Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, will be the guest on the 2015-16 season premiere of “The Open Mind,” the longest-running public affairs program in public television history.
Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.
A member of the Commission on Presidential Debates, Father Jenkins will speak with host Alexander Heffner about moral education and the cure for incivility in an age of entrenched partisanship.
“What I hope,” Father Jenkins says, “is that instilling in our students, as well as modeling in our public culture, an approach to disagreement where it’s not, ‘I want to impose my will by whatever means I can find,’ but rather, ‘I want to engage people who disagree with me,’ understanding that we may not ultimately agree — but attempt to find some solutions that can respect the interests and pursue many perspectives through reasoned discussion. I think that’s the ideal we have to model in ourselves, we have to teach our students. And frankly, we have to challenge our leaders, our public leaders, to live up to that, because too often a different kind of discussion is modeled.”
The program will air over coming weeks on public television stations nationwide, including locally on WNIT (Channels 34.1 and 34.2) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (June 24), 6:30 p.m. Saturday (June 27), 1:30 p.m. Sunday (June 28) and 12:30 a.m. July 5. It also will be available online at www.thirteen.org/openmind/.
“The Open Mind” explores the ideas of the most innovative journalists, historians, elected officials and practitioners of law, policy and many other realms of American life. Entering its 60th year on the air, the program was founded by Heffner’s grandfather Richard D. Heffner.
To watch the program, click here.
Updated June 29 with video link.