George Mitchell, Former Democratic Senator from Maine and Majority Leader of the Senate joins Rory and Alastair to discuss: Why American politics can return to normalWhat is it like to negotiate with terrorists?  Will peace ever be possible in the Middle East?  How did the Good Friday Agreement come to pass? 00:00 introducing George Mitchell 01:00 Maine in the Great Depression 07:10 Not wanting to be a politician 08:40 Maine’s political culture 11:16 How to win re-election against the odds 13:00 The days of Reagan 14:48 Party leader in the senate 18:07 The roots of Donald Trump 22:25 Northern Ireland 35:55 The Middle East 43:39 Should you negotiate with terrorists 48:10 How to overcome setbacks in negotiations 55:18 Ian Paisley 59:19 How he’s responded to cancer 1:05:50 Predicting the US election 1:07:33 His Irish heritage TRIP Plus: Become a member of The Rest Is Politics Plus to support the podcast, receive our exclusive newsletter, enjoy ad-free listening to both TRIP and Leading, benefit from discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, join our Discord chatroom, and receive early access to live show tickets and Question Time episodes. Just head to therestispolitics.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestispolitics. Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @RestIsPolitics Email: restispolitics@gmail.com Assistant Producer: India Dunkley + Becki Hill Video Editor: Teo Ayodeji-Ansell Social Producer: Harry Balden Producer: Nicole Maslen Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Exec Producers: Tony Pastor + Jack Davenport