Joan Esposito is joined by Robert Pape, professor of political science at the University of Chicago and author of “The Escalation Trap” on Substack; his new book, "Our Own Worst Enemies: America in the Age of Violent Populism," comes out Tuesday, September 22.

Here are a few key points from the conversation:
- Pape argued that political violence has moved beyond fringe extremist groups, with tens of millions of Americans expressing support for political violence.
- He described political violence as being fueled by demographic change, identity politics, immigration policy, populism, and economic insecurity.
- He said 70 percent of Americans abhor political violence and represent an underused constituency for democratic engagement.
- Peaceful protests such as the No Kings demonstrations were presented as evidence that large-scale political participation can occur without violence.

Key quote: "For most of our lifetimes, what we have seen as hate and violent hate has been against African Americans, against Jews, against minorities, and immigrants, and that hate is still with us. But that hate is basically fringe, from the fringe, and that layer has been with us for many, many decades. But we've now had a new evolution, and whether you call it political violence, extremism, or hate, [it] has moved to the mainstream. We now have, and the book will lay this out, tens of millions of Americans on both sides of the aisle supporting political violence, and that changes everything."

Catch "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive" weekdays from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive).

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