During the 1970s, one of the most popular features of the CBS news magazine, 60 Minutes, was “Point/Counterpoint,” a segment during which a liberal (Shana Alexander) and a conservative (James Kilpatrick) debated an issue. The segment was an innovation that caught the public imagination as a live version of competing editorials, so it is no surprise that it soon landed in the crosshairs of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, which made lampooning the media and popular culture part of its identity.

SNL’s first Point/Counterpoint began with Jane Curtin opening the segment by expressing her support for Michelle Marvin in her lawsuit against actor Lee Marvin as Dan Aykroyd waited his turn to respond.

The measured tone of the actual CBS segment quickly went out the window. Curtin closed her comments by saying, “There’s an old saying that behind every successful man is a loving, caring, giving woman. But you wouldn’t know about that, Dan, because there is no old saying about what’s behind a miserable failure.”

But it was how Aykroyd began the Counterpoint that is best remembered today: “Jane, you ignorant slut…”

No one then would have imagined that the skit would become far more representative of the current nature of our public discourse. The nasty, personal insults that had SNL viewers laughing hysterically, would hardly raise an eyebrow today. Our discourse, especially on social media, has become just that toxic.

It need not be that way, which is what listeners of The Dispatch’s “Between the Headlines” podcast, cohosted by Dispatch managing editor Zack Plair and former Mississippi House candidate David Chism, seem to appreciate most about the podcast. Often, but not always, the topics discussed in the broadcasts become a debate similar to the original “Point/Counterpoint,” with Plair arguing the more liberal point of view and Chism presenting the more conservative point of view. Although the labels don’t fit precisely – both Plair and Chism hew more toward the middle of the opposing ideologies – they are able to present distinctly competing points of view.

The 18th episode was posted Thursday, focusing on the outcome of Tuesday’s municipal elections and featuring an interview with former Columbus mayor Jeffrey Rupp. Those elections have been a recurring theme on the podcasts, but other episodes have discussed everything from the Columbus watershed crisis to a dispute over a federal grant to a controversial traffic control device on Military Road and other topics that are in the news.

The feedback The Dispatch has received tells us the podcast is well worth the effort.

Most often, the responses we hear from listeners focus on the civil tone that Plair and Chism maintain, even when they vigorously disagree. After all, issues come and go. Things that evoke strong emotions now are often little more than afterthoughts later on. What endures is the tone established in debating these topics. It has become the blueprint for future debate.

What listeners appear to appreciate most about “Between the Headlines” is that it supports an idea many of us had all but given up on – that people can debate an issue respectfully and intelligently without deteriorating into harsh, insulting, irrelevant rhetoric.

Put another way, what makes “Between The Headlines” work is that the Plair/Chism exchange is more Alexander/Kilpatrick than Curtin/Aykroyd.

It is an example we hope everyone will choose to embrace in their own exchanges with those they may disagree with.

If you haven’t listened yet, you can find the podcast on the Apple Podcasts app on your iPhone or by visiting cdispatch.com/podcast.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.

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