Despite blizzards and the lure of March Madness, we still found time in March to get smarter about politics, civics and data - check out some of our recommended reads this month.

• Brookings launched the Primaries Project, an ongoing examination of American politics and the campaigns for the midterm elections. 

• Stream American Creed on PBS to see Condoleezza Rice and David Kennedy cross party lines to ask what it means to be American. Be sure to watch the clip of our friend Joan Blades, founder ofMoveOn.org, and Mark Meckler, founder of Tea Party Patriots, exploring their differences and finding common ground. 

• An op-ed in the Hartford Courant makes the case for getting out of our isolated, partisan bubbles by engaging in meaningful communication.

• A new analysis of political opinion from the Pew Research Center shows a generational gap in many areas.

• On the NCDD blog, Mark Gerzon, president of the Mediator's Foundation, says we need to look beyond structural fixes to do the "inner job of democracy" - encouraging personal responsibility and looking within to question our assumptions. 

• And just for fun: can your sense of smell predict your political leanings? The Economist suggests it can.