Bret Baier Previews New Bipartisan Senate Debate Series, Which Aims to 'Dive into Topics a Little More Fully'

Fox News Channel's Bret Baier hopes a new debate series inspired by the bipartisanship of Sens. Orrin Hatch and Ted Kennedy will "bring people with different ideological backgrounds and perspectives together."

The first debate in the three-part series is moderated by Baier, featuring Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Bernie Sanders. It airs Monday at 12 p.m. ET. on Fox Nation, Fox News Media's streaming service.

Baier, 51, tells PEOPLE that the event aims to "bring back collegiality" when it comes to political discussion.

The debates are part of the Senate Project, a collaborative effort of the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

According to a press release from the organizers, the goal of the debate series "is to reintroduce the culture of compromise that has been the essence of the Senate since it was conceived in 1789 and to inspire policymakers to work towards the example set by Senator Orrin Hatch and Senator Ted Kennedy for bipartisan bridge-building."

Baier says he's "really excited" about his involvement in the first debate, which will take place at the Kennedy Institute's full-size replica of the U.S. Senate Chamber in Boston.

"It will start with an opening by me," Baier says. "But the senators will have opening statements, deal with overarching domestic policy ... talk about where the country is and where they think it will go."

The opening statements will be followed by a Q&A session, where Baier will ask questions about hot topics such as inflation, gas prices and gun policy.

It would be tough to find two lawmakers as "diametrically opposed ideologically as Lindsey Graham and Bernie Sanders," Baier says, though he hopes the debate will allow those watching at home to see their similarities, too.

"The style of this debate offers the potential to dive into topics a little bit more fully," Baier says.

The result, Baier hopes, is that those watching the debate leave with a more nuanced view of where each lawmaker stands on the issues.

Because of the unique, Oxford-style nature of the debate, Baier admits the preparation is a little different than other such events he's moderated in the past.

"As a moderator I am just trying to steer the discussion and keep it in the guardrails," he says. "But I've had a lot of experience with both of these senators — I've had them both on my show a number of times, I've done three town halls with Sen. Sanders, worked with Sen. Graham in a few presidential debates. That experience, I take into account. I look through where they've been in the past and try to come up with a roadmap for the hour."

The event was modeled after the relationship between the late Hatch, a Republican from Utah, and Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat. Despite being political opposites, the two were "also best friends," according to Hatch Foundation Board Chair Scott Anderson.

"And working together in the spirit of bipartisanship, they were able to pass some of the most consequential reforms of modern times," Anderson said in a release about the debates. "The Senate Project will encourage a new generation of lawmakers to transcend the polarization of today's politics by following the Hatch-Kennedy model."

Hatch Foundation Executive Director Matt Sandgren echoed that sentiment, saying the debates aim to "reinvigorate the civic discourse" and "forge compromise and consensus while still respecting substantive disagreements that exist between the two parties."

"Our hope is to show that bipartisanship and vigorous debate can coexist — and that civility is still possible, even in today's hyper-polarized world," Sandgren added in the release.

The second debate in the series, hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center, will be held in July at George Washington University, and carried across C-SPAN platforms. The third debate will be held by the Hatch Foundation in Utah sometime this fall.

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"I think people who are interested in politics and interested in where the country's going — this is the opportunity to listen to the arguments in both sides and more substantively," Baier says.

He continues: "Some people might say that's boring. It's not — it's better to hear the whole picture and be able to delve into some things. [Graham and Sanders] couldn't be more differently ideologically, but I'm interested in showing the similarities."