`The HNMCP podcast “Thanks for Listening” has come out with a new episode, this one focused on community dialogue in the wake of  the police shooting of Philando Castile. I listened to it yesterday, and it is thought-provoking.

Description from HNMCP:

The Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program has just posted Episode 3 in their podcast series on public and political dialogue, Thanks for Listening: https://bit.ly/2xEtiva.

On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. In the weeks and months that followed, systemic issues that had been present below the surface in Falcon Heights and surrounding cities erupted into the open. The atmosphere was one of rage, pain, resentment, and distrust. In some ways, this was an unlikely setting for constructive dialogue that had any chance of rebuilding the community.

And yet, that is the story that we hear in Episode 3 of Thanks for Listening. We meet John Thompson, Philando’s close friend, who talks about his own activism after the shooting, and what happened when he became involved in a series of facilitated conversations that brought together citizens, activists, city leaders, and police officers. We also hear from Sharon Press, who pulls back the curtain on these conversations and explains how she and others went about the hard work of organizing them in order to create opportunities for healing. Almost three years to the day after Philando was shot, John and Sharon reflect on their personal journeys, their unexpected friendship with one another, and how their communities have changed.

MM