Sergio Peçanha

Nov 3, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Sergio Peçanha

November 4, 2024 at 12:15 p.m.In recent months, I talked to people around the country about things that mattered to them other than politics. I wanted to get at the complexity, as individual human beings, that we all carry into the voting booth. But eventually, I broke my rule and asked some of them who they planned to vote for in the presidential race. Their answers tested my assumptions. Here’s a chance to test yours.

Nov 2, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Sergio Peçanha

November 3, 2024 at 12:00 p.m.Visual columnist Sergio Peçanha visited red, blue and purple parts of the country to highlight why it matters to engage with people we disagree with. In turn, Post Opinions asked readers what they had learned from their relationships with friends and loved ones who don’t share their politics. Perhaps the deepest learning of my college years came from rooming with someone who held radically different political views from mine.

Oct 30, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Sergio Peçanha

People are quirky. That’s what makes them interesting. October 31, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.Anyone who’s ever been to New York City knows that a sidewalk there can be like a highway. If you get in someone’s way, there’s a good chance you’ll get run over. That’s what happened to me. I tried to talk to strangers passing by. I got turned into roadkill. I was there as part of an experiment I’ve been running this election year.

Oct 16, 2024 | washingtonpost.com | Sergio Peçanha

October 17, 2024 at 10:25 a.m.This year, as another intense presidential campaign heads into the home stretch, I decided to try an experiment. I would go out and talk to a lot strangers, doing the kind of voter-in-the-street interviews that are so familiar in election years — but with a twist: I’d ask the people I met about anything and everything — except politics. That’s how I ended up in Winchester, a city of about 28,000 in Northern Virginia.

May 9, 2023 | washingtonpost.com | Sergio Peçanha