Season 2 of our special series is now streaming on Bloomberg Originals and The Open Mind. BREAKING BREAD WITH ALEXANDER are in-depth conversations chronicling politically and geographically diverse U.S. governors and senators over their favorite meals and activities. The Open Mind, the weekly broadcast and podcast hosted by Alexander Heffner, is a thoughtful excursion into the world of ideas across politics, media, science, technology, the arts, and all realms of civic life. The Washington Post has called the series “[a] radical approach to talk in a troubled time.” The goal is to intellectually stimulate viewers, inspire in them nuanced understanding, and encourage active participation in wide-ranging democratic deliberation.
the host
Alexander is host of The Open Mind on PBS, creator of Breaking Bread with Alexander on Bloomberg TV, and coauthor of bestselling A Documentary History of the United States by Penguin. He has covered American culture, politics, and civic life since the 2008 presidential campaign.
He is recipient of Johns Hopkins University’s Agora Institute Fellowship, University of Denver’s Anvil of Freedom Award, Franklin Pierce University’s Fitzwater Medallion for Leadership in Public Communication, and Yale University’s Poynter Fellowship in Journalism. His work is chronicled in Harvard Magazine, Deadline Hollywood, The Christian Science Monitor, The Hill, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Washington Post, The Des Moines Register, Variety, Medium, and on MSNBC, C-SPAN, NPR, CNN, ABC and the BBC. His writing appears in USA TODAY, WIRED, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, The Independent, NYT's Room for Debate, Boston Globe, and Philadelphia Inquirer, among other publications.
He has lectured at the Santa Fe Public Library, Alabama Humanities Alliance, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum, FDR Presidential Library & Museum, The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art, Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability at The Ohio State University, The American University in Cairo, Initiative for Truth at University of Sydney, Center for Information and Bubble Studies at University of Copenhagen, Institute on Constitutional Democracy at University of Missouri, Civil Discourse Lab at the University of New Hampshire, Department of Writing and Rhetoric at University of Mississippi, Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State, Clarke Forum at Dickinson College, Center for Constitutional Democracy at Marshall University, Alpha Seminar at Carroll College, among other institutions of learning.
“The Open Mind is a refreshing change from typical TV fare, and no wonder. Its host, Alexander Heffner, has taken his grandfather's ground-breaking program and made it just the right fit for today's audience, keeping ideas at the forefront, and with the probing, skeptical, yet confident approach of a millennial. Conversation that makes us think.”
– Judy Woodruff, Host, PBS NewsHour
“Alexander Heffner is that rare host who not only listens carefully but also thinks for himself. Heffner led our conversation into unexpected areas and made me think about the topic in new ways. He and his show are gems.”
– Bill Deresiewicz, Critic
“One hidden pleasure with The Open Mind is that it has introduced me to people that I’ve never read nor have heard speak. Newton Minow and Astra Taylor are two great examples of the show’s brilliance. Here are two people, decades and decades apart in age, but both with wonderful insights and observations…never knowing of either before I had watched and listened to each episode.”
– Viewer
“I very much appreciate having The Open Mind available to my students to demonstrate the high quality, relevance and integrity of what great media can still be.”
– Ernest Wilson, Dean Emeritus, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
“Alexander Heffner is a savvy, witty, knowledgeable host bringing meaty conversation to the screen. A rare find in this day and age.”
– Danielle Allen, Executive Director, Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University
“I have viewed The Open Mind since 1956, and it continues to be appointment TV.”
– Viewer
“The Open Mind has fed my intellectual curiosity and opened up access to discourse and personalities I never would have known.”
– Viewer
