Frank Luntz, who pioneered opinion research techniques and messaging, talks about the state of our politics and takes aim at both parties for the partisan divide and failure to reach out, even talk, to the other side.

Kris Maher, author of Desperate: An Epic Battle for Clean Water and Justice in Appalachia and a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, talks about the complexities, personalities and mixed outcome of a classic battle between small communities and a coal company. He discusses the area’s history, including the Hatfields and McCoys and Matewan Massacre, the legal process, local culture and much more.

Author Reg Ankrom discusses the first two books of his three-part biography of Stephen Douglas. He talks about the major influences that shaped him, his diverse governmental career prior to running for Congress, his ability to produce compromise, views on slavery and the controversial issue of whether he owned slaves.

Veteran political writer James Lynch from the Cedar Rapids Gazette looks back at the top five issues from 2021 and looks ahead to major stories likely to emerge in 2022.

Veteran journalist and reporter Scott Reeder takes a look back at the top political stories from the current year and looks ahead to what will we’ll be talking about politically in the new year.

Author Sam Quinones discusses his latest book, The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth, and how seeds of hope are sprouting up across the land through innovative programs that are repairing people and communities. The key is reconnecting people at the local level and moving away from isolation.

Josh Kraushaar, national political columnist for the National Journal, talks about the election results from earlier this month and looks ahead to the 2022 midterms. He’ll discuss what made newly elected VA Governor Glenn Youngkin a ‘political unicorn,’ Democratic messaging struggles, the internal challenges facing both parties, analysis on trends in urban, suburban and rural areas, and much more.

Veteran Democratic consultant Hal Malchow, who did pioneering work on data analytics and micro targeting, suggests a different way for Democrats to reach out to voters and offers his take on the 2021 elections.

Farah Stockman, editorial board member of the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner, talks about her new book American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears. She follows the lives of three people from the Heartland who are thrown out of work after a factory shuts down to go overseas. But her personal journey described in the book is just as interesting as she reassesses her views on globalization, the importance of factories, the working class, and blue collar support for Trump.

Evan Osnos, staff writer for the New Yorker, talks about his new book, Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury, that captures his thoughts on America after a decade living overseas. It bookends two key dates, September 11 and January 6, to explore the roots of our current political tensions through the stories of individuals in three places he lived in.