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‘Our political system does not recognize nuance, and it forces people into corners that are not reflective of their own beliefs.’

The New York Times political reporter Astead Herndon went speed dating in a swing state to ask daters fun questions like: How early do you tell a prospective date whether you lean red or blue? When do you talk about your stances on issues like abortion or gender equality? It’s hard enough to find someone you click with. Then add election-year tensions into the mix, and things get even more complicated.

Today, the Modern Love host Anna Martin speaks with Astead Herndon, host of the weekly politics podcast “The Run-Up” about the not-so-distant worlds of politics and dating.

Links to transcripts of episodes generally appear on these pages within a week.

Modern Love is hosted by Anna Martin and produced by Julia Botero, Christina Djossa, Reva Goldberg and Emily Lang. The show is edited by Paula Szuchman and Jen Poyant, our executive producer. The show is mixed by Daniel Ramirez and recorded by Maddy Masiello. It features original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Pat McCusker, Elisheba Ittop and Diane Wong. Our theme music is by Dan Powell.

Special thanks to Daniel Jones, Miya Lee, Anna Foley, Elisa Gutierrez, Caitlin O’Keefe, Rachel Dry, Lisa Tobin, Frannie Carr Toth, Sophia Lanman, Sam Dolnick, Larissa Anderson, David Halbfinger, Mahima Chablani, Nell Gallogly, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Nina Lassam and Julia Simon.

Thoughts? Email us at modernlovepodcast@nytimes.com.

Want more from Modern Love? Read past stories. Watch the TV series and sign up for the newsletter. We also have swag at the NYT Store and two books, “Modern Love: True Stories of Love, Loss, and Redemption” and “Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less.”