Photo: Supplied by Alexander Heffner
If you've watched any of the debates or the coverage of the upcoming US election, it is clear the country is divided.
But one pundit trying to breach the divide - often with the help of an iconic meal - is historian and broadcaster Alexander Heffner.
He is the host of The Open Mind on PBS, a show founded by his grandfather Richard Heffner, who was host from 1956 until his death in 2013.
It is the longest-running programme on American public television. Alexander took over the show and has since added Breaking Bread with Alexander, where he interviews elected officials over a meal.
Interviewees include the likes of Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Lisa Murkowski.
Alexander is in the country as a guest of the New Zealand Initiative to discuss the state of the American democracy.
