Over hot dogs at an Orioles game, Maryland’s governor talked politics with docuseries creator and host Alexander Heffner.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is among the latest cohort of governors and senators to break bread, so to speak, with journalist Alexander Heffner on the second season of his docuseries, “Breaking Bread with Alexander.”
In a roughly half-hour episode being released this summer, Moore and Heffner talk politics while feasting on stadium fare — including hot dogs garnished with crab dip — at an Orioles game.
“The governor arrived shortly before the game, stuck around for the body of the game, and was clearly invested in having a conversation,” said Heffner, who also hosts PBS’ “The Open Mind,” co-authored “A Documentary History of the United States” and has covered American politics and culture for over 15 years.
By talking with politicians across the country and political spectrum, Heffner said the show aims to be solutions-oriented and investigates how leaders can achieve “more unified and effective” policies.
Food can be “an entryway to humanizing our politics” and a “vehicle for achieving greater decency and dialogue and deliberation in a democratic process that has been dysfunctional, and that the country believes has been failing,” said Heffner.
“We all hydrate and nourish ourselves,” he added.
Heffner, a New York native, said he deferred to his guests regarding where each episode was filmed; he and Moore visited Camden Yards for an Orioles game against the Los Angeles Angels last May.
“I had been familiar with the governor’s admirable work in philanthropy, his commitment to service,” he said. “There’s certain people, you listen to them and they convey a conviction in our democracy. … I had felt that way from afar, and then once we were in person, I felt like this is someone who is really striving and dedicated to making things better.”
Heffner said he and Moore discussed topics including poverty, education and how to achieve “holistic well-being” as it relates to economic development and gentrification, plus the governor’s signature paid public service program.
“I was really interested in his perspective on the state of the state, and the state of the city,” Heffner said.
The first season of “Breaking Bread with Alexander” was released on Bloomberg TV last year, with guests including New Jersey U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, South Dakota U.S. Sen. John Thune, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Thune and Burgum are Republicans while Booker and Grisham are Democrats.
The second season premieres July 4 via online streaming on Bloomberg Originals and PBS’ “The Open Mind,” with a debut episode featuring U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat.
The release date for Moore’s episode, “The City of Orioles,” has not yet been announced. Episodes will be released online each week on Thursdays.
It’s not the first time the governor has opened up in front of the camera — he and first lady Dawn Moore shared their perspective on love on a reality dating show last year and he was interviewed for a documentary about Hagerstown that premiered in February, among other appearances.
