New Season Of ‘Breaking Bread’ Mixes Food And Politics To Temper Partisanship In Polarized Times

Ted Johnson

3 July 2024 at 10:00 am·2-min read

For many this election season is already filled with a combination of dread and dismay, but the second season of Breaking Bread may calm some nerves in an anxiety ridden environment.

Appearing on Bloomberg Originals, the show features host Alexander Heffner dining and chatting with politicians on both sides of the aisle in a casual atmosphere.

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The second season premiere episode, debuting on Thursday, features Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Heffner taking in a meal of Sonoran hot dogs and then a flight over the desert.

Other episodes feature a meal of chicken and waffles with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), along with a visit to his childhood home; steak and potatoes with Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, at the Historic Occidental Hotel; and salmon burgers with Sen. Liza Murkowski at a renewable energy fair in Alaska.

Other guests in the season include Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Gov. Jim Pillen (R-NE), Gov. Maura Healey (D-MA), Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Gov. Josh Green (D-HI), Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI).

Last season’s guests included Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Maine Governor Janet Mills and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV). Also featured was North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, one of Donald Trump’s potential vice presidential picks.

Heffner has said that a goal of the show is to “forge consensus” in an era of political dysfunction.

The series will run on Thursdays on Bloomberg Originals and also appear online as a special of Heffner’s series The Open Mind, which airs on PBS.

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