Unlocking Us with Brené Brown · Vox Media Podcast Network

VP Kamala Harris on Courageous Leadership and Winning in 2024

October 28, 2024·1 hr 2 min·4 clips

Harris tells Brown that if you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for, and Democrats are tough as nails.

Brown begins by naming the series itself. She places Harris at the close of a run that has already touched revolutionary love, multicultural democracy, The Unseen Truth, Black gun ownership, menopause, grief, love, and unexpected joy. Her own grief is part of the conversation, not scenery. Brown says her mother died on Christmas Day last year, then connects that loss to caregiving, family strain, love, and what her sisters learned together. That intimacy shifts the civic frame. Harris enters a conversation where courage is political, yes, but also tied to community, responsibility, and the oath Brown says citizens carry in a democracy. The strongest stretch centers on leadership style. Brown hears Harris moving toward coalition and collaboration, then asks if that read is fair. Harris answers plainly. Her case is warm and direct: most people share more than they realize. Then come the Venn diagrams. What might have gone abstract turns funny and human, with Gen Z memes, pencils, and a goddaughter navigating college groups. Brown runs with it. The exchange makes collaboration feel less like a slogan and more like a table tool for finding common ground. Harris keeps coming back to that table. She talks about bringing different people together, breaking down silos, and seeing people leave taller because they felt valued. Brown lets the point breathe. The close turns from interview to call to action, asking listeners to treat voting as part of the oath citizens carry in a democracy. It is warm, but it has a spine. The episode asks for brave participation without pretending grief, conflict, or democratic responsibility are neat.

As heard by us

Harris on the Venn diagram she drew for her goddaughter and what it says about coalition leadership.

The final conversation in Brene Brown's eight-part On My Heart and Mind series is about leadership -- the coalition kind, not the loyalty kind. Brown sits with Vice President Kamala Harris, and the hour moves at the show's usual pace.

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Why you'd press play

You want to hear a Vice President explain coalition leadership through a Venn diagram she still has.

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