The Focus Group Podcast

The Focus Group Podcast

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/

Episodes

S5 Ep22: 'This Country is Effed' (with Jonathan Cohn)

June 14, 2025 • 53 mins
Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is moving through Congress, and you may be surprised by some former Trump voters' reactions. Bulwark in-house policy wonk Jonathan Cohn joins Sarah to talk about the bill's negative consequences and why healthcare has been such a political albatross for the Republican Party. We also learn that plenty of voters are irritated by Congress only seeming to pass 'big' bills these days.


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S5 Ep21: New Jersey's (Very) Odd Year (with Amy Walter)

June 7, 2025 • 61 mins
The Democratic primary for New Jersey governor is crowded, and Democratic voters all over the map. But as always, they're united in wanting a candidate who can fight the Trump administration effectively. So which candidate can do it? Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report and the podcast The Odd Years makes her sixth appearance on the show to discuss how these off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia can change the polit...
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S5 Ep20: Democrats on Biden's Decline

May 31, 2025 • 38 mins
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...
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S5 Ep19: Congress: Trump's Super-Staffers (with Annie Karni)

May 24, 2025 • 48 mins
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:
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S5 Ep18: Liberal Order Elegy? (with Ian Ward)

May 17, 2025 • 60 mins
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:
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    S5 Ep17: Trump Had ONE JOB (with Dave Weigel)

    May 10, 2025 • 56 mins
    With Donald Trump's approval ratings falling, that means some of his voters aren't getting what they voted for. We talked to those voters, to find out what that does and doesn't mean about their relationship to this administration (spoiler: they DON'T wish they'd voted for Kamala Harris). Semafor's Dave Weigel joins the show to break down how those voters are feeling, and the battle lines for the upcoming legislative battles o...
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    S5 Ep16: Can You Say 'Oligarchy'? (with Faiz Shakir)

    May 3, 2025 • 64 mins
    Sarah didn't think she'd be looking to Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as examples of good Democratic communicators. But all of a sudden, they're some of the only people in the Democratic Party showing how to get the Trump opposition engaged. Faiz Shakir, Sanders' adviser and 2020 presidential campaign manager, joins the show to talk about Sanders' and Ocasio-Cortez's rallies around the country, why he thinks they'...
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    S5 Ep15: Nothing is True, Everything is Possible (with Anne Applebaum)

    April 26, 2025 • 49 mins
    Donald Trump's first 100 days in office have been marked by a lot of aspiring autocratic behavior...like deporting a legal resident without due process, targeting his political enemies, to walking right up to the line of ignoring the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, it's not a given that voters will care...or even clock that what they're seeing is bad. Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum joins Sarah to discuss how voters are see...
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    S5 Ep14: Trump's Luxury Beliefs (with Scott Lincicome)

    April 19, 2025 • 54 mins
    Trump has plunged the markets into chaos over the last couple of weeks with his tariffing, and un-tariffing, and possible re-tariffing. The Biden-to-Trump voters we've talked to were a mixed bag on this. Scott Lincicome, author of The Dispatch's economics newsletter Capitolism and Vice President of general economics at the Cato Institute, joins Sarah to listen to how the trade war is trickling down to voters and where it all m...
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    S5 Ep13: America's Moral Moment (with Lauren Egan)

    April 12, 2025 • 44 mins
    We've heard from a lot of Democrats who want the party to be more moderate, and many who want the party to be more progressive. But they all agree that the party needs to fight harder in this moment. Lauren Egan, author of The Bulwark's newsletter, The Opposition, joins Sarah to listen to some Democrats talk about the threats they see from the Trump administration, and how they think elected Democrats should respond.

    ...
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    S5 Ep12: Telling MAGA It's Raining (with Will Sommer)

    April 5, 2025 • 58 mins
    Donald Trump is facing some headwinds. His staff accidentally leaked war plans to a reporter, and the promised price cuts are nowhere to be found. We check in with Biden-Trump voters on Signal-gate, and talk to Trump's base about whether they want him running for a third term, how they feel about the economy (which may surprise you), and the state of the MAGA media ecosystem. The Bulwark's MAGA-knower Will Sommer joins Sarah t...
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    S5 Ep11: The Kyrgyzstan PhD Problem (with Jen Psaki)

    March 29, 2025 • 76 mins
    We're checking in with 2024's non-voters, and Sarah has a (friendly) fight with our guest over whether Kamala Harris should have closed the 2024 campaign with Liz Cheney. They also talk to some of 2024's non-voters, who have some thoughts on how Democrats should be fighting back right now. Jen Psaki, host of MSNBC's Inside with Jen Psaki and the podcast The Blueprint with Jen Psaki, joins the show.
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    S5 Ep10: It's Really Good and Really Bad (with Mark Leibovich)

    March 22, 2025 • 51 mins
    We're checking in on first-time Trump voters as Trump's reign of chaos continues. Some love what they're getting and think Democrats are out over their skis. Others are wondering when Trump will get around to fixing the economy. Atlantic staff writer and legendary DC chronicler Mark Leibovich joins Sarah to discuss what to make of it all.

    Show notes:
    Mark Leibovich in The Atlantic:
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    S5 Ep9: Unresolved COVID Trauma (with Dr. Leana Wen)

    March 15, 2025 • 56 mins
    Five years ago this week, the COVID-19 pandemic came to the United States, and with it a level of suffering and distrust of authority (and each other) that we haven't fully reckoned with. Indeed, the pandemic was a major factor in what made Donald Trump's political comeback possible. Dr. Leana Wen, public health expert and author of the Washington Post newsletter The Checkup with Dr. Wen joins Sarah to discuss the lessons lear...
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    S5 Ep8: Free World 'Family Meeting' (with Tommy Vietor)

    March 8, 2025 • 42 mins
    Trump shouted down Zelensky in the Oval Office last week, and many pro-Ukraine Trump voters wished it hadn't happened like that...publicly, at least. So, we wondered, what did the remaining pro-Ukraine Republicans think of America's role in the world? Pod Save America and Pod Save the World host Tommy Vietor joins Sarah to discuss the future of foreign policy in Trump 2.0.
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    S5 Ep7: Raw Audio: Guys Being Dudes

    March 1, 2025 • 50 mins
    We're doing something a bit different this week: We're giving you nearly an hour of  audio from a recent focus group of men aged 18-29 who voted for Donald Trump in 2024. We get into everyone's media diets, what they think of Elon and Trump, and how the culture talks to young men today. You don't want to miss it.


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    S5 Ep6: Will the Real POTUS Please Stand Up? (with Kara Swisher)

    February 22, 2025 • 57 mins
    It seems like Elon Musk is running America right now. SOME people in our focus groups don't like it all that much. Legendary tech reporter and Musk-whisperer Kara Swisher joins the show to discuss Musk's MAGA character arc and what his real motivations are with DOGE.

    Show notes:



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    S5 Ep5: 'I'm All For Deportations, But...' (with Adrian Carrasquillo)

    February 15, 2025 • 57 mins
    Plenty of the newest Donald Trump voters wanted him to fix the border, and to deport criminals. Some are excited by what they're seeing, and some are getting more than they bargained for. Bulwark immigration correspondent Adrian Carrasquillo joins Sarah to discuss voter reactions, and the latest developments in Trump's immigration regime.

    By Adrian Carrasquillo:
    The Border Debate Is Over. Dems Lost.
    Inside Tr...
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    S5 Ep4: Winners Make Policy, Losers Go Home (with Adam Jentleson)

    February 8, 2025 • 60 mins
    Where do Democratic voters want the party to go next? And just as importantly, how does the party need to be thinking differently? Adam Jentleson, former chief of staff to Sen. John Fetterman and aide to Sen. Harry Reid, joins Sarah to discuss the kind of thinking hampering current Democratic elected officials and staff, and they discuss some new ways to campaign and govern as the party looks toward 2026 and 2028.

    By ...
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    S5 Ep3: At Least He's Doing Something (with Sam Stein)

    February 1, 2025 • 53 mins
    Donald Trump's approval rating is sitting around 50 percent, which is as high as he's ever been, even though he started his term by pardoning January 6 rioters, causing mass confusion across the government, and claiming that DEI caused a plane crash. The voters we talked to in our focus groups are just glad to see someone "taking action." Bulwark managing editor Sam Stein joins Sarah to talk about voters' reactions to Trump's ...
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