What if the other person is right? That is the question at the center of the political podcast You Might Be Right, hosted by former Tennessee governors Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam.
The show, launched by the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs in 2022, serves as a means to discuss key policy issues from opposite sides of the aisle. Bredesen, a Democrat, and Haslam, a Republican, were inspired by the late Senator Howard Baker’s mantra “the other fellow might be right,” which he used to encourage his peers in the US Senate to consider both sides of an argument.
“I think one of the things that I appreciate the most about Senator Baker is that whole spirit of the other fellow might be right,” Haslam says. “Senator Baker—
I knew him, he wasn’t weak at all, but he always was trying to get to the right answer and this idea that I need to at least listen and see if the other fellow might be right.”
The governors have interviewed nationally recognized guests from opposing viewpoints to tackle tough topics with listeners. In the first season, Tennessee native and former Vice President Al Gore discussed climate change. In another episode, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Barry Eichengreen, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley, joined the governors to discuss national debt.
In season three, Harvard University professor and Institute of American Civics Board of Fellows member Danielle Allen shared her expert opinion on democracy. In its current season, the show is covering topics relevant to an election year—from third-party candidates to the electoral college.
Through the show, both governors hope to encourage respectful civil discourse across the country. “What I found is people talk about bipartisanship as a way of getting things done,” Bredesen says. “I think it’s even more important, a way of making things better that you can pick and choose from a host of ideas and bring them together and it gets it done.”
The podcast has been featured in national outlets such as the Washington Post and USA Today. Shortly after its launch, CNN’s Jake Tapper invited the hosts onto his show to discuss the importance of civil discourse in democracy.
Bredesen and Haslam have also recorded live shows in front of audiences at the Baker School and at iconic locations such as George Washington’s Mount Vernon outside of Washington, DC, and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
All three seasons are available for streaming on popular podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. Sign up for the podcast’s newsletter to receive new episodes by email.