Conservative PBS host Margaret Hoover and her husband, CNN Senior Political Analyst and registered independent John Avlon, spoke to the school about managing political polarization and how it relates to discussions in school during Community Flex Time on Feb. 3.

Hoover and Avlon spoke about current themes in American politics.

Hoover and Avlon stressed the importance of open dialogues with those across the political aisle, referencing their own marriage as an example. Hoover comes from from a line of Republicans, as her great-grandfather was former President Herbert Hoover.

“We’ve been seeing these divisions in our personal lives,” Avlon said. “It took time—her parents, they weren’t uncivil at all, but there was definitely a sense of, ‘Who are you, and what are you all about?’”

The couple also shared a short video of former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton discussing the importance of the peaceful transition of power.

“I think what President Clinton says [about humility] is a thing that we all need to internalize,” Hoover said. “It’s about getting off your high horse and calling your neighbor.”

Students were given the opportunity to ask Hoover and Avlon questions about their work and current events in a Q&A format.

In a Q&A format moderated by Daniel Novikov ’21 and Helen Graham ’21 , Hoover and Avlon responded to questions submitted by students. Avlon discussed the dangers of hyper-partisanship, referencing the Republican attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6.

“[The Jan. 6 insurrection] is American history of the worst kind, but we need to learn the right lessons from it,” Avlon said. “And it is just as simple and just as profound as trying to recognize the common humanity of your fellow Americans—of believing there is more that unites us than divides us.”