The Political Conversation

Michael Hiltzik, a Pullitzer-Prize winning colunist with the LA Times, opens up our view of polarization to be more specific: Polarized voices are everywhere, yes. But does that mean most of us are polarized? He argues that the media are not reporting a genuine schism in American politics; they’re reporting on a divide pitting a majority in broad agreement against a boisterous minority.

We all know someone who follows political news obsessively, who gets anxious if they can’t follow the news, and who goes on social media to tell lots of people that they are wrong. That describes less than 20% of us, but, as Yanna puts it, "It, it feels like 80%!”

Yanna Krupnikov, a professor of political science at Stony Brook University, talks about what it means to be deeply involved in politics and how those people — on the right and on the left — have two things in common: they care about different issues than the vast majority of other voters in their own party, and they are absolutely certain that they, and only they, are right.

Between tweets, op-eds, newsletters and, well, podcasts–what does it mean to be politically engaged today? We explore this question with Associate Professor of Political Science at Tufts University, Dr. Eitan Hersh. He is the author of Politics Is for Power.

With slim majorities on either side of the aisle depending on the election cycle, we wonder: Who are the 'swing voters'? What motivates them to be Independents? We explore this with Associate Professor at the University of Arizona School of Government and Public Policy, Samara Klar. She has extensively studied how individuals’ personal identities and social surroundings influence their political attitudes and behavior.

Morris Fiorina looks ahead to the midterm elections and back into the history of the political majority to address a paradox: The country is increasingly polarized, and yet voter's willingness to subscribe to either party is sharply declining.

Morris Fiorina–who will insist you call him Mo–holds an endowed chair of political science at Stanford University and is a fellow at the Hoover Institute. He has previously taught at Harvard and CalTech. Mo has written several books on polarization: “Disconnect” (2009), “Culture War?” (2004), and “Unstable Majorities” (2017).​

Introducing The Political Conversation, a podcast going beyond the two-party binary to have a different kind of conversation.