At a time of heightened partisanship, declining trust in institutions, increased political violence, and rapid social change, Judy Woodruff set out this year on a two-year reporting project, America at a Crossroads, to explore the forces driving Americans apart, and to ask people from all walks of life and all political persuasions what might be done to reverse these worrying trends. She crisscrossed the country, listening to researchers and writers, school board members and parents, activists, local leaders, even the President of the United States, discuss how they view challenges before us and what can be done to surmount them. She centered these stories on lived experience, historical context, and compassion, reporting on the phenomenon of negative partisanship - intense dislike from one party for the other; growing distrust of the judiciary, and the privileging of partisan politics over the rule of law; how school boards became the center of fights over social issues; ongoing concerns about domestic extremism and rising political violence; the difficulties of racial healing, and the progress that's been made; and how the disappearance of local news has contributed to the unraveling of civic connection. Now, to round out the first year of Crossroads, in an hour-long special we'll revisit some of our most compelling stories with a combination of writers, policymakers, big thinkers and regular people to explain what we've learned about America's divisions, what we're still grasping to better understand, and what might be done to move forward.
