I had the honor and opportunity to be a guest on another local podcast, UpZones, curated and hosted by Ian Martinez. It really is true that one on one conversation can often be far more productive than bashing things out with a crowd in comments sections online. More than once I’ve been told that in person and one on one, what I am saying makes a lot more sense. It’s just the nature of communication. It’s also the way I write, perhaps with a much sharper edge than when I speak. Martinez points this out in his intro, but it is something that I think about often. We’re not getting anywhere — and I mean the whole conversation — with just pixels and print. Data is crucial to policy development and so is arguing about issues, intensely; but so are the more nuanced aspects of solving problems. UpZones is doing a great job of creating discussion and dialogue to get to that nuance.