You can expect an audio blog every Thursday, monthly ERI updates, and occasional live speech/Q&A audios. Pretty soon we’ll also start featuring regular 3-5 minute snippets from the Equipped for Life Course Podcast as well.
We bring you the extended interview of Emily Albrecht (our newest team member!) from the recent ERI Pajama Gala. Emily explains how she got involved in the pro-life movement, and how her campus club used their training from the Equipped for Life Course to transform the culture at St. Olaf, from one where they hated pro-lifers to one where pro-lifers are respected.
Jordan Warfel is our guest today because he discovered a conspiracy theory that NARAL promoted in a recent virtual conference. The theory is based on a book by Ilyse Hogue that argues the pro-life movement doesn’t actually care about babies, but is a front for evangelicals to bring back racial segregation. The discussion includes the horrible dialogue advice NARAL is giving, how both sides often communicate about opinion polls simplistically, and NARAL’s strategy to infiltrate the Black Lives Matter movement. You’re not going to want to miss this one.
It’s our first podcast with Emily Albrecht, the co-president of St. Olaf Students for Life and our next speaker/writer/coach! Josh and Emily discuss the recent HBO film “Unpregnant” because there are themes taught in this movie that may influence some of your conversations with pro-choice people who have seen it.
***SPOILER ALERT***
If you would like to watch the film before listening to our commentary, we invite you to do that. We will discuss the entire plot in this episode.
Josh Brahm interviews Ali Rak, an incredibly effective community organizer and activist in Maryland, to explain the nuts and bolts of how she gets people involved in contacting their political representatives in order to accomplish pro-life goals.
00:00 Introducing Ali and the topic;
13:14 Why apologetics training is important for lobbyists;
15:20 What Ali does as a lobbyist and community organizer;
38:44 Do email templates for people to send to their representatives work?
47:00 Tips for in-person meetings with legislators;
55:04 Is it possible for pro-life lobbyists to come across as too emotional when making their case?
59:23 Do you send email alerts with only one call-to-action or multiple?
1:04:08 What are the most common mistakes that lobbyists and community organizers make?
1:06:47 How do you keep people motivated?
1:10:48 How local pro-life people can work well together.
Josh interviews Family Therapist Julie Dodson to discuss the “Showing Understanding Skill” technique she’s been trained in. Pro-life advocates can use this skill to grow in their empathy and navigate conversations better, especially the ones that turn to particularly emotional aspects of the abortion debate.
The four steps are:
1: Listen in a way that shows strong interest.
2: Become the other person.
3: Name thoughts, feelings, concerns/meanings, and desires.
4: Accept and make corrections graciously.