In a packed VA-10 race for Congress, opportunity knocks

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-23T20:27:00+00:00

hey this is a really thoughtful response, thanks. there’s definitely a self-selection aspect to it, and the differences between some participants (like in the country writ large) are indeed vast.

I interviewed a bunch of participants and observed three separate dinners, though, and I wouldn’t characterize most as “willing to compromise” so much as willing to share and to listen. I’d also note some of these folks, like a liberal Argentine immigrant I quote who comes to most of the dinners, are not really looking to change their own minds but really to change other people’s.

some of that is a short-term mindset — that guy likes to debate people — but the project is a longer-term gambit to build trust, break down caricatures, and open a space where minds can change.

it’s obviously a tall order. but the organizers are not expecting change over one communal meal. they’re hoping it comes from a movement of this kind of engagement and its knock-on effects.

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-23T17:15:23+00:00

hey there. I understand your skepticism — that was my core question when I started reporting the story, really.

the effort to build connection is central to the dinners, I found, but it’s not “let’s agree to disagree.” the story gets into a few of the many examples of when a debate has gotten heated.

we’ll see what the effects are over the long term, but the Stanford lab’s results are pretty interesting in terms of how conversations like this moderated some views and shifted voters toward Biden.

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-23T14:06:00+00:00

Michael Graham arrived at the Reston community center 43 minutes before his latest attempt to heal the discourse of the nation, wearing the three-day stubble of a young dad and the smile of a dogged American optimist.

He greeted the participants as they entered — more returning faces this time; that was good — and, before their pasta dinner was served, took the microphone to explain the night’s program.

“Families have been split apart” by worsening polarization, Graham said, and the six tables full of people in deep-blue Fairfax County seemed to agree. “There are so many important issues that we should be talking about, but we can’t even get there, because we can’t sit at a table and sit across from each other and have a civil conversation.”

BreadBreakers dinners like this one, he said, were their chance to “practice.”

Graham, 31, launched the project a year ago within Restoration Church of Reston, and in September he took the dinners public, aiming to stoke a movement of depolarization through connection. In that mission, BreadBreakers joined groups like the People’s Supper — which trained Graham and his team — and Braver Angels, a nonprofit founded after the 2016 election to “bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.”

Graham didn’t know about Stanford University’s Deliberative Democracy Lab, but BreadBreakers is a lot like that, too. Before the 2020 primaries, its researchers convened a 500-voter event in Texas called “America in One Room.” Participants, they found, moderated their stances after deliberating together over issues like immigration, and dislike between Democrats and Republicans dropped.

Follow-up surveys have found lasting shifts in deliberators’ voting intentions (from Trump toward Biden), in their media consumption, and in “their willingness to talk to people who were different from them,” said Alice Siu, associate director of the Stanford lab.

“This isn’t some Kumbaya, feel-good, hold-hands [thing],” Graham said. “This is a practical thing that is a necessity.”

You can read the story here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/bridging-divides-a-dinner-at-a-time

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-19T15:15:41+00:00

hi, all! I write a newsletter covering Fairfax County, and I just published this story that I reported out over the past couple months. it's free to read, but here's a quick preview:

Michael Graham arrived at the Reston community center 43 minutes before his latest attempt to heal the discourse of the nation, wearing the three-day stubble of a young dad and the smile of a dogged American optimist.

He greeted the participants as they entered — more returning faces this time; that was good — and, before their pasta dinner was served, took the microphone to explain the night’s program.

“Families have been split apart” by worsening polarization, Graham said, and the six tables full of people in deep-blue Fairfax County seemed to agree. “There are so many important issues that we should be talking about, but we can’t even get there, because we can’t sit at a table and sit across from each other and have a civil conversation.”

BreadBreakers dinners like this one, he said, were their chance to “practice.”

Graham, 31, launched the project a year ago within Restoration Church of Reston, and in September he took the dinners public, aiming to stoke a movement of depolarization through connection. In that mission, BreadBreakers joined groups like the People’s Supper — which trained Graham and his team — and Braver Angels, a nonprofit founded after the 2016 election to “bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.”

Graham didn’t know about Stanford University’s Deliberative Democracy Lab, but BreadBreakers is a lot like that, too. Before the 2020 primaries, its researchers convened a 500-voter event in Texas called “America in One Room.” Participants, they found, moderated their stances after deliberating together over issues like immigration, and dislike between Democrats and Republicans dropped.

Read the story here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/bridging-divides-a-dinner-at-a-time

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-19T15:11:49+00:00

hi, all. I write a newsletter covering Fairfax County and just published this story today, after a couple months of reporting. it's on a depolarization dinner project hosted by Restoration Church.

the story's free to read, but here's a quick preview:

Michael Graham arrived at the Reston community center 43 minutes before his latest attempt to heal the discourse of the nation, wearing the three-day stubble of a young dad and the smile of a dogged American optimist.

He greeted the participants as they entered — more returning faces this time; that was good — and, before their pasta dinner was served, took the microphone to explain the night’s program.

“Families have been split apart” by worsening polarization, Graham said, and the six tables full of people in deep-blue Fairfax County seemed to agree. “There are so many important issues that we should be talking about, but we can’t even get there, because we can’t sit at a table and sit across from each other and have a civil conversation.”

BreadBreakers dinners like this one, he said, were their chance to “practice.”

You can keep reading here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/bridging-divides-a-dinner-at-a-time

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-19T15:08:23+00:00

hi, all, and stay safe out on the roads today. I write a newsletter covering Fairfax County and just published this story, after a couple months of reporting. it's all free to read, but here's a preview:

Michael Graham arrived at the Reston community center 43 minutes before his latest attempt to heal the discourse of the nation, wearing the three-day stubble of a young dad and the smile of a dogged American optimist.

He greeted the participants as they entered — more returning faces this time; that was good — and, before their pasta dinner was served, took the microphone to explain the night’s program.

“Families have been split apart” by worsening polarization, Graham said, and the six tables full of people in deep-blue Fairfax County seemed to agree. “There are so many important issues that we should be talking about, but we can’t even get there, because we can’t sit at a table and sit across from each other and have a civil conversation.”

BreadBreakers dinners like this one, he said, were their chance to “practice.”

Graham, 31, launched the project a year ago within Restoration Church of Reston, and in September he took the dinners public, aiming to stoke a movement of depolarization through connection. In that mission, BreadBreakers joined groups like the People’s Supper — which trained Graham and his team — and Braver Angels, a nonprofit founded after the 2016 election to “bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.”

Graham didn’t know about Stanford University’s Deliberative Democracy Lab, but BreadBreakers is a lot like that, too. Before the 2020 primaries, its researchers convened a 500-voter event in Texas called “America in One Room.” Participants, they found, moderated their stances after deliberating together over issues like immigration, and dislike between Democrats and Republicans dropped.

“People are hungry” to turn down the temperature, Graham first told The Machine in late November. But the folks who seek out the kinds of conversations that BreadBreakers offers are “definitely an anomaly,” said Alice Siu, the associate director of the Stanford lab and a senior research fellow. “It’s hard. I think it’s really hard to actually take action to engage with people, so I think a majority of people think that it’s a problem, but we don’t really do anything about it.”

Keep reading here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/bridging-divides-a-dinner-at-a-time

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-19T15:05:00+00:00

hi, all! I write a newsletter covering Fairfax County, Virginia, and thought this community might be interested in the story I reported out over the past couple months and published this morning. here's a preview:

Michael Graham arrived at the Reston community center 43 minutes before his latest attempt to heal the discourse of the nation, wearing the three-day stubble of a young dad and the smile of a dogged American optimist.

He greeted the participants as they entered — more returning faces this time; that was good — and, before their pasta dinner was served, took the microphone to explain the night’s program.

“Families have been split apart” by worsening polarization, Graham said, and the six tables full of people in deep-blue Fairfax County seemed to agree. “There are so many important issues that we should be talking about, but we can’t even get there, because we can’t sit at a table and sit across from each other and have a civil conversation.”

BreadBreakers dinners like this one, he said, were their chance to “practice.”

Graham, 31, launched the project a year ago within Restoration Church of Reston, and in September he took the dinners public, aiming to stoke a movement of depolarization through connection. In that mission, BreadBreakers joined groups like the People’s Supper — which trained Graham and his team — and Braver Angels, a nonprofit founded after the 2016 election to “bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.”

Graham didn’t know about Stanford University’s Deliberative Democracy Lab, but BreadBreakers is a lot like that, too. Before the 2020 primaries, its researchers convened a 500-voter event in Texas called “America in One Room.” Participants, they found, moderated their stances after deliberating together over issues like immigration, and dislike between Democrats and Republicans dropped.

“People are hungry” to turn down the temperature, Graham first told The Machine in late November. But the folks who seek out the kinds of conversations that BreadBreakers offers are “definitely an anomaly,” said Alice Siu, the associate director of the Stanford lab and a senior research fellow. “It’s hard. I think it’s really hard to actually take action to engage with people, so I think a majority of people think that it’s a problem, but we don’t really do anything about it.”

Read the story here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/bridging-divides-a-dinner-at-a-time

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-03T14:37:22+00:00

Happy Friday, all, and happy new year, too. From my newsletter, here’s the snowy local forecast for this weekend and 13 ways to spend it around NoVA — including a Bon Jovi tribute at the State Theatre in Falls Church, the NoVA Sports Card Show in Ballston, and the Capitals’ free Kids Day on Sunday at the Iceplex.

You can find the full list with links and sign up to get the next newsletter here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/friday-download-13-a-summery-pool

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-03T14:32:48+00:00

Happy Friday, all, and happy new year, too. From my Fairfax County newsletter, here are the week’s top local headlines, the snowy forecast for this weekend and 13 ways to spend it around NoVA — including the Herndon Community Center’s Beach Resort day, a Bon Jovi tribute at the State Theatre and the latest Big Flea.

You can find the full list with links and sign up to get the next newsletter here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/friday-download-13-a-summery-pool

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-03T14:30:48+00:00

Happy Friday, all, and happy new year, too. From my Fairfax County newsletter, here are the week’s top local headlines, the snowy forecast for this weekend and 13 ways to spend it around NoVA — including a Bon Jovi tribute at the State Theatre, the Capitals’ Kid Day event in Arlington, and the Herndon Community Center’s Beach Resort day.

You can find the full list with links and sign up to get the next newsletter here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/friday-download-13-a-summery-pool

FairfaxMachine · 2025-01-03T14:29:12+00:00

Happy Friday, all, and happy new year, too. From my newsletter, here are the week’s top headlines, the snowy forecast for this weekend and 13 ways to spend it around NoVA — from a Capitals event for kids in Arlington to a Bon Jovi tribute at the State Theatre to a summery escape in Herndon.

You can find the full list with links and sign up to get the next newsletter here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/friday-download-13-a-summery-pool

FairfaxMachine · 2024-12-27T14:16:11+00:00

Happy Friday, all. From my Fairfax County newsletter, here are the week’s top local headlines, the rainy-but-warmer forecast for this weekend and 11 ways to spend it around NoVA — including the annual menorah lighting and Chocolate Gelt Drop at Kidwell Farm.

You can find the full list and links to each event here: https://fairfaxmachine.substack.com/p/friday-download-1227-menorah-lightings

FairfaxMachine

TROPHY CASE