podcast

The Focus Group Podcast

The Bulwark

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…

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Nate Silver: Trump’s Collapse May Be Irreversible 2026-11-07 · 65m
Amy Walter Sees the Makings of a Historic Electoral Earthquake 2026-10-31 · 52m
Focus Group Shows Why Susan Collins is in Trouble (with Alex Seitz-Wald) 2026-10-24 · 51m
Some Trump Voters Are Gushing Over This Iowa Democrat (with Elaine Godfrey) 2026-10-17 · 48m
Republicans Thought Florida Was Safe. Then Everything Changed (with Kimberly Leonard) 2026-10-10 · 69m
These Trump Voters Are Considering the Unthinkable: Voting for a Democrat (with Amy Walter) 2026-10-03 · 66m
Republicans Are Suddenly Fighting for Their Lives in Ohio (with Andrew Tobias) 2026-09-26 · 55m
LIVE from San Francisco: Focus Groups Are Revealing a HUGE Weakness for Republicans 2026-09-19 · 70m
Something's Happening in Texas (with Chris Hooks) 2026-09-12 · 55m
The GOP is MIA in North Carolina (with Chris Cooper) 2026-09-05 · 50m
Why Ed Markey May Survive a Revolt Against Old Candidates (with Adam Reilly) 2026-08-29 · 61m
Sarah Had to Double-Check: “These Are All Trump Voters?” (with Amy Walter) 2026-08-22 · 61m
MAGA's Future is in Florida (with Will Sommer) 2026-08-15 · 43m
South Carolina’s Surprise Election (with Meg Kinnard) 2026-08-08 · 42m
Jonathan Cohn: Pure Michigan Chaos 2026-08-01 · 63m
Amy Walter: Pennsylvania's Trump-Shapiro Voters 2026-07-25 · 57m
David French: Character Counts For Less 2026-07-18 · 53m
Tommy Vietor: Democrats’ Way Forward on Israel 2026-07-11 · 46m
Heather Cox Richardson: America's 250 Great (and Awful) Years 2026-07-04 · 68m
Kyle Clark: Colorado's Mad Libs 2026-06-27 · 56m
Patrick Svitek: Texas & Maine Swing Voters Sound Off 2026-06-20 · 50m
Rachel Janfaza: You Kids, Get Off My Lawn! 2026-06-13 · 41m
Amy Walter: Everyone Is on the Take 2026-06-06 · 41m
Peter Hamby: California Is The Progressive Id 2026-05-30 · 68m
Adam Jentleson: More Heterodoxy, Please 2026-05-23 · 72m
Greg Bluestein: Georgia's Root Canal Primary 2026-05-16 · 54m
Tim Miller: Good Riddance, Bill Cassidy? 2026-05-09 · 54m
Chuck Schumer’s Candidate Got Humiliated in Maine 2026-05-06 · 13m
America's 'House of Cards' Mentality (with David Frum) 2026-05-02 · 48m
Trump Promised Lower Prices. Everything Got Worse! (w/ Rotimi Adeoye) 2026-04-30 · 45m
America's Divisions: Getting on Our Nerves (with Jessica Tarlov) 2026-04-25 · 72m
Trump Voters Say 'Nope' to the Pope (with Jonathan V. Last) 2026-04-18 · 72m
Why Women Don’t Need Men Anymore—In Their Own Words (w/ Sami Sage) 2026-04-17 · 46m
The Sad, Mad GOP Base (with Amy Walter) 2026-04-11 · 52m
It's "Messing With Me Mentally" (with Ashley Parker) 2026-04-04 · 52m
PSA: AI is NOT Your Boyfriend!! (with Megan McArdle) 2026-03-28 · 60m
‘All of You Could Be Democrats’ (with Anderson Clayton) 2026-03-21 · 45m
Illinois Senate Race: Daaaa Dems (with David Axelrod) 2026-03-14 · 52m
BONUS POD: Iran Fears &...Focus Groups Love The Bulwark? 2026-03-12 · 58m
What's a "Rug Pull"? (with Ed Elson) 2026-03-07 · 59m
Twitter vs. Texans (with Elaine Godfrey) 2026-02-28 · 51m
Texas-Sized Scandal (with Eric Benson) 2026-02-21 · 52m
Two Qual Researchers Walk Into a Bar (with Margie Omero) 2026-02-14 · 53m
Young Trump Voters Have Feelings (with Rachel Janfaza) 2026-02-07 · 54m
Put Excuses on ICE (with Adrian Carrasquillo) 2026-01-31 · 42m
The Heebie Jeebie GOP (with Will Sommer) 2026-01-24 · 41m
Playing Stupid Games, Winning Stupid Prizes (with Bill Kristol) 2026-01-17 · 52m
What a Difference a Year Makes (with Jonathan Chait) 2026-01-10 · 53m
Sarah’s First Focus Groups 2026-01-03 · 45m
America on Tape: A Brutal (and Hopeful) Year 2025-12-27 · 183m
MAGA's 'Crunchy' Surprise (with Jonathan Cohn) 2025-12-20 · 48m
The Civilian-Military Relationship (with Mark Hertling) 2025-12-13 · 53m
(Focus) Group Therapy (with Astead Herndon) 2025-12-06 · 57m
Just Press The Deflation Button! (with Catherine Rampell) 2025-11-29 · 52m
Epstein Files & Illegal Orders (w/ Will Sommer and Sen. Elissa Slotkin) 2025-11-22 · 48m
The GOP's Life After Trump (with Robert Draper) 2025-11-15 · 54m
Gen Z: They're Zooming Apart (with Rachel Janfaza) 2025-11-08 · 61m
Virginia: National Politics is Local (with Jeff Schapiro) 2025-11-01 · 59m
New Jersey: The 'No Narc' State (with Jonathan V. Last) 2025-10-25 · 62m
New Yorkers Brace for Mamdani (with Harry Siegel) 2025-10-18 · 56m
They're 'Opening the Door' (with Andrew Egger) 2025-10-11 · 48m
I'd Do Anything To Win (But I Won't Do That) (with Dan Pfeiffer) 2025-10-04 · 58m
The Right's 'Turning Point'? (with Will Sommer) 2025-09-27 · 47m
'Secure Borders...At What Cost?' (with Adrian Carrasquillo) 2025-09-20 · 53m
You Can Ramp It Up or Ramp It Down (with Rachel Kleinfeld) 2025-09-13 · 42m
Swing Voters Say Trump is "Meh" (with Ashley Parker) 2025-09-06 · 56m
What Are Focus Groups For Anyway? 2025-08-16 · 34m
2024 Trump Voters on the "Epstein Files" 2025-07-12 · 25m
Do the Next Right Thing, Change the World (with Heather Cox Richardson) 2025-06-28 · 61m
Cuomo vs. Mamdani (with Harry Siegel) 2025-06-21 · 60m
'This Country is Effed' (with Jonathan Cohn) 2025-06-14 · 53m
New Jersey's (Very) Odd Year (with Amy Walter) 2025-06-07 · 60m
Democrats on Biden's Decline 2025-05-31 · 39m
Congress: Trump's Super-Staffers (with Annie Karni) 2025-05-24 · 46m
Liberal Order Elegy? (with Ian Ward) 2025-05-17 · 59m
Trump Had ONE JOB (with Dave Weigel) 2025-05-10 · 56m
Can You Say 'Oligarchy'? (with Faiz Shakir) 2025-05-03 · 60m
Nothing is True, Everything is Possible (with Anne Applebaum) 2025-04-26 · 49m
Trump's Luxury Beliefs (with Scott Lincicome) 2025-04-19 · 55m
America's Moral Moment (with Lauren Egan) 2025-04-12 · 44m
Telling MAGA It's Raining (with Will Sommer) 2025-04-05 · 58m
The Kyrgyzstan PhD Problem (with Jen Psaki) 2025-03-29 · 76m
It's Really Good and Really Bad (with Mark Leibovich) 2025-03-22 · 52m
Unresolved COVID Trauma (with Dr. Leana Wen) 2025-03-15 · 56m
Free World 'Family Meeting' (with Tommy Vietor) 2025-03-08 · 42m
Raw Audio: Guys Being Dudes 2025-03-01 · 50m
Will the Real POTUS Please Stand Up? (with Kara Swisher) 2025-02-22 · 57m
'I'm All For Deportations, But...' (with Adrian Carrasquillo) 2025-02-15 · 58m
Winners Make Policy, Losers Go Home (with Adam Jentleson) 2025-02-08 · 60m
At Least He's Doing Something (with Sam Stein) 2025-02-01 · 54m
Getting Out of Our Corners (with Amanda Carpenter) 2025-01-25 · 52m
The Caretaker Presidency (with Evan Osnos) 2025-01-18 · 60m
It's Not Like a Newscast (with Tim Miller) 2024-12-21 · 57m
Hate Was Up, Prices Were Down (with Marc Caputo) 2024-12-14 · 58m
An 'Unserious' Show (with Jonathan V. Last) 2024-12-07 · 70m
"Beyoncé Ain't Paying My Bills, B*tch." (with Astead Herndon) 2024-11-30 · 74m
How [He/She] Wins (with Ron Brownstein) 2024-11-02 · 64m
Keystone State of the Race (with Holly Otterbein) 2024-10-26 · 54m
Senate GOP Vote Desert (with Jon Ralston and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez) 2024-10-19 · 61m
Great Lakes, "Meh" Candidates (with Craig Gilbert and Craig Mauger) 2024-10-12 · 57m
The Grandpa vs. the Slimy Lawyer (with John Heilemann) 2024-10-05 · 58m
Trump Is All They Know (with Peter Hamby) 2024-09-28 · 57m
Bonus Episode/Crosspost: Sarah Longwell on 'Possible' 2024-09-23 · 71m
Splittin' Tickets? (with Jessica Taylor) 2024-09-21 · 53m
She Was Built for This (with Dana Bash) 2024-09-14 · 62m
Can Kamala Be Unburdened? (with Benjy Sarlin) 2024-09-07 · 66m
DNC Part 2: The Dems' Defibrillator (with John Anzalone) 2024-08-31 · 48m
DNC-Palooza, Part 1 (with Joe Perticone) 2024-08-24 · 43m
MAGA According to JD Vance (with Ian Ward) 2024-08-17 · 52m
Quick Reaction: Tim Walz Edition 2024-08-10 · 14m
Does Kamala Need A Straight White Guy? (with Sam Stein) 2024-08-03 · 52m
Kamala Gets The Start (with David Axelrod) 2024-07-27 · 48m
The 'Jekyll and Hyde' Running Mate (with Marc Caputo) 2024-07-20 · 44m
Gambling Our Rights? (with Audie Cornish) 2024-07-13 · 63m
Derangement vs. Impairment (with Tim Miller) 2024-07-03 · 58m
Former Hillary Voters for Trump (with Amy Walter) 2024-06-29 · 55m
Utah: The Least MAGA Red State (with McKay Coppins) 2024-06-22 · 53m
Is The GOP 'Happy With Losing'? (with Isaac Arnsdorf) 2024-06-15 · 48m
Former Trump Voters Say 'Lock Him Up' (with Laura Barrón-López) 2024-06-08 · 41m
It's Just About Feelings, Man (with Jonathan V. Last) 2024-06-01 · 32m
The Holocaust Denier from North Carolina (with Zach Montellaro) 2024-05-25 · 37m
Unlearning Their Hermit-ness (with Tim Miller) 2024-05-18 · 47m
Larry Hogan: The Most Democratic Republican (with Michael Steele) 2024-05-11 · 49m
Trump's 'F*ck You' Strategy (with Marc Caputo) 2024-05-04 · 36m
Arizona: The "Leave Me Alone" State (with Yvonne Wingett Sanchez) 2024-04-27 · 43m
Wanted: Serious, Sober People (with Bill Kristol) 2024-04-20 · 45m
The "Uncommitted" Democrats (with Tommy Vietor) 2024-04-13 · 54m
RFK, Jr.: The Most Insider Outsider (with Astead Herndon) 2024-04-06 · 52m
Hands Off My TikTok (with Andrew Egger) 2024-03-30 · 47m
"I voted for Donald Trump. My bad, fam." (with Tim Miller) 2024-03-23 · 46m
Cleveland Rocks (with Henry Gomez) 2024-03-16 · 45m
Taken for Granted? (with Ashley Allison) 2024-03-09 · 57m
California Schemin' (with Jon Favreau) 2024-03-02 · 43m
Nikki Haley's (New) Time for Choosing (with Tim Alberta) 2024-02-24 · 51m
Life's Too Short for Trump (with Jonathan V. Last) 2024-02-17 · 43m
Congress: The Dumbest It's Ever Been (with Joe Perticone) 2024-02-10 · 49m
Nevada: State of Confusion (with Jon Ralston) 2024-02-03 · 46m
No One's Looking Out for You (with Brian Stelter) 2024-01-27 · 46m
New Hampshire Weirdos for Nikki? (with Tim Miller) 2024-01-20 · 39m
It's Not That Hard to Win Iowa (with J. Ann Selzer) 2024-01-13 · 45m
January 6: If They Had Just Told the Truth (with Rep. Adam Kinzinger) 2024-01-06 · 48m
Nikki's Narrow Path (with Whit Ayres) 2023-12-16 · 48m
Unreliable Narrators (with Jonathan V. Last) 2023-12-09 · 62m
Quarter-Life Crises (with Peter Hamby) 2023-12-02 · 49m
Our Better Angels (with Judy Woodruff) 2023-11-23 · 50m
American Jews Are Nervous (with Bill Kristol) 2023-11-18 · 51m
The Pro-Choice Trump Voter (with Elaine Godfrey) 2023-11-11 · 47m
America Needs Mushrooms (with Rep. Tim Ryan) 2023-11-04 · 45m
'Orange Man Bad' is Not Enough (with Ruy Teixeira) 2023-10-28 · 55m
They'd Rather Eat a Bowl of Glass (with Amy Walter) 2023-10-21 · 44m
Send This Podcast to Joe Lieberman (with Matt Bennett) 2023-10-14 · 49m
"He's not fighting. He needs to fight." (with Jen Psaki) 2023-10-07 · 53m
"I Prefer Male Presidents" (with Tim Miller) 2023-09-30 · 55m
91 Problems, But the Base Ain't One (with Jake Tapper) 2023-09-23 · 50m
Our Sizzling Summer of Focus Groups 2023-07-29 · 66m
Our Sizzling Summer of Focus Groups 2023-07-29 · 66m
The "Everybody Sucks" Foreign Policy (with Tom Nichols) 2023-03-25 · 55m
The "Everybody Sucks" Foreign Policy (with Tom Nichols) 2023-03-25 · 55m
How the Culture Wars Weren't Won (with Jane Coaston) 2023-03-18 · 63m
How the Culture Wars Weren't Won (with Jane Coaston) 2023-03-18 · 63m
The Voters Forgot God's Plan (with McKay Coppins) 2023-03-11 · 48m
The Voters Forgot God's Plan (with McKay Coppins) 2023-03-11 · 48m
"They" Sent This Tornado (with David French) 2023-03-04 · 55m
"They" Sent This Tornado (with David French) 2023-03-04 · 55m
It's Why They Play the Game (with Robert Gibbs) 2023-02-25 · 57m
It's Why They Play the Game (with Robert Gibbs) 2023-02-25 · 57m
DeSanctimonious Deep Dive (with Tara Palmeri) 2023-02-18 · 43m
S3: DeSanctimonious Deep Dive (with Tara Palmeri) 2023-02-18 · 43m
Biden's B12 Shot? (with Peter Baker) 2023-02-11 · 49m
S3: Biden's B12 Shot? (with Peter Baker) 2023-02-11 · 49m
Sleepwalking Toward Catastrophe? (with Whit Ayres) 2023-02-01 · 48m
Midnight Train (Back) to Georgia (with Greg Bluestein) 2022-12-03 · 44m
Thankful for Swing Voters (with Amy Walter) 2022-11-26 · 55m
Can There Be Another Star in Trump's Cinematic Universe? (with David Drucker) 2022-11-19 · 49m
What a Week! 2022-11-12 · 2m
Election Eve Weekend Nerd Spectacular 2022-11-05 · 70m
A Little Thuggishness Is Called For (with James Carville) 2022-10-29 · 15m
Arizona: Psychologically Unfun (with Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer) 2022-10-22 · 15m
Georgia: Ticket-Splitting On Our Mind (with Molly Ball) 2022-10-15 · 20m
He Scares the Crap Out of Me (with Holly Otterbein) 2022-10-08 · 17m
George Washington Wouldn't Tolerate Furries(with Charlie Sykes) 2022-10-01 · 13m
"Lesser of Two Evils" Drinking Game (with Natalie Allison) 2022-09-24 · 10m
What Happens in Vegas Won't Stay in Vegas (with Jon Ralston) 2022-09-17 · 11m
The Head vs the Heart in Big Ten Country (with Tim Alberta) 2022-09-10 · 9m
Make Politics Boring Again, Please 2022-09-03 · 55m
Vibe Check (with Tim Miller) 2022-08-27 · 46m
Vibe Check (with Tim Miller) 2022-08-27 · 51m
The Florida Man Thunderdome (with Marc Caputo) 2022-08-20 · 60m
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The Focus Group Podcast

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