The Focus Group Podcast

By The BulwarkSociety & Culture News Politics

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The Focus Group Podcast episodes

November 18, 2023 S4 Ep9: American Jews Are Nervous (with Bill Kristol)
It's been difficult to be Jewish in America since October 7, so we're listening to how Jewish voters are processing this moment, and how all Americans are reacting. Bill Kristol joins Sarah to break it all down.
51 min
November 11, 2023 S4 Ep8: The Pro-Choice Trump Voter (with Elaine Godfrey)
Ohio passed a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights this week. And the women we talked to in Ohio who voted for Sherrod Brown in 2018 and Donald Trump in 2020 showed us why. Elaine Godfrey of The Atlantic joins Sarah to talk about where the abortion issue is headed in 2024...and why Sarah thinks voters "have Donald Trump's number" on abortion.

show notes:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/06/abortion-rights-issue-2024-election/674504/

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/11/nikki-haley-2024-campaign-voter-support/675906/

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/05/dr-warren-hern-abortion-post-roe/674000/

47 min
November 04, 2023 S4 Ep7: America Needs Mushrooms (with Rep. Tim Ryan)
The Kentucky gubernatorial election is coming down to the wire, and a young, charismatic Democratic incumbent might have lessons for other Democrats in tough races. As luck would have it, we have our own charismatic red state Democrat to break it all down with Sarah and offer suggestions for fixing American politics: former Ohio Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Ryan.

45 min
October 28, 2023 S4 Ep6: 'Orange Man Bad' is Not Enough (with Ruy Teixeira)
It seemed impossible that Donald Trump could ever make inroads with Hispanic voters, but in 2020, he did. And he could again in 2024. Ruy Teixeira— co-founder of The Liberal Patriot and co-author of the new book Where Have All the Democrats Gone— joins Sarah for a frank exchange of ideas about how Democrats can win back a community that might decide the 2024 election.

show notes:
Forthcoming book by Ruy and John Judis:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250877499/wherehaveallthedemocratsgone#:~:text=In%20Where%20Have%20All%20the,and%20partnership%20of%20the%20working
56 min
October 21, 2023 S4 Ep5: They'd Rather Eat a Bowl of Glass (with Amy Walter)
No one wants a Trump-Biden rematch, but it looks like we're all stuck with it. Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter joins Sarah to talk about the onetime Biden voters who might vote for Trump again.
45 min
October 14, 2023 S4 Ep4: Send This Podcast to Joe Lieberman (with Matt Bennett)
A third-party group called No Labels might put Donald Trump back in the White House (whoops), and we have a label for that: dangerous. Matt Bennett of Third Way has been one of the leading voices against the No Labels effort. He joins Sarah to give listeners a rundown on No Labels' plans and to hear which voters are picking up what they're putting down.

show notes:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/08/us/politics/biden-trump-third-parties-no-labels.html

https://www.thirdway.org/memo/how-no-labels-is-undermining-our-democracy
50 min
October 07, 2023 S4 Ep3: "He's not fighting. He needs to fight." (with Jen Psaki)
We hear four consistent themes from Democrats: water is wet, Joe Biden is old, Kamala Harris is invisible, and Democrats wish their party would fight a bit harder. But we have a guest with some ideas to fix it: Jen Psaki, former White House Press Secretary, and host of Inside with Jen Psaki on MSNBC joins Sarah to hear some critiques from voters that, as Jen says, Democrats need to hear.

53 min
September 30, 2023 S4 Ep2: "I Prefer Male Presidents" (with Tim Miller)
One of our focus group participants really prefers that the president be a man. And most of the Republican voters we talked to have only one man in mind: Donald Trump. The Bulwark's own Tim Miller joins Sarah for part two of our season premiere to break down the sorry state of the non-Trump candidates in the Republican presidential primary.

show notes:
https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/there-are-two-gop-primaries-only-one-is-real?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

https://plus.thebulwark.com/p/super-pacs-worthless-donors-stop-torching-cash

55 min
September 23, 2023 S4 Ep1: 91 Problems, But the Base Ain't One (with Jake Tapper)
The Focus Group Podcast is BACK, and we're powering all the way through the 2024 election. For part one of our two-part season premiere, we're checking in on how Donald Trump's legal troubles have put his campaign on steroids. CNN's Jake Tapper joins Sarah to hear how much the voters care about Trump's mounting indictments (spoiler: they don't). They also discuss how the media should be covering a presidential nominee on trial, and Jake discusses his new book, All the Demons Are Here.

show notes:

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jake-tapper/all-the-demons-are-here/9781668623435/?lens=little-brown
51 min
July 29, 2023 Our Sizzling Summer of Focus Groups
The Focus Group Podcast is on hiatus for a few more weeks, but we've been doing focus groups this whole time. We've got a preview of what you're going to hear when we come back, and we're re-upping our conversation from March with Jane Coaston of The New York Times about our never-ending culture wars. Enjoy, and we'll see you soon!

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1 hr 6 min

About The Focus Group Podcast

From the publisher's feed

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.