Bipodisan

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales joins Robert and Jean in their last episode before going on summer hiatus. Their discussion about the current fight over elections covers issues ranging from voter ID to the results of the 2020 presidential election, culminating in agreement around the need for Americans to find a “shared truth.” As always, there is hope at the end of this episode.

Note: This will be our last episode of summer 2021 -- enjoy and we'll see you in the fall.

Bipodisan welcomes long-time friend Elizabeth Pinkerton to the show to discuss a week of national conversation and her experience running the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships — work which has informed Elizabeth’s writings on strategies that could bring Americans closer together. This episode ends on a particularly strong and meaningful moment of hope.

The Atlantic's Edward-Isaac Dovere joins the pod to discuss his new book, "Battle for the Soul," a newsy, inside account of how the Democrats went from 2016 defeat to 2020 victory. He tells Jean and Robert about Kamala Harris's favorite epithet, Bernie Sanders' travel tastes, why Obama is aloof to political reporters, and, more seriously, they discuss what President Biden is like in private, what Harris's political future may hold and what the GOP can learn from the Democrats' battle. Warning: This episode contains strong language.

U.S. News & World Report Senior Political Writer Susan Milligan joins Jean and Robert for an insightful discussion about legislation to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th storming of the U.S. Capitol. Susan also shares new data on independent voter trends, and the three find hope in new additions to the pandemic lexicon, including “exponential-decay phase."

Freelance technology columnist Rob Pegoraro joins Jean and Robert to break down the Facebook v. Trump decision, including the big news most people are overlooking. The trio looks more broadly about the power of both big tech and The Donald.

Jean and Robert agree that Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction was justice and discuss the pros and cons of bipartisan, federally mandated policing reform before finding common ground on the issue of D.C. statehood.

Jean and Robert dig in on infrastructure, speculate about where the parties might be able to build some bridges and then have a broader(band) discussion of the parties' philosophy about the size of government. Later, Jean discloses her secret lust.

This week, Robert and Jean discuss one issue on which the partisan divide is as wide as possible (mass shootings and gun control) and another on which there is significant consensus and hope for bipartisan action (infrastructure investment). The hosts round out this episode by finding hope in history and hugs. 

Jean and Robert welcome back Diana Berrant, founder of Survivor Corps, for an update on the massive volunteer effort by COVID survivors to engage in citizen science. The second half of this episode is a thoughtful, appreciative and bipartisan analysis of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 anniversary speech.

Jean and Robert wonder whether to fret a squelch of Seuss.
And why Democrats have not cut Andrew Cuomo loose.
Tune in right now so you can see
Where they align and where (respectfully) disagree.