These cross-border podcasters are finding reasons to laugh despite political tensions

In a time of heightened political tension between the U.S. and Canada, two podcasters from both sides of the border are teaming up to build a bridge with their cross-border neighbours.

Their tool of choice? Humour.

Reverse Jackass is the brain child of Evelyn Flanagan, a high school music teacher turned social media strategist in London, Ont., and Nick Bognar, a family and marriage therapist based in Pasadena, California.

Dubbed "brave peace talks between North American neighbours" the conversational-style podcast is built on the pair bantering about topics from The Tragically Hip to NASCAR, all with the hope of finding just a bit more common ground.

Or as they put it: It's what happens "when an American and Canadian risk it all to bring peace between their forced-together-by-geography situationship."

The pair set out to create something that was fun, yet not shallow, said Flanagan on CBC's Afternoon Drive, but it touches on something much deeper.

"This for us is a way to practice staying connected, practice just being relational over being political," said Flanagan, who runs the business Flanagan Content.

"Right now, it's never been easier to misunderstand each other," she said. "We can say that about Canada and the United States. We can say that about our next-door neighbour. We can say that about members in our family, people across the world, but misunderstanding each other is the easiest thing we can do."

The pair met about four years ago through working on social media, and became good friends since, she said.

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Evelyn Flanagan is a former high school music teacher in London and now a social media strategist at Flanagan Content. Nick Bognar is a family and marriage therapist in California. Both are hosts of a new podcast called "Reverse Jackass."

"It's an opportunity for us to make fun of the lighter stuff," said Bognar.

"Canada and the United States have historically had such a wonderful relationship that it's easy to take it for granted," he said.

They hope their wonderful friendship can be a microcosm for the "neighbourship" between the two countries, he said.

"I hope that we can help in this time when it's very easy to dehumanize and reduce people, that we remember that Canada is a country of millions of wonderful people and the United States is a country of millions of wonderful people," he said.

"I hope that we don't lose that."