Let’s Find Common Ground

From the outside, Congress appears broken. Bills get bogged down in partisan fights, leaders openly smear each other, and animosity between members is at an all-time high. But our guests show that if you look closer, you’ll find a group of dedicated politicians working together across the aisle to craft workable legislation and get things done.  Republican Congressman Don Bacon represents Nebraska’s 2nd District. Democrat Kurt Schrader represents Oregon’s 5th District. Both are members of the congressional Problem Solvers Caucus, a group equally split between Democrats and Republicans who are committed to finding common ground on key issues. In our surprisingly candid conversation, we get a peek behind the curtain at what’s really going on in Congress, how the infrastructure bill was passed into law, and the harmful effect the media has on Americans’ view of politics. 

Center Co-Directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy join the Spring 2022 CPF Fellows to unpack the latest SCOTUS headlines and trends. They discuss everything from the Supreme Court’s denial of President Trump's executive privilege over the January 6 insurrection to their upholding Texas' abortion law to their blocking Biden’s federal vaccine mandate. They also explore what the growing division among the Justices means for the future of the majority conservative court. Ralph Neas - Former Executive Director, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Senior Counsel on Voting Rights, The Century Foundation; Spring 2022 Fellow, Center for the Political Future Todd S. Purdum - Journalist, Former National Editor and Political Correspondent for Vanity Fair; Spring 2022 Fellow, Center for the Political Future Amy Turk, LCSW - Social Worker; CEO, Downtown Women’s Center; Spring 2022 Fellow, Center for the Political Future Bob Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife Mike Murphy - Co-Director, Center for the Political Future; NBC Political Analyst

This year the federal government is expected to collect more than $3.5 trillion in taxes— a vast amount of money by any measure. One of the key functions of Congress is to pass a budget. But often that seems close to impossible. Lack of agreement over federal spending regularly threatens to bring about government shutdowns that have a negative impact on millions of Americans. Yet few of us can even begin to understand the byzantine budget process.  Both of our guests in this episode have worked with other policy experts to make the budget process function better, with greater efficiency and transparency.  Alison Acosta Winters is a fiscal conservative and was most recently a senior policy fellow at Americans for Prosperity. Emily Holubowich is vice president for federal advocacy at the American Heart Association, and often supports more government spending. Brought together by Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, Alison, Emily and other stakeholders from diverse backgrounds spent months working together to come up with several major proposals for overhauling the budget process. This podcast is one of a series of episodes co-produced in partnership with the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution. Each show highlights the common ground that resulted from one of Convergence’s structured dialogues across differences.

One year after the January 6th assault on the U.S. Capitol, we take a close look at America's political divide with two journalists who covered the calamitous events on that day and the responses to them.  Our guests are Christa Case Bryant, Congressional correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, and Story Hinckley, the Monitor's National political correspondent. We discuss whether America is more polarized than it was one year ago and the prospects for finding common ground in Congress and across the country. A Washington Post - University of Maryland opinion poll published on New Year's Day confirmed that Americans have totally different views of the 2020 election results. While large majorities of Democrats and independent voters say there was no evidence of widespread fraud, more than 60% of Republicans say there was. In their reporting throughout the year, both of our guests sought answers to complex questions about what caused people to storm the Capitol, and why Democrats and Republicans have opposing views about voter access and election laws. In this episode, we also examine the role of the media and individual reporters in covering the state of polarization in America today.

In a world of crises and catastrophes, we look at a handful of extraordinary problem solvers: People who use their passion and personal experience of life to make a difference. Dave Scott, Engagement Editor at The Christian Monitor, tells us about remarkable individuals who use generosity, hope, and innovation to inspire others to uplift their fellow human beings.  With origin stories and personal anecdotes, we hear how listening and trust are essential elements in constructive change and finding common ground. This special year-end episode includes excerpts from the Monitor's new podcast, "People Making a Difference". We hear about what a 12-year-old can teach us about empathy and kindness; how the Sewing Machine Project has repaired thousands of lives around the world, and why LavaMaeX is providing hot showers, pop-up care villages, and radical hospitality for homeless people in California. Co-hosts: Richard Davies and Ashley Milne-Tyte.

Center Co-Directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy join former Chief of Staff Mike Pettit, to honor the legacy of Senator Bob Dole, who died on Dec. 5, 2021. Dole was one of the longest-serving Republican leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives. He was a Vice Presidential and Presidential candidate, and received the Congressional Gold Medal. Featuring: Bob Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife Mike Murphy - Co-Director, Center for the Political Future; NBC Political Analyst Mike Pettit - Former Chief of Staff and Presidential Campaign Adviser for Sen. Bob Dole

At a time of increasingly urgent calls for climate action, the world also faces ever-rising demand for energy. How can these two trends be reconciled as we experience soaring gas prices and supply chain disruptions?  Our guest is Pulitzer Prize-winning author and energy expert Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of IHS Markit and chairman of CERAWeek, which CNBC has described as “the Super Bowl of world energy.” Dr. Yergin says the energy transition is very complicated, and the degree to which the world still depends on oil and natural gas is not well understood.  In this episode, we look at the prospects for common ground among environmentalists and energy industry executives. We examine why a new map of energy and geopolitics is emerging. Daniel Yergin explains how future innovations in green energy could prove to be just as surprising as the "shale revolution” in oil and gas which transformed the American economy and ended an era of energy shortage.

Center Director Bob Shrum is joined by Ben Rhodes, former Obama advisor, to discuss his latest book on America's role in rising global authoritarianism, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to today, and the urgency to fight for what he thinks the U.S. should be. Featuring: Bob Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife Ben Rhodes - Author; Co-Host of “Pod Save the World;” Former Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting, Obama Administration; Spring 2020 CPF Fellow

Elex Michaelson, FOX News LA anchor, is joined by CA Republican Party Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson and media heavyweights David Chalian, Chris Matthews, and Ron Christie to discuss what's at stake for seats in both the House and Senate, advantages for the Republican Party, and needed optimism for the 2022 Midterms. Featuring: Elex Michaelson - Host, "The Issue Is;" Co-Anchor, FOX 11 News LA David Chalian - Vice President of Political Coverage and Political Director, CNN Ron Christie - Political Analyst, BBC World News; Fall '19 Fellow, Center for the Political Future Chris Matthews - Former Political Commentator; Former Host of Hardball With Chris Matthews Jessica Millan Patterson - Chairwoman, California Republican Party

CPF Co-Director Mike Murphy is joined by USC professors Nina Rathbun and David Kang, journalist Markos Kounalakis, and foreign policy expert Kori Schake to assess the historic Afghanistan withdrawal, tensions with China, and compare Biden's success with Trump's. Featuring: Mike Murphy - Co-Director, Center for the Political Future; NBC Analyst David C. Kang - Maria Crutcher Professor in International Relations, Business, and East Asian Languages and Cultures; Director, Korean Studies Institute, USC Dornsife Markos Kounalakis - Foreign Affairs Columnist, Author, and Scholar; Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution at Stanford University Kori Schake - Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute; Former Foreign Policy Advisor for John McCain's presidential campaign Nina Srinivasan Rathbun - Professor of International Relations, USC Dornsife