Megan Phelps Roper on Finding Empathy

Today's podcast is rich. Rich in nuance, dialogue, and amazing content. I am so excited to share it with you. Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church, the Topeka, Kansas church known internationally for its daily public protests against members of the LGBT community, Jews, the military, and countless others. As a child, teenager and early 20-something, she participated in the picketing almost daily and pioneered the use of social media in the church. Dialogue with "enemies" online proved instrumental in her de-radicalization, and she left the church and her entire way of life in November 2012. Since then she has become an advocate for people and ideas she was taught to despise -- especially the value of empathy in dialogue with people across ideological lines. In this conversation, we go deep into her story and the challenging decision to leave her family and the church. We also talk about the power of empathy, social media, and how we can get people to change how they see the world. Megan also shares how she set her mind when she was protesting and how she sets her mind today, as she travels the country speaking about her experience.  Megan's a deep thinker. She is extremely well read. She's caring. And most importantly, she's a lifelong learner. I hope you can deeply listen to her message, and understand where she is coming from, and what she is going toward.  Megan has an incredible Ted Talk that has over 4 million views. She has a forthcoming memoir and movie that is currently titled, This Above All. She is extremely active on social media..... Twitter: @MeganPhelps Instagram: @MeganMarie Thanks so much to Megan for coming on!