The Upstander Ripple Effect: Self-Awareness

“Bias doesn’t just live in the people we don’t like. It lives in the mirrors that we look in every day in our homes.” – Kevin Aldridge

Season 2 of The Upstander Ripple Effect kicks off with a powerful conversation about self-awareness—how recognizing our own biases, blind spots, and strengths shapes how we behave in our lives and communities.

Hosts Jackie Congedo and Kevin Aldridge reflect on current events, the challenges of honest self-reflection, and the importance of “knowing ourselves accurately.” Later, guest Carrie McCarthy shares how Pleasant Hill Middle School in Cincinnati is embedding character strengths and upstander values into the heart of its culture, inspiring students to see themselves—and each other—as capable of creating positive change.

This episode is part of the Cynthia & Harold Guttman Center for Storytelling. Subscribe here https://www.youtube.com/@holocaustandhumanity

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Episode Resources

Kevin’s Op-Ed

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/2025/08/19/cincinnati-brawl-viral-race-white-black-people-downtown/85656149007/

The Key to Critical Self-Awareness by Arthur C. Brooks (subscription required)

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/04/know-yourself-socrates/682458/

Upstander curriculum resources

https://www.holocaustandhumanity.org/resources/upstander-activities/

Action Reconciliation Service for Peace

https://us.asf-ev.de/

From Nazism to Never Again by Richard Evans (subscription may be required)

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/western-europe/2017-12-12/nazism-never-again

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