The Focus Group Podcast
by The Bulwark
Latest episode
S6 Ep65: Amy Walter Sees the Makings of a Historic Electoral…
S6 Ep65: Amy Walter Sees the Makings of a Historic Electoral…
About this podcast
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.
https://www.thebulwark.com/podcast/focus-group/
Episodes
The newest 20 of 178 episodes
- S6 Ep65: Amy Walter Sees the Makings of a Historic Electoral Earthquake · 52 min · Season 6 Episode 65The midterm elections are almost here, and voters and podcast hosts alike are about to lose their minds.
- S6 Ep64: Focus Group Shows Why Susan Collins is in Trouble (with Alex Seitz-Wald) · 51 min · Season 6 Episode 64Sen. Susan Collins is trying to win a sixth term despite losing some shine of off her reputation as an "independent" senator.
- S6 Ep63: Some Trump Voters Are Gushing Over This Iowa Democrat (with Elaine Godfrey) · 48 min · Season 6 Episode 63There are a lot of red states with big elections this year where Democrats are 'sayin' there's a chance.'
- S6 Ep62: Republicans Thought Florida Was Safe. Then Everything Changed (with Kimberly Leonard) · 1 h 9 min · Season 6 Episode 62Republicans have been on a long winning streak in Florida...but they might be playing defense in 2026.
- S6 Ep61: These Trump Voters Are Considering the Unthinkable: Voting for a Democrat (with Amy Walter) · 1 h 6 min · Season 6 Episode 61It’s October, and the political environment is really, really, REALLY bad for the Republican Party.
- S6 Ep60: Republicans Are Suddenly Fighting for Their Lives in Ohio (with Andrew Tobias) · 55 min · Season 6 Episode 60Ohio used to be the biggest swing state in the country. It's turned pretty red, (Trump won it by 11 points in 2024) but it's very hotly contested this year.
- S6 Ep59: LIVE from San Francisco: Focus Groups Are Revealing a HUGE Weakness for Republicans · 1 h 9 min · Season 6 Episode 59Sarah and Pod Save America’s Dan Pfeiffer discuss her book, How to Eat an Elephant, what focus groups are, why she does them, and she uncorks some fresh focus group content…
- S6 Ep58: Something's Happening in Texas (with Chris Hooks) · 55 min · Season 6 Episode 58Against all odds, Democrats still have a chance in the Texas Senate race. So, is it because Ken Paxton is bad, or because of James Talarico's Nice Young Man energy? Turns out…
- S6 Ep57: The GOP is MIA in North Carolina (with Chris Cooper) · 50 min · Season 6 Episode 57North Carolina has been a difficult nut for Democrats to crack for nearly two decades. But relatively popular former Gov. Roy Cooper appears to be on the verge of changing that…
- S6 Ep56: Why Ed Markey May Survive a Revolt Against Old Candidates (with Adam Reilly) · 1 h 1 min · Season 6 Episode 56Why is 80-year-old Ed Markey surviving a Democratic revolt against aging politicians?
- S6 Ep55: Sarah Had to Double-Check: “These Are All Trump Voters?” (with Amy Walter) · 1 h 1 min · Season 6 Episode 55Amy Walter returns to the pod for a pundit therapy session.
- S6 Ep54: MAGA's Future is in Florida (with Will Sommer) · 43 min · Season 6 Episode 54The battle lines of the next Republican primary are being drawn in Florida's Republican primary for governor.
- S6 Ep53: South Carolina’s Surprise Election (with Meg Kinnard) · 42 min · Season 6 Episode 53After Sen. Lindsey Graham’s passing in July, South Carolina is holding a special Republican primary to replace him as the nominee for U.S. Senate.
- S6 Ep52: Jonathan Cohn: Pure Michigan Chaos · 1 h 3 min · Season 6 Episode 52At the end of one of the most expensive Democratic primaries for Senate in American history, Abdul El-Sayed appears to be pulling away.
- S6 Ep51: Amy Walter: Pennsylvania's Trump-Shapiro Voters · 57 min · Season 6 Episode 51In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro is on track for a pretty big win in November. And he can't do that without winning over a lot of former Trump voters, including the ones in our…
- S6 Ep50: David French: Character Counts For Less · 53 min · Season 6 Episode 50American politics and politicians are decidedly lower-character than they used to be. So, how did we get here?
- S6 Ep49: Tommy Vietor: Democrats’ Way Forward on Israel · 46 min · Season 6 Episode 49Over the last three years, Democratic voters’ opinion of Israel has taken a nosedive. Sarah and Tommy Vietor talk about why.
- S6 Ep48: Heather Cox Richardson: America's 250 Great (and Awful) Years · 1 h 7 min · Season 6 Episode 48If you're wondering how (and whether) America is worth celebrating on this particular July 4th, this show will be a bit of a pep talk for you.
- S6 Ep47: Kyle Clark: Colorado's Mad Libs · 56 min · Season 6 Episode 47Colorado isn't much of a swing state anymore, but we're covering its primaries anyway. Both of its senators and one longtime member of Congress are facing bigger headwinds than…
- S6 Ep46: Patrick Svitek: Texas & Maine Swing Voters Sound Off · 50 min · Season 6 Episode 46Barrels of ink have been spilled about James Talarico, Ken Paxton, Graham Platner, and Susan Collins. For the first time, we're listening to how swing voters in Texas and Maine…
