In this episode of How My View Grew, Palestinian Noor Awad describes an encounter with a Zionist Israeli settler that caused him to broaden his view of the conflict. This is a story of growing up within a particular narrative and learning to take seriously a very different narrative without given up one's own. What would be possible if more Palestinians—and Israelis—developed this capacity?

**Key takeaways**

• 3:30 Noor becomes aware of the conflict during the Second Intifada
• 9:30 The Palestinian identity Noor was born with
• 13:30 Noor's early-life view of Israelis and Zionism
• 18:00 Noor discovers Israel's New Historians, who questioned the conventional Israeli narrative of 1948
• 20:45 Noor meets Hanan Schlesinger, a passionate Zionist settler, and has a life-changing experience
• 31:00 "I'm right, they're wrong" is not the only way to see things
• 34:30 Noor's capacity to hold two narratives is rare
• 38:00 The devastating impact of October 7 and the war on Roots' efforts to build mutual understanding
• 42:30 Amiel's reflections

**Resources**

• Roots, the organization Noor works with
• Amiel's essay, "Seven lessons seven months after October 7"
• Amiel's page of essays on Medium

**Subscribe to the podcast**

To hear the origin stories of more big ideas, subscribe to How My View Grew on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

**Share the love**

Leave me a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

This short episode is about giving better advice. Just as medicine containers have warning labels, I propose that all advice about being a better citizen, leader, parent, or partner come with three disclaimers:

1. Not for everyone
2. May have side effects
3. Dilute before using

After all, different folks deserve different strokes.

In this episode of How My View Grew, educator Carlos Hoyt describes his early life experience transcending racial categories and how he discovered that the entire concept of "race" was false and unhelpful. What if the racial categories that pervade our conversations, public policy, and social science data are scientifically meaningless? What can we learn from people who have deracialized themselves and others? How might these insights improve lives and undermine racism at its roots?

**Key Takeaways**

• 8:00 Growing up in Boston—"Black and proud," changing school districts, mixing it up at summer camp
• 18:00 Discovering research on other "race transcenders"
• 22:00 The five steps in racializing people
• 27:00 The pseudoscience of race
• 34:00 Why "racial equality" is an oxymoron
• 40:00 Making the U.S. Census more accurate
• 44:00 How to adjust the way you refer to people
• 50:00 Amiel's reflections, including the analogy of the Elvis Lives Fan Club

**Resources**

• Carlos's web site
• Carlos's forthcoming book, Diversity Without Divisiveness

**Subscribe to the podcast**

To hear the origin stories of more big ideas, subscribe to How My View Grew on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

**Share the love**

Leave me a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.