Glen and April talk, in this first part of our conversation, with Janie Ginocchio and Scott Perkins, co-founders of Tracking Arkansas, a nonpartisan accountability journalism outlet they launched in 2025. What began as a public resource for tracking legislative bills has grown into a publication that combines policy analysis with investigative reporting. Janie and Scott walk us through that evolution, describe their framework for deciding which stories warrant deeper investigation, and introduce their ongoing series "The Arkansas Machine," which examines how political relationships, lobbying, and money influence public policy in Arkansas — across both parties. They also take us inside a specific case involving campaign finance reports and connections between the Attorney General's office and members of the legislature, explaining how that reporting led them to file formal ethics complaints and what they learned about the ethics complaint process itself — including its strengths, its limitations, and the gaps in current law that the process revealed. Throughout, they reflect on what it means to do this kind of work in a state with concentrated political power, and why they believe an informed public is essential to a functioning democracy. Tracking Arkansas is available at TrackingArkansas.com, on Substack, and on Facebook.

On The Other Hand podcast episode #167: Premier episode of A Braver Arkansas TV show, July 7 2026:

This audio-only recording of the debut episode of A Braver Arkansas, a new TV program on Arkansas TV created in conjunction with Braver Angels Arkansas, sets the stage for the whole series. Co-hosts Glen White and April Chatham-Carpenter open with candid personal stories about relationships in their own lives strained by political division — what they tried, what worked, and what didn't. From there, they turn to the bigger picture — what Braver Angels actually is and why it started in 2016. They summarize what Braver Angels Arkansas has been doing across the state since its origin in 2018, and they explain what "depolarizing America" means (and explicitly does not mean — not abandoning convictions or finding a mushy middle, but changing how people disagree). Glen and April also discuss why this TV show was created now, and they issue an invitation for people to join in as the series continues. To view the video of our first episode of A Braver Arkansas, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8T4VADH_2I&list=PLeFP4XlwSUnk&index=3.

Our On The Other Hand podcast listeners can expect to hear periodic future recordings from later episodes of A Braver Arkansas, along with continued episodes of our interviews with community leaders, as we continue to explore, in both audio and video format now, how we can reduce political polarization in Arkansas, find common ground with those of differing views, and work toward better communities in Arkansas.

In part two of our conversation with Nate Coulter, Nate describes reopening CALS safely during the pandemic and parlaying that credibility into a tax-adjustment win that funded raises and renovations without a tax increase. He walks through Act 372 — the 2023 law that would have criminalized librarians for "harmful to minors" materials — his conversations with sponsors Dan Sullivan and Rob Steinbuck, and his concern that a "government speech" legal doctrine could let officials purge collections based on political makeup. He distinguishes good-faith concerns about kids' access from bad-faith actors exploiting homophobia & transphobia, and notes the fight has quieted locally but remains live at the state level.

In the third and final part of our conversation with Nate Coulter, Director of CALS, the Central AR Library System, Nate lays out libraries' five-fold values — preserving everyone's stories, education, civic space, filling social-service gaps (three social workers on staff), and defending intellectual freedom. Recent CALS events Nate describes include: Be Mighty Little Rock (50,000+ meals), 500–600 at summer reading kickoff, digital cards for 57,000+ K-12 students. He discusses a bipartisan push on exploitative social media/device use in schools, and his approach to disagreement (find common ground, stay in the conversation). Nate closes on hope for reduced political negativity, consistent-principle leadership, and partnering with groups like the Civic Action Network of Arkansas to engage young people in local government.

In this first part of our interview with John Patton, president of the Strange Birds of Little Rock, & Paul Tull, musician and Strange Birds member, Glen White and co-host John O’Brien talk with John and Paul about the local chapter of Parrot Heads in Paradise, the national fan organization built around Jimmy Buffett's music and community service. Parrot Heads in Paradise has contributed $61 million and 5 million volunteer hours over the last 18 years to charity. The Arkansas chapter was formed in 2004 and has donated $20,000 and 3,000 volunteer hours to local not for profits since 2020. John and Paul trace how the "Parrot Head" name emerged from a 1985 Buffett concert near Cincinnati, when Eagles bassist Timothy Schmit likened the Hawaiian-shirted crowd to Grateful Dead fans, and how the movement grew out of an early Atlanta fan club. Both hosts and guests share personal Buffett stories — including Tull's account of ending up on stage with Buffett and Stephen Stills at a political event in Orlando — and discuss how the club got its name from "Strange Bird," the moniker Buffett used for his jet company, which was serviced in North Little Rock. Patton and Tull describe how the group has kept its momentum since Buffett's 2023 death, and they explain the meaning behind the club's motto, "Party With A Purpose" — a condition Buffett himself set for any group using his name, requiring real community service in return.

In part 2 of our conversation with John Patton, president of the Jimmy Buffett fan club Strange Birds of Little Rock, & Paul Tull, musician and Strange Birds member, John and Paul detail the community service work behind the Strange Birds' motto, including their long-running water station at the Little Rock Marathon, food drives with the Arkansas Foodbank, and recycling volunteer work with Keep Little Rock Beautiful at the Little Rock Zoo. They also describe the group’s support for veterans through the Arkansas Veterans Home and the new Fisher House in Little Rock — where Tull recounts helping fund a red guitar donated through singer-songwriter Thom Shepherd's Red Guitar Campaign. They also discuss the club's longtime support of Alzheimer's Arkansas, a cause tied to Buffett's own father, and how the group rotates its fundraising among several causes each year. Turning to Braver Angels' focus on bridging divides, Patton and Tull describe a club where members "check politics at the door," united instead by shared music, service, and what Tull calls the "sweat equity" of working side by side at events. They close with an invitation: the Strange Birds meet the third Thursday of each month at a local restaurant or bar, with more information available on Facebook and at lrphc.org.

In this episode (originally aired July 21, 2026 as "A Braver Arkansas," a TV partnership between Braver Angels Arkansas and Arkansas TV, Arkansas's public television network), we feature audio only from that program, in which Glen and April talk with Lisa McNeir, a retired psychologist and longtime member of Braver Angels Arkansas leadership, currently serving as the organization's statewide Alliance Co-chair. The conversation opens with Glen and April reflecting on moments that showed them this work actually makes a difference, along with some background on how Braver Angels Arkansas got started in 2017 and how its leadership is deliberately structured to keep Red and Blue voices equally represented. Lisa then joins to share a psychologist's perspective on polarization — what she sees underneath political disagreement that people outside that field tend to miss — her take on common stereotypes people hold about those on the "other side," what she's seen change in the people and groups she's worked with, and what she'd tell someone new to Braver Angels who wants to get better at respectful conversation across political lines. Glen and April close out with their own reactions to the conversation.

A Braver Arkansas premiered Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 6 p.m. on Arkansas TV. A new episode is shown every two weeks, and all episodes are available on demand after they air by going to the Public Affairs section of the Arkansas TV YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@arkansastv. Just look for the show A Braver Arkansas.

Check out Part 1 of our On The Other Hand podcast conversation with Dr. Daniel Fudge, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of the Ozarks, Glen and April talk with Daniel about the winding path that took him from studying English and business at UA Fort Smith to a political science PhD at Ole Miss—including a brief detour toward law school and a formative stint working both sides of the aisle during a 2012 campaign internship in Charlotte. That experience left him determined to teach politics without the "boogeyman" framing, and he explains how that shapes what happens in his classroom. Daniel also shares what he's seeing in student attitudes toward civic engagement right now—some surprising, some predictable—and points to a specific example of local civic energy in Fort Smith worth knowing about.