Wendy McNaughton (2:19)

And after setting up, I mean, I just go into like circus barker mode.

Eugene (2:24)

Oh, oh, 60 seconds.

Wendy McNaughton (2:28)

That positive attitude might be a little bit contagious. I can get people to come and sit down.

Eugene (2:33)

Can I grab you for 60 seconds? I love it.

Wendy McNaughton (2:38)

Have a seat all different sorts of people end up sitting across from each other. Sometimes people are from different places. What's your name?

Anjalika (2:45)

Anjalika.

Eugene (2:45)

And where are you from? Poland. Right on. And what's your name?

Wendy McNaughton (2:48)

Danny.

Eugene (2:49)

Danny, where are you from?

Anjalika (2:50)

Aziz.

Eugene (2:51)

I'm from Kuwait. Here's one example where? Jeffrey. Nice to meet you, Jeffrey.

Wendy McNaughton (2:55)

Hey, my name's Wendy.

Eugene (2:57)

What's your name? Juana. Juana, nice to meet you. She gans there was a.

Wendy McNaughton (3:01)

A young girl, she was probably 11 or 12 years old, and she was drawing with a man who, I'm not sure, maybe he was in his, like 40s or 50s.

Eugene (3:09)

Ready? Two rules. First rule, you're never allowed to lift your pen up off the paper. You are going to draw one continuous line. One continuous line. Rule number two, you can never, ever look down at the paper you're drawing on. Now look up at each other. You're just gonna do it for 60 seconds, all right? Choose where you're gonna start. On your partner's face. Take a deep breath in.

Unknown Participant (3:35)

Can't look down.

Eugene (3:36)

Nope. I'll see you do it and I'll call you out. Breathe out and begin drawing. 3, 2, 1, start.

Wendy McNaughton (3:43)

They drew for 60 seconds and then I asked them how that experience was for them.

Eugene (3:48)

3, 2, 1, stop. And look down at your masterpieces, please. Oh my gosh, they're so great. Oh, they're fantastic. Can you please lift them up and show each other your gorgeous drawings?

Wendy McNaughton (4:04)

And the man said that he was very moved by it because he's a.

Unknown Participant (4:10)

New father, kind of a new father. I have two year old kids at home. Never really had association with younger people before and wanna, like, now that I'm a father, I respect the childhood and going through and kind of like connect with my kids.

Wendy McNaughton (4:31)

So those kinds of connections also across ages can be very meaningful. I live in the San Francisco Bay area where there has been an increasing wealth disparity that has just grown and grown over the past, you know, 15 years or so. And it's really made it so that I think people are afraid to look at one another. I think that when we look at people, we see them as humans and there's a connection and there's a shared responsibility. There's like an interdependence that's implied with that and it's really powerful and I think a lot of positive things come from it. But in really complicated times, when people are feeling scared and when people are feeling helpless, I think to make eye contact with people can feel overwhelming. It can be scary. People might just want to stay with who we know out of a sense of fear. I personally think that's the wrong approach. I think that when we make eye contact with people, we are seeing somebody. We are saying to somebody, I see you, you exist, I exist. And we're existing on this street together. That's an opening for a connection. And that connection is what our society is based, like all societies are based on. It's what communities are.

Eugene (5:48)

Right.

Wendy McNaughton (5:48)

So if we're not looking at each other, I understand that it's out of these places. That might be self preservation, but I think that our communities are crumbling as a result of it. And as silly as it might seem, just sitting down and drawing with somebody for 60 seconds can actually lay an incredibly strong foundation of connection that I think can help rebuild trust and communities. I think there's a place for, like, art and experience in a more public setting in a very accessible way that gives people the opportunity to engage with art and creativity in a way that benefits our hearts and our souls.

Eugene (6:26)

We've been here for a couple hours. A bunch of strangers just met each other for the first time, sat down at a table and drew each other for 60 seconds. But what they really did was, was they slowed down and connected and looked at each other in a way that strangers just generally don't.

Wendy McNaughton (6:42)

I carry the table and the two chairs, like, on a luggage rolling cart. So I kind of look like I'm setting up, like, a religious tract station, and I look like I'm like, a proselytizer. The ironic thing is I kind of am. It's just that my religion is connection and community, and I would love it if other people would, like, join in and go out and proselytize along with me and set up these stations all over the world so that people could look at each other.

Eugene (7:13)

Thanks. Thanks, Eugene. That was really fun. Have a good trip.

Wendy McNaughton (7:16)

Bye.

Unknown Host (7:33)

If you like this show, follow it on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. This show is produced by Derek Arthur, Sofia Alvarez, Boyd, Vishaka Durba, Phoebe Lett, Christina Samulewski, and Gillian Weinberger. It's edited by Kari Pitkin, Allison Bruzek and Annie Rose Strasser. Engineering, mixing, and original music by Isaac Jones, sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, Carol Saburo, and Afim Shapiro. Additional music by Amin Sahota. The Fact Check team is Kate Sinclair, Mary Marge Locker, and Michelle Harris. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta, Christina Samulewski, and Adrian Rivera. The executive producer of Times Opinion Audio is Annie Rose Dresser.