Third party candidates have a mixed history of swaying elections towards one candidate over another. Ross Perot and Jill Stein are fairly recent examples of candidates who may have swung elections but is RFK Jr. in their league? Our new polling with NPR and the PBS NewsHour suggests he might be, but not necessarily in the way you might think.

Then, luck of the lotto has a strong appeal for many Americans, especially with the proliferation of billion-dollar jackpots. How have we gone from no state lotteries in 1973 to massive multi-state games 50 years later? And, what's the difference between what Americans say they would do if they won, and what happens to many actual winners?

This week's fun fact debates an American staple... peanut butter!

Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel in what is being termed "Israel's 9/11." The terrorist attacks on civilians, including barbaric killings of children and a massacre at a music festival, have shocked the world. In the past, Americans have not had strong opinions on the conflict in the Middle East. But the most recent polling, from just before the attacks, showed Democrats have growing support for Palestine and Republicans are still hard set on supporting Israel. Will that change now?

Then, Republicans may have a hard time agreeing on a new Speaker of the House, but their constituents don't seem to love what they've done by kicking out Kevin McCarthy. Actually, most Americans don't support the move, but do they actually care?

Our new poll with NPR and the PBS NewsHour is out and the data covers how Americans feel about the Republican candidates, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and the legal battles of both. The results show Americans making an interesting comparison.

Then, a silly question considering you're reading this: Are you a fan of podcasts? More and more Americans are but, with their success, comes a common modern media problem: misinformation. Melissa Kiesche from Edison Research helps us answer if we can trust podcasts like the one you're listening to now!

And, we finish with the fun fact that is perfectly suited for the season.

First, writers and actors walked out in Hollywood and now auto workers are picketing car factories. The companies involved have noted how much these strikes cost Americans in terms of missing entertainment and potentially higher car prices, but a majority of Americans appear to be on the side of the strikers. Maybe more so now than at any time in past half-century.

Then, new research shows there are big generational divides over the perception of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. Not surprising, perhaps, but some of the details are.

And we end with a fun fact from the same universe: At what age did high schoolers have their first alcoholic drink back 1957? We get into a side discussion on what "have" means!

Federal government shutdowns are new, but they've become increasingly common as our politics has become ever-more polarized. But shutdowns during Clinton, Obama, and Trump all reflected much more poorly on one party. If House Speaker Kevin McCarthy shuts things down, will he help seal his party's fate in 2024?

Then, Americans are heading to the altar much less often than we did just a few decades ago. What's up? We're digging into a heap of data to understand why the bloom is off the (marriage) roses.

This week's fun fact has us wondering, would you go see the movie of your life?

Affirmative action has been overturned, so... what now? Barbara Mistick (@barbaramistick), president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, joins the team to discuss what this could mean for the future of colleges, diversity levels, and the job applicant pool.

Is parenting harder now than it was 20 years ago? New data says parents think it is. Dr. Kathleen Vigil, professor of education at Marist College, joins us to explain that, while parenting has never been easy, adding rapidly evolving technology into the mix seems to have created a perfect storm. 

And, special thanks to Katie Ferrara for her song "Apple Picking"...we love it!

Age. A tricky topic, especially in politics. A lot is being made of Joe Biden's age, but also that of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Diane Feinstein, and Donald Trump. Polls show Americans want younger leaders but...they keep electing old ones. Maybe it's not just about age...

Then, a new paper by some polling industry researchers has us asking their question: Are we asking the wrong questions in our polls? When nearly everything is viewed through a partisan (or tribal!) lens, how can we get respondents to tell us the truth? Maybe they actually already are.

And, we finish with a question that seems very dated. It's about a million dollar lottery. A million bucks? Isn't that what a scratch off is nowadays?

Joe Biden ran on a platform of dealing with the huge burden of student debt that impacts tens of millions of Americans -- many in their 30s and 40s. But now that the courts have killed his cancellation plan, will the administration's latest plan for trying to limit the damage so much debt is doing to families and the economy as a whole, actually work? And where do Americans land on these questions?

Then, a subject that's little discussed but is as old as time. Sex work. Technology has dramatically changed some things about sex work -- but not others. Dr. Samantha Majic from the John Jay Scholl of Criminal Justice and Dr. Melissa Hope Ditmore join us to discuss what's happening.

Finally, we are ending off on a meatless note. Our fun fact looks at vegans and vegetarians, are they going out of style?

This has been a summer defined by extreme weather events. Record-breaking heat, deadly wildfires, intense hurricanes, unprecedented rainfall, devastating floods, and more. If all these symptoms of climate change have you worried, you're not alone. We talk with Dr. Steven Taylor about how the changing climate is leading to heightened anxiety, especially among younger people.

Then, fast fashion brands like H&M and SHEIN are mainstays of the fashion world, producing new styles at a head snapping pace for eager consumers. But, at what cost to laborers and the environment? Jodi Hartmann from the Marist College Fashion program helps us dig in.

Finally, did you want single or double espresso for your sixth grader? Our fun fact travels way back in time to a point where a lot of Americans thought that was a legit question (well, maybe not the espresso part).

Our latest poll is out, and we're breaking down the data on Trump's legal woes, Biden's approval rating, and the 2024 election.

Then, we're switching gears to something more otherworldly... aliens. With the latest House hearings on ETs, we are looking at Americans' very weird and somewhat confounding views on such questions as, have aliens visited, are UFOs spaceships, and is the U.S. Government covering it all up? But maybe best of all...are clients friendly?

Finally, we finish with a look to the past about the future of working. What would you say to a three-day workweek?