Economy, Workforce Shortages & Housing Stress)
(24:00 The Transformation of Local Philanthropy and Community Foundations)
(31:40 Is There a Burning Platform for Change in Booming Cities?)
(37:00 What Should We Do? Rebuilding Consensus and Engagement)

ARTICLES DISCUSSED:
🌐 From Titans to Technocrats: https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/from-titans-to-technocrats
🌐 'The Columbus Way' is failing as community, problems grow: https://www.aol.com/articles/columbus-way-failing-community-problems-082827000.html
🌐 Instability at Columbus Partnership sign of broken Columbus Way: https://www.aol.com/articles/instability-columbus-partnership-sign-broken-081533000.html

CONNECT & FOLLOW AARON RENN:
🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/aaron_renn
🌐 Newsletter - In-depth cultural analysis: https://www.aaronrenn.com/