The Civic Discourse Project: ‘Citizenship and the Media’

Two journalists visited Arizona State University’s Tempe campus to participate in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership’s Civic Discourse Project, “Citizenship and the Media: A Responsibility to Promote Civic Literacy.”

New York Times columnist David Leonhardt and Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review and American Enterprise Institute discuss the concept of political parties and the meaning of getting news in this day and age. Leonhardt and Ponnuru agree that it’s important to disagree: in their view, discourse and compromise were fundamental to the founding of the United States. But while arguments can be good, the amount of political polarization stems from a lack of understanding from both sides.

Some of these threads stretch forward to our contemporary context, while others connect us profoundly to American founding principles.

The School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership provides an indispensable forum for the school to include historical and contemporary conversations about politics in American society within the framework of civic discourse that inspires all of our public programs.

MORE: Read about the latest season of The Civic Discourse Project or see all this season’s episodes.

A graphic reading: Protect my public media

Protect My Public Media: Add your voice today

A solider playing a trumpet
airs May 25

National Memorial Day Concert 2025

Book cover for We All Live Here with author Jojo Moyes
May 28

Join us for PBS Books Readers Club!

A television with logos from Arizona PBS and Amazon Prime on the screen

Arizona PBS is now free to stream for Prime Video viewers in the U.S.

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters

STAY in touch
with azpbs.org!

Subscribe to Arizona PBS Newsletters: