The Focus Group Podcast

Latest Episodes:

S4 Ep33: Unlearning Their Hermit-ness (with Tim Miller) May 18, 2024

Show notes

2024's college graduates started their college careers with COVID, and ended them with encampments on most of their campuses. Tim Miller joins Sarah to discuss how America's youth have dealt with a turbulent few years, how they view the recent protests on their campuses, and their thoughts on November's election.

S4 Ep32: Larry Hogan: The Most Democratic Republican (with Michael Steele) May 11, 2024

Show notes

One of Sarah's favorite Republicans, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, is running for the U.S. Senate. So how are Sarah, and her fellow Maryland voters thinking about this race? Former Maryland Lt. Governor (and RNC chairman) Michael Steele joins Sarah to discuss how left-leaning Marylanders who've voted for Hogan before are thinking about his Senate bid, and his Democratic challengers.

S4 Ep31: Trump's 'F*ck You' Strategy (with Marc Caputo) May 04, 2024

Show notes

Donald Trump said that Nikki Haley's supporters would be "permanently barred" from the MAGA camp...and he's keeping that promise in the general election. Bulwark MAGA-world correspondent Marc Caputo joins Sarah to listen to Nikki Haley's base...those that are abandoning Trump in the general election, and those that are sticking with him.

S4 Ep30: Arizona: The "Leave Me Alone" State (with Yvonne Wingett Sanchez) Apr 27, 2024

Show notes

Abortion has become a defining feature of the 2024 election in Arizona, and Arizona women know it. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona-based democracy reporter for the Washington Post, joins Sarah to walk through the implications of the Arizona Supreme Court re-instituting an 1864 ban on abortion in the state.
Editor's note: This show was taped before the Arizona House voted to repeal the ban on April 24.
show notes:
The Post's Inside the GOP reckoning over Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban

S4 Ep29: Wanted: Serious, Sober People (with Bill Kristol) Apr 20, 2024

Show notes

Voters have gotten long looks at both Donald Trump and Joe Biden representing America on the world stage, so what did swing voters see? Bill Kristol joins Sarah to talk about the foreign policy stakes of the 2024 election, and how voters think about the War in Ukraine and America's role in it. This show was recorded before Iran's April 13-14 attack on Israel.

S4 Ep28: The "Uncommitted" Democrats (with Tommy Vietor) Apr 13, 2024

Show notes

Some voters in recent Democratic primaries have been upset with Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Whether and how he can bring them back onside in November is an open question. Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor joins Sarah to break down a small but critical part of the Democratic coalition, why they're upset, and what it could mean in November.

S4 Ep27: RFK, Jr.: The Most Insider Outsider (with Astead Herndon) Apr 06, 2024

Show notes

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is shaking up the presidential race...and no one knows what his impact is going to be. So we talked to former Trump voters and former Biden voters who are giving Kennedy a look. Astead Herndon, host of the New York Times politics podcast The Run-Up joins Sarah to discuss his recent interview with Kennedy and how the voters are thinking about him.

Show Notes:
The Run-Up: Don't Ask RFK Jr. About Being a Spoiler

S4 Ep26: Hands Off My TikTok (with Andrew Egger) Mar 30, 2024

Show notes

The House recently passed a bill that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the U.S. It made for strange bedfellows (Lauren Boebert voted for it, and President Biden would sign it). It takes a lot to get them to agree…but the voters we talked to didn’t get the memo. Bulwark White House correspondent Andrew Egger joins Sarah to break down a weird and important debate in Washington.

S4 Ep25: "I voted for Donald Trump. My bad, fam." (with Tim Miller) Mar 23, 2024

Show notes

Sarah's trying to convince former Trump voters to abandon him in November, through a campaign called Republican Voters Against Trump. It's a tall order, but luckily she's done it before. The Bulwark's own Tim Miller, who was the political director of Republican Voters Against Trump in 2020, joins Sarah to discuss the theory behind RVAT and how anti-Trump forces can capitalize on recent good news for Biden.
show notes

S4 Ep24: Cleveland Rocks (with Henry Gomez) Mar 16, 2024

Show notes

The Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Ohio is heating up...unexpectedly. Cleveland-area businessman Bernie Moreno is on the ropes despite Trump's endorsement. And despite voters being mad about the Cleveland Guardians (née Indians) name change, a member of the ownership family is still in the ballgame (pun intended). NBC News senior political reporter and Ohio native Henry Gomez joins Sarah to break down this primary and preview what will be one of November's biggest Senate races.

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