Breaking the Spell of High Conflict

Conflict, whether political or personal, can escalate and become toxic — as we keep seeing in the news, on social media, and in our own lives. Our brains start sorting the world into good and evil, exaggerating the differences between ourselves and others. In this episode, a replay of a session from the 2022 virtual California Conference for Women, investigative journalist Amanda Ripley reveals how people can become bewitched by this kind of “high conflict,” and offers tips for resisting it. Come away with some fresh ideas for how to communicate across differences and navigate conflict in ways that are useful — instead of draining and divisive.   AMANDA RIPLEY is a New York Times best-selling author and an investigative journalist who writes about human behavior and change for the Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other outlets. She is the author of High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, The Smartest Kids in the World–and How They Got That Way and The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes, and Why, and she is the host of the Slate podcast How To! High Conflict (2021) describes what happens when regular conflict distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the type with an “us” and a “them.” In this state, the brain behaves differently, and the normal rules do not apply. Ripley’s recent Atlantic stories include a piece about the movement to fix TV news and another about the least politically prejudiced town in America. She’s also been investigating what journalists can do to revive curiosity in a time of outrage, in cooperation with the Solutions Journalism Network. Earlier in her career, Ripley spent a decade writing about human behavior for Time Magazine in New York, Washington, and Paris. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Politico, The Guardian and The Times of London. Her stories helped Time win two National Magazine Awards. @amandaripley   Celeste Headlee Celeste Headlee is a communication and human nature expert, and an award-winning journalist. She is a professional speaker, and also the author of Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism—and How to Do It, Do Nothing, Heard Mentality, and We Need to Talk. In her twenty-year career in public radio, she has been the executive producer of On Second Thought at Georgia Public Radio, and anchored programs including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. She also served as cohost of the national morning news show The Takeaway from PRI and WNYC, and anchored presidential coverage in 2012 for PBS World Channel. Headlee’s TEDx talk sharing ten ways to have a better conversation has over twenty million total views to date. @CelesteHeadlee   Additional Resources: * Learn more about Amanda Ripley and her work at AmandaRipley.com * Get free shipping on books by our guests, including Ripley’s High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, when you shop our podcast page at independent partner bookstore BookPeople More from Women Amplified * Get your ticket for an in-person or virtual event this fall.