How far apart are we as a nation? A liberal writer from Berkeley and a conservative military veteran decided to answer that question together during a series of long road trips in an old Volvo. They drove through 44 states and on nearly twenty thousand miles of road and highways, meeting an extraordinary range of people along the way.

At a time of political gridlock and hyper-partisanship, Republican Jordan Blashek, and Democrat Chris Haugh formed an unlikely friendship that blossomed not in spite of but because of their political differences.

The result of their road trips is the new book, "Union: A Democrat, A Republican, and a Search for Common Ground." In this podcast episode, we discover what they learned about the American politics, culture, civics, and the condition of our democracy.

"Our honest takeaway is that we're not as far apart as imagined," Chris tells us. "Underneath a patina of difference and division, there is a common language."