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Van Jones: Finding Common Ground In A Polarized America

Photo by Zach Gross

Tom spends the hour today with Van Jones, a Yale-educated lawyer, former Obama Administration advisor, founder of several social justice organizations, and a commentator and host on CNN.  He's also an author, whose latest book is called 'Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart – How We Come Together'.

In his new book, Jones asserts that even in our current climate of strident bifurcation in the political arena, there are some issues about which voters and leaders of all political stripes can agree.  “Common pain should lead to common purpose,” he writes.  He criticizes both major political parties for letting down America time and again, and he suggests that a rebellion, like the one we witnessed last November, was justified.  A dedicated Democrat, Van Jones just thinks "the wrong rebel won."

He joins us today from NPR studios in Washington, D.C.

Van Jones will be talking about his book, "Beyond The Messy Truth," on Wednesday, October 18th at the Brown Center, on the campus of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)located in Falvey Hall 1300 W. Mount Royal Ave., Baltimore MD 21217.   It’s part of the Writer’s Liveseries, produced by the Enoch Pratt Library.  The ticketed event ($25 per seat, which includes a copy of the book) begins at 7:00 pm.  Click hereto register, or call 410-396-5494 for more information. The registration deadline is October 18th, at 9am.

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Host, Midday (M-F 12:00-1:00)
Rob is a contributing producer for Midday.