Hello everyone. Nick here. It is the holiday season, so I'm home with my kids and speaking very

quietly and sledding and eating too many chicken wings and watching all the Home Alone movies.

I bet you didn't know there were so many. So I thought it was the perfect time

to share an episode I was in this winter of the middle with Jeremy Hobson. Jeremy's show,

quote, elevates the voices of Americans who live in the middle, geographically, politically,

or philosophically. And this was an episode about the state of civil discourse in America and

civility in general. I have to say it was an utter joy to be on this show. It was recorded live

at the Bank of New Hampshire stage in my hometown of Mary Old Concord, New Hampshire. But before I

play it, I want to ask you something.

So the last question that Jeremy asked each of us was, do you think politically, there is a

middle? And I really wonder what you think, Civics 101 listener. Is there a middle? Let us know. My mind is very easily changed. Just drop us a line at

Civics 101 at nhpr.org. Tell us what you feel. And don't let 2025 hit you where the

euphemism euphemism. Enjoy the show. See you next week, next year, etc.

Welcome to a special edition of the Middle in partnership with NHPR. I'm Jeremy Hobson,

coming to you from the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire.

It has been just over two months since the assassination of the political activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk at a campus event in Utah that was focused on debating controversial ideas.

And Kirk's murder sparked another national conversation about the tone of our politics and our ability and willingness to talk with and listen to one another, especially when we disagree. Now, we're in the state

of New Hampshire, which is the center of our national politics every four years when they hold

the first in the nation primary. The people of this state, which has been a swing state for the last

few decades, are used to being around people with different political views.

They're also used to having face-to-face interaction with national political candidates.

But like all Americans, they're also on social media, where it's commonplace to unfriend someone who's on the other side politically,

...