State of Inclusion

Sometimes I share an episode from another podcast. My last guest, Margaret Seidler, got me thinking about how we can all move beyond either-or thinking. I'll admit, after listening to Margaret, I wanted to know more. And I figured you guys might want to know more too. So today's episode is an interview from the wonderful podcast We Made This Political, hosted by Lura Forcrum and Lauren Hall. In this episode, they interview Cliff Kayser, an expert on polarity thinking. Enjoy.

By sharing her personal story and painful family history, today's guest, Margaret Seidler, takes us along on a journey with her, a journey of discovery, of reckoning, and ultimately, of liberation. Along the way, we are reminded of the ability for story and art to connect us, to open our hearts and minds, and to help us find a different way into difficult discussions.

A lot of us are watching our economy fall short — for us, for our neighbors, for our communities. Our communities need us to step up. They need our time, our energy — and, yes, our money. After all, we are the economy. Our choices, individually and together, shape it. The good news is that change can start right here, with each of us. I’m going to take you along on a journey I’ve been on over the last couple of years that completely changed how I think about giving, investing, and spending. Fair warning: this is probably the most personal episode I’ve ever done.

While most of our podcast episodes are about looking out at other communities to learn and find inspiration, this episode is all about encouraging you to really notice what is happening right in your own backyard. We encourage you to take a Power Walk through your community and also to follow the money. As an example, I share a local project where, along with some good friends, we took our own Power Walk through our county's budget. Much of this episode is also a repost of an interview originally aired on the Simple Civics Greenville podcast.

Whether or not you follow State of Inclusion, you know that 2025 was a difficult year for equity and inclusion, and 2026 is already shaping up to be even more difficult in so many ways. In this episode, we’ll take a moment to reflect on our 2025 discussions and look ahead to our podcast in 2026. Now is the time to lean in, not back.