Cross Tabs

On July 1, I sat down to talk to Scott Keeter and Hannah Hartig from Pew Research about their 2024 Validated Voter Survey.

We talked about the challenges of analyzing elections using panel data, and about the shifts in makeup of the electorate between 2020 and 2024, and what that means for how campaigns think about balancing turnout and persuasion strategies. More than anything, they tell us, mobilization is a result of campaigning....

In this episode, Farrah Bostic is joined by messaging strategist, author, and Words to Win By host Anat Shenker-Osorio for a wide-ranging and incisive conversation about political communication, campaign strategy, and why so much of what the Democratic Party does feels like a missed opportunity.

Together, they explore:

• How Anat’s early fascination with language and justice led her to a career in cognitive ling...

After a brief break, Cross Tabs returns with a must-hear conversation between host Farrah Bostic and journalist-pollster Ariel Edwards-Levy, CNN’s Editor of Polling and Election Analytics. Ariel shares insights from over a decade of political polling and reporting, shedding light on how polls get designed, interpreted, and communicated—and why public opinion is more nuanced, contradictory, and dynamic than we often assume.

The wealth divide is reshaping consumer markets, with 10% of households now driving 50% of all consumer spending in America while the majority struggle with inflation and debt. This economic distortion, hidden by misleading averages, is now colliding with new international tariffs that threaten to remove entire categories of goods from store shelves. 

In this episode of Cross Tabs, Farrah interviews brand strategist Faris Yakob...

Educational attainment has become the new fault line in American politics, creating unexpected coalitions that cross racial boundaries. Research reveals a surprising shift of working-class voters across all demographics toward populist candidates who promise to fight for their interests rather than cater to college-educated elites.

Political researcher Patrick Ruffini, co-founder of Echelon Insights and author of Party of the People...

Government efficiency is often misunderstood, with dangerous consequences when technology leaders wield power without understanding civic infrastructure. Today’s conversation explores what resilience means in technology and governance, examining how Silicon Valley's "move fast and break things" approach threatens critical systems that serve vulnerable populations. 

In this episode of Cross Tabs, host Farrah Bostic and Dan Hon d...

Polling reveals most Americans support abortion access in almost every circumstance, even when they identify as "pro-life." Looking beneath surface-level survey questions shows that when people are asked about specific situations rather than abstract labels, 80% believe abortion should be legal, and even self-described pro-life voters support legal abortion in most medical circumstances or cases of criminal acts. 

In this enlig...

The invisible rulers of the internet are no longer just PR consultants and advertisers, but algorithms and influencers who shape our bespoke realities through immersive persuasion. Social media platforms have transformed from places to connect with friends to ecosystems where propaganda thrives, creating fragmented information environments that leave users swimming in increasingly polarized content. 

In this episode of Cross Ta...

Religious nationalism manifests differently across the globe, with some surprising patterns emerging from cross-national research. The concept extends beyond legal frameworks into cultural values, with the US standing out among high-income countries for believing the Bible should influence laws, even though only 6% of Americans qualify as religious nationalists. 

In this episode of Cross Tabs, Farrah speaks with Pew Research Ce...

The Democratic Party brand has hit historic lows despite Republican extremism, with nearly half of Democratic voters disapproving of their own party representatives in Congress. This crisis in party confidence reflects a failure in messaging strategy, with Democrats needing to centralize their communication and directly attribute economic hardship to Republican policies rather than using vague institutional language. 

In this e...

True democratic power requires collective organization, not just voting. The current political system serves the wealthy while unions remain the only reliable institution giving ordinary Americans access to collective political power — something authoritarians immediately target when taking office. 

In this episode of Cross Tabs, host Farrah Bostic speaks with political strategist Mike Podhorzer about what real democracy looks ...

Understanding political contradictions - from voters supporting seemingly opposing candidates to holding conflicting policy views - reveals deeper truths about American democracy and the complex systems that shape public opinion. Modern polling methods, rooted in both the study of fascism and eugenics, illuminate how we make sense of each other as voters and consumers. 

In this episode of Cross Tabs, host Farrah Bostic unveils ...

Less than a month into the new administration, we have seen a flurry of headlines about datasets being purged all over the federal government — and in programs outside the federal government that receive money from federal agencies.

Here are just a few recent stories:

"What we all lose in Trump and Musk's attack on government data" (Axios, February 7, 2025)

"Thousands of U.S. Government Web Pages Have Been Taken Down Since Friday" (NY...

Subversive marketing tactics and behavioral psychology intersect with modern political strategy, revealing how underdogs can convert attention into meaningful action by understanding human motivation and embracing calculated risk-taking to challenge established systems. 

Authors Alistair Croll and Emily Ross join Farrah to discuss their new book Just Evil Enough, which examines how challenger brands and political movements can ...

Across democracies worldwide, citizens aren't necessarily losing faith in democratic values -- they're frustrated with how democracy is actually working in their countries. New research reveals a striking pattern: from the United States to Italy to South Korea, people want better representation and more responsive leadership, not necessarily a different system of government. 

In this episode, Pew Research Center's Richard Wike ...

Nostalgia has transformed from a medical condition in the 1600s into a powerful force wielded by politicians and corporations today, shaping everything from entertainment reboots to presidential campaigns. The tension between preserving the past and embracing change reveals deeper questions about how we process loss, grief, and our relationship with time in an era of relentless information overload. 

Author and theorist Grafton...

The 2024 presidential election revealed deep fractures in American democracy, from the failure of economic messaging to connect with voters to the growing disconnect between Democratic Party leadership and their base constituencies. Through candid analysis of polling data, campaign strategies, and voter psychology, this discussion illuminates why traditional political playbooks are becoming increasingly ineffective in an era of wid...