Overview
Divided We Fall is a TV series about real people like you. It shows Americans talking about what divides us and how we can come back together. You'll meet people with different beliefs who learn to listen to each other. They discover they want the same things, even when they disagree. The series proves that most Americans are tired of fighting. We want to build a country where we can disagree without being mean. We want to understand each other better. Watch the trailer with Dan Rather, then sign up to know when the show starts. This series reminds us that we share more in common than we think. We all care about our families, our communities, and our country. When we listen and find that common ground, we can move forward together. It's possible to love people even when you don't agree with them.
Why it matters
Who gets included matters. Who gets heard matters. Who benefits from the decisions made in your city matters. Inclusion isn't just a value — it's a measure of how well a community is actually working. When more people are in the room, better decisions get made. For everyone.
“Real Americans learn to listen, find common ground, and disagree with respect.”
Who this is for
You've felt left out or overlooked
Find organizations and resources that center people who are often pushed to the margins.
You're an advocate or ally
Deepen your understanding of systemic barriers and the work being done to dismantle them.
You want your community to be more inclusive
Connect with civic efforts that expand who gets to participate and who benefits.
What the data shows
Go deeper
America’s “culture of contempt” is ruining political discourse and making us miserable. Divided We Fall demonstrates that most Americans want something better than this divisive status quo and are ready to build a better country where we are able to disagree better and love one another, despite our differences.–Arthur C. Brooks, author of Love Your Enemies, president emeritus, American Enterprise Institute & Professor of Practice, Harvard Kennedy School and Faculty Fellow, Harvard Business School
Many Americans feel America is becoming more and more politically divided. At the same time, they feel we share more common ground than politicians and the media would have us think. So, why not learn to listen, find that ground and take it from there. –Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, Finalist, National Book Award
The need for us to recognize our common humanity could not be any more clear. The challenges we currently face and those to come in the wake of this pandemic require us to expand our circle of concern beyond our families, local communities, and certainly, our political affiliations. –Jennifer Richeson, The Philip R. Allen Professor of Psychology at Yale University
At a time of unprecedented political polarization in our country, I found it so hopeful to see these groups of American citizens come together - younger and older from different parts of the nation - and have the patience and courage to learn and discover together across the divide. We need to scale these examples up immediately.
–Peter Coleman, Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University
Great piece that demonstrates the conundrum of being human, having opinions and what happens when we stay long enough to be vulnerable, to listen and to consider other perspectives.
–Norma Johnson, Poet, Allinspirit.com
"As horrible as that was, we all were in actual agreement for a couple of weeks." At first glance, you might think Jeff, a Gen X member who votes blue, is speaking into the future about our ability to come together during the COVID crisis as we all try to find support in a challenging time through mutual aid and stimulus packages. In Divided We Fall real people wrestle with hot button issues like immigration and gun control among others. As the conversations deepen, how they vote becomes less apparent and the nuances across parties come to the fore. By the end of the first segment, everyone engages in a collective struggle to solve some of the country's issues amongst themselves. As we press on through this pandemic, Divided We Fall gives us an opportunity to imagine what progress could be made by working together.
–Johnaé Strong, Award-winning Educator, Internationally recognized Organizer, and Vocational Healer
It often feels like we live in a historically divided time. But Divided We Fall shows that we still have more in common than not. This should give us all hope for the days, weeks, and months to come. –Alexandra Hudson, award-winning writer and contributor to The Wall Street Journal, Politico Magazine, Washington Examiner, Commentary Magazine, and Quillette
Our physical separation is an opportunity to reflect on the other ways in which we keep ourselves separate. Divided We Fall is exactly the reminder we need that when we emerge from this crisis, we have what it takes to come together to solve our most pressing problems.
–Pamela Paresky, The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)
“Unity Without Tragedy" continues Divided We Fall's essential work of bringing together people of differing political persuasions and encouraging them to listen to one another with curiosity rather than judgment. If we can all learn to listen to one another in this way, we may find--shockingly--that much more unites us than divides us.–Evan Mandery, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Watch the trailer, narrated by Dan Rather.
We proved on camera that despite divisions that are exploited and amplified on social media and cable news, by pundits and politicians, Americans are hungry for connection and unity. They want the core of our democratic experiment–“We the People” to succeed.
Twice, we filmed strangers from opposite sides of our political divides– Gen Xers from Massachusetts and millennials from Chicago– gathered together for a weekend. Cast members wrestled with what it means to be an American...our divides, and our connections.
What does it take to get citizens from red and blue America to talk to each other? Divided We Fall is on a mission to improve conversation, not just among politicians, but everybody else.
Read the article here or listen below.
Boston Globe's story on the unusual friendship formed by members of the Gen X cast; Donna (Trump supporter) and Jeff (Trump opposer).
Twelve millennial voters of different races–not afraid to dive into divisive topics. Despite difficult conversations, by the end of the weekend this group of strangers became friends.
Khadijah and Dan talk about their frustration with our partisan divisions.
Niki and Ernest on finding common ground.
Tommy and Michael reflect on the positive experience of engaging in civil discourse with people who hold different views.
Twelve GenX voters experience heated discussion and profound changes as they find common ground.
Heather and Amanda reflect on how to engage with other people.
JJ and Jeff react to social media interactions and Carolyn talks about empathy after connecting with peers.
Cast members discuss 9-11 and how people came together in the aftermath.
Visit our shop for masks, shirts, mugs and tote bags.
A production of New Voice Strategies
New Voice Strategies was founded by Tom Cosgrove with a mission to create, incubate and launch projects to heal divides, restore compassion and strengthen self-government.
With a famed and storied career that has spanned more than six decades, Dan Rather has earned his place as one of the world’s best-known journalists. He has interviewed every president since Eisenhower and, over that time, personally covered almost every important dateline in the United States and around the world.
Visit his site News & Guts to learn more.