Tag: Beliefs

Dr. Francis Collins joins Wilk on the DTH Podcast once again to discuss their web of beliefs

What Makes Up Your Web of Beliefs? …DTH Episode 138 with Dr. Francis Collins

December 7, 2022 wilkwilkinson Uncategorized 0 Comments

What makes up your web of beliefs?

Those who have followed the DTH podcast for long know about my work with the organization Braver Angels. One vitally important part of that work is a project that I have been working on with Dr. Francis Collins. (Learn more about the “Truth & Trust Project” by  listening to DTH Episodes 119 and 120). While Francis and I disagree on many aspects of the government’s response to the pandemic, ultimately we have developed a genuine friendship. As part of our work together, Francis suggested and exercise by asking me, “What makes up your web of beliefs?”
What is this “Web of Beliefs?”

With Dr. Francis Collins being the former director of the National Institutes of Health, one of the most notable scientists in American history, and the acting Science Advisor to the President of the United States, you might ask, “what could he possibly have in common with a blue collar podcaster from the Midwest”? Combine that with the notion that I have been an outspoken critic of the government’s response to the pandemic, and Dr. Collins played a significant role in that response.

By today’s standards, we should hate each other, or at least do a lot of yelling and name calling but we took a different path. It’s all about communication and seeing the humanity and values in who you’re speaking with. Don’t miss this incredible conversation where Francis and I discuss how this exercise, “The Web of Beliefs” showed us that we ultimately have more in common than what separates us. While some of our beliefs are very different, ultimately the values for which we stand are very much in line. This is what civility despite differences looks like.

Wilk and Dr. Francis Collins continue their discussion on Truth and Trust that was lost during the Covid-19 pandemic

The Truth and Trust Project… Part 2 with Dr. Francis Collins

August 3, 2022 wilkwilkinson Uncategorized 0 Comments

Do you trust that our public health officials are telling you the truth? This question, for me, lead to the Truth and Trust Project. I for one find myself very skeptical these days. As many who’ve listened to the DTH podcast for long know, I’ve been highly critical of the government’s response to the pandemic from the very beginning. How does someone like me have a conversation with someone who had direct influence on the government’s response to the pandemic? Not so long ago, I would say that the conversation would never happen, because my attitude would not have allowed it.

The Truth and Trust Project may be one of the most important endeavors of my life. Several times over the past several months, I asked the question, “if you could ask Dr. Francis Collins or Dr. Tony Fauci a question, what would that question be?”. For that question, I received nothing but negative responses. The most common response was some variation of, “I wouldn’t waste my time, they wouldn’t listen anyway”… I asked the question because I am currently involved in a Braver Angels initiative called the “Truth and Trust Project” with Dr. Francis Collins and myself as partners.

The only way we can expect as a country to rebuild Truth and Trust is to have conversations with those whom we disagree. The only way to get results from those conversations is to actually LISTEN to those with whom we disagree and look for the humility and humanity in their position. In this episode, Part 2 of 2, Francis and I continue our discussion on the loss of Truth and Trust during the age of the Covid-19 pandemic.