• Why do politicians in democracies use violent and dangerous political rhetoric?
• Why do they call their political opponents "animals," "scum" or "terrorists?"
• Why has harsh rhetoric like this become so common in U.S. politics?
• What prompts politicians to insult, threaten, and in rare cases incite violence against their domestic political opponents despite plenty of survey-based evidence that such talk turns off voters? 

Come to hear these questions and others tackled, as part of the discussion of Thomas Zeitzoff's new book Nasty Politics. 

Thomas Zeitzoff, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University where he teaches and conducts research on political pyschology, political violence, and extremism.

Moderated by Philip Bump, National Columnist for The Washington Post. He writes the weekly newsletter How To Read This Chart. He's also the author of The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America.