In an Age of Outrage, 'Centered' Podcast Bets Big on Balance
In a media landscape dominated by shouting matches and ideological purity tests, a new podcast is asking a simple, almost radical question: What if Americans tried listening to each other again?
This week, Centered officially launched across major platforms, promising to bring balance, clarity, and—perhaps most refreshingly—candor to conversations that have become mired in division. The podcast is hosted by a trio of unlikely collaborators: political strategist Luis Miranda, foreign policy insider Carl Meacham, and author-media critic Jeremy Murphy. Their shared mission? To carve out a space where spirited disagreement doesn’t devolve into personal attacks and where political conversations leave room for humor, nuance, and even the occasional mea culpa.
“We’re not here to yell—we’re here to think out loud,” Murphy says. Known for his biting media critiques and irreverent humor, the former CBS executive has built a reputation on calling out the absurdities of modern media culture. His books, Too Good to Fact Check and F* Off, Chloe*, skewered the shallowness of clickbait journalism and the performative outrage that dominates cable news. With Centered, he’s taking that critique one step further, aiming to show that there’s still space for thoughtful dialogue—even when people don’t agree.
If Murphy brings the snark, Luis Miranda brings the hard political experience. A veteran of Democratic politics, Miranda has spent two decades inside the machinery of Washington power. He served as a communications aide to President Obama during his first term and later held a senior role at the Department of Homeland Security under President Biden. He knows exactly how political narratives are shaped—and how those same narratives often distort the very issues they’re meant to clarify.
“The outrage machine drives clicks, but it undermines everything else,” Miranda says. “Centered is about calling out the divisiveness of this moment and getting back to real talk about how we move forward. It’s also about connecting with people beyond politics—through the everyday experiences we all share.”
Rounding out the trio is Carl Meacham, a foreign policy expert with a résumé that crosses party lines. Meacham served under Senator Richard Lugar on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and held a political appointment in the Clinton administration. Born in the U.S. but raised under Chile’s Pinochet dictatorship, he brings a global perspective shaped by firsthand experience with the consequences of failed governance.
“Like a lot of people, I’m frustrated with how broken the conversation has become,” Meacham says. “I’ve worked on both sides of the aisle—and across it—because real solutions don’t come from just one party. Centered brings that hard-earned perspective to a country that’s ready for more light and less heat.”
It’s a timely proposition. Recent polls show that more than two-thirds of Americans believe the country is more divided than ever. The rise of social media has created digital silos where people are rarely exposed to opposing viewpoints. Meanwhile, cable news programs increasingly resemble political theater, rewarding confrontation over compromise.
In that environment, Centered feels almost countercultural.
Episodes won’t avoid the hard topics. Expect spirited discussions on everything from America’s role on the global stage to the disruptive power of artificial intelligence and the slow erosion of democratic norms. But listeners can also expect levity and a refusal to take it all too seriously.
“Sometimes you have to just laugh at how ridiculous it’s all become,” Murphy says. “We’re not pretending to have all the answers. We’re asking the same questions our listeners are—and hopefully making it entertaining along the way.”
The format is intentionally unscripted and conversational. While each host brings strong opinions to the table, they also bring a willingness to be challenged. That dynamic—spirited but civil, passionate but respectful—feels increasingly rare in today’s public discourse.
“The idea isn’t to avoid disagreement,” Meacham says. “It’s to model how disagreement doesn’t have to mean division. We can argue our points, we can even walk away unconvinced—but we can do it without shouting each other down.”
If early buzz is any indication, the message is resonating. The show’s debut episode—tackling media bias and the growing mistrust of institutions—garnered thousands of downloads within its first 48 hours. Social media engagement has been brisk, with listeners praising the show’s mix of sharp analysis and accessible conversation.
For Miranda, the podcast is as much about breaking down walls as it is about building bridges. “At the end of the day, most people just want to live their lives and feel like their voices are heard,” he says. “We’ve let the loudest people dominate the conversation for too long. It’s time for the rest of us to speak up—and to listen.”
New episodes of Centered will drop weekly on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other major platforms. Whether the show will succeed in changing the tone of America’s political conversation remains to be seen. But in an era where moderation often feels like a radical act, Centered is betting there’s still a market for common sense—and a little common decency.