America's Why Project
To solve America’s toughest challenges, we need to begin by listening to each other’s stories. The America’s Why Project (AWP) creates a space for conversations that invite Americans from all walks of life—and friends of America around the world—to explore their perspectives on America’s past, present, and future. By opening our ears and opening our hearts, we can start to rebuild mutual trust and rediscover our shared purpose. One story, one conversation, one open mic at a time.
America's Why Project
Latest Episodes
Episode 13: Hard Jobs – Listening on the Front Lines of Healthcare
Some of the most important listening happens in the most emotionally demanding spaces. This episode launches a new subseries within our “How to Listen” chapter: Hard Jobs, conversations with people working in some of society’s most demanding ro...
Episode 12: Part 2 — How Deep Listening Builds Trust
What actually changes when people stop talking at each other and start truly listening? In Part 2 of this two-part series, host Matt Levinger continues his conversation with Merissa Khurma, Founder and President of the AMENA Foundation and a st...
Episode 11: Part 1 — The Power of Listening in Divided Worlds: Narrative, Trust, and Conflict
In a world where everyone is talking, why does it feel like no one is truly being heard? In Part 1 of this two-part series, host Matt Levinger sits down with Merissa Khurma, Founder and President of the AMENA Foundation and a strategic communic...
Episode 10: Chapter 2 — How to Listen
In this opening episode of Chapter 2, host Matt Levinger brings together the team behind the project to reflect on their journey so far and where they believe they should go next. Through personal stories from multiple continents, cultures, and...
Episode 9: Talking About Migration, Part 2: The Coming Wave
In Part 2 of our deep-dive on migration, writer Sohrab Ahmari continues to explore the future of global mobility and what it means for democracy, culture, and the American common good. As climate shocks, conflict, and economic pressures displac...