#1259 Sarah Stein Lubrano: Why Political Debate Does Not Work
RECORDED ON MAY 18th 2026.
Dr. Sarah Stein Lubrano is a writer, content strategist, and researcher. Her writing focuses on social and political life and its relationship to psychology. She is also Head of Research for The Future Narratives Lab, where their work focuses on narratives about social and political change. She is the author of Don’t Talk About Politics: How to Change 21st-Century Minds.
In this episode, we talk about Don’t Talk About Politics. We discuss why political debates do not change people’s minds, and why the “marketplace of ideas” does not work. We talk about how people really change their political ideas, with a focus on their material conditions, their social relationships, and their actions. We talk about political polarization, and what has driven the rise in social atrophy over the past 15 years. We discuss the role of social media, and solutions to how we interact with other people for us to be able to reason better about politics. Finally, we talk about whether we can replace the liberal ideal of the “marketplace of ideas”.
Time Links:
Intro
The current state of politics and political discourse
Why political debates do not change people’s minds
The “marketplace of ideas” does not work
How do people change their political ideas?
Social atrophy and political fracture
Solutions to how we interact with other people for us to be able to reason better about politics
The role of social media
Replacing the liberal ideal
Follow Dr. Lubrano’s work!
Follow Dr. Lubrano’s work:
Website: https://www.sarahsteinlubrano.com/
Don’t Talk About Politics: https://tinyurl.com/yezb959u
X handle: @SSteinLubrano