KVPR is one of six public radio stations nationwide chosen to partner this year with the personal history project StoryCorps on its One Small Step initiative. The idea is to bring together strangers with different political views to have personal conversations in an attempt to find common ground, or at least some shared humanity.
In this segment, we hear from Wes, a 47-year-old philosophy professor and Dina, a 60-year-old healthcare professional. Both are based in Fresno. They find common ground when they talk about their experiences of being stereotyped: Wes as an “evil atheist philosophy prof” and Dina as a Black Puerto Rican who “busts stereotypes” and identifies as a conservative.
Their conversation took place on StoryCorps’ virtual platform, so you’ll hear Dina’s dog making a guest appearance in the background.