Have Your Say: Come Join the People's Election Night

Dear OZY Tribe,

For the past decade, I’ve spent most every election night holed up in a newsroom. As a junior hack, I meticulously punched results into a computer until the early hours. In recent years at The Times of London, I helped to helm reporting by dozens of writers as we covered as many breaking stories as possible before deadline, gleaning the reactions of politicians and pointyheads as we went along.

This year is different. Tomorrow, I’m going to see an election from the other side for the first time in a good while. Not only as a newly installed U.S. resident who’s crossed the pond from Britain to join OZY, but crucially as a pundit — someone with a keen and vested interest in watching, learning and contributing to the conversation as the midterm results unfold.

And I’d love for you to join me — alongside experts, reporters and celebrity guests like former CIA director John McLaughlin.

Tomorrow evening, OZY invites you to join our private discussion group, Take On America: Discuss, for an evening of mind-opening, invigorating debate about the results as they unfold and what they mean for America and beyond.

This is a people’s election night, where you can ask questions about what’s happening — and weigh in and be the pundit yourself. We welcome people of all ages, backgrounds and political leanings, from teenagers to seniors and from political junkies to newbies.

WHEN?

From 7pm ET/4pm PT until midnight ET/9pm PT (or longer — don’t forget to stock up on coffee!).

WHERE?

Go to our special Facebook page, Take On America: Discuss, now and request to join the debate by clicking “+ Join Group” below the cover photo. This group is private to ensure that the caliber of conversation inside is as respectful and articulate as possible.

WHAT?

During this people’s election night, we’ll tackle key topics, including:

After spending the past two years traveling the country to dig into these national developments, OZY's reporters, editors and expert analysts will be there to break down the results and take your questions about where the country is going. The team includes former CIA director John McLaughlin, OZY political editor Daniel Malloy, global politics guru Charu Kasturi, pollster Scott Tranter, and myself.

But this is the people's election night: We want you to lead the discussion.

WHY?

Our inspiration is OZY’s newest primetime TV show, Take On America with OZY, which has had more than 8 million views over the past two weeks across PBS, YouTube and Facebook.

The town hall series brings together audiences of 100 people to discuss the issues that matter to them. We focused on 100 Black men in Baltimore, 100 White women in Nashville, 100 Latinx in New York and 100 Asian-American millennials in San Francisco — to show the diversity within groups that are all too often presumed to vote and even think as a bloc.

We saw not only the diversity of opinion within these groups — whether Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative — but the power of knowledge and passion. I was struck by how articulate and, for the most part, respectful the debates were.

I’d love to harness the power of our tumultuous times to have conversations that cross the political divide and help us learn more about our world and each other. OZY’s slogan is Live Curiously — here’s your chance.

For any questions or comments, you can reach me, as always, at managingeditor@ozy.com.

With all the best to you and yours,