Oregon’s political life bursts with conflict. But the state will be in trouble if the political life is not anchored in a way that serves and represents all the people who live here.

The state is an intricate mix of strong, rural, conservative traditions in many areas and a growing, seeming dominance of a more progressive movement. National political events can also transfigure the local.

We probably all are guilty of falling into comfortable patterns of what we read or follow about Oregon politics. And maybe we don’t seek out enough views that challenge our own.

We urge you to check out a new podcast called “The Oregon Bridge.” It’s put out by Ben Bowman and Alex Titus. They are friends. They often disagree. Bowman is a progressive, serves on the Tigard-Tualatin School Board and ran for state Senate. Titus is a conservative and worked as an adviser in the Trump administration.

Every two weeks or so they have been interviewing someone new, primarily in Oregon politics. They interviewed state Rep. WLnsvey Campos, D-Aloha, a progressive endorsed by Bernie Sanders in one episode. In the next they interviewed Alex Skarlatos, the conservative who came about as close as anyone has to defeating Rep. Peter DeFazio. You may remember Skarlatos as the soldier, who with others, helped to stop a gunman on a train to Paris. They also interviewed Kevin Frazier, the law student from Oregon who submits a column to The Bulletin once a month. Frazier hosts a blog, called The Oregon Way, which is a forum for political commentary.

The podcast isn’t political mud wrestling. It’s not people yelling at each other. They are thoughtful discussions. If you are looking for a way to enhance and broaden your understanding of Oregon politics, check out The Oregon Bridge. You can find it on Apple Podcasts and many other places.