April and Glen talk with Jonathan Seaborn, general manager of Little Rock Public Radio & KUAR/KLRE radio stations. In this first part of our chat with Jonathan, we learn about his impressive credentials that brought him to Little Rock, as well as the extensive work he now does for Little Rock Public Radio to ensure that the many regulations and compliance requirements for public media are met. While this accountability is welcome, it reflects the station’s primary purpose of meeting needs of the community that may not always be met by more commercially viable media, where the emphasis tends to lean toward income from popular content or issues. Jonathan gives examples in both central Arkansas and in other states where local needs are met by public media that play critical roles in such areas as how citizens can secure resources and assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters. Jonathan mentions recent and existing concerns about aging infrastructure and technology, needing to relocate to a new space, and other challenges that are currently or have recently been addressed via community donations. Also discussed is the common perception that public radio tends to be a liberal voice, a perception that Jonathan asserts is, in large part, a misunderstanding of the products of National Public Radio vs other non-NPR products that may be part of programming for some NPR-affiliated stations.

In part 2 of April and Glen’s conversation with Dr. Julien Mirivel, Professor of Applied Communication at UA-Little Rock and developer of the positive communication model (www.julienmirivel.com), we explore how to use positive communication practically. One specific example is how to deal with “conflict entrepreneurs” who purposely create or stoke conflict across divisions as a way to gain personally in some way. Julien emphasizes that communication is a choice and a “moral act” -- and gives examples of how he uses this approach in his classroom during difficult discussions. We also hear about his work with Heifer International in studying human transformation that happens as a result of that organization’s work. Julien also describes the individual and community aspects of positive communication, as well as how he thinks loneliness, an increasing problem in our society, may be helped via his ideas. We conclude with his story about an influential and memorable moment he experienced in Nepal.

April and Glen’s guest for this episode is Dr. Julien Mirivel, Professor of Applied Communication at UA-Little Rock, an author, teacher, scholar, researcher and academic leader. Julien is a native of France but has lived most of his adult life in the US. He is now a citizen and lives in Little Rock with his wife and 3 children. In this first part of our conversation with Julien, he explains his model of positive communication and breaks down the several key elements of his model, which he teaches and promotes nationally and internationally via the Positive Communication Network (http://www.positivecommunication.net/) he led in developing. We discuss ways his approach to communication can help overcome the strong attraction of negative or fear-based types of communication, and how it can also help with the problem of political polarization.