Christopher Balkaran · Moderator · Interviewer
The question
underneath
the question.
I make room for thoughtful conversations about difficult issues, especially when the room doesn’t immediately agree.
Invite me to moderateMaybe you’ve felt this too.
You hear an important debate and wonder what the conversation is missing.
Sometimes the loudest versions of an argument leave little room for the experiences behind it. The conversation opens when we slow down, ask what we have assumed and make room for people to be heard.
for what has not yet been said.
the frame before choosing a side.
with the issue when it becomes uncomfortable.
Changing the subject doesn’t make the question go away.
Public questions shape public life.
One evening in 2018, I sat at my kitchen table and asked myself what I would build if I had complete freedom.
I wrote down that I would start a podcast.
I didn’t have a studio or even a microphone. I opened GarageBand on my MacBook, wrote a script and recorded myself speaking into the laptop. I was terrified. On November 15, 2018, I published the first episode.
See how I work
Bring me into the room when
the issue matters, the perspectives differ and the conversation needs somewhere to go.
I prepare carefully, listen for what hasn’t been said and ask the follow-up question when there’s more to uncover. I want people to feel the conversation moving, even when the subject is difficult.
Different lives.
Different conclusions.
One honest conversation.
Through Open Minds, I’ve spoken with researchers, public officials, advocates and people whose lives are directly connected to the issues being discussed.
Have a conversation in mind?
Tell me about the room you’re trying to bring together.
Tell me a little about the people you’re bringing together, the question at the centre and what you hope the conversation might make possible.
Prefer email? hello@christopherbalkaran.com