Episodes

  • S5 Ep2: Getting Out of Our Corners (with Amanda Carpenter)

    S5 Ep2: Getting Out of Our Corners (with Amanda Carpenter)
    Jan 25 2025
    Anyone who opposes Donald Trump isn't feeling great this week. And where there was "resistance" when Trump took office in 2017, there was more resignation among the voters we talked to this week as he began his second term. Bulwark alum Amanda Carpenter of Protect Democracy joins Sarah to talk about what we should (and should not) be focused on over the next four years.
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    52 mins
  • S5 Ep1: The Caretaker Presidency (with Evan Osnos)

    S5 Ep1: The Caretaker Presidency (with Evan Osnos)
    Jan 18 2025
    As Joe Biden leaves office, we're taking one last look at his presidency, and what we've heard said about him since 2020. The New Yorker's Evan Osnos joins Sarah to recap his interviews with Biden over the years and discusses his legacy.

    Sponsor: Get 15% off OneSkin with the code THEFOCUSGROUP at https://www.oneskin.co/

    Show notes:
    By Evan Osnos:
    Joe Biden's Last Campaign
    Joe Biden: The Life, the Presidency, and What Matters Now
    Wildland: The Making of America's Fury
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • S4 Ep62: It's Not Like a Newscast (with Tim Miller)

    S4 Ep62: It's Not Like a Newscast (with Tim Miller)
    Dec 21 2024
    The podcast-sphere was one of the most covered stories of the 2024 election, with Joe Rogan standing above all. Podcaster extraordinaires Sarah and Tim turn over why this medium is appealing to the newest Trump voters (specifically the Rogan fans), and what our new long-form world means for the future of politics.
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    57 mins
  • S4 Ep61: Hate Was Up, Prices Were Down (with Marc Caputo)

    S4 Ep61: Hate Was Up, Prices Were Down (with Marc Caputo)
    Dec 14 2024
    We've spent plenty of time on this show discussing what Donald Trump's newest voters found wanting about Democrats in the 2024 election. This week, we're turning our attention to their affirmative case for Trump. The Bulwark's MAGA-world correspondent, Marc Caputo joins Sarah to hear them out.

    show notes
    The NYT's DealBook summit Sarah referenced
    Harvard Kennedy School's recent election forum that Marc referenced
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    58 mins
  • S4 Ep60: An 'Unserious' Show (with Jonathan V. Last)

    S4 Ep60: An 'Unserious' Show (with Jonathan V. Last)
    Dec 7 2024
    We've got (Thanksgiving) leftover focus group sound we didn't get to last week. Sarah's best friend Jonathan V. Last makes his vengeful return to the show to work through his thoughts (and the voters' thoughts) on the 2024 election, and he and Sarah parry over just how serious this country is anymore. It gets spicy.
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    1 hr and 10 mins
  • S4 Ep59: "Beyoncé Ain't Paying My Bills, B*tch." (with Astead Herndon)

    S4 Ep59: "Beyoncé Ain't Paying My Bills, B*tch." (with Astead Herndon)
    Nov 30 2024
    The Focus Group Podcast is back for a post-election autopsy. We're starting with a deep dive on how Donald Trump's newest voters found Kamala Harris and the Democrats lacking. Astead Herndon, host of The New York Times podcast The Run-Up joins Sarah to write a first draft of how we got here.

    show notes
    The Run-Up: The Democrats' Plan to Get Skeptics on Their Side
    The Run-Up: Kamala Harris on Kamala Harris
    The Bulwark's Bleak Friday Sale
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    1 hr and 14 mins
  • S4 Ep58: How [He/She] Wins (with Ron Brownstein)

    S4 Ep58: How [He/She] Wins (with Ron Brownstein)
    Nov 2 2024
    The polls are close enough that this election could go either way. But whatever happens, the focus groups over the last year-plus have given some clues about what's motivating the swing voters voting for Trump, and those voting for Harris. Atlantic senior editor Ron Brownstein joins Sarah to listen to voters and what the Trump and Harris coalitions might look like.

    show notes
    By Ron Brownstein:
    The Democratic Theory of Winning With Less
    The Improbable Coalition That Is Harris’s Best Hope
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • S4 Ep57: Keystone State of the Race (with Holly Otterbein)

    S4 Ep57: Keystone State of the Race (with Holly Otterbein)
    Oct 26 2024
    There's one thing Republican and Democratic strategists all agree on right now: no state is more likely to decide this election than Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania-based POLITICO reporter Holly Otterbein joins Sarah to break down Pennsylvania's shift to the right in recent years, and why Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is finding himself in a surprisingly close race.

    Show Notes:
    Spotlight PA: Democrats in Pa. approach 2024 election with slimmest voter registration advantage in decades

    By Holly Otterbein:
    Harris ramps up her appeals to Republican voters in the Philly suburbs
    ‘Pennsylvania is such a mess’: Inside Team Harris’ unusual levels of finger-pointing
    Dems see warning signs for Harris with Latino men in Pennsylvania
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    54 mins