Time for an open thread, I think. But first,

Yes, there’s just time to squeeze in another visit to the Guardian‘s Dining Across the Divide series, in which “strangers from across the divide” – albeit strangers with, very often, eerily similar opinions and a common choice of newspaper – “discuss the divisive issues of our time” and attempt to “bridge their political differences.” Should any significant differences actually materialise.

Yes, a series in which the entire breadth of conceivable political thought – as imagined by the Guardian‘s intellectual powerhouse Zoe Williams – is given an airing. And where left-leaning teachers, left-leaning writers and left-leaning university administrators discuss just how awful and stupid those non-leftwing people are, and whether Net Zero is super-imperative or just really, really important.

A series in which totally random Guardian readers – sorry, totally random members of the public – encounter “the opposite point of view,” while chewing on kale and butternut squash. Except that they both vote Green and are named Tamsin and Matilda.

This week, the clashing titans are BJ, a vegan and Lib Dem-voting writer, and Toby, a Labour-voting student now enthused by the Greens.

As you’d imagine, there’s much laughter and gaiety:

“I don’t see there’s any debate,” says Toby.

It’s all going terribly well, this debate thing.

Sadly, details of any clashing are for the most part left to the imagination. Filthy details are few and far between. Though BJ is slightly more concerned by exactness of terminology, and by antisemitism, of which both disapprove.

Says BJ,

I know. It’s just one blow after another.

To which, Toby replies,

At which point, I could just leave this here.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

And…

Well, we’ll be here all day. And we must push on.

And so, during dessert:

Again, it’s all clash, clash, clash. Whether either participant is married or in some way entangled is, alas, not divulged.

And in a final, shocking twist:

Do take a moment to recover from all that spirited thrusting.

Previously in this bare-knuckle arena of Guardian debate.

As commenter Rafi quipped following the above,

Well, indeed. On poking through the series, of the three Conservative voters I could find, two were very soft Conservative, in the sense of actually voting for Labour, and the token Reform voter was oddly steeped in the Guardian tongue, showing great enthusiasm for “wealth taxes,” and disliking Mrs Thatcher.

This seems to be a common pattern – lefties and, well, almost lefties bonding over their dislike of Reform or Mr Trump. There’s very little substance to be had. It’s chiefly leftist boilerplate with some occasional and oddly flaccid pushback. Hardly representative of rebuttals one might offer. And not exactly capturing the tensions of our time.

Oh yes, I almost forgot. Open thread. Share ye links and bicker, baby.