Let’s Find Common Ground

Latest Episodes:

Election Briefing: Can We Hold a Fair Election?: David Hawkins and Tristiaña Hinton Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

With only weeks to go before the 2020 election, many challenges remain to holding a free and fair vote in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From likely surge in mail-in ballots, to changes in polling places for millions of voters and the urgent need for accuracy, we discuss whether the election will be a smooth exercise of democracy or result in a constitutional crisis.

David Hawkings, Editor-in-Chief and Tristiana Hinton, Audience Development Editor, of The Fulcrum explain America's many different statewide systems of voting, and why it could take days or weeks for winners to be declared. We look at the disputes between Republicans and Democrats, including the possibility of a disputed result, and explore why many local election officials from both parties share common ground on the need for fair and accurate results.

The Fulcrum is a non-profit, non-partisan digital news organization focused exclusively on efforts to reverse the dysfunctions plaguing American democracy. The Fulcrum and Common Ground Committee are members of Bridge Alliance, which acts as a connectivity hub for over 90 civic action organizations.

Election R&D Dialogues: RNC Recap Sep 03, 2020

Show notes

The Republican National Convention culminated with President Trump delivering his acceptance speech in front of an unprecedented back drop. Center Co-Directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy share their takes on the convention's highs and lows, what to expect in the upcoming presidential debates, and answer live questions.

2020 Election Briefing: Climate Change. Eoin O’Carroll & Eva Botkin-Kowacki Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

From devastating hurricanes to increasing destruction caused by wildfires, growing numbers of Americans are suffering from the impacts of drought, storms and other extreme weather events.

On “Let’s Find Common Ground” we’re looking at some of the most important issues facing voters as they make their choices in the 2020 election.

Climate change is a much more important issue for many voters now than it was in 2016. According to a recent poll by Pew Research Center, a record-high 60% of Americans say it is a major threat to the well-being of the United States.

We gain a deeper understanding from journalists Eva Botkin-Kowacki and Eoin O’Carroll of The Christian Science Monitor. Both Eva and Eoin are staff reporters, covering science, technology and the environment. They tell us that climate change is no longer a theory. We are living with some of the early results.

Election R&D Dialogues: DNC Recap Aug 25, 2020

Show notes

Following the most unconventional Democratic political convention in history, Center Director Bob Shrum is joined by special guest Steve Schmidt to share the highlights and forecast the road ahead to November.

Featuring: Steve Schmidt, Co-Founder, The Lincoln Project; Republican Political Strategist

Jordan Blashek, Chris Haugh. Two Friends: One Democrat, the Other Republican Search for Common Ground Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

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.”

Caroline Randall Williams: "My Body is a Confederate Monument." Jul 30, 2020

Show notes

"The black people I come from were owned and raped by the white people I come from," wrote author, poet and academic Caroline Randall Williams in a widely-read opinion column for The New York Times. As a Black southern woman with white ancestors, her view of the debate over how America remembers its past is deeply personal.

This episode is the latest in our podcast series on racism and its painful legacy. Recent protests across the country have sparked renewed controversy over confederate statues, and the naming of military bases and public buildings that celebrate men who fought in the Civil War against the government of the United States.

Should the monuments be repurposed or removed? We discuss ways to find common ground and better our understanding of the American history.

Caroline Randall Williams is a writer in residence at Vanderbilt University. She is a resident and native of Tennessee. Some of her ancestors were enslaved. Others included a prominent poet and novelist, and a civil rights leader. She is the great-great grand-daughter of Edmund Pettus, who was a grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan and U.S. Senator from Alabama.

Election R&D Dialogues: Special Guest John Chiang Jul 24, 2020

Show notes

John Chiang, former California State Treasurer and Fall 2020 Fellow at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, joins co-directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy to discuss his career in politics, the pandemic’s lasting economic impact on California, and its implications for the November election and beyond.

Chiang served as California’s 33rd State Treasurer until 2019. As the state’s banker, he oversaw trillions of dollars in annual transactions, managed a $75 billion investment portfolio, and was the nation’s largest issuer of municipal bonds.

As State Controller during the Great Recession, his cash management decisions were instrumental in keeping California’s credit rating from plunging into junk status, and his actions saved taxpayers millions of dollars. Chiang aggressively used his audit programs to identify more than $9.5 billion of fraud, waste and abuse in government programs, the most by any Controller in California’s history.

He serves on several boards and will be teaching a course in the fall titled, “From Financial Crisis to COVID-19: California Policy Responses to the Financial Fallout” with the USC Center for the Political Future.

Errol and Tina Toulon: Lessons From an Interracial Couple. Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

What can we discover about personal pain caused by racism? In this episode, we speak with an inter-racial couple to find out what a well-educated white professional woman learned from her African American husband, a senior law enforcement official.

Our guests are Errol Toulon, elected as first African American Sheriff of Suffolk County, New York, and Tina MacNicholl Toulon, a physician liaison and business development executive. She tells us what she's learned since their marriage in 2016, about racism, "driving while black", and other indignities that are all too often part of a black person's daily life.

The need to find common ground and improve race relations has taken on new urgency with recent anti-racist protests and demands for profound change in America.

Both Tina and Errol believe that education is a crucial ingredient in reaching a much better understanding about widespread racism. By speaking out publicly about their own experiences, they believe they're contributing to a vital discussion aimed at improving public understanding of a divisive and disturbing part of American life.

Art Acevedo and Maya Wiley. Reforming The Police. Jul 02, 2020

Show notes

Outrage, grief, and despair over cases of police brutality and racism erupted nationwide, with growing demands for major reforms. The protests appeared to sway public opinion. A Washington Post poll in June found that 69% of Americans agreed that the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis suggests a broader problem within law enforcement.

This episode brings together a police chief and a critic of law enforcement. Both discuss their hopes for better policing in the future, and find some areas of agreement on proposed changes, including greater diversity, better training, and firmer action against officers who step over the line.

Art Acevedo is Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department. He now serves as President of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. MSNBC legal analyst Maya Wiley is a civil rights activist, former board chair of New York City's Civilian Complaint Review Board, and senior vice president for Social Justice at The New School.

Election R&D Dialogues: Special Guest Mimi Walters Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Mimi Walters, former Congresswoman (R-CA) and Fall 2020 Fellow at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, joins co-directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy to share some thoughts on the 2020 election and her decades-long career in public office.

From investment executive to elected official, Walters most recently served as U.S. Representative for District 45 in Orange County, until 2018. She also served in both the California State Senate and Assembly and got her start in politics as a city Councilmember and Mayor of Laguna Niguel.

In Congress, Walters sponsored legislation for wildfire disaster tax relief and the Survivor’s Bill of Rights that established key protections for survivors of sexual assault. She served on the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee where she was a member of the Communications and Technology, Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, and Oversight and Investigations subcommittees.

She is the co-founder of the California Women’s Leadership Association, sits on several boards, and will be teaching a course in the Fall titled “So You Want to Run For Office?” with the USC Center for the Political Future.

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