On this episode, The Washington Post columnist and former senior writer at FiveThirtyEight Perry Bacon Jr. joins us for a lively discussion about the state of politics and political journalism today, from the burgeoning uncivil war being waged by Republicans to Democrats’ timidity and inability to address the root causes of social and political tension head on.

Perry explains why words like “polarization” don’t accurately capture what’s happening in American politics, the pitfalls of “objectivity” when a journalist’s identity and humanity becomes inseparable from the national political debate, and a different type of swing voter that doesn’t get enough attention.

He also shares why Democrats are afraid of seeming too friendly to Black people, his hopes for his platform at The Washington Post, and how social media is reshaping journalism.

REFERENCES:

Perry Bacon Jr. – @perrybaconjr

Articles

The Washington Post // Perry Bacon Jr. — Opinion: I live in a Democratic bubble, Here’s why that’s okay. https://washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/22/i-live-democratic-bubble-heres-why-thats-okay/

FiveThirtyEight // Perry Bacon Jr. — Five Questions The Political Media Is Wrestling With In Covering America’s ‘Uncivil War’ https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/five-questions-the-political-media-is-wrestling-with-in-covering-americas-uncivil-war/

CNN // Ronald Brownstein — Coronavirus is dividing blue cities from their red states https://cnn.com/2020/03/31/politics/red-states-blue-cities-coronavirus/index.html

Reparations Commission

H.R. 40 — Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act https://congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/40