From the early 1960s through the 1970s, the United States Senate lived up to its historic grandeur, says former Senate staffer Ira Shapiro, the author of a new book called “The Last Great Senate.” What went wrong? Shapiro suggests it was the outside influences of right-wing ideology and big money that turned the world’s greatest deliberate body into a permanent election campaign. http://irashapiroauthor.com/

A new internet site tries to match up ideological soul mates regardless of political party. The founder of this post-partisan exercise, Ray Glendening, explains how this new platform may bring about a broad and thoughtful conversation about the role of government. http://www.ruck.us/

Bill Press interviews political analyst Jennifer Duffy, who says Democrats have an even shot at retaining control of the Senate. http://www.billpressshow.com/ http://cookpolitical.com/