Focus Group Podcast: The Complete Season 2 - Part Two - Six Episodes

Alright, policy wonks and politicos, this one's for you—part two of the complete second season of the Focus Group Podcast. Dive into another 4+ hours of what many might call "the weeds" (or even the "boring" parts) of American politics, hosted by Sarah Longwell, the patron saint of qualitative political discourse. We're not saying that 268 minutes of focus groups is for everyone, but if you've read this far, it's definitely for you.

*Timestamps:*

*Episode Summaries:*

*Running in Mud - Robert Gibbs - 4/11/2022*

Joe Biden’s approval rating is around 42%. That didn’t happen without Biden losing some of his own voters. Sarah sits down with President Obama’s former White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs to listen to some Biden voters talk about the state of the country and the Biden presidency. They also discuss how (and whether) Biden and Democrats might salvage their political fortunes in the 2022 elections.

*The Asterisk Follows Us - Dr. Ted Johnson - 4/18/2022*

Supreme Court nominations are polarizing nowadays, and President Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was no exception. Dr. Ted Johnson of The Bulwark joins Sarah to discuss how voters reacted to Jackson (and to President Biden pledging ahead of time to pick a black woman for the seat). They also discuss why conversations about race in this country can get real unproductive real fast.

*Will Trump and Biden Birth a Third Party? - Andrew Yang - 4/25/2022*

In 2024, we may be re-running the 2020 election with two very unpopular and very old candidates. Seems like a good time for a viable third party option, right? Former presidential candidate and founder of the Forward Party Andrew Yang joins Sarah to listen to some focus group clips about third parties, talk about the challenges a third party faces, and whether it’s even a good idea.

*Ohio: A MAGA Murderers' Row- Dave Weigel - 5/2/2022*

Folks: it’s primary season! The Ohio U.S. Senate primary is tomorrow, and it’s been…less than nice. Two candidates had to be physically separated at a recent debate. Now, Trump has picked his horse in the race…listen to hear what the voters think of the Trump endorsement and whether the most insane things the candidates are saying are crossing people’s radars (spoiler alert: no). Sarah breaks it all down with Dave Weigel of The Washington Post, who’s been on the trail in Ohio during the home stretch.

*Unfiltered and Uncut: Special Episode - 5/9/2022*

Sarah has Covid, so we're doing something a little different this week. Rather than bring on a guest and combine analysis with clips from focus groups, we're giving you an hour of unfiltered audio from North Carolina and Alabama Trump voters.

*The Pennsylvania Primary: The Dude, the Doctor, and a MAGA Queen - Holly Otterbein - 5/14/2022*

The Pennsylvania Senate race might just be the craziest of 2022. There’s a Bernie guy who looks like a Trump guy (Lt. Gov. John Fetterman) and a Trump guy who looks like a Biden guy (Dave McCormick). There’s also Doctor Oz and an ultra-ultra-MAGA candidate surging late. POLITICO’s Philadelphia-based national political reporter Holly Otterbein joins Sarah to listen to voters make sense of this madness.

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