When Mike and I started Elevated Thoughts, we weren't trying to launch a "both sides" show. We were two friends who couldn't stop arguing about politics — and we realized the arguments were making us smarter, not angrier.
That's a rare thing right now.
The Algorithm Doesn't Want You to Agree
Every major platform optimizes for engagement, and nothing engages like outrage. Your feed is designed to show you the worst version of the other side's argument. It's not a conspiracy — it's a business model.
What we've found over 60+ episodes is that the most interesting conversations happen when you resist that pull. When you actually sit with someone who disagrees with you and ask why they believe what they believe, you almost always find something you didn't expect.
What 60 Episodes Taught Us
Here's what I've learned hosting this show:
- Most people aren't ideologues. They have a mix of views that don't fit neatly into party lines. The labels come first; the nuance gets buried.
- Experts change the conversation. When we stopped debating purely from opinion and started bringing in people who actually study these topics, the quality of our disagreements went way up.
- Being wrong in public is powerful. Some of our best moments have been when one of us changed our mind on air. Not because we were pressured — because the evidence was better than our take.
This Isn't Centrism
I want to be clear: bipartisan doesn't mean centrist. It doesn't mean splitting the difference on every issue and calling it wisdom. Some positions are just better supported by evidence than others.
What bipartisan means to us is process — the willingness to hear the strongest version of an argument before you reject it. It means being honest about what you don't know. It means treating the person across from you like they might have a point, even when your gut says otherwise.
Why It Matters Now
We're heading into another election cycle. The incentives to retreat into our corners are only going to get stronger. Media will get louder. Algorithms will get sharper. And the space for genuine conversation will keep shrinking — unless people actively choose to protect it.
That's what this show is. Not a utopian project. Not a kumbaya moment. Just two guys who think the country works better when people actually talk to each other.
If you've made it this far, you probably agree. So share the show with someone who doesn't.
That's where the real work starts.
