The Focus Group Podcast

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S5 Ep21: New Jersey's (Very) Odd Year (with Amy Walter) Jun 07, 2025

Show notes

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 political environment.

S5 Ep20: Democrats on Biden's Decline May 31, 2025

Show notes

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 for length and for participants' privacy.

S5 Ep19: Congress: Trump's Super-Staffers (with Annie Karni) May 24, 2025

Show notes

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:

Mad House: How Donald Trump, MAGA Mean Girls, a Former Used Car Salesman, a Florida Nepo Baby, and a Man with Rats in His Walls Broke Congress

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S5 Ep18: Liberal Order Elegy? (with Ian Ward) May 17, 2025

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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

Show notes

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 over Trump's agenda.
show notes
By Dave Weigel:
Democrats’ new pitch: Down with the king
Democrats are all but done with Trump impeachment talk

S5 Ep16: Can You Say 'Oligarchy'? (with Faiz Shakir) May 03, 2025

Show notes

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'll advance the Democratic Party going forward, and what even moderates can learn from their approach.

S5 Ep15: Nothing is True, Everything is Possible (with Anne Applebaum) Apr 26, 2025

Show notes

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 seeing Trump, and how he's comparing to autocratic regimes around the world.
show notes
Anne on Substack
By Anne Applebaum:
Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism
Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World
America’s Future Is Hungary

S5 Ep14: Trump's Luxury Beliefs (with Scott Lincicome) Apr 19, 2025

Show notes

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 might go from here.
show notes
By Scott Lincicome:
Capitolism Newsletter
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S5 Ep13: America's Moral Moment (with Lauren Egan) Apr 12, 2025

Show notes

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.
By Lauren Egan:
Chuck Schumer Is Facing a Biden Moment
Where Have All the Pussyhats Gone?
Some Weird Alliances Are Breaking Out Among Democrats
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S5 Ep12: Telling MAGA It's Raining (with Will Sommer) Apr 05, 2025

Show notes

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 to sift through it all.
show notes

By Will Sommer:

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