Meet in the Middle

Today's Meet in the Middle show is Dan's last and is titled 'A Discussion with John Donvan: What's the Path Back to Healthy Debate?'. John is the moderator for 'Open to Debate' and he and Dan unpack the importance of healthy debate and respectful dialogue, and the challenges of polarization. John shares his insights as a moderator, author, and ABC News correspondent, as well as ideas on how to increase discourse and decrease polarization.

This month's episode of Meet in the Middle show is titled 'What's Behind the Recent Rise in AntiSemitism', with guest rabbi mendel Mintz. Rabbi Mintz will share his perspective on Judaism, antisemitism, the recent university protests, and the conflict in Gaza. Dan will attempt to distinguish between the hatred at the root of antisemitism, and the criticism of Israel because of its stance and actions against Palestinians.

This month's episode of Meet in the Middle is titled ‘Unpacking Military Conflict – Both the Personal and the Political.’ Host Dan Richardson welcomes RFHS social studies teacher and retired Marine, Isaac Moore to explore the drivers, the conflicts, the rewards, and the realities of military action and military service.

This month’s show of Meet in the Middle is titled: 'Garfield County Dems and Republicans - Searching for Middle Ground Between its Local Leaders.' As the saying goes, "all politics are local." There is no question that Democrats and Republicans disagree on many issues, but is there any common ground? Guests Greg Rippy and Debbie Bruell, Chairs of the Garfield County Republicans and Democrats respectively, will share thoughts on local issues, party extremism, and why common ground even matters.

This month's episode of the Meet in the Middle show is titled ‘Abortion – the If, Who, Where, When, and Why’ with guest Sandi Kister. What are the primary arguments for and against abortion? Should it be legal and if so, should it be up to the states, Congress, or the Supreme Court to decide? Or is the right already embedded in the constitution? What’s the data say on who, where, and when? Come prepared with an open mind.

This month's episode of Meet in the Middle is titled ‘Immigration Policy v. Reality – Where does the Rubber Meet the Road?’ Immigration has been an especially hot topic for a few years, and recently it’s made headlines in Carbondale with the arrival of more than 80 Venezuelan migrants. On the show, Dan and Alex Sanchez, founder and CEO of Voces Unidas, discuss the drivers, the impacts, and the benefits of immigration nationally and locally.

On this episode of Meet in the Middle, Dan and Bente will reflect on the shows of 2023, what nuggets of wisdom can be extracted from those conversations, and how the topics relate to state-wide issues and trends. They’ll pull on the common threads of shows including political discourse, freedom of speech, leadership, and the other components of being good stewards of democracy.

This month's Meet in the Middle show is titled “Israeli – Palestinian Conflict – What is it Teaching Us?” Host Dan Richardson and guest Stew Tabin will discuss why this war has been referred to as 19th century idealism, driving a 20th century conflict, in a 21st century world. They’ll explore how other global players fit into the conflict, and if and how holding two separate but equal narratives about the conflict is possible.

This episode of the Meet in the Middle show is titled “Freedom, sustainability, identity, and civility through the eyes of a thoughtful high school student.” Host Dan Richardson and Roaring Fork High School Junior Gus Richardson (no relation) will challenge each other on these topics, and perhaps what it takes to achieve and sustain these lofty ideals.

This month's Meet in the Middle show is titled ‘What Does It Mean to “Reach Across the Aisle”?’ Dan and his guest Russ Andrews, 3rd Congressional District candidate, engineer, financial advisor, veteran, and community volunteer, will discuss some thorny topics, the challenges of balancing strong opinions with finding common agreement, and what it means to compromise in today’s world.

The theme of this episode of Meet in the Middle is ‘Guns in America: Armed or Dangerous?’ Dan and his guest Jennifer Carlson, professor, MacArthur fellow and author of 3 books on the topic, will discuss the stories and the data behind America’s dogged debate on gun rights and its growing culture of gun violence. Listen in and decide for yourself whether the benefits outweigh the dangers of not infringing on our right to keep and bear arms.

Has the Supreme Court lost its way, or is it right on course? This month on Meet in the Middle, host Dan Richardson speaks with Bill McSwain, former Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney from 2018-2021, Republican gubernatorial candidate in the 2022 primaries in Pennsylvania, and current practicing attorney. They discuss how the Supreme Court works, and dig into what McSwain believes is working well, what's not, and why.

Human Consciousness: A Means or an End? Meet In the Middle host Dan Richardson speaks with Nicholas Vesey, Minister at the Aspen Chapel.

This month's topic of Meet in the Middle is "The Criminal Justice System: Where Law Enforcement and Mental Health Collide." Guests include Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario and Tim McFlynn, a retired social justice attorney and community builder. The discussion will dig into topics like ‘Red Flag laws’ and the new 9-8-8 mental health, substance use or emotional crisis hotline, and how law enforcement and the criminal justice system is addressing the growing mental health crisis.

Equality v. Equity: What's the Big Deal?What's the difference between the meaning of these two words and why does it matter? This episode of Meet in the Middle digs into what it means to provide equitable access to all, and what that looks like, if we want to achieve equality within a community. Guests are Jill Pidcock and Rob Stein.

On this show guests discuss Ukraine, Russia, China, and the U.S.’s role in global affairs. Guests are Alexandra Shaforost - born and raised in Ukraine, a first-generation immigrant to the U.S., and now a professional who has lived in 7 countries; and Marty Manosevitz, a retired professor of psychology, retired clinical psychologist, and an informed citizen and critical thinker.

On this episode of Meet in the Middle, Dan Richardson and guests discuss freedom of speech. This episode’s guests include Bryan Whiting, a teacher of 40 years at Glenwood Springs and Brush Creek High Schools. He taught marketing, economics, and entrepreneurship and has been awarded teacher of the year, man of the year and other accolades. Dan also welcomes Breeze Richardson to the studio. Breeze is the Executive Director at Aspen Public Radio. She has worked in marketing, communications and was a producer at WBEZ Chicago.

On this episode of Meet in the Middle, host Dan Richardson and guests chat about workforce affordable housing. The guests include Heather Henry, a former town trustee and co-chair of the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition and Chris Hassig, an artist, community leader and Town Trustee for Carbondale.

On this episode of Meet in the Middle, host Dan Richardson chats with a couple of Gen Z’ers who grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley. Genesis Ramos is a 2021 graduate of Roaring Fork High School, a first-generation college student at Colorado Mountain College, and a Family Navigator at Valley Settlement. Lily Nieslanik is also a 2021 graduate of Roaring Fork High School, a 4th generation Carbondale native, and a track and field athlete at Colorado Mesa University.

On this episode of Meet in the Middle, host Dan Richardson chats with George Bohmfalk, former neurosurgeon and current advocate for Medicare for all and Chase McWhorter, Managing Director, Americas and Infrastructure of Institutional Real Estate, Inc about the US health care system.