Understanding Does Not Equal Agreement | Interview with Michael Ashford

Episode 29 of Beyond Barriers Podcast featuring TEDx Speaker and host of The Follow-Up Question Podcast, Michael Ashford. Michael Ashford (https://michaelashford.com) is the Director of Marketing at a Denver-based software company, The Receptionist, as well as a podcaster and independent journalist. Michael has conducted thousands of interviews over the last two decades in his time as a journalist, marketer, and podcaster, and as the host of The Follow-Up Question podcast, Michael explores what it means to have curious conversations that bring us together rather than divide us. He has won numerous awards for his reporting and storytelling as a journalist, he is a two-time TEDx speaker, and his work across various platforms has been featured in publications like Men's Health Magazine and Podcast Magazine. The Follow-Up Question podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-follow-up-question/id1524211779 About the Hosts: Jeff Schoep is the Founder of Beyond Barriers. From 1994 until early 2019, Jeff Schoep was the leader of the largest neo-Nazi organization in the United States, the National Socialist Movement (NSM). In March 2019 he became the highest profile former white nationalist to ever walk away from far-right extremism in the USA. Since then, Jeff has been an outspoken advocate against the ideology that he had been part of for 27 years, making him uniquely qualified to understand extremism and extremist ideologies. Jeff now works as an inspirational public speaker helping to educate communities and policy makers on how to effectively counter and prevent violent extremism. https://jeffschoep.com Follow Jeff Schoep on Social Media https://linktr.ee/jeffschoep Twitter: @SchoepJeff LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-schoep-126472213/ Facebook: TheOfficialJeffSchoepPage Instagram: @jeff_schoep Acacia Dietz is the Managing Director of Beyond Barriers, co-hosts #BeyondBarriersPodcast, the host of Coffee & Conversation Podcast and owner of Underground Media Productions. Before working with Beyond Barriers she was once the propagandist and a multimedia content creator for the National Socialist Movement (NSM). Today she works with Beyond Barriers helping to counter and prevent violent extremism by creating multimedia content such as counter-narrative videos and podcasts. She is also a public speaker on women in extremism and disengagement. Follow Acacia on social media: https://linktr.ee/undergroundmedia Beyond Barriers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to a new approach of countering and preventing extremism. For more information on Beyond Barriers: https://beyondbarriersusa.org https://linktr.ee/beyondbarriersusa.org To donate to Beyond Barriers: https://giv.li/r8xtpc For media inquiries: [email protected] This podcast is produced by Beyond Barriers Media in association with Underground Media Productions. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/beyondbarriersradio/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/beyondbarriersradio/support Beyond Barriers Podcast is dedicated to dialogue — to honest conversations about growth, leadership, resilience, and the human capacity for change. Through real stories and unfiltered discussion, Beyond Barriers challenges assumptions and creates space for understanding, healing, and meaningful transformation.