In the second part of our interview with author and life coach Mike Starr, April and Glen hear several of his specific concepts about how important it is to use language carefully in managing one's life and relationships. Some words he considers dangerous or tyrannical and he offers alternative words and phrases that he suggests can improve how one approaches problems in one's life. Rather than address politics directly, he prefers to focus on relationships. Interestingly, he advocates shaming in some cases, given his concerns about current trends of what he sees as decreased personal responsibility and increased blaming of external factors among many people. He ends with a personal story about how he and his canoe partner managed difficulties in their relationship during the long float from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.

Mike Starr, life coach and author, speaks with April and Glen in this first part of our interview with him about his new book entitled, “Journey into Peace: A language for peace, progress, and healing,” in which he advocates that the everyday language we use causes much of the tension and suffering we have in our relationships. An entrepreneur who has managed a successful $100 million dollar a year manufacturing business, Mike is also a former nuclear submarine officer. He has also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and has canoed from Pittsburgh to New Orleans. He now lives in Arkansas. His upbringing in a family who experienced first-hand the effects of the holocaust helped inform his values and approach to life. In his conversation with us, Mike emphasizes the importance of respect and empathy in dealing with others, including as a means to limit negative reactions to problematic behavior on the part of others. He shares some of his key thoughts from his book about how to have a better life and relationships.

In part two, April and Glen gain ideas from Janet Harris, Executive Director & CEO of the Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain, for helping various groups of Arkansans facing difficult differences to join together in finding common ground for problem-solving. Other topics covered include the importance of relationships in improving working relationships during this process, which prompted this quote from Janet: "the beauty of humanity is in that wrestling...". We review some of the initial efforts now underway with the institute and other groups (including our Braver Angels alliance) in helping promote civic engagement, which some data suggests is a particular problem in Arkansas. Other topics include addressing misinformation in our current media environment, Governor Rockefeller's initial motivation for running for office as a Republican (it's not what you might think), and a general description of how groups coming to the mountain for this process come to "wrestle with complexity" and how out of that process, she finds hope. Finally, Janet shares a remarkable story that started with her witnessing an aerial combat between two bald eagles while driving to work on top of Petit Jean mountain. The story serves as a fitting metaphor for the work of the Rockefeller Institute.