Last updated on October 2nd, 2020

Are you tired of polarizing partisan politics? Or annoyed with the constant Republican versus Democrat discourse? Robert Pease, a lifelong political independent, helps to address this tension by bringing Purple Principle to Americans across the country. This non-partisan podcast for independent-minded voters explores the perils of partisanship in U.S. politics, society, and daily life. Today, Congress is the most polarized it’s been in years. Every modern issue is politicized, so things get sticky quickly and compromise becomes extremely difficult. 

In Purple Principle, Pease asks the ultimate question: Can Americans become less partisan? To answer this question and understand where partisanship came from, he interviews authors, professors, members of Congress, and those working on the front lines of partisanship. It’s extremely refreshing to understand and digest politics from a non-partisan perspective, and that novelty alone will hold the listener’s attention. Episodes are well-researched and cover voting strategically, the social media echo chamber, media bias, and more. If you have your own non-partisan experience you want to share with the team, submit it at purpleprinciple.com. 

We were fortunate to talk with Pease about the podcast, how they differentiate from other podcasts, and their future plans in podcasting. See below for our full Q&A.

Listen: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher| Spotify

DISCOVER PODS: How’d you get into podcasting?

PEASE: Like so many others we came to podcasting via listening to great radio shows and podcasts. Who can forget the whale rescue segment on Radio Lab (even if that was 15 years ago)? More recently, Hidden Brain has often inspired us, such as the show “You Can’t Hit Unsend” on social media and its consequences. In my personal case I’ve been watching and monitoring our two major political parties drift apart and increasingly play politics, rather than govern, for several decades now, with obvious consequences for all. At the same time much, though not all, of our media has become more political and partisan, and less inclined to do real reporting on issues and trends. Originally, The Purple Principle was to have been a book project but over time a podcast featuring a wide variety of views and voices became more appealing. 

DISCOVER PODS: In your own words, why should listeners tune in to The Purple Principle?

PEASE: The Purple Principle takes a 360-degree view of partisanship to help listeners better understand why our elected representatives so often just play politics and not govern effectively. Compromise is an essential ingredient in democracy and that has become a taboo subject to both parties, with almost no moderates left in Congress to mediate. This was not always the case. For younger listeners we attempt to document that fact, such as in Episode 2 where we discuss the demise of RINOS (Republicans in Name Only) and DINOS (Democrats in Name Only) in the US Senate over the past 30 years.

For the benefit of all listeners, we invite experts in neuroscience, psychology and media to analyze how broken politics plus partisan media arouses our tribal tendencies and tears at the nation’s political and social fabric. One think tank coined the term “the exhausted majority”  to describe the politics-weary audience that in our small way we try to reach. Some of these folks are former major party members who are now independent or unaffiliated voter citizens attempting to tune out politics. 

Through our guests, topics and related research we try to assure them they are not alone in their “exhaustion” yet encourage them to stay involved in the national discussion. Our Episode 3, The Forty Million Missing featuring 4 prominent and engaged independents is a good case in point. There are also a large number of partisan folks out there who feel that “my party is not partisan; they’re the partisan ones….” They would benefit greatly from listening to the Purple Principle. But, as the show often highlights, it is very hard to break through all that “motivated reasoning” and open the tribal mind. 

DISCOVER PODS: What kind of feedback have you heard from your listeners? 

PEASE: We have only 10 Purple Principle episodes out so far and have received much positive feedback in a short time. Folks have shared their purple tales, such as trying to reconcile science and religion or describing some of the compromises reached at the state and local levels that seem so difficult at the national level. 

  • We’ve had several positive reviews on Apple Podcasts. Some include: 

1.    “A whole new way to think about using your vote to help preserve democracy.”

2.    “Thank God I’m not alone!”  

3.    Interestingly, some Apple reviews have been from those out of the country who say the podcast has helped them “to better understand the American political landscape.” 

DISCOVER PODS: Describe your recording set up? What equipment are you using? 

PEASE: This is ever a work in progress. Once we had to record remotely due to COVID, we initially used an online platform for interviews but found the sound quality lacking. Now we ask most of our guests to record their tracks remotely and send to us afterwards, as that makes the interview less vulnerable to variance in wifi. 

DISCOVER PODS: What’s the biggest challenge you face as an indie podcaster? 

PEASE: Initially the challenge was gaining the trust of interesting guests to interview with us on The Purple Principle. Now that we have episodes up that is less of a problem and the challenge becomes building an audience. Social media tends to reward extreme language and behavior. And The Purple Principle is largely about civility, moderation, fact and nuance. So that is a battle. But we value every single additional download. 

DISCOVER PODS: Where do you want to take your podcast? 

PEASE: We feel it’s important for small indie podcasts to remain flexible and responsive and not fixate on a particular episode structure or narrow topic or goal. We are going to continue to experiment with script, sound and subject on The Purple Principle as we build an audience over the next 2-3 months then re-evaluate at the end of our Season 1.

DISCOVER PODS: What other podcasts are you listening to now? 

PEASE: Wish we had more time for this. Obviously “Serial” is incredible, as are so many NPR shows. We are a bit more of a “show” than traditional banter-style podcast, so we do tend to listen to a lot of NPR productions, but also quite a few Pushkin podcasts as well, such as the Michael Lewis show, “Against the Rules” and  Jill Lepore’s “The Last Archive.”  We also like the medical show “Tradeoffs” for it’s quality, economy and attention to detail. And we think Pantsuit Politics does a great job as well. 

DISCOVER PODS: Anything else you’d like to add? 

PEASE: Understandably, many people are focused on the election right now as a kind of cure-all. Originally we thought we’d get the best audience growth against the backdrop of a  partisan election environment. Now we’re wondering if The Purple Principle might be of more interest post-election when people realize that in our system of government there are rarely, if ever, one party solutions, and the gap between parties may have widened yet further. 

Click to Listen from your favorite platform or to visit us on social media: 

https://linktr.ee/PurplePrinciple

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