Let's Find Common Ground

As an ER doctor, Jay Baruch has been treating Covid patients since the start of the pandemic. He still sees many patients sick with Covid in his ER - the vast majority unvaccinated.   It might seem reasonable for him to share the anger and frustration that many vaccinated Americans feel about the unvaxxed. While Jay wants everyone who is eligible to get the shot, he says judgment does nothing to p...

Center Fellow Gloria Molina is joined by Antonio Villaraigosa, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles, strategist Cesar Martinez, and USC Professor Mindy Romero to discuss the growing impact of Latino voters and assess how political parties are reaching them, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Featuring: Gloria Molina - Fall 2021 Fellow, Center for the Political Future; Former LA County Supervisor and...

Center Co-Directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy are joined by attorneys and redistricting experts Benjamin Ginsberg and Michael Li, former CA Assemblymember Gloria Molina, and USC Professor Christian Grose to examine the challenges of redistricting across the country and its implications for the 2022 midterm elections. Featuring: Robert Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Cha...

Unlike the vast majority of journalists who cover U.S. politics, columnist Salena Zito lives far away from the centers of power and wealth. Twice a year she leaves her home in western Pennsylvania and drives thousands of miles across the country on back roads, visiting towns and rural communities that are often ignored by the national media. In this episode, we learn about the perspectives of vote...

Common Ground Committee is part of a robust and growing national movement of bridge builders, who are working to reduce incivility and toxic polarization in America today. We look in-depth at this diverse, vital coalition.  Who's involved and how are they tackling racial, cultural, and political schisms that threaten American democracy? Our guest, Nathan Bomey, is a reporter for USA Today, and aut...

Center Co-Directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy are joined by journalists Carla Marinucci and Seema Mehta, strategist Roger Salazar, and USC Professor Jennifer Cryer to assess the campaign to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom. They unpack how the effort gained momentum, weigh criticisms for and against the recall, and discuss potential outcomes of the upcoming election. Featuring: Robert Shrum...

The need to find common ground for improving race relations has rarely been more urgent than it is today. In this episode, we share profound insights from an interracial couple and an African-American scholar and poet. Caroline Randall Williams wrote a widely-read opinion column for the New York Times that added fresh insight to the debate over Confederate monuments and how America remembers its p...

Gloria Molina, former LA County Supervisor, CA Assemblymember, and Fall 2021 Fellow at the Center for the Political Future, joins co-directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy to discuss the future of Los Angeles. LA County made history last year with an all-women Board of Supervisors elected to lead the largest local legislative body in the nation. Molina was the first Latina elected to the Board of Sup...

The takeover by the Taliban in Afghanistan; a more aggressive China and Russia; a newly-elected hardline President in Iran: All are all major challenges facing President Joe Biden and his Administration.  Our podcast guests are Ned Temko, who writes the weekly international affairs column "Patterns" for The Christian Science Monitor, and Scott Peterson, the Monitor's Middle East bureau chief. Both...

Everyone wants the best education for their children. But parents and teachers don't always agree on how to get there. In this episode, we hear from two education leaders whose views clashed when they first met. Gisele Huff is a philanthropist and longtime proponent of school choice, including charter schools. Becky Pringle spent her career in public education. A science teacher for three decades,...

America's long-term care system needs much more than a facelift. Is there a common path to solutions? Most baby boomers who retire today can expect to live years longer than their parents or any previous generation. That's the good news. But there's a greatly increased need for long-term care as they age. The current system is in crisis and needs much more than a facelift.  In this episode, we hea...

What steps are needed to cause people to leave white supremacist and other hate groups of their own volition? In this deeply personal podcast episode, we explore the tactics and commitment needed to be successful in this work. Daryl Davis, an award-winning Black musician, race reconciliator and renowned lecturer, has used the power of human connection to convince hundreds of people to leave white...

Nichol Whiteman, CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation and Fall 2021 Fellow at the Center for the Political Future, joins co-directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy to discuss the intersection of sports, politics, and community engagement. Whiteman also highlights the power of diversity in advocating for resources and opportunities for marginalized populations. Featuring: Bob Shrum - Director, Cen...

We learn about two brave and successful attempts to get Americans of differing backgrounds and political convictions to engage in personal face-to-face conversations. America Talks and the National Week of Conversation, both held in mid-June, were part of expanding efforts to push back against deep divides and toxic polarization. In this episode, we discuss lessons learned, insights gained, and th...

American democracy is being challenged by hyper-polarization, widespread distrust of competing parties, and extremists who seek to weaken democratic values and institutions.  In  a recent poll , only one-in-six Americans said our democratic system is working very well, while nearly  two-in-three voters  told a Pew Research Center survey that major reforms are needed. "I certainly feel we are more...

Young Americans, aged 18-29, believe that the threat from climate change is real regardless of their ideological leanings, compared to older Americans.  Recent polling  shows that Republican voters, born after 1980, are much more likely than older Republicans to think that government efforts to reduce climate change have been insufficient (52% vs. 31%).  In this episode, we ask: can the youngest g...

CPF Director Bob Shrum is joined by Jane Harman, former Congresswoman and author of "Insanity Defense," to discuss how four presidential administrations have failed to confront some of the toughest national security policy issues. Congresswoman Harman also shares her views on the Democratic Party's platform and how to make progress in a closely divided Congress. Featuring: Bob Shrum - Director, Ce...

Elex Michaelson, Fox 11 News co-anchor, is joined by journalist Todd Purdum, strategists Rachel Bitcoffer and Mark Mellman, and Shaniqua McClendon, political director at Crooked Media, to discuss whether Democrats will lose seats and legislative control in the midterms and which candidates are shaping the race for the presidency in 2024. Featuring: Elex Michaelson - Co-Anchor, Fox 11 News and Host...

Banks & businesses are betting big on sustainable investments. Can they help politicians bridge the gap on climate change? When Joe Biden talks about the challenge of fighting climate change, he mentions jobs: not green jobs or renewable energy jobs, but "millions of good-paying union jobs." The new administration is working to reframe the conversation about the environment at a time when many of...

CPF Co-Director Mike Murphy is joined by former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, journalists Robert A. George and Jeremy Peters, and President Trump's former White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, to discuss how the impact of Republican voter support of the former president translates into influence within GOP leadership. Featuring: Mike Murphy - Co-Director, USC Dornsife Center for the Politica...

Michael Beschloss, presidential historian and best-selling author, is joined by Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, Max Boot, national security analyst, USC professor Alison Dundes Renteln, and former Obama administration advisor, Ben Rhodes, to discuss President Biden's foreign policy goals and achievements 100 days into his presidency. Featuring: Michael Beschloss - Historian, Best...

CPF Director Bob Shrum is joined by former Congressman Joe Kennedy III and strategists Karen Finney, Ron Christie, and Brian Goldsmith to discuss President Joe Biden's domestic performance for reviving the economy and reforming immigration, police, and gun policies. Featuring: Robert M. Shrum - Director, USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future; Carmen H. & Louis Warschaw Chair in Practical Po...

Growing numbers of voters are fed up with politics as usual. In a recent survey, 62% of Americans say a third party is needed — up 5% from September of last year, and the highest it has ever been since Gallup polls first asked the question nearly twenty years ago.   Our podcast guest, former two-term Florida Congressman David Jolly , says it's time to reexamine the system that reinforces the entre...

CPF Director Bob Shrum is joined by California Senators Ben Allen and Sydney Kamlager and Los Angeles Sustainability Officers Gary Gero and Dominique Hargreaves to discuss how Southern California should move forward on climate change issues and the role of institutions in reducing its impact. Robert Shrum - Director, USC Center for the Political Future; USC Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics Ben...

CPF Co-Director Mike Murphy is joined by Congressman Garret Graves, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, journalist Bina Venkataraman, and USC professor Wandi Bruine de Bruin to discuss how to communicate the urgency of environmental legislation and encourage bipartisan support for climate change solutions. Mike Murphy - Co-Director, USC Center for the Political Future; NBC Political Analyst Garret...