Carter and I will be talking about books and politics this Wednesday (August 2) at 7 pm at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. (Support your local independent bookstore!) Join us.

We’re part of the store’s “Bridging the Divide” series, designed to bring together people from the left and the right.

Now, cynics might say Carter and I are exactly the kind of people to blame for the divide. But at least we can talk about politics without getting mad or throwing punches.

And there’s a lot to talk about.

Officially, our topic is the book “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis,” which helps explain why Democrats have lost lower-income, working class, rural and small-town voters. Or, more to the point, white voters.

But Carter and I like to answer audience questions and respond to comments. So it will be open season on all pressing matters of state.

Like, what do we make of the Trump White House – Spicy, the Mooch, Priebus, Bannon, the Generals and the Family?

What will be the impact of the Republicans’ failure to repeal Obamacare?

Has everybody forgotten the Trump-Russia investigation?

What will happen in the 2018 elections?

If Democrats can’t win now, can we ever?

We invite you to join us. Help ridge – or widen – the divide. And buy a book or two while you’re there.