Offering Up a Positive Vision with Jessica Moyer

Host: Luke Waldo

Co-Pilot / Guest: Jessica Moyer – FrameWorks Institute

Clip Speakers:

• Prudence Beidler Carr - American Bar Association's Center on Children and the Law
• Claudia Rowe – Author of Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care
• Valerie Frost - National Lived Expert
• Rinku Sen - Narrative Initiative
• Dr. Pegah Faed - Safe and Sound
• Pardeep Singh Kaleka - Mental Health America of Wisconsin
• Tshaka Barrows - Haywood Burns Institute
• Tarik Moody - Radio Milwaukee & HYFIN
• Jared Robinson - RALLY
• Kim Dvorchak – National Association of Counsel for Children

00:07–03:15 – Luke Waldo – Setting the Stage: From Harmful Narratives to Action

Luke reflects on the season’s central question: "What stories shape how we see the world, and how can we tell them differently?". He recaps the season's exploration of "monster frames," the "surveillance vs. support" dichotomy, and the "invisible architecture" of narratives that shape systems. He introduces the shift for this finale: moving from diagnosis to action and chart a path forward for narrative change . 

03:15–05:27 – Jessica Moyer – Framing as an Ambitious Endeavor

Jessica Moyer returns to serve as "co-pilot," framing narrative change as a decade-long strategy rather than a quick fix. She emphasizes that the goal is moving toward a space of hope and innovation, even amidst deep social polarization and mistrust of institutions. 

05:27–12:04 – Jessica Moyer – “Humans Winning”: Countering Fatalism through Reframing

Jess explains why stories about "humans winning" are essential.

• Combating Stereotypes: "If we're talking about humans winning from the get-go, we're seeing people as the agents for positive change, and that counters fatalistic thinking".
• The Poverty vs. Revitalization Shift: Jess shares a Frameworks example where focusing on "poverty" triggered toxic racialized mindsets. By shifting the focus to "neighborhood revitalization," they were able to talk about the same challenges while building public will for solutions like investment in third spaces and communal safety.

13:42–18:16 – Jessica Moyer – Framing as Art and Science

Luke asks how storytelling ensures that data isn't lost but delivered effectively. 

• The Interpretation Risk: Jess notes that "evidence always requires interpretation" and "never speaks for itself”.
• Story as North Star: She argues that "as humans, we think in story," and the greatest risk isn't that a story distracts from data, but that "data distracts us from the story".

19:13–21:35 – Jessica Moyer – The Missing Story of Healthy Development

Jess identifies a key dominant mindset: that healthy development is the "natural norm". 

• The Problem: Because it’s seen as automatic, when things go wrong, we look for individuals to blame.
• The Solution: The "missing story" is the immense work, resources, and policy support required to sustain that healthy development, which often remains invisible to the public .

22:17–25:22 – Jessica Moyer – Lessons from Tobacco: From Vice to Defective Product

Jess provides a classic example of successful narrative shift: tobacco.

• By reframing tobacco use from an individual "vice" to the industry selling a "defective product," advocates were able to shift the focus toward policy changes (like smoke-free public spaces) rather than individual stigma.

25:22–31:13 – The Evolution of Worthiness: From Support to Surveillance

Luke and Jess examine how the framing of public assistance has shifted over time, using an example from Prudence Beidler Carr of the ABA Center on Children and the Law.

• The "Badge of Honor": In the early 20th century, receiving public assistance was often framed as a "badge of honor", proof that a parent was "worthy" of community support .
• The Racialized Shift: This narrative later shifted to focus on "unfitness," particularly as schools integrated. Financial struggle was increasingly conflated with parental neglect, moving the system from support toward surveillance.
• Strategic Order and Emphasis: Jess suggests that effective advocacy requires starting with a vision (what we want) rather than the problem (what we want to defeat). She emphasizes providing the same level of visceral specificity for solutions that we typically provide for systemic harms.

31:13–43:20 – Filling the Blanks: Navigating the “System is Rigged” Narrative

Luke explores the "system is rigged" mindset, which FrameWorks Institute research shows is widely held across the political spectrum . 

• The Risk of Misinterpretation: Jess warns that leaving the "rigged" narrative open-ended allows for toxic interpretations. Communicators must be explicit about how the system is rigged (e.g., policies that privilege white, single-family home structures) to ensure the solution targets the root cause.
• Polarization vs. Complexity: Luke addresses the dilemma of the "attention-based economy," where slogans like "defund child welfare" can overshadow the complex reality that while some children require CPS intervention, many families are simply suffering from the "fault" of living in poverty.

45:44–49:12 – Collective Efficacy: Proving That Change is Possible

Jess highlights the importance of "Collective Efficacy", the belief that the public can actually change systems. 

• The Sugar Tax Success: She shares an example of a community where members organized to ensure sugar tax revenues were redirected toward making healthy food more affordable .
• The Eviction "Pray-In": Jess describes a community "pray-in" that successfully stopped an eviction by a wealthy developer. The action didn't just save one family's home; it sparked a wider conversation about tenants' rights and systemic exploitation.

51:38–1:05:29 – Productive vs. Toxic Mindsets

Jess and Luke discuss how to diagnose the cultural "mindsets" at play.

• Tapping Into Fear: Jess contrasts positive social change with narratives that tap into fear (e.g., pandemic-era stories of "invisible" child abuse). She notes that fear-based narratives often lead to increased surveillance rather than the long-term engagement needed for system transformation.
• Tilling for New Growth: Luke references the Casey Family Programs network and the collaborative work of communications professionals like Jared Robinson from Rally to push back against harmful stereotypes and "fill in the blanks" with stories of human resilience .

1:05:29 – Luke Waldo – Closing Thoughts: Tilling the Soil for Well-being

Luke synthesizes the shift from a "protective, suspicion-based narrative" of child abuse to a "proactive, constructive narrative" of family well-being. He concludes the season with the metaphor of "tilling the soil", creating the conditions for new ways of thinking and collective action to grow . 

Closing Credits

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