Common Ground with Jane Whitney Connecticut Public

The year 2020 marked an inflection point in U.S. history that tested the mettle of its citizenry, its government and the soul of the republic itself. On this edition, host Jane Whitney takes a look back at the most important issues impacting our world, in a round-up of interviews from 2020 featuring nationally recognized experts on topics ranging from life after COVID-19 and the economic recovery to the election results, U.S. foreign policy and more. Discover how Americans weathered the perfect storm of two pandemics — one, a deadly virus; the other the scourge of racism playing out against the backdrop of a bitterly divided nation during a presidential election year. See what Jon Meacham, Madeleine Albright, Steve Kornacki, and Joy Reid said about the issues that then were foremost in our minds and if their predictions were accurate.
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A panel of guests join Jane Whitney for a discussion of the state of the country in the shadow of the pandemic but through an intensely personal lens, a series of vignettes with influencers and thought leaders that, like a jig-saw puzzle, provide a view of the broad landscape when pieced together. The headliners, interviewed one-on-one, include:


Tim Daly, actor and president of The Creative Coalition
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the hosts of MSNBC's Morning Joe
Danielle Ponder, the singer and former public defender
John Lithgow, actor and author
Dr. Kavita Patel, epidemiologist and nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution
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The defining political question of the moment, many pundits claim, probably is: Whither the GOP? When Donald Trump was sworn into office, the GOP held both houses of Congress and was considered untouchable. Two years later, the Democrats won back the House; two years after that, the Senate and the presidency. While the GOP dominates the South and still controls the majority of state legislatures and governorships, moderate Republicans have been marginalized and are fleeing. Demographic trends are challenging its recruiting, creating a potential existential crisis for the party, and it no longer has a platform beyond the support of Donald Trump. The eleventh show of the season examines the future of the GOP, the party culture and politics and the role of the two-party system.

A panel of four distinguished experts join Jane Whitney to discuss the future of the GOP:


Robert L. Gibbs, former White House Press Secretary
Matthew Dowd, Author, Political Pundit and Consultant
Kristen Soltis Anderson, Founding Partner at Echelon Insights and Columnist at the Washington Examiner
Tara Setmayer, Former GOP Congressional Communications Director
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“We’re the first generation to feel the sting of climate change, and we’re the last that can do something about it” has become something of a cliché, a summary of the existential threat posed by global warming. As climate change moves from an imminent peril to a deadly reality for vast swaths of the country, a panel of nationally recognized groundbreakers discuss the gaping dichotomy between what scientists say needs to be done to moderate an impending disaster and the political reality of what is possible. The broad ranging discussion of the science, economics and politics swirling around the alarming climate change headlines are explored. The panel also examines what state and local communities are doing to mitigate the congressional stasis, what might break the logjam, how the issues play in national, state and local elections and the role of private citizens and companies. Five distinguished climate experts join host Jane Whitney on the tenth episode of Common Ground:


Katharine Hayhoe, Climate Scientist, Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair at Texas Tech University
Bill McKibben, Author, Educator and Environmentalist
Andrew Zimmern, Emmy- and James Beard Award-Winning Chef, Author and Advocate
Xiye Bastida, Activist and a Founder of The Sunrise Movement
John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
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A century after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote, the uncertainty that foreshadowed the suffrage victory foreshadows the precariousness of women’s rights. “Finish the Fight!”, a rallying cry from the struggle to win the final battle of the women’s voting rights movement once again characterizes the ongoing demand for full gender equality and is the focus of the show's ninth episode. Four distinguished guests join Common Ground host Jane Whitney to discuss the history of the women’s movement and the hurdles that remain.


Stacey E. Plaskett, US Congresswoman, (D) Virgin Islands
Katty Kay, Washington Editor, Ozy Media
Cecile Richards, Co-founder of Supermajority
Sophia Nelson, Scholar in residence at Christopher Newport University and Author of The Woman Code
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In the wake of the January 6 insurrection, probably the most serious threat to our constitutional government since the Civil War, leaders of the FBI and law enforcement authorities have repeatedly warned that the threat of domestic grown terrorism is metastasizing. Are they overreacting to a momentary spasm of the body politic or does the danger to our democracy run deeper than previously acknowledged? The panel of experts address the question and discuss what the country can do to reinforce our democracy’s foundations.

Three distinguished guests join host Jane Whitney on the 8th episode of Common Ground.


Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, US Congresswoman, (D) Michigan
John Brennan, Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Frank Figliuzzi, Former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence; NBC News National Security Contributor
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