How to Turn a Toxic Conflict Into a Good One
A new book explains why we get stuck in intractable conflicts and how to get out of them
We’ve all been there: Locked in a heated argument, blood pressure rising, fixated on our next point rather than actually listening to what the other person has to say. Even after it ends, it doesn’t really end—we keep ruminating on it for hours, days, weeks.
This is what journalist Amanda Ripley refers to as “high conflict”—and these days, we can slip into it when we’re simply scanning our social media feed or glancing at the news. It often feels like our entire country is stuck there.