After 20 years, US troops were leaving Afghanistan for the last time, when the Afghan government and security forces collapsed under Taliban advances. Immediate polling shows Americans are conflicted about the messy and deadly pullout, but it comes after a long, steady decline in support for the long war as seen in years of Gallup polling on the issue.

Then, the detailed 2020 Census data has been released and America has changed – a lot! We are more diverse than ever with people of color representing 43% of the total US population in 2020, compared to 34% in 2010. Cities are blossoming, rural areas are emptying out, and the suburbs may hold the keys to both Republican and Democratic redistricting efforts. Plus, what does it mean for pollsters who depend on the data to make accurate calculations?

We round off the episode with Lee’s fun fact. This week, we throw it back all the way to the 50’s to look at American’s pet peeves. Who knows? They may just be the same as ours today!

About Poll Hub

Each week, Poll Hub goes behind the science to explain how polling works, what polls really show, and what the numbers really mean. Poll Hub is produced by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, home of America’s leading independent college public opinion poll, the Marist Poll.

Lee Miringoff (Director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion), Barbara Carvalho (Director of the Marist Poll), and Jay DeDapper (Director of Innovation at the Marist Poll) dig deep to give you a look at the inner workings of polls and what they tell us about our world, our country, and ourselves.