Can Hollywood help heal America's divides?

The United States is marking its 250th anniversary at a moment of deep division over politics, rights, power and who belongs in the nation’s story . Steven Olikara, founder and CEO of Bridge Entertainment Labs, says movies and television can do something politics often can’t: move people beyond caricature and contempt. He joins The Excerpt to discuss whether Hollywood can help Americans build more curiosity, complexity and connection across their differences. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com . Episode transcript available here . See Privacy Policy at and California Privacy Notice at .

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Can Hollywood help heal America's divides? is an episode from 5 Things by USA TODAY The Excerpt.

This episode is 00:16:23 long.

This episode was published on Jun 3, 2026.

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