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The Focus Group Podcast

The Focus Group Podcast

By: The Bulwark
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 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/Bulwark Media Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • S5 Ep20: Democrats on Biden's Decline

    S5 Ep20: Democrats on Biden's Decline
    May 31 2025
    Sarah had a busy travel schedule this week, so we're bringing you some raw audio. With the recent revelations about Joe Biden's mental state during his term, we asked a couple of groups of Democrats what they thought during (and after) his presidency, and how it might inform their thinking going forward. These voters liked Biden but supported his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race. The excerpts of these groups were edited for length and for participants' privacy.
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    39 mins
  • S5 Ep19: Congress: Trump's Super-Staffers (with Annie Karni)

    S5 Ep19: Congress: Trump's Super-Staffers (with Annie Karni)
    May 24 2025
    Donald Trump is looking to pass his Big, Not-So-Beautiful Bill through Congress. To do it, he needs to get it past congressional Republicans. So what do Republican voters think of congressional leaders, and whether this bill is as big and beautiful as it seems? New York Times congressional reporter Annie Karni joins Sarah.

    By Annie Karni:
    • Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress
    Go to https://surfshark.com/thefocusgroup or use code thefocusgroup at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
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    49 mins
  • S5 Ep18: Liberal Order Elegy? (with Ian Ward)

    S5 Ep18: Liberal Order Elegy? (with Ian Ward)
    May 17 2025
    JD Vance is one heartbeat away from the presidency, and he's a big part of the Republican Party's future. It turns out, his ideas are also part of the reason the second Trump term has been a lot more pure MAGA than the first. POLITICO's Ian Ward returns to the show to recap Vance's first few months in office, his political future, and go deep on some of the New Right's major intellectual influences.

    By Ian Ward:
    • The Spiritual Case for Greenland
    • There’s No Need to Guess. JD Vance Is Ready to Ignore the Courts.
    • Curtis Yarvin’s Ideas Were Fringe. Now They’re Coursing Through Trump’s Washington.
    • The Seven Thinkers and Groups That Have Shaped JD Vance’s Unusual Worldview
    Go to https://surfshark.com/thefocusgroup or use code thefocusgroup at checkout to
    get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!
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    1 hr
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