PBS Books is proud to feature a program from the Bipartisan Leadership Project (BLP), highlighting how leaders can engage across deep differences with respect and purpose. As part of the National Press Club’s Headliners series, Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT) and Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) will demonstrate how public servants on opposite sides of the political spectrum can model the civility and collaboration that Americans are yearning for in today’s polarized climate.
Governor Cox and Governor Moore may differ sharply in their policy positions, yet they share a conviction that respectful dialogue is the key to moving forward. Their leadership and the work of the Bipartisan Leadership Project underscores a commitment to elevate civility, listen to each other, and find common ground —proving that disagreement does not have to be disrespectful. In an environment intensified by recent political partisan divides, this conversation will explore how constructive discussion, and cooperation can lead to stronger communities and better governance.
How to participate: Viewers may submit questions in advance to the National Press Club by emailing headliners@press.org with GOVERNORS in the subject line. The deadline for advance questions is 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, September 4.
When & where: The program streams live on Thursday, September 4 at 1:00 p.m. ET on PBS Books.
Learn More About Our Partner:
Featured Guests
Mike Balsamo
President, National Press Club
Mike Balsamo is the national law enforcement editor for The Associated Press, helping to lead coverage of criminal justice, breaking news, and strategic initiatives across the U.S. With extensive experience in law enforcement reporting, Balsamo has covered some of the nation’s most significant stories, including the Justice Department under the Trump administration, the special counsel’s Russia investigation, and criminal cases involving Donald Trump.
Balsamo also led a groundbreaking investigation into the federal prison system, which resulted in the resignation of the Bureau of Prisons director and sparked significant legislative reforms.
A two-time winner of the White House Correspondents’ Association Award for Deadline Reporting and a finalist for the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, Balsamo has served on the National Press Club’s board for five years. Before moving to Washington, he reported for the AP in Los Angeles and New York City.
Spencer Cox
Governor of Utah
Gov. Spencer J. Cox is a husband, father, farmer, recovering attorney, and Utah’s 18th governor. He also served as the 2023-2024 chairman of the National Governors Association.
Gov. Cox has a long track record of public service, serving as a city councilmember, mayor, county commissioner and state legislator before being appointed as Utah’s lieutenant governor in 2013. He was sworn in as governor on Jan. 4, 2021.
During his first term in office, Gov. Cox cut $1.1 billion in taxes, implemented landmark changes in water law, water conservation and infrastructure planning, locked in record funding for education and teachers, enacted universal school choice and secured funds for affordable housing. A long-time advocate for suicide prevention and mental health resources, he’s become a national voice on protecting youth from the harms of social media. He also signed early education and workforce program funding, launched the One Utah Health Collaborative, and expanded opportunities for women, diverse communities and those living in rural parts of the state.
With a focus on solutions, Gov. Cox promotes respect in politics and innovation in government, works across party lines to find common ground and regularly participates in hands-on service projects. These elements were the foundation of his NGA Chair’s Initiative, “Disagree Better: Healthy Conflict for Better Policy.”
A sixth-generation Utahn, Gov. Cox was born and raised in Fairview, a town of 1,200 in the center of the state. He met First Lady Abby Palmer Cox at age 16 and they married after he returned from serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico. He attended Snow College, Utah State University and the Washington and Lee University School of Law, then clerked for U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart and worked at a Salt Lake City law firm. Several years later, Gov. Cox and First Lady Cox moved back to Fairview to raise their four children – Gavin, Kaleb, Adam, and Emma Kate – on the family farm. The governor, first lady and Emma Kate currently reside in the Kearns Mansion, also known as the Governor’s Mansion, in Salt Lake City.
Wes Moore
Governor of Maryland
Wes Moore is the 63rd Governor of the state of Maryland. He is Maryland’s first Black Governor in the state’s 246-year history, and is just the third African American elected Governor in the history of the United States.
Born in Takoma Park, Maryland, on October 15, 1978, to Joy and Westley Moore, Moore’s life took a tragic turn when his father died of a rare, but treatable virus when he was just three years old. After his father’s death, his family moved to the Bronx to live with Moore’s grandparents before returning to Maryland at age 14.
Moore is a proud graduate of Valley Forge Military Academy and College, where he received an Associate’s degree in 1998, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Afterward, he went on to earn his Bachelor’s in international relations and economics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.
While at Johns Hopkins, Moore interned in the office of former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke. Moore was the first Black Rhodes Scholar in the history of Johns Hopkins University. As a Rhodes Scholar, he earned a Master’s in international relations from Wolfson College at Oxford.
In 2005, Moore deployed to Afghanistan as a lieutenant with the 82nd Airborne Division, leading soldiers in combat. Immediately upon returning home, Moore served as a White House Fellow, advising on issues of national security and international relations.
In 2010, Moore wrote “The Other Wes Moore,” a story about the fragile nature of opportunity in America, which became a perennial New York Times bestseller. He went on to write other best-selling books that reflect on issues of race, equity, and opportunity, including his latest book “Five Days,” which tells the story of Baltimore in the days that followed the death of Freddie Gray in 2015.
Moore built and launched a Baltimore-based business called BridgeEdU, which reinvented freshman year of college for underserved students to increase their likelihood of long-term success. BridgeEdu was acquired by the Brooklyn-based student financial success platform, Edquity, in 2018.
It was Moore’s commitment to taking on our toughest challenges that brought him to the Robin Hood Foundation, where he served for four years as CEO. During his tenure, the Robin Hood Foundation distributed over $600 million toward lifting families out of poverty, including here in Maryland.
While the Robin Hood Foundation is headquartered in New York City, Wes and his family never moved from their home in Baltimore.
Moore has also worked in finance with Deutsche Bank in London and with Citigroup in New York.
Moore and his wife, First Lady Dawn Flythe Moore​, have two children – Mia and James –​ and a dog, Tucker Balti.
