← TED Talks Daily
I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper artwork

I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper

TED Talks Daily
15:23
Play episode

Show notes

What’s it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing ... everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside America’s most controversial church and describes how conversations on Twitter were key to her decision to leave it. In this extraordinary talk, she shares her personal experience of extreme polarization, along with some sharp ways we can learn to successfully engage across ideological lines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from this show

More
  1. Is your body language working against you? | Cara Hale Alter

    What does confidence look like? Public speaking expert Cara Hale Alter studies how to project confidence and credibility — and she's pinpointed two key behaviors that shape how oth…

    18:42
  2. How to stop homelessness before it starts | Jen Loving

    Homelessness can feel like an issue that’s too big and complicated to fix, something we've learned to walk past. Jen Loving, who leads the nonprofit Destination: Home, has spent he…

    11:50
  3. AI brain fry is real. Here’s what leaders can do | Julie Bedard

    Workers everywhere are quietly redesigning their jobs around AI, boosting productivity but also creating new kinds of problems. AI advisor Julie Bedard thinks she has a fix. She sh…

    11:25
  4. Why it's so hard to listen when you disagree | Emily Kasriel

    Do you avoid talking to people you disagree with? Author and mediator Emily Kasriel thinks you should try it out. She explains why engaging with ideas that bother you is one of the…

    13:32
  5. How to make parenting less lonely | Stacey McLachlan

    When parents first have kids, some risk entering “the loneliest decade,” where they fall out of touch with friends. Writer Stacey McLachlan decided to do something different when s…

    20:26
  6. Sunday Pick: Can AI really teach your kids? with Leah Belsky | from WorkLife with Molly Graham

    Technology has been promising to revolutionize education for a long time. Online learning, smartphones, and even asynchronous classes during COVID seemed for a while like they migh…

    51:09
Now Playing
I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left | Megan Phelps-Roper — TED Talks Daily | Podcast | Josplay Music