SEASON 1: OIL, GOLD, CRYPTO & FASCISM: HOW WE GOT HERE AND HOW TO FIX IT Dr. Lilliana Mason, an associate professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University is the author of two books that shine a light on why and how America is so divided politically, what it means, and what we might do about it. And her most recent book focuses on why Americans are increasingly willing to justify politically motivated violence. Her work is also instrumental for understanding how disinformation divides Americans into increasingly unruly social cliques. In this interview, we discuss the breadth of her work over the last several years, and what sorts of remedies we might pursue to make things better at both the national and local level. Keywords: political violence, radicalization, partisanship, dehumanization, othering, opinion polling, social sorting, messaging, communications, rights, abortion, Roe vs. Wade, cults, sociology, psychology.