You've heard the terms "woke" and "cancel culture" for years now. No one seems to agree on what they mean, though — which is why our guest says the culture wars will keep morphing, and they'll go on forever. New York Times opinion writer Jane Coaston joins Sarah to hear how the focus groups respond to "wokeness," "cancel culture," and...schools and drag show bans. We promise, this is NOT the episode to miss.

show notes

Jane Coaston: The Debate Hugh Hefner Won and William Buckley Lost

Survivor: Host Jeff Probst Refuses to Say "Come On In, Guys"

Teen who refuses to cite the Pledge of Allegiance

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Mike Pence seems to think that he's destined to be president. The evangelical Christians in our focus groups did NOT get the memo. McKay Coppins, staff writer at The Atlantic joins Sarah to talk about the future of social conservatism in the Republican Party and Mike Pence's 2024 prospects.

show notes:

"God's Plan for Mike Pence" by McKay Coppins

https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/mckay-coppins/the-wilderness/9780316327466/

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Marjorie Taylor Greene wants a national divorce. We don't, but we asked our focus groups about it anyway. New York Times opinion columnist David French (literally) wrote the book on a possible national divorce. He joins Sarah to talk about whether (and how) the United States holds together; and the task of rebuilding trust in our institutions.

Show notes:

Divided We Fall: America's Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation (by David French)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/opinion/fox-news-lies-dominion.html

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Voters that we talk to are iffy about Biden running for re-election given his age, but Republicans may have even larger challenges. Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs joins Sarah to talk Joe Biden, the Democratic base, and the bright future of the Democratic bench.

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The Republican establishment — and many Republican voters in our focus groups — think Ron DeSantis is the answer to their prayers that they can win in 2024. But Donald Trump has a say in this matter, and he's already offering up an early taste of the kind of attacks he's planning on DeSantis. Heads-up: Those attacks are likely to go lower. What are DeSantis' vulnerabilities as a candidate? Tara Palmeri of Puck News joins Sarah to listen to the focus groups and share some of her reporting from the Trump and DeSantis camps.

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Ready or not, it looks like Joe Biden is running for re-election. Our swing voters liked his State of the Union speech this week, but they've got concerns under the surface. Peter Baker, Chief White Correspondent for The New York Times, joins Sarah to listen to Trump-to-Biden voters and make a broader assessment of the Biden administration's political standing.

show notes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/us/politics/kamala-harris-vice-presidenct-legacy.html

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The Focus Group podcast is BACK, with a twist: We're releasing The Bulwark's first-ever poll of Republican primary voters where we're trying to figure out just how big the "Always Trump," "Maybe Trump," and "Never Trump" buckets are among Republican primary voters. For that, we brought in Republican pollster Whit Ayres, who joins Sarah to stack our poll results up against the focus groups we've done since the election.

Links:

Poll by The Bulwark and North Star Opinion Research of Republican Primary VotersPoll Toplines from Whit Ayres

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We're wrapping up this election cycle in Georgia with voters who voted for Herschel Walker in November — but aren't so sure about him going into the December 6 runoff. Atlanta Journal-Constitution political reporter Greg Bluestein joins Sarah for one last focus group in 2022.

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