Whether you feel pleased or distraught by recent political campaigns, the election has brought us all to uncharted waters. Politics invites fighting, but listening can tune us into the ripples and waves that brought us to now. Humble listening across contested waters can enable figuring out how differences form and how they can be put to use. Listening across differences provides a cultural prelude to a healthier future politics. While serving as a Professor of History and American Studies at Stetson University, Dr. Paul Croce taught about deep values differences. His first book sets William James in contexts of modern declining certainties, and Young James Thinking presents him developing capacities to learn across differences. He has worked across disciplines and audiences to disseminate his inquiries and to increase his own understanding, including with presentation of the 2020 History of Psychology Russell Lecture at the APA on Learning from Disagreements and recently on James and political change for the American Journal of Theology and Philosophy. Now retired from over three decades of teaching in the academic classroom, he has been lighting out for the territory where academia and public concerns meet. His work in The Public Classroom brings together the depth of scholarship with the breadth of teaching to enrich public discussion by encouraging listening across differences. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx