The Doe

In pursuit of their mission to promote civil discourse, The Doe focuses on personal stories, which they call narratives.

Founder Milan Kordestani said these narratives matter because they are based on experience, not fact.

"If you live something, and it happened to you, and it informed the way you think and your opinion now, I can't really discount that, you know," Kordestani said.

He said sharing personal experiences is much more effective in sparking civil discourse than more traditional journalistic methods.

"There's an element of human relation," Kordestani said, "where [you] start to resonate with someone and you feel for them."

He said this element does not exist in the fact-dense world of op-eds and articles.

"it's so hard to relate to them," Kordestani said. "And if you can't relate to something, then it's so hard to have a civil conversation about it. Because, if you come from two different worlds and you don't understand, if you can't feel like you're in that person's shoes, it's really hard to want to care."

Reyna Berry