Jeremy Siegel: This is GBH's Morning Edition. Wendy and Evan Grossman have been married for 28 years. They met in 1986 working on Governor Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign, and since then they've grown closer, but the American electorate has grown further apart. The Grossmans see art as one way to bridge social and political divides. Tonight, they'll be sharing a piece of painted metal that represents their love, titled "Peace on Earth," at their home in Brookline. It's part of The Jar, a Boston-based organization that uses art to connect strangers. Ahead of the showing and tomorrow's Valentine's Day, Wendy and Evan stopped by our studio to share what their love can teach us about today's political landscape.

Wendy Swart Grossman: Tell me, Evan, how do you really feel?

Evan Grossman: I just learned your eyes have an abyss, I never knew that before.

Wendy Swart Grossman: Well, our first date, I didn't even realize it was a date. He's like, oh, you want to go on a bike ride sometime? I'm like, sure, I'd bike with anybody. Yeah, whatever.

Evan Grossman: So I loaded my pannier up with strawberries, sour cream, and brown sugar. And then when we got to the top of the hill at the Arboretum where we were cycling, you know, I pulled out a tablecloth or something, or a blanket.

Wendy Swart Grossman: And I'm like, holy smokes, I thought this was just a bike ride.

Evan Grossman: We disagree on a few things politically, not that much. But, you know, we've always been organizers and we're always paying attention to what's happening in politics.

Wendy Swart Grossman: I've gotten a little different in the way I look at politics in terms of electoral politics, which is more transactional. I feel like I'm much more relationship now, and that's really the reason that I think that we got involved with The Jar, because that really uses art as an entry point to bring a variety of communities together to have the big conversations that we wish we had. Because while we live in this wildly diverse city, we don't really get to mix with a wildly diverse community because we're so siloed. That's how our shared politics comes in, is that we're building a world we want to be living in.

Evan Grossman: We have this picture of the earth that says "peace on earth" in green and blue that we bought during kind of a time that was tough for us, when we had moved to the outskirts of Atlanta. And culturally, it was very different. Politically, it was very different for us. And like, yeah, let's do it as a statement. And then it's kind of followed us, you know, from Atlanta to London to Boston.

Wendy Swart Grossman: You know, is there love in politics today? Or is there room for love in politics?

Evan Grossman: There's not often a lot of love between competitors, right? If you look at the primaries. But I think — I'm sure, you know, on both sides of the aisle, there's future marriages that are happening in the campaigns right now. And even if you look at sort of, you know, Mary Matalin, James Carville story, there's cross political marriages. People share a common bond of working hard for someone you really support.

Wendy Swart Grossman: Passion is what gets people involved. And I think there's a lot of passion that's out there. Is passion a form of love? You know, queue the existential crisis. I don't know, it's like if we start from a place of any relationship, is being curious about the other, and that curiosity can lead to passion, can lead to love for the individual.

Evan Grossman: Even in a situation where you're arguing on opposite ends of some pretty charged political debates, right? I like to think that most people understand that the person on the other side actually wants a lot of the same thing, whether it's equity —

Wendy Swart Grossman: Or even starting from safety, you know, starting from a place of safety. Oops, sorry about that. Back to you, Evan.

Evan Grossman: We've never interrupted each other. I'm so shocked.

Wendy Swart Grossman: I've been playing around this framework of curiosity, generosity, and reciprocity. So instead of being furious, be curious to get ourselves to a place that's stronger and respectful.

Jeremy Siegel: That was Wendy Swart Grossman and Evan Grossman in conversation at our GBH Studios ahead of a convening of The Jar at their home tonight in Brookline. You can find more info at jumpinthejar.org. This piece was produced by my co-host Paris Alston, and the music you heard was all of the Grossmans' favorite love songs. You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition.

Wendy and Evan Grossman met in 1986 working on Gov. Michael Dukakis' presidential campaign. They tell the story of their first date, a bike ride, in back-and-forth banter.

“Our first date, I didn't even realize it was a date,” Wendy Swart Grossman said. “He's like, 'oh, you want to go on a bike ride sometime?' I'm like, 'Sure, I'd bike with anybody. Yeah, whatever.'”

“So I loaded my pannier up with strawberries, sour cream and brown sugar,” Evan Grossman said. “And then when we got to the top of the hill at the arboretum where we were cycling, you know, I pulled out a tablecloth or something, or a blanket.”

“And I'm like, 'Holy smokes! I thought this was just a bike ride,'” Wendy Swart Grossman said.

They’ve been married for 28 years. And while they've grown closer in that time, the American electorate has grown further apart.

“We disagree on a few things politically, not that much,” Evan Grossman said. “But, you know, we've always been organizers and we're always paying attention to what's happening in politics.”

The Grossmans said they see art as one way to bridge social and political divides.

Tuesday night, they'll be sharing a piece of painted metal that represents their love, titled "Peace on Earth," at their home in Brookline. It's part of The Jar, a Boston-based organization that uses art to connect strangers.

“That really uses art as an entry point to bring a variety of communities together to have the big conversations that we wish we had,” Wendy Swart Grossman said. “Because while we live in this wildly diverse city, we don't really get to mix with a wildly diverse community because we're so siloed. That's how our shared politics comes in, is that we're building a world we want to be living in.”

The painted metal is a picture of the earth, with the words “peace on earth” in green and blue.

“We bought [it] during kind of a time that was tough for us, when we had moved to the outskirts of Atlanta,” Evan Grossman said. “And culturally, it was very different. Politically, it was very different for us. … And then it's kind of followed us, you know, from Atlanta to London to Boston.”

Because the Grossmans met working in politics, they say, they can still see room for love in politics.

“There's not often a lot of love between competitors, right?” Evan Grossman said. “I'm sure, you know, on both sides of the aisle, there's future marriages that are happening in the campaigns right now. And even if you look at sort of, you know, Mary Matalin-James Carville story, there's cross-political marriages. People share a common bond of working hard for someone you really support.”

Love and politics share a common key ingredient, Wendy Swart Grossman said.

“Passion is what gets people involved. And I think there's a lot of passion that's out there,” she said. “Is passion a form of love? You know, cue the existential crisis. I don't know, it's like if we start from a place of any relationship, is being curious about the other, and that curiosity can lead to passion, can lead to love for the individual.”

There can even be love in charged conversations, so long as there’s common understanding, Evan Grossman said.

“I've been playing around this framework of curiosity, generosity, and reciprocity. So instead of being furious, be curious to get ourselves to a place that's stronger and respectful,” Wendy Swart Grossman said.