Podcast
The Focus Group Podcast
Hosted by The Bulwark · EN
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/
73episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
S6 Ep42: Adam Jentleson: More Heterodoxy, Please
4d ago01:11:56Summary readySarah is sick and tired of the arguments about whether Democrats should move to the left or the center, because Democratic voters’ answers to this question overlap a lot more than the online turf wars suggest. Adam Jentleson, founder of the Searchlight Institute and author of the forthcoming book Supermajority returns to the show to dig into why voters don’t think in partisan boxes, how some surprising Democratic figures are breaking ideological molds, and what a genuinely big-tent coalition actually looks like in practice.
SummaryS6 Ep41: Greg Bluestein: Georgia's Root Canal Primary
2w ago00:53:58Summary readyGeorgia's primaries for Governor and U.S. Senate have LOTS of things for political nerds (like you, dear listener) to chew on. But the Republican and Democratic voters we talked to felt pretty sick of politics.Some of what we learned: How Republicans feel about their chances against Jon Ossoff in the fall (not good) Why a Trump-like billionaire is overshadowing Trump's endorsed candidate for governor Whether Democratic voters will tolerate a former Republican Lieutenant Governor running as a Democrat The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein joins the show.By Greg Bluestein: Politically Georgia Podcast Flipped: How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly on Republican Power
SummaryS6 Ep40: Tim Miller: Good Riddance, Bill Cassidy?
3w ago00:53:34Summary readyThis week's show has a rare note of agreement with our MAGA focus group participants. In Louisiana, Bill Cassidy is running for re-election to the Senate, and trying to pass himself as a MAGA true believer, even though after January 6 he voted to bar Donald Trump from office forever. Our Republican focus groups know he's full of it, and so does Tim Miller who joins the show this week.Tim and Sarah also discuss Republican voters' recent Strange New Respect for Marco Rubio, JD Vance's falling stock, and whether Republicans have an appetite for a future Donald Trump, Jr. candidacy.Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles in May: https://thebulwark.com/events
SummaryS6 Ep39: Chuck Schumer’s Candidate Got Humiliated in Maine
3w ago00:12:53Summary readyIn this bite-sized bonus Focus Group episode, Sarah Longwell breaks down the political earthquake in Maine after Janet Mills dropped out of the Senate race. Why are Democratic voters rejecting establishment candidates, forgiving scandals that once would’ve been disqualifying, and demanding fighters over polished politicians?Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles in May: https://thebulwark.com/events
SummaryS6 Ep38: America's 'House of Cards' Mentality (with David Frum)
4w ago00:48:09Summary readyUsually, an assassination attempt outside a dinner with the president would be a HUGE news event. Instead, the voters in our focus groups weren't talking much about it, and when we brought it up, we heard a LOT of conspiracy theories. We also talked to some Republican voters about whether '86' is really a violent threat, as this week's indictment against James Comey alleges. Atlantic staff writer David Frum joins Sarah for a wide-ranging conversation on the week's events, voters' reactions, and keeping American democracy strong for the long haul.By David’s wife, Danielle Crittenden: Dispatches from Grief: A Mother’s Journey Through the UnthinkableBy David Frum:The David Frum ShowMAGA’s Strange Quiet After the ShootingGet tickets to The Bulwark's May live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles!
SummaryS6 Ep37: Trump Promised Lower Prices. Everything Got Worse! (w/ Rotimi Adeoye)
4w ago00:45:19Summary readyEnjoy a bonus episode of The Focus Group Podcast—Rachel Janfaza talks with Rotimi Adeoye about why moderate Gen Z focus group participants feel locked out of the economy. They discuss Rotimi’s “House by 30” idea, why vague promises aren’t cutting it, and how both parties—especially after Trump’s failed affordability pledges—are losing trust with young voters who feel like they did everything right and still can’t get ahead.Read Rotimi Adeoye in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/opinion/democrats-homeownership-affordability.htmlTickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles in May: https://thebulwark.com/events
SummaryS6 Ep36: America's Divisions: Getting on Our Nerves (with Jessica Tarlov)
Apr 2501:11:41Summary readyEveryone agrees that America is too divided. But ALMOST everyone is also contributing to that division in one way or another. So, how do we rebuild a country where Americans can live with each other a little easier? Sarah and our guest both have some ideas. Professional disagreer Jessica Tarlov of the Raging Moderates podcast and Fox News’s The Five, joins Sarah to discuss America’s political divisions and how voters across the political spectrum are feeling about them.Pre-order Jessica’s upcoming book, I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends.Get tickets to The Bulwark's May live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles!
SummaryS6 Ep35: Trump Voters Say 'Nope' to the Pope (with Jonathan V. Last)
Apr 1801:12:08Summary readyDonald Trump and Pope Leo XIV are probably the two most prominent Americans in the world right now, and they're fighting. So we asked American Catholics (including those who voted for Trump) what they thought of their feud, and about Trump's Truth Social Post depicting himself as Jesus. JVL returns to the show with some choice words for some of his fellow Catholics, and discusses the role the Catholic Church has played in American politics more broadly.Get tickets to The Bulwark's May live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles!
SummaryS6 Ep34: Why Women Don’t Need Men Anymore—In Their Own Words (w/ Sami Sage)
Apr 1700:45:45Summary readyOn this bonus episode of The Focus Group, Rachel and guest Sami Sage of Betches Media wonder whether millennials are truly still ‘cringe.’ They also discuss the Gen Z gender gap, and how some politically moderate young women are navigating that political divide in their personal lives.By Sami Sage:In Paperback on April 28: Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Democracy-in-Retrograde/Sami-Sage/9781668053492)Check out 'The Context', from the Charles F. Kettering Foundation: https://kettering.org/thecontext/
SummaryS6 Ep33: The Sad, Mad GOP Base (with Amy Walter)
Apr 1100:51:59Summary readyEDITOR'S NOTE: This episode has been updated to remove comments made by or about a focus group participant who we believe misrepresented his political viewpoints to gain access to the group. We are reviewing our participant screening processes accordingly.If there's a blue wave in the 2026 elections, it'll be either because new people start voting for Democrats, or the current Republican base gets sad and stays home. So we convened a focus group of 2020 and 2024 Trump voters who are unhappy with his administration to give you a sample of the kind of despair that could keep Republicans home in November. Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, returns to the show to break down the midterm landscape.
Summary