Unfiltered, uncompromising, unexpected—The Focus Group is a look into what the average voter thinks about politics, policy, and current events. Sarah Longwell, ...
S4 Ep62: It's Not Like a Newscast (with Tim Miller)
The podcast-sphere was one of the most covered stories of the 2024 election, with Joe Rogan standing above all. Podcaster extraordinaires Sarah and Tim turn over why this medium is appealing to the newest Trump voters (specifically the Rogan fans), and what our new long-form world means for the future of politics.
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57:17
S4 Ep61: Hate Was Up, Prices Were Down (with Marc Caputo)
We've spent plenty of time on this show discussing what Donald Trump's newest voters found wanting about Democrats in the 2024 election. This week, we're turning our attention to their affirmative case for Trump. The Bulwark's MAGA-world correspondent, Marc Caputo joins Sarah to hear them out.
show notes
The NYT's DealBook summit Sarah referenced
Harvard Kennedy School's recent election forum that Marc referenced
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58:27
S4 Ep60: An 'Unserious' Show (with Jonathan V. Last)
We've got (Thanksgiving) leftover focus group sound we didn't get to last week. Sarah's best friend Jonathan V. Last makes his vengeful return to the show to work through his thoughts (and the voters' thoughts) on the 2024 election, and he and Sarah parry over just how serious this country is anymore. It gets spicy.
The Focus Group Podcast is back for a post-election autopsy. We're starting with a deep dive on how Donald Trump's newest voters found Kamala Harris and the Democrats lacking. Astead Herndon, host of The New York Times podcast The Run-Up joins Sarah to write a first draft of how we got here.
show notes
The Run-Up: The Democrats' Plan to Get Skeptics on Their Side
The Run-Up: Kamala Harris on Kamala Harris
The Bulwark's Bleak Friday Sale
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1:14:08
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
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/
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