Local Common Ground: Dinner and a Fight. Simon Miontlake, Ted Wetzel, Tom Hach

01/05/23 • 31 min

Want to know one of the most exciting and innovative ways to find common ground? Get people out of their political bunkers and move them beyond rigid polarization in our divided nation. Consider local grassroots efforts, such as the one we profile in this podcast episode.

Journalist Simon Montlake of The Christian Science Monitor tells us about his reporting on a lively grassroots effort in northeast Ohio to help people of all political stripes disagree constructively. Participants meet first over dinner at a community center and then debate a hot topic. The audience is invited to discuss a controversial proposition, listening to different points of view. It’s called Dinner and a Fight with the word "fight" crossed out and replaced by "dialog".

Event organizers Ted Wetzel and Tom Hach explain how the evenings work and why they can be part of a broader effort to rebuild civic bonds. Ted is the founder and executive director of Fighting-To-Understand, a nonprofit group that encourages people to be more skilled at healthy disagreement. Former IT program manager and retired Navy Reservist Tom Hach is the Director of Ohio Freedom Action Network (OhioFAN).

Please tell us what you think! Share your feedback in this short survey. For every survey completed we’ll plant 5 trees. Common Ground Podcast Feedback Survey (qualtrics.com)

Please tell us what you think! Share your feedback in this short survey. For every survey completed we’ll plant 5 trees. Common Ground Podcast Feedback Survey (qualtrics.com)

Previous Episode

The Search for Common Ground: 2022 Year-End Show

2022 was a year of surprises in politics and the world beyond. In our year-end special, "Let's Find Common Ground" podcast puts the spotlight on six interviews that we published during the past twelve months.

We hear former Congressman Will Hurd discuss moderation and extremes in American politics. Author and market researcher Diane Hessan tells us what pollsters often overlook when they speak with voters. Former gun industry executive Ryan Busse reveals the key differences between responsible gun ownership and the reckless use of firearms.

Co-hosts Richard Davies and Ashley-Milne Tyte also feature their conversation with a prison reformer and a corrections industry executive. Two members of Congress— one Republican, one Democrat— explain their efforts to improve how Congress works. And a leading newspaper editor and reporter discuss how they face up honestly and creatively to bias and misinformation in the news media.

Learn more at commongroundcommittee.org/podcasts

Next Episode

Why We Misunderstand Independent Voters

Independent voters make up more than 40 percent of the voting public. But you wouldn’t know that from media coverage, which focuses almost exclusively on red versus blue. Independents are often overlooked or seen as wishy-washy. Our guests on this episode say that’s a big misconception.

In this show we look at a group of voters, including many young people, that is making up a growing slice of the US population.

Our guests are Jackie Salit and John Opdycke. Jackie is the author of Independents Rising and president of Independent Voting, an organization dedicated to bringing respect, recognition and reform to independent voters. John Opdycke is president of Open Primaries, which campaigns for primary elections in which every American can vote, not just Republicans or Democrats.

John and Jackie say that independents are not moderates: They envision a much less divisive political system than the current one, and they want to play a bigger role in American democracy.

Please tell us what you think! Share your feedback in this short survey. For every survey completed we’ll plant 5 trees. Common Ground Podcast Feedback Survey (qualtrics.com)