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The Focus Group Podcast

The Focus Group Podcast

Unfiltered, uncompromising, unexpected—The Focus Group is a look into what the average voter thinks about politics, policy, and current events. Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, has conducted hundreds of hours of focus groups all across the country. She and a series of special guests will take you behind the glass to hear what real focus group participants have to say. https://www.thebulwark.com/podcast/focus-group/

  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    S4 Ep58: How [He/She] Wins (with Ron Brownstein)
    The polls are close enough that this election could go either way. But whatever happens, the focus groups over the last year-plus have given some clues about what's motivating the swing voters voting for Trump, and those voting for Harris. Atlantic senior editor Ron Brownstein joins Sarah to listen to voters and what the Trump and Harris coalitions might look like.

    show notes
    By Ron Brownstein:
    The Democratic Theory of Winning With Less
    The Improbable Coalition That Is Harris’s Best Hope
    2 November 2024, 10:00 am
  • 53 minutes 46 seconds
    S4 Ep57: Keystone State of the Race (with Holly Otterbein)
    There's one thing Republican and Democratic strategists all agree on right now: no state is more likely to decide this election than Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania-based POLITICO reporter Holly Otterbein joins Sarah to break down Pennsylvania's shift to the right in recent years, and why Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is finding himself in a surprisingly close race.

    Show Notes:
    Spotlight PA: Democrats in Pa. approach 2024 election with slimmest voter registration advantage in decades

    By Holly Otterbein: 
    Harris ramps up her appeals to Republican voters in the Philly suburbs
    ‘Pennsylvania is such a mess’: Inside Team Harris’ unusual levels of finger-pointing
    Dems see warning signs for Harris with Latino men in Pennsylvania



    26 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    S4 Ep56: Senate GOP Vote Desert (with Jon Ralston and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez)
    Donald Trump may well win both Arizona and Nevada, but Republican Senate candidates there are on the struggle bus. Jon Ralston of the Nevada Independent joins to break down Sarah's recent focus groups with PBS in Nevada, and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez of the Washington Post discusses Arizona's abortion rights referendum and Kari Lake's comeback attempt in the U.S. Senate race.

    Editor's note: This episode was taped before the October 17 release of Ruben and Kate Gallego's divorce records.

    19 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 57 minutes 3 seconds
    S4 Ep55: Great Lakes, "Meh" Candidates (with Craig Gilbert and Craig Mauger)
    Michigan and Wisconsin aren't just presidential battlegrounds; their Senate races are getting more competitive down the stretch. So how are swing voters thinking about their options?

    Craig Gilbert, former DC bureau chief for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Craig Mauger, political reporter for the Detroit News, join Sarah to break down the electoral landscape in the upper midwest.

    Show notes:
    By Craig Gilbert: What polling tells us about Wisconsin's undecided voters
    The Bulwark's Swing State Swing
    12 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 58 minutes 9 seconds
    S4 Ep54: The Grandpa vs. the Slimy Lawyer (with John Heilemann)
    The pundit class thought JD Vance performed better than Tim Walz in the vice presidential debate. Voters thought Vance was a good performer, but they couldn't quite shake their skepticism. Puck News's John Heilemann joins Sarah to review voters' reactions to the VP debate and the history of VP picks more broadly.
    5 October 2024, 10:00 am
  • 58 minutes 12 seconds
    S4 Ep53: Trump Is All They Know (with Peter Hamby)
    Some of today's first-time voters were 10 years old when Donald Trump launched his first presidential campaign, so he's all they've known in politics. That's certainly affected how they look at politics, across the political spectrum. Puck's Peter Hamby joins Sarah to discuss the youth vote in the home stretch of the 2024 election.

    show notes
    September 2024 Harvard Youth Poll

    By Peter:
    The Left’s Trumpnesia Problem
    Kamala’s Generation Gap
    The Swift-Rogan Election
    28 September 2024, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 10 minutes
    S4 Ep52: Bonus Episode/Crosspost: Sarah Longwell on 'Possible'
    Sarah recently sat down with Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger on their podcast Possible to talk about the future of politics, the origins of her focus group work, and how artificial intelligence might impact that work.

    https://possible.fm/podcast
    23 September 2024, 10:00 am
  • 53 minutes 12 seconds
    S4 Ep51: Splittin' Tickets? (with Jessica Taylor)
    We're taking a break from the presidential race this week. The battle for control of the Senate is running through red states, with former Trump voters. Some of them are more persuadable than others. Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report joins Sarah to discuss the Senate races in Ohio, Montana, and Texas, and the role of abortion politics in this year's Senate races.
    21 September 2024, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    S4 Ep50: She Was Built for This (with Dana Bash)
     Kamala Harris crushed Donald Trump in this week's debate...and swing voters noticed. CNN's Dana Bash joins Sarah to discuss her new book, this week's debate, her experience as the co-moderator of the June 27 debate, and the role of moderator fact-checking in both debates.

    show notes
    By Dana Bash and David Fisher:
    America's Deadliest Election: The Cautionary Tale of the Most Violent Election in American History
    14 September 2024, 10:00 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    S4 Ep49: Can Kamala Be Unburdened? (with Benjy Sarlin)
    Kamala Harris's campaign has created a month of immaculate vibes, but plenty of voters are still skeptical. Semafor Washington bureau chief Benjy Sarlin joins Sarah to discuss the state of the race going into the second debate, and Harris's standing with skeptical former Biden voters.

    show notes
    Adam Carlson's Crosstab Aggregator

    Relevant past episodes:

    With black voters:
    March 2024, with Ashley Allison
    July 2024, with Audie Cornish

    With hispanic voters:
    October 2023, with Ruy Teixeira
    June 2024, with Amy Walter
    7 September 2024, 10:00 am
  • 48 minutes 25 seconds
    S4 Ep48: DNC Part 2: The Dems' Defibrillator (with John Anzalone)
    The Democratic National Convention was a respite from Democrats' summer of despair, and a lot of the good vibes filtered down to swing voters...but are good vibes enough? Democratic pollster John Anzalone joins Sarah to listen to how the new ticket looks to swing voters...and even some former Trump voters who are now Harris-curious. 
    31 August 2024, 10:00 am
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