Dialogue Across Difference

Political divisions, policy quagmires over the budget and affordability, as well as the uncertainty fueled by the fighting in the Middle East are shaping America's future. Theda Skocpol—a preeminent scholar of American politics—analyzes the current and future directions and uncertainties as the 2026 mid-term elections approach.

Half a century ago Walter Mondale joined a push to create a predictable and rational budgeting process in Congress. What happened to those high expectations? Congress rarely adopts annual budgets as intended, with government spending and tax cuts driving America's deficit toward the breaking point. The country's operations now rely on dare-devil bargaining that shuts the government down and unsett...

The Polycene era, which we have just entered, will be the first era in human history in which humanity must govern, innovate, collaborate and coexist at a planetary scale to thrive, because all of our key challenges -- governing A.I., curbing nuclear proliferation, managing climate change and managing a world where more people than ever will be living outside their birth nations are planetary in s...

Health care costs are now rising faster than inflation, wages, and the overall economy. Government programs are being scaled back rather than expanding to cover these costs. To make progress, we need to focus on the delivery of medical care and insist that payment be tied to the value of the services. Two of the country’s leading experts on redesigning U.S. health care to focus on value will join...

Donald Trump's reliance on racial resentments and coercion are not new to America but familiar to its history. Slavery and enduring racial disparities, the expulsion of immigrants including legal residents, and suspension of constitutional rights are recurring themes since the Republic's founding. America is not defined, however, by backlash alone. Again and again, Americans recovered by fighting...

American politics faces enormous challenges. Partisan divisions are at historic levels not seen since the Civil War. Some politicians are using redistricting to choose their voters and elections are awash in money. Russ Feingold, former US Senator from Wisconsin, joins us to talk about America's future. In addition to his Senate career, he served as a U.S. special envoy to Africa and taught in the...

St Augustine forged the sacred foundations of Western Christianity – from original sin to God’s grace. Pope Leo’s spiritual home is in the Augustinian religious order. Augustine was born in Africa and his identity as an African permeates his founding role in Christianity’s beginnings. Catherine Conybeare’s Augustine the African tells his life story, revealing profound questions about Christianity...

Over the past 40 years, the campaign to “get tough on crime” has been redesigned to generate vast revenue streams for governments and corporations. Today, practices that criminalize, police, and punish serve a second purpose as tools of resource extraction, disproportionately targeting low-income communities of color. Legal Plunder by Joshua Page and Joe Soss investigates the origins, operations,...

President Biden's National Security Advisor - Jake Sullivan - reflects on the administration's policies and on the future of America on the world stage. About the series: The Nakasaka Dialogues stimulate conversations about the state of public life and encourage progress toward our shared bonds. This event series is made possible by a generous contribution from Humphrey School of Public Affairs al...

Speech on campus is treacherous. It is scrutinized by universities unnerved by the risk of punishment by the federal government. Speech faces another threat – a left-oriented conformist spirit on many campuses that recognizes certain ideas and rules out others on such topics as Israel and Gaza, “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,” transgender issues, and more. Pamela Paul, a courageous New York Time...

Description What is Donald Trump's economic policy? Stephen Moore argues that the President's reductions in taxes and regulations will boost economic growth, reduce inflation, and improve the standard of living of all Americans. About this series: Conservative Voices at the Humphrey School is a lecture series that highlights prominent conservative thinkers and public officials from a variety of po...

The inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20th is a critical juncture in American politics. The occasion invites serious conversations about American history, politics, and democracy. We welcome you to join the conversation with four prominent observers: •Tom Edsall (New York Times, Columnist) •Jacob Hacker (Department of Political Science, Yale University) •Mae Ngai (Department of History, Colu...

Now that Donald Trump is the president-elect and Republicans will have full control of Congress, President-elect Trump’s government appointees and changes in congressional leadership will determine the policy direction of the incoming Congress and administration. Vin Weber and Trent Lefkowitz from Mercury Public Affairs will map out the new power centers in Washington DC in a conversation moderate...

While the spotlight remains on the presidential race, the upcoming congressional elections will play a pivotal role in determining which policies the next president can successfully pass. Majority party control in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate is up for grabs. Join University of Minnesota Associate Professor and congressional scholar, Kathryn Pearson, alongside congres...

As election day approaches, the presidential contest remains unpredictable. Joe Biden’s unexpected decision to drop out of the race and pass the torch to Kamala Harris has energized the Democrats, but will it be enough to lead them to victory, or will Donald Trump make a return to the Oval Office? Democratic campaign strategist Rebecca Pearcey and Republican consultant Kirsten Kukowski analyze the...

Support by Black and Latino voters for Democrats has declined somewhat in polls and in recent elections, raising questions about the scale, possible sources, and broader implications for American party politics. How does the current moment compare to the past? Is this part of a general shift away from the Democratic Party and towards Republicans by conservative and working class voters? And to the...

Helping low income Americans move up economically remains an important challenge for policy makers. This is especially true in rural America. Robert Doar, President, American Enterprise Institute, visits to discuss today's conservative responses to poverty and limited economic mobility. His visit is part of the Conservative Voices at the Humphrey School series with Vin Weber and Larry Jacobs About...

Can the United States continue to conduct free and fair elections? Richard Hasen, the Gary T. Schwartz Endowed Chair in Law and Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law and Jennifer Morrell, partner at the Elections Group, will consider risks to the fair counting of ballots and the prospect that some voters and candidates may not accept election results as legitimate Yo...

As the Democratic Party gathers in Chicago for its national convention, its prospects in the 2024 elections are dampened by its loss of the working class and the center of the American electorate. Author and editor-at-large at Talking Points Memo John Judis dissects the sources of this abandonment and how Democrats can avoid political disaster in the days ahead.

The momentous 2024 elections will be awash with reporting on existential questions about our democracy as well as relentless polling numbers and campaign intrigue. Minnesota native James Hohmann, a respected editorial writer and columnist at the Washington Post, joins us to help break down the inside stories of the 2024 elections.

Stephen Hadley, former National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush, discusses China, Russia/Ukraine, and the Middle East in a conversation moderated by former Congressman Vin Weber and Professor Larry Jacobs.

Women will be a driving force in the epic elections in 2024 for president and congress. Anna Greenberg, one of the premier political consultants in the country, joins Professor Kathryn Pearson to pinpoint the critical issues and dynamics at play. Anna Greenberg has worked on numerous prominent Democratic campaigns including those of Minnesota Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar. She won the “Pol...

Finding common ground in Washington is rare and urgent. Rob Portman has a record of passing more than 200 bills that were signed into law by Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden. His leadership is exemplified by the 2021 infrastructure bill that builds an economic lifeline to the future, support to defend Ukraine’s freedom in the face of growing Republican resistance, and courageous defense of his s...

Many Americans are on fire about the stakes in the 2024 elections. But what about those in the "other America" who are not interested? Who are they and why are they sitting out elections? We are joined by Professors Yanna Krupnikov who studies Americans who are less involved in day-to-day political outcomes and Markus Prior who investigates the sources and impacts of political interest. Professor...

Science has been thrust into elections and political fights among lawmakers. Vaccinations against Covid, measles, and other contagious illnesses have provoked protests on the left and, especially, the right. Have Americans lost trust in science and the hope it once offered to bring progress? Why has science become another casualty of the fights between Democrats and Republicans? Join us for a disc...