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As America votes in the Midterms, should we talk across the political divide? Meet the Leaders with Professor Rachel Wahl and Ben Rich
On Tuesday 3rd November, Americans go to the polls in midterm elections that will test arguably the most polarised democracy in the West. On the same day, Professor Rachel Wahl joins us live from the United States to ask a question that now divides citizens on both sides of the Atlantic: should we sit down with people whose politics we find objectionable, or does doing so hand them a legitimacy they have not earned? From university campuses to town halls, that question now divides citizens across Britain, America and much of the democratic world.
Please register below to join Rachel Wahl, Professor at the University of Virginia and author of Keeping Our Enemies Closer: Political Dialogue in Polarized Democracies, and Ben Rich, Chief Executive of Radix Big Tent, for another interactive Radix Big Tent Meet the Leaders webinar on Tuesday 3rd November, at 6.00pm GMT / 1.00pm EST.
Rachel's new book draws on more than a decade of research in the rooms where these conversations actually take place: campus rows over the Middle East, public forums on policing, and structured dialogues between people who struggle to agree on the basic facts. Rather than romanticise dialogue, she looks hard at why so many people object to it, why it so often goes wrong, and what it can still contribute to democratic life.
As polling stations open on America's East Coast, Rachel will bring a view from the ground of a country where political opponents increasingly see one another as enemies. Her conclusions reach well beyond America. As universities wrestle with the competing demands of free expression, inclusion and viewpoint diversity, and as political debate in Britain grows more fractured, Rachel offers an evidence-based guide to designing conversations on the most contentious issues so that they lead to understanding rather than deeper division.
Join Rachel and Ben on this pivotal day as they ask whether talking to our opponents can still help hold a democracy together, and how to do it well.
Professor Rachel Wahl
Rachel Wahl is a Professor in the Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Policy at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia and Director of the Good Life Political Project at the UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy. Her work explores how people navigate political disagreement in polarised democracies. In her most recent book, Keeping Our Enemies Closer: Political Dialogue in Polarized Democracies (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2026), she examines what happens when citizens with opposing political views try to understand one another.
Ben Rich
Chief Executive of Radix Big Tent, Ben is a political strategist, writer and broadcaster. In 2021, he led the merger between Radix think tank and the Big Tent Ideas Festival and he continues to take overall responsibility for Radix Big Tent’s growing programme to promote system renewal.
Former Chief of Staff and Campaign Director for then Liberal Democrat Leader, Tim Farron MP, Ben was also previously Chief Executive of the Movement for Reform Judaism and prior to that a Partner at City Public Relations firm, Luther Pendragon.
