The Equal Rights Institute Podcast

Jacob Nels joins host Marylee Shrider on Voices for Life, a production of Right to Life of Kern County, to discuss his sidewalk counseling ministry and the resources that Equal Rights Institute provides to increase your effectiveness outside of abortion facilities. In this episode, Jacob provides insight into fostering dialogues with abortion-minded women, including conversation starters, body language, clothing, signage, and graphic images. 0:30 — Recap of part 1 2:33 — Understanding what abortion-minded women are going through 6:53 — Conversation starters on the sidewalk 9:45 — Focusing on helping and loving the woman 10:49 — Body language and what to wear 13:18 — Keeping a calm presence 13:50 — All ages can be effective on the sidewalk 14:55 — Continuing the conversation throughout their time at the clinic 16:25 — Effective use of signs 18:42 — Graphic images 23:32 — Talking to pastors about sidewalk counseling 25:40 — Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass information 27:48 — Conclusion Right to Life Kern Countyhttp://rtlkc.org/

Jacob Nels joins host Marylee Shrider on Voices for Life, a production of Right to Life of Kern County, to discuss his sidewalk counseling ministry and the resources that Equal Rights Institute provides to increase your effectiveness outside of abortion facilities. In this episode, Jacob provides tips and tools for engaging with alternative protestors as well as conversation starters for talking to abortion-minded women. 2:38 — Introduction to Jacob Nels, Speaker/Sidewalk Counseling Trainer at Equal Rights Institute 3:30 — Introduction to ERI and Jacob's story beginning sidewalk counseling ministry 6:40 — Dealing with alternative pro-life presences on the sidewalk 11:30 — Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass information 12:25 — Dealing with alternative pro-life presences on the sidewalk, cont.  24:13 — Understanding and reaching out to abortion-minded women in conversation starters 26:03 — Conclusion Right to Life Kern Countyhttp://rtlkc.org/

Josh sits outside the ERI office to share our May 2021 update on what has been going on behind the scenes at ERI, including a recent speaking trip featuring two new seminars and an expansion to the Equipped for Life Course. Related Links: Josh's relational apologetics speech at Life Fellowship Church: https://youtu.be/ndO3nByqVrM Integrity, Hypocrisy, and Witness: Learning from the Failures of Ravi Zacharias: https://youtu.be/siCmqKtoR0o Pastors, You Can Reduce Abortions in Your Church | Pro-Life Theology in Practice: https://youtu.be/szw8ASoUZGw Article: One Thing Every Pastor Can Do to Prevent Abortions in Their Congregation: http://bit.ly/2ICXWbo Josh's speech at a seminar on the pastor pledge: http://bit.ly/2NIrABS Steve Wagner: It’s Her Body http://bit.ly/2DfsYJ4 Equipped for Life Course: https://EquippedCourse.com Support Equal Rights Institute: https://equalrightsinstitute.com/donate/ Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:59 Speaking trip in Oregon 07:25 Ongoing video production & SEO work 17:33 Bragging on our other staff 21:19 Updating our bodily rights training 24:46 Equipped for Life Course workbook 2.0 28:17 Wrap up and thank you to donors –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– First Track: Odessa — LiQWYD & Scandinavianz [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: https://youtu.be/jNy-Dp3lgcg Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/odessa –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Equal Rights Institute Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com Equal Rights Institute Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com Audio/Video Editor: Josh Brahm Publisher: Jen Westmoreland

After hiking Crabtree Falls Josh shares what has been going on behind the scenes at ERI, including finding Rachel's replacement and his three big goals for the rest of 2020. Josh recorded this in the field with just his camera mic so the audio isn't the best. Also, the camera ran out of space 20 seconds before he finished so the audio noticeably switches to his backup phone recording at that point. Sorry about that! 0:00: Intro; 0:50: Footage and Pictures from Crabtree Falls; 1:36: Rachel's resignation; 2:22: Rachel's replacement, Emily Albrecht; 5:14: Goal #1; 6:51: Goal #2; 8:25: Goal #3; 16:24: Exactly what we would do with your increased giving right now. To watch the YouTube version, click here: https://youtu.be/wSRfkG02Kio Related links: How One Student Group Radically Changed Their Campus Culture Abortion as "Self-Defense" Example Dialogue Podcasts: Pro-Life Tim and Pro-Choice Rachel Pro-Life Josh and Pro-Choice Tim Pro-Life Rachel and Pro-Choice Tim –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Track: Odessa — LiQWYD & Scandinavianz [Audio Library Release] Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: https://youtu.be/jNy-Dp3lgcg Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/odessa –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Sound effects from Zapsplat.com

In February 2020 Josh Brahm was invited to speak at multiple pro-life events in Ireland. This is from a Q&A session after one of those events. Questions: 0:00: How would you respond to someone who counters your argument about freedom of conscience for physicians by saying that doctors are in an occupation where they can’t opt out for personal reasons, just like ambulance drivers can’t decide not to help someone with a swastika tattoo? 3:04: What about doctors being obligated to refer women to abortion practitioners? 6:05: How should we respond to people who wonder how we would manage a pregnant woman who is suicidal over her pregnancy? 9:14: How do you respond to people who say that you should be able to kill people if they’re using your body? 17:36: What is a good approach to pro-life protesting, especially given that our abortions happen in hospitals? 29:22: Do you think displays of white crosses are a good idea? 31:46: How does the dynamic change if you’re debating in front of an audience or in a TV studio? 36:44: Dealing with relativists who happily contradict themselves, even saying 1+1 can equal 3, and people who admit the unborn is a human but say that human rights should begin later. Related Links: Jordan Peterson / Cathy Newman debate William Lane Craig vs. Christopher Hitchens debate Survey of biologists Josh referenced

In February 2020 Josh Brahm was invited to speak at multiple pro-life events in Ireland. This is the edited audio from a speech he gave made particularly for their pro-life movement based on what is going on right now in their country, but includes helpful advice for movements in other countries as well. Related Links: Equipped for Life Course Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass Purchase ERI outreach brochures ERI Update Video January 2020 (with more explanation of what Josh was doing in Ireland)

Josh Brahm took a walk along the cliffs of Ireland to share with you what the ERI staff are up to lately. We've intercut the footage with a lot of beautiful pictures and videos Josh took around Ireland, so if you want to watch instead of just listen, here's the link: https://youtu.be/yeyxlhFrJUU Here's the video Josh mentioned of people from around the world sharing how ERI has helped them: https://youtu.be/Q8JUkI88dYg Links to both of ERI's podcast feeds: https://equalrightsinstitute.com/podcasts/ ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com  ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com  Equipped for Life Course: https://EquippedCourse.com  Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com 

Josh Brahm recently sat in our new studio to give you an update on what's been going on behind the scenes at Equal Rights Institute. There are a lot of visuals in this video, so it's best watched instead of listened to on the podcast, but both are available. Topics: 01:14 - New studio; 03:55 - Tim's resignation; 05:01 - New Director of Training and behind the scenes of the new Equipped for Life extension; 07:25 - Launch of the Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass; 11:29 - Encouraging testimonies from the Protect Life Michigan conference; 13:49 - Relaunching the Equipped for Life Podcast into a free, public feed; 18:42 - Our plans to make a bigger impact at the next March for Life. Testimonials from the Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: "I would absolutely recommend this course to anyone wanting to get involved in sidewalk counseling. Before watching the course, sidewalk counseling seemed like an intimidating thing that should be left to others more knowledgeable and gifted. After watching this course, I feel very confident that I could get out there and do it." - Jessica "This course has real-life lessons from seasoned sidewalk counselors. I appreciated so much that they not only make suggestions of what to do, but also shared their own mistakes and what they have learned. It's paced such that you don't need any experience in sidewalk counseling to follow it. The training is incredibly practical---- seriously, this course will be some of the best money you ever spend!" - Laura "I found myself making exclamations out loud! I was totally drawn to the reasonings and stories. I felt I could finally put a finger on things that were wrong with my previous experience. I felt inspired to just go back out there (it's been a year). I am sure that if the material was presented in a teaching format, I could not have processed everything in a personal way. When one video ended, I wanted to just see what was next on the next video." - Debra

On October 1st, 2019 the city of Jackson, Mississippi passed a buffer-zone law prohibiting free speech near healthcare facilities, which includes the last remaining abortion facility in the state of Mississippi. By looking at the events leading up to this ordinance being passed, pro-life advocates can learn to make better strategic decisions to prevent buffer-zone laws from being passed in their city. Some pro-lifers argue that buffer-zones are unconstitutional, but whether or not this ordinance is eventually upheld (like Hill v Colorado was in 2000) or dismissed, it is undeniably a devastating blow to sidewalk counseling in Mississippi as well as throughout the country. Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass (use code "HELP"): http://SidewalkCounselingMasterclass.com For more information: Consent Decree Pro-life Mississippi v Horton 2016: http://bit.ly/2IkFnLS City Council Meeting Sept. 26th, see item 8: http://bit.ly/34ZjN9H Hill v. Colorado Supreme Court decision: http://bit.ly/2V8Y0YB News report from MSN: http://bit.ly/30JuXf2 News report from the Guardian: http://bit.ly/2M5ugYo Clinic escort group Facebook page: http://bit.ly/2Og16IF

Josh Brahm and Rachel Crawford discuss the abortion episode in the third season of "13 Reasons Why," how it misrepresents the pro-life movement, and what pro-life people ought to say when they hear people bring it up. Video version of this discussion is available at our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/EqualRightsInstitute Related Links: ERI Blog: "Sometimes It’s Not about the Argument" http://bit.ly/2ws4nIW Preorder the Sidewalk Counseling Masterclass: http://bit.ly/2P3tL5O

This is the audio from yesterday's Facebook Live event where Josh Brahm talked about what he learned about the controversial Marshae Jones case, where a pregnant woman's baby died as a result of a gunshot in a fight, and yet the mother has been charged. Once you dig into the story, it's more complicated than the headlines imply. Read Josh's article on this case here: https://blog.equalrightsinstitute.com/bringing-clarity-shooting-marshae-jones-story/

Josh Brahm gives an update on what's been going on behind the scenes at the ERI office, regarding recent speaking trips, making the video series analyzing "Reversing Roe," and an update on the sidewalk counseling course. Related Links: Video Series: Reversing Roe - Exposing the Bias: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com/ReversingRoe ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Josh Brahm offers a few practical dialogue tips for pro-life advocates that will help with big family gatherings.   Learn more with these two articles: - 6 Things Every Pro-Life Advocate Needs to Know Before the Holidays: http://bit.ly/2KfqhHz - 7 Tips for Handling a Forced Political Debate at the Holiday Dinner Table: http://bit.ly/2Klw0eC

In November of 2017 the Holy Family Respect Life Committee, in conjunction with Charles County Right to Life, invited Josh Brahm and David Bereit to speak at their annual pro-life conference in Southern Maryland. After the keynote sessions, Josh and David did a panel discussion and Q&A, joined by Michele Hendrickson, Capital Area Regional Director for Students for Life of America and Heather Sells, CEO of the Catherine Foundation, a local Pregnancy Resource Center. The panel discussion was hosted by Ali Rak from the Southern Maryland Pro-Life Symposium. Apologies for occasional audio issues in the panel discussion. They used tabletop panel discussion mics and when Heather would turn her head away from the mic sometimes her mic sort of cuts out. We've made some edits where possible, and you can always get the gist of what she's saying. Questions: 0:01:29 - From your standpoint, what does the pro-life movement need to do to become more effective? 0:16:00 - What should pro-life advocates avoid and what hurts our cause the most? 0:31:00 - What is access to abortion like in Southern Maryland? Where does a woman who is abortion-minded go to terminate a pregnancy? How many of them tend to go to the local Pregnancy Resource Centers? Paint a picture of what it's like to be in crisis in Southern Maryland. 0:35:49 - What does counseling an abortion-minded woman look like in your Pregnancy Resource Center as opposed to sidewalk counseling where you often only have a moment to start that conversation? 0:43:39 - How are college and high school students shaping the pro-life movement? How do we get more youth involved, and why should there be a Students for Life club at every school in the country? 0:51:26 - Josh, as a "connoisseur of good arguments and gracious conversation," how can pro-lifers use Facebook and social media as a force for good? 0:56:06 - How do we build the pro-life community locally, one that is engaged and motivated toward action, rather than just being pro-life? 1:04:53 - Can we learn anything from the effectiveness of the gay marriage movement that we can apply to our movement? 1:09:55 - It seems like there is so much emphasis these days on individual rights, where for some people, even if they personally feel like abortion is wrong, they don't feel like it's their place to speak out against abortion because they don't want to offend someone. How do you get beyond that? 1:13:10 - You said that you don't approach this issue from a religious standpoint, and I'm struggling with the idea of stopping at the concept of equal rights because I think equal rights come from a religious standpoint. I'm assuming you talk to lots of college students who don't believe in equal rights. How do you deal with that without getting into the religious aspect that we're created in God's image and not a product of evolution? 1:19:32 - Josh, you mentioned utilitarianism. Can you explain what that is and how it might come up in abortion conversations? 1:21:33 - I was really struck by a statistic that was shared about one in four women in church having had an abortion. How can we effectively express that graphic imagery and very strongly worded signs almost create a PTSD kind of moment for a lot of women who have made a very difficult decision in their lives, and would like to be involved in the pro-life movement, but can't abide by being in that presence? How do we overcome that obstacle? Related Links: Timothy Brahm for the ERI Blog: Abortion Images: A Case for Disagreement without Division: http://bit.ly/2uJWRcI Live Speech Audio from Timothy Brahm: Using Digital Media to Save Lives: https://youtu.be/dRulvkh9Vuw Josh Brahm for the ERI Blog: Understanding What Richard Dawkins Actually Believes About Abortion and Down Syndrome: http://bit.ly/2y4DZJq Josh Brahm for the ERI Blog: Richard Dawkins Retweeted My Article, and What We Can Learn From That: http://bit.ly/2y496oG Amazon: Blueprint for Revolution: https://amzn.to/2LnIRg4 (Affiliate link) Amazon: After the Ball: https://amzn.to/2utEiKR (Affiliate link) For more on utilitarianism, read Timothy Brahm's recent article, Thanos Would Be Pro-Choice: http://bit.ly/2H8zONi Southern Maryland Pro-Life Symposium: https://www.somdpro-life.com David Bereit: http://DavidBereit.com Students for Life of America: https://studentsforlife.org The Catherine Foundation: http://catherinefoundation.org ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

In November of 2017 the Holy Family Respect Life Committee, in conjunction with Charles County Right to Life, invited Josh Brahm and David Bereit to speak at their annual pro-life conference in Southern Maryland. In this keynote David shares the story of how he got involved in the pro-life movement in spite of being an unlikely activist and encourages the audience to become more active in the pro-life movement, including practical advice on how to find your pro-life lane and get plugged in. Related Link: DavidBereit.com

In November of 2017 the Holy Family Respect Life Committee, in conjunction with Charles County Right to Life, invited Josh Brahm and David Bereit to speak at their annual pro-life conference in Southern Maryland. In this keynote Josh shares seven practical dialogue tips (including two that he's never taught before!) as well as explaining how to use the Equal Rights Argument to change minds about abortion. Related Links: Southern Maryland Pro-Life Symposium: https://www.somdpro-life.com ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Josh Brahm recently sat in the conference room in our new office to give you an update on what's been going on behind the scenes at Equal Rights Institute: 01:41 - Sidewalk Counseling Course production update; 02:58 - Why following us on Facebook and Twitter will help us publish books; 07:18 - Introduction to my project to help pastors prevent abortions in their churches. Related Links: Photo Album: Equal Rights Institute Turns Four Information about Josh's upcoming speaking events in Ohio and Berkeley Click here to like us on Facebook Click here to follow us on Twitter Article: One Thing Every Pastor Can Do to Prevent Abortions in Their Congregation Pastor Pledge Landing Page Click here to donate to Equal Rights Institute Contact Us form Click here to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.

Timothy Brahm explains how now more than ever, pro-choice advocates are turning to the back alley abortion argument. Watch this video to learn how to respond graciously and persuasively. Related Links: Audio Blog: Bodily Rights Arguments Necessitate Extremism Blog Article: Bodily Rights Arguments Necessitate Extremism Click here to follow Timothy on Twitter. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Josh Brahm gives a mini ERI update because we're making some changes that will impact this podcast schedule. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com  ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

When the first Women’s March happened in 2017, Rachel was a senior in College. She was taking women’s studies classes, so she was surrounded by people who were promoting, organizing, and going to the Women’s March. She felt immersed in that culture, and it was a really interesting experience for her. This post, inspired by that experience, takes that Women’s March and pro-choice activism and looks at what pro-life advocates can learn from what they did right and discusses what we should do differently. Related Links: Read the Washington Post article about the Women's March removing New Wave Feminists from the list of official sponsors: http://bit.ly/2rTIsdA See the list of Women's March partners and sponsors: http://bit.ly/2kbfQsg Josh Brahm: Fetus Tunnel Vision: 4 Reasons Pro-Lifers Need to Stop Doing This:http://bit.ly/2Fgx00M Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2Gmwn6A ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Rachel interviews Lori Navrodtzke, a Pregnancy Resource Center counselor and Justice For All volunteer, about how to dialogue with people about abortion if they’ve already had one. In this clip, Rachel and Lori discuss how we should proceed in the conversation if we ask someone if they have had a personal abortion experience and they say “no.” They also give some examples of how to let people know about post-abortive healing, even if they don’t feel like they need it at this time. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

At the 2018 Students for Life of America Conference, Timothy Brahm gave a never-before-heard speech on social media dialogue. After the presentation, Tim answered some questions from the audience along with Josh Tijerina from Halcyon, another social media presenter at the conference who presented before Tim did. Below are listed some of the different points that he makes in the speech, in case you would like to jump around: Problems with Conversations on Social Media: 2:27: When people are in fight mode, they can’t hear you. It is not just about the arguments. 3:43: Social media conversations are extra challenging because they are public, not private 4:33: Social media breeds hypersensitivity to our own brand management. 6:07: The structure of comment threads work against you. 7:12: The “like” system influences how causal observers perceive your writing through an unfair filter. 8:15: People on social media are almost immune from normal social pressures. 10:07: Recent political hostility has conditioned people to be angry online. 11:03: Social media is structured as an engine for constant outrage. 16 Tips for Social Media Dialogue: 16:08: Move your conversation to private message, Skype, or in person as soon as possible. 17:06: Make minimal persuasion goals. 18:00: Be aware of the lack of nonverbal communication. 18:34: Post things with your pro-choice friends in mind. 19:22: Try hard to assume the best about people. 19:34: Take a step back if you’re feeling defensive. 19:57: Point out every piece of common ground. 20:14: Try to only use neutral language. 20:31: Ask lots of clarification questions, make few statements and arguments. Try to wait to do so until the conversation is one-on-one. 20:48: Choose a friendly looking profile picture. 21:17: Don’t name-drop philosophers or logical fallacies. 21:36: Don’t feed the trolls. 22:08: Use links very sparingly. 22:28: Only cite neutral sources. Do not link to pro-life websites. 22:36: Point out when they teach you something. 23:18: Sow intentional, positive seeds with people who you hope to dialogue with someday. Q and A with Tim Brahm and the other presenter who spoke before him, Josh Tijerina: 25:25: “When is the appropriate time to use snark in dialogues?” 26:39: “In regards to your point about liking pro-choice friend’s comments when you think they are being charitable or gracious in dialogue, do you think that could be misinterpreted or come off as strange to your pro-life friends?” 28:01: “Have you done any studies on the effectiveness of graphic abortion images on social media?” 30:01: “In tip number four, you suggest we post on social media with our pro-choice friends in mind. I am a Christian and this influences my pro-life view, so sometimes I post Christian things or bible verses. What do you think about this?” Related Links: Listen to the ERI team tell stories from the SFLA 2018 Conference: http://bit.ly/2F0hRQy Timothy Brahm: On Virtue Signaling: http://bit.ly/2FuIrSz Timothy Brahm: Don’t Be Too Nice: http://bit.ly/2vPMDX4 Josh Brahm: Don’t Name Logical Fallacies: http://bit.ly/2ikWwed ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel finish the six-part series on how to be an effective pro-life advocate on social media. They give 7 more practical tips on argumentation. In these clips, the team gives 2 tips for how to use sources or research studies in online conversations. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

This is the last in a series of three pieces that Josh wrote on the topic of fetus tunnel vision. The first piece defines fetus tunnel vision and gives four arguments for why pro-life people should not have it. The second responds to some concerns and complaints about the piece. And this third piece addresses more questions. Related Links: Josh Brahm: Fetus Tunnel Vision: 4 Reasons Pro-Lifers Need to Stop Doing This:http://bit.ly/2FieZz1 Josh Brahm: Responding to Concerns Regarding My “Fetus Tunnel Vision” Piece: http://bit.ly/2r6YaBO Watch Josh lead a discussion about a meme that a friend and colleague of his distributed right after the Aurora movie theater massacre: https://youtu.be/SNuuKaRqiio Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2rmJXAQ ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course, Josh, Tim, and Rachel continue a multi-part series on how to be an effective pro-life advocate on social media. They give 9 more practical tips. In this clip, the team discusses the sometimes unseen dynamics at play in a conversation and how this should affect our approach. Especially online, we need to remember that people are watching, whether it is in the public comments or in a private message which may be taken in a screenshot and spread publicly. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Josh walks around a botanical garden in Denmark and shares about what's been going on behind the scenes at ERI lately: 00:00 - What Josh did in Denmark 13:02 - Why Josh had to completely rework the way we do webinars 17:07 - Speaker training for Rachel and her first speaking tour in Oregon and Pennsylvania 19:35 - Where we're at with the big Equipped for Life Course extension and why it's taking so long 22:02 - Why we're building a video studio instead of renting studio time like we did when we first filmed the course two years ago ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com  ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

The previous audio blog, “Fetus Tunnel Vision: 4 Reasons Pro-Lifers Need to Stop Doing This,” was a relatively controversial piece that Josh wrote about 5 years ago. Some people loved it, some hated it, and some had really good questions. Josh ended up writing 2 follow-up pieces responding to the concerns and questions he was seeing as he publicly engaged people on this issue. This is the first. Related Links: Josh Brahm: Fetus Tunnel Vision: 4 Reasons Pro-Lifers Need to Stop Doing This:http://bit.ly/2FieZz1 Purchase The Sex Slave Murders: The True Story of Serial Killers Gerald & Charlene Gallego by R. Barri Flowers: https://amzn.to/2Hxs5gB Timothy Brahm: On Virtue-Signaling: http://bit.ly/2FuIrSz Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2r6YaBO ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel continue a multi-part series on how to be an effective pro-life advocate on social media. They give 12 more practical tips. In this clip, Josh introduces an idea from game theory, Rapoport’s rules. He talks about the value of the third rule: recognize when the other person teaches you something. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Here at ERI we like to help pro-life people not be weird. About 5 years ago, a Students for Life staff person reached out to Josh asking for an example of a weird thing pro-life people do. The first thing that came to his mind was what we call fetus tunnel vision. This was something Josh had been thinking about for years. In the first several years after 9/11, every time the anniversary came around he would see a lot of pro-life people posting on social media comparing the number of people who died on 9/11 to the number of babies aborted every day. This article and the following in the series explain why this is a bad idea. Related Links: Watch an interview of a survivor of sex slavery describing the hell of her experience: http://youtu.be/tdzQMmL_bZE Learn about the term "abortion juke": http://bit.ly/2Hl1P4Y Watch me lead a discussion about a meme that a friend and colleague of mine distributed right after the Aurora movie theater massacre: https://youtu.be/SNuuKaRqiio Listen to Part 2 and a bonus discussion (#155: Is it Wise to Make Comparisons to the Aurora Movie Theater Shooting? - PART 2 and BONUS: Post-Episode Discussion from #154–155): https://apple.co/2qRhylj Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2Fgx00M ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course, Josh, Tim, and Rachel continue a multi-part series on how to be an effective pro-life advocate on social media. In this episode, they begin a series of 35 practical tips in five categories. In this clip, Tim explains why we should be trying to make minimum persuasion goals when we dialogue on Facebook. Josh makes an important point about posting comments with a lot of text. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Many conversations about abortion succeed or fail because of your rapport, or lack thereof, with the pro-choice person. Even a perfectly articulated pro-life argument will just glance off of a combative pro-choice mind, so people who are skilled at dialogue use wisdom to build rapport and make the tone of the conversation friendly. This piece gives a kind of interesting dialogue tip that has made a huge difference in building rapport in Tim's conversations. He didn’t even notice it was significant until Rachel pointed it out. Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2ypoOre ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course, Josh, Tim, and Rachel continue a multi-part series on how to be an effective pro-life advocate on social media. Tim discusses virtue-signaling. What is it? Are there different types? Are some of them actually okay? And when is it a valid or helpful accusation?  In this clip, Tim explains how the philosophy team has organized the way that we think about different kinds of virtue-signaling. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

“My body, my choice” is possibly the most common slogan in defense of abortion right now, and an embarrassing number of pro-life people completely misunderstand it. This misunderstanding is so common, and it is so destructive. For Tim, and the rest of the team at ERI, it is a point of particular frustration. This piece is a response to a particular meme that completely misunderstands bodily rights arguments, and is therefore really harmful to the pro-life cause. Please stop sharing it. Related Links: Timothy Brahm: Autumn in the Sovereign Zone: Why “It’s My Body, I Can Do What I Want” Won’t Do: http://bit.ly/2x3TugP Timothy Brahm: Bodily Rights Arguments Necessitate Extremism: http://bit.ly/2rv5ju8 Josh Brahm: Understanding and Responding to Bodily Rights Arguments: http://bit.ly/2mZugjg Josh Brahm: Two Bad Pro-Life Responses to Bodily Rights Arguments: http://bit.ly/2gBTlv8 Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2gBf9XR ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel begin a multi-part series on how to be an effective pro-life advocate on social media. They begin the series by talking about some of the obstacles that often prevent good dialogue from happening on social media, like image management.  In this clip, Tim introduces the idea of image management in public conversation online. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Right before we released the Equipped for Life Course, we realized that one of the videos seemed to include Virtue-Signaling. Since Virtue-Signaling is a negative thing, it was rather confusing that this particular instance seemed okay. Finally, after about a year and a half, Tim gained some clarity and wrote this post. In this piece, he offers some distinctions between types of Virtue-Signaling with the hope that people will be able to distinguish the objectionable types from the acceptable types. He closes with suggestions about how and when to accuse someone of Virtue-Signaling, all with the desired end of helping dialogue to be more productive between parties that disagree. Related Links: Timothy Brahm: How to Turn the Tables on Four Pro-Choice Arguments: http://bit.ly/2xam2VC Read an explanation of the term "woke": http://bit.ly/2uAk3xs Timothy Brahm: How Your Brain Tricks You into Thinking the Other Side Is Stupid: http://bit.ly/2xCL0RK Timothy Brahm: Snidely Whiplash Is Not on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2GoowsO Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2FuIrSz ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel respond to questions on double-effect reasoning and how they would respond to someone who is pro-life for the wrong reasons. Afterwards, they talk about how to respond to the Freakonomics argument that abortion has resulted in a drop in crime rates, as well as a new technique Josh has been using when talking to utilitarians. In this clip, Tim talks about how pro-life advocates should respond if someone brings up the abortion section from the popular book Freakonomics. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Even before ERI officially began, Josh and Tim cared a lot about helping pro-life people to think well and take pro-choice arguments seriously. They don’t think every single pro-choice argument is a good argument (there are a lot of really bad arguments on both sides), but we won’t be persuasive unless we can recognize and take the stronger pro-choice arguments seriously. In this piece, Josh addresses two bad pro-life responses to some of the stronger pro-choice arguments. Related Links: Josh Brahm: Understanding and Responding to Bodily Rights Arguments (includes Josh's speech): http://bit.ly/2mZugjg The Alan Guttmacher Institute’s 2005 survey of more than 1,200 abortion patients: http://bit.ly/2IQs9VO Timothy Brahm: Autumn in the Sovereign Zone: Why “It’s My Body, I Can Do What I Want” Won’t Do: http://bit.ly/2x3TugP Judith Jarvis Thomson’s violinist story or “people-seeds” analogy: http://bit.ly/2I0D4v0 Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2gBTlv8 ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel respond to a bunch of listener-mail questions related to the thought experiment about a burning in vitro fertilization lab—particularly the concern that it is too easy for pro-choice people to get traction with strawmen tweets when pro-life people have to answer with longer, more thoughtful responses that fewer people will read. In this clip, the team begins to answer a question about how the pro-life movement is supposed to compete in the world of meme-driven, fast-paced internet culture. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Sometimes it is tough to be a pro-life college student. Most challenges students face are found on campus during a tabling event or with the administration, but sometimes they are inside the classroom. Far too often when pro-life students dare to speak up in defense of the unborn, professors attempt to humiliate and silence them. This piece is about two real stories. One of them happened to Rachel, and one of them happened to Ellen, a student we heard from firsthand on Twitter. Related Links: Learn about the Equal Rights Argument: http://bit.ly/2yIII3u Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2tLFeuG ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel talk about their recent outreach at Davidson College, which was a particularly difficult outreach for Tim and Rachel. They discuss what made it difficult as well as share some practical tips for handling discouragement at an outreach. In these clips, Tim discusses why it is important for volunteers to take breaks at outreach. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

This piece is an outreach dialogue story. Despite Josh not being excited to write it, it went viral on lifenews.com. We suspect this had to do with the title, which could give the impression that this is one of those “The brilliant pro-life person destroys the stupid pro-choice person” posts. That’s not an attitude that we want to nourish. We think it’s more intellectually healthy to get outside of your echo chamber and think about the smartest arguments that are coming from the other side. But some people like those kinds of pieces because they feel good. Though Josh didn’t intend to write a bait-and-switch piece, we think he sort of did, and we're glad it got some people who otherwise wouldn’t read our blog to learn a little about what we do when we’re trying to create a good dialogue. Related Links: Learn about Right to Life of Central CA: http://bit.ly/2p12Kjl Learn about Justice for All: http://bit.ly/2oeSnYO Read Dr. Rich Poupard's thought experiment: http://bit.ly/2twIn2N Timothy Brahm: Autumn in the Sovereign Zone: Why “It’s My Body, I Can Do What I Want” Won’t Do: http://bit.ly/2x3TugP Read a definition of an ad hominem fallacy: http://bit.ly/2FuQDC2 Learn about Secular Pro-Life: http://bit.ly/2oW78Rw Josh Brahm: 6 Tips for Arguing with Analogies Clearly: http://bit.ly/2yKzcwU Read a definition of a straw man: http://bit.ly/2FqbtGU Timothy Brahm: Don’t Be Too Nice: http://bit.ly/2vPMDX4 Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2Ft3aWI ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel share how they respond to pro-choice students who ask about life-threatening pregnancies. They also talk through some of the more difficult philosophical issues that sometimes come up when discussing this. In this clip, Rachel shares a sound bite to help you respond to this question, and the team discusses how to begin a response. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Josh wrote this piece a few years ago. Someone had asked him a really tough question in an email, so he decided to address the question in a blog post in case others were interested. He addressed the need to respond to this pro-choice objection relationally. To his surprise, it seemed to touch a nerve. For the past 2 years, this piece has been the #1 most-read piece from a previous year on our blog. It certainly seems to be connecting with people. Related Links: Watch a video where I address how to respond to the issue of rape: http://bit.ly/1i9Uj7X Josh Brahm: Responding to the Question of Rape with Wisdom and Compassion: http://bit.ly/2w2JW5q Learn about 40 Days for Life: https://40daysforlife.com/ Josh Brahm: Top 5 ERI Articles & Podcasts of 2017: http://bit.ly/2EvDw3l Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2n3K18P ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel sit down to answer one of the most frequent questions about the Equal Rights Argument: “How do you respond to someone who says that you need to be ‘human plus something else,’ like sentience, to have equal rights, given that it seems like that combination gets around the problems in the Zoo Shooting thought experiment?” In this clip, the team introduces this question while Rachel and Tim roleplay an example dialogue to demonstrate how this comes up in conversations. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Josh gives an update on the main things that have been going on at ERI in the last month and what we're working on next. Highlights from Josh's Canadian speaking tour; Rachel is in Charlotte, and we hired Andrew Kaake and John Ferrer; Doing a lot of research on A/V equipment for extending the course as well as a new project we're starting this year; Update on course extension we're going to shoot this year; Update on the search for an office. Click here to subscribe to our email list. Click here for info on how to move Gmail messages from promotions to primary tab. Click here for the podcast episode where we discuss highlights from the Students for Life conference. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com  ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

When Rachel was president of Students for Life at the University of Michigan, they tried to do an outreach at least once per month because they felt that once per semester wasn’t quite enough. With that experience and help from the rest of the team, she put together a list of 10 tips that will help student leaders as they prepare for an outreach. Especially if you’re doing this for the first time, you want to prepare for whatever might arise by having a strategic plan and practical supplies. Related Links: Download the volunteer agreement ERI uses: http://bit.ly/2ovKm1y Create a Doodle poll: http://doodle.com/ Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2onpRD6 ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Rachel interview Casey Mattox from Alliance Defending Freedom on how students should deal with free speech violations and respond to common arguments from typical leftists defending free speech violations. In this clip, Casey gives advice to students about what to do if people try to silence your outreach event. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

If you are a part of a dialogue-oriented outreach, you should be paying attention to who should be in a given conversation, and who should not be. This is one of those advanced practical outreach tips that you just learn by doing outreach a lot and by talking with the rest of your team a lot about different kinds of situations. The idea for this piece came to Josh as we were debriefing an outreach our staff did at Davidson College here outside of Charlotte, NC. Related Links: Justice for All: http://bit.ly/2oeSnYO Equal Rights Institute Blog: Relational Apologetics: http://bit.ly/2BOVX0s The lore behind the name of "The Vampire Rule": http://bit.ly/2HowcIn Rachel Crawford: 10 Practical Tips for Leading a Campus Outreach: http://bit.ly/2onpRD6 Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2DyxFdi ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast, Josh, Tim, and Jacob answer listener mail. In this clip, the team responds to a question about the “Rephrase What They Said” lesson in Module 2. How should we respond if they say that they didn’t actually say that, not because we misunderstood, but because they are changing their views during the conversation? ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

This is a follow-up piece to the previous audio blog on logical fallacies and the danger of accusing people of fallacies they did not commit. This piece focuses on how to effectively expose logical fallacies that are committed during a dialogue. Because this piece became one of the most popular posts, Josh began including this practical dialogue tip in a lot of his talks. Related Links: Josh Brahm: You Should Know What a Logical Fallacy Actually Is: http://bit.ly/2go17bp Watch Trent Horn talk about exposing logical fallacies on an episode of Life Report:https://youtu.be/c3zDGEtf6Rw Download the mp3 of the same Life Report episode:http://bit.ly/2EVsZPB Buy Greg Koukl's Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions:http://bit.ly/2nSIjoM Read about Justice for All's "Three Essential Skills": http://bit.ly/2nXPIm5 Read explanation of post hoc ergo propter hoc:http://bit.ly/2EgRSbj Share the original article: http://bit.ly/2ikWwed ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com

Every other Wednesday we publish a new episode of the Equipped for Life Podcast, available to everyone who purchases our course, "Equipped for Life: A Fresh Approach to Conversations about Abortion." Generally, these podcast episodes won’t be available to the general public, but we plan on releasing short clips from the episodes every Thursday, to give you a sense of what these podcasts are like. In this episode of the Equipped for Life Course Podcast. Josh, Tim, and Rachel dissect the confusing video created by actor James Franco as he interviews Princeton professor Elizabeth Harman on her abortion argument. They go on to explain and refute the argument Harman makes in her original paper. In this clip, the team discusses the reaction of the pro-life community after this video was published. ERI Website: https://EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Blog: https://Blog.EqualRightsInstitute.com ERI Course: https://EquippedCourse.com