<![CDATA[The Bulwark: The Focus Group]]>

<![CDATA[The Bulwark: The Focus Group]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/s/thefocusgrouphttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QWq4!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe7bdbd69-ae32-45de-8348-8913f6966d53_256x256.pngThe Bulwark: The Focus Grouphttps://www.thebulwark.com/s/thefocusgroupSubstackSun, 19 Apr 2026 21:41:29 GMT<![CDATA[Trump Voters Say 'Nope' to the Pope (with Jonathan V. Last)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-voters-say-nope-to-the-popehttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-voters-say-nope-to-the-popeSat, 18 Apr 2026 10:01:48 GMTDonald Trump and Pope Leo XIV are probably the two most prominent Americans in the world right now, and they're fighting. So we asked American Catholics (including those who voted for Trump) what they thought of their feud, and about Trump's Truth Social Post depicting himself as Jesus. JVL returns to the show with some choice words for some of his fellow Catholics, and discusses the role the Catholic Church has played in American politics more broadly.

Get tickets to The Bulwark's May live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles!

Pre-order Sarah’s book, How to Eat an Elephant, coming in September!

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[BONUS EPISODE: Are Millennials Cool Again?]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bonus-episode-are-millennials-coolhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/bonus-episode-are-millennials-coolFri, 17 Apr 2026 10:03:14 GMTOn this bonus episode, Rachel and guest Sami Sage of Betches Media wonder whether millennials are truly still ‘cringe.’ They also discuss the Gen Z gender gap, and how some politically moderate young women are navigating that political divide in their personal lives.

Rachel Janfaza in The Bulwark:

Gen Z Is Ready for Hope and Change

By Sami Sage:

Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[The Sad, Mad GOP Base (with Amy Walter)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-sad-mad-gop-base-with-amy-walterhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-sad-mad-gop-base-with-amy-walterSat, 11 Apr 2026 10:01:49 GMTIf there’s a blue wave in the 2026 elections, it’ll be either because new people start voting for Democrats, or the current Republican base gets sad and stays home. So we convened a focus group of 2020 and 2024 Trump voters who are unhappy with his administration to give you a sample of the kind of despair that could keep Republicans home in November. Amy Walter, editor-in-chief of the Cook Political Report, returns to the show to break down the midterm landscape.

Pre-order Sarah’s book, How to Eat an Elephant, coming in September!

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[It’s ‘Messing With Me Mentally’ (with Ashley Parker)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/its-messing-with-me-mentally-withhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/its-messing-with-me-mentally-withSat, 04 Apr 2026 10:02:06 GMTThe Iran War has been going on for a month, and it’s deeply, DEEPLY unpopular. Plus, we get reactions from swing voters on the characters inside the Trump administration who they like (like Marco Rubio), or REALLY dislike (listen to find out). Atlantic staff writer Ashley Parker returns to the show.

By Ashley Parker:

The Wrath of Stephen Miller

Pre-order Sarah’s book, How to Eat an Elephant, coming in September!

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Ad-free editions are available exclusively for Bulwark+ members. Upgrade now to listen without ads and to join the community in the comments.

The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[PSA: AI Is NOT Your Boyfriend!! (with Megan McArdle)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/psa-ai-is-not-your-boyfriend-withhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/psa-ai-is-not-your-boyfriend-withSat, 28 Mar 2026 10:02:18 GMTArtificial intelligence is such a big change to human civilization that our political class is struggling to keep up. The voters in our focus groups are struggling, too. The Washington Post's Megan McArdle joins the show to discuss how everyday Americans are using (and misusing!) AI, its impact on the political process and information environment, and how public policy can adapt to this brave new world.

Megan McArdle's Washington Post Podcast, Reasonably Optimistic

Pre-order Sarah’s book, How to Eat an Elephant, coming in September!

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA['All of You Could Be Democrats' (with Anderson Clayton)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/all-of-you-could-be-democrats-withhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/all-of-you-could-be-democrats-withSat, 21 Mar 2026 10:02:17 GMTA lot of the young people we’ve been talking to recently in our focus groups are relatively apolitical, and many of them don’t vote. But what DO these young people care about? And what could mobilize them in the future? Rachel Janfaza discusses with Anderson Clayton, the youngest state party chair in the U.S. and chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[Illinois Senate Race: Daaaa Dems (with David Axelrod)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/illinois-senate-race-daaaa-dems-withhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/illinois-senate-race-daaaa-dems-withSat, 14 Mar 2026 10:02:32 GMTThe Democratic primary for US Senate in Illinois is a bit quiet, according to our guest. But underneath the surface, one candidate has a VERY interesting way of getting attention...and voters are starting to notice. David Axelrod, former adviser to President Obama, joins the show to discuss this Chicago-style Senate race.

Pre-order Sarah’s book, How to Eat an Elephant, coming in September!

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[BONUS POD: Iran Fears &...Focus Groups Love The Bulwark?]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bonus-pod-iran-fears-and-focus-groupshttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/bonus-pod-iran-fears-and-focus-groupsThu, 12 Mar 2026 10:03:29 GMTSarah was out last week, and felt she had to bring you some timely focus group reactions to the War in Iran. We also check in on their feelings about the Trump administration (especially their handling of the Epstein Files), and talk about a growing strain of conspiracy theorizing tied to Israel (Jeffrey Epstein and Charlie Kirk are BOTH involved!)

Finally, we’ve recently seen members of the Bulwark community pop up in the wild in our focus groups. Hear what drew THEM to The Bulwark. Sarah and Bill Kristol sift through it all.

Pre-order Sarah’s book, How to Eat an Elephant, coming in September!

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[What's a "Rug Pull"? (with Ed Elson)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/whats-a-rug-pull-with-ed-elsonhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/whats-a-rug-pull-with-ed-elsonSat, 07 Mar 2026 11:02:24 GMTRachel Janfaza sits in for Sarah on this week’s Focus Group to take a look at Gen Z’s personal finances, from their long-term outlooks to their day-to-day habits…especially their investments in crypto and how they’re engaging with sports betting and prediction markets. Ed Elson, co-host of Prof G Markets, joins Rachel.

Pre-order Sarah’s book, How to Eat an Elephant, coming in September!

Show notes:

Rachel in The Up and Up: How Gen Z spends, saves, and invests

Rachel in The Up and Up: The Kalshi election

Ed’s interview with Kalshi founder Tarek Mansour

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[Twitter vs. Texans (with Elaine Godfrey)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/twitter-vs-texans-with-elaine-godfreyhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/twitter-vs-texans-with-elaine-godfreySat, 28 Feb 2026 11:01:36 GMTThe Texas Senate primary on March 3 between James Talarico and Rep. Jasmine Crockett is a toxic cesspool on Twitter. But Texas Democrats are practically giddy over how much they like both candidates. Atlantic staff writer Elaine Godfrey, who's profiled both candidates, joins the show to chat about the race and discuss why she was kicked out of a Jasmine Crockett campaign event.

By Elaine Godfrey:
Why I Got Thrown Out of a Jasmine Crockett Rally
Audio of Elaine being kicked out: ‘Elaine From Atlantic … She Needs to Leave’
Texas's Pete
A Democrat for the Trump Era

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[Texas-Sized Scandal (with Eric Benson)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/texas-sized-scandal-with-eric-bensonhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/texas-sized-scandal-with-eric-bensonSat, 21 Feb 2026 11:02:44 GMTSen. John Cornyn has been a consistent ally of President Trump. Even Trump likes him just fine...but that may not be enough to save him in Texas, because he may have just been too mild-mannered for too long. He's running against a scandal-plagued (but combative) Attorney General, and a less scandal-plagued (but also less known) newcomer. Texas Monthly writer Eric Benson joins Sarah to break down the Republican brawl in the Lone Star State.

Show notes:
Eric Benson's John Cornyn profile: The Last Ride of Big Bad John

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[Two Qual Researchers Walk Into a Bar (with Margie Omero)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/two-qual-researchers-walk-into-ahttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/two-qual-researchers-walk-into-aSat, 14 Feb 2026 11:01:43 GMTMore and more Trump voters are souring on his administration. But why? Inflation, immigration, and Epstein are all in the mix, but there's a giant mosaic of disappointments. We needed a second qualitative researcher to make sense of it all. Democratic pollster Margie Omero joins the show to discuss what she's heard in her own focus groups, listen to Trump voters who are down on his job performance, and check in with the Democratic base.

Margie's focus groups:
Trump’s Problems With Latinos Go Deeper Than the Economy
14 Wellness Voters Talk Parenting, MAHA and Social Media

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[Young Trump Voters Have Feelings (with Rachel Janfaza)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/young-trump-voters-have-feelingshttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/young-trump-voters-have-feelingsSat, 07 Feb 2026 11:00:40 GMTWhy are Gen Z men drifting right while Gen Z women move left? And why do right-wing zoomers think the gender gap is so wide? Sarah Longwell talks with the newest Bulwark contributor Rachel Janfaza, founder of The Up and Up, to analyze new focus groups of Gen Z Trump voters. They also get into these voters' Trump fatigue on foreign policy, why a future JD Vance presidential run isn't appealing, and whether these voters could ever date someone across the political divide.

Show notes:
Rachel in Vox: The quiet reason why Trump is losing Gen Z
November 2025: Rachel Janfaza on The Focus Group Podcast

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[Put Excuses on ICE (with Adrian Carrasquillo)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/put-excuses-on-ice-with-adrian-carrasquillohttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/put-excuses-on-ice-with-adrian-carrasquilloSat, 31 Jan 2026 11:02:36 GMTWe saw an ICE officer kill an American citizen for the second time in less than three weeks. This time, it was harder for some of the voters we talked to to make an excuse for it. Bulwark immigration correspondent Adrian Carrasquillo returns to the show to discuss his reporting and listen to voters' raw reactions to what they're seeing in the news.

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Show notes:
The abhorrent power of the photograph of a 5-year-old held by ICE

By Adrian Carrasquillo:
Why a Scared 5-Year-Old Boy Shook Our National Conscience
Portraits of the Minneapolis Resistance

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

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]]><![CDATA[The Heebie Jeebie GOP (with Will Sommer)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-heebie-jeebie-gop-with-will-sommerhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-heebie-jeebie-gop-with-will-sommerSat, 24 Jan 2026 11:01:07 GMTSome strange, under-the-radar things are happening on the right. Marco Rubio is experiencing a strange rehabilitation with the Republican base, and some young men are excited about taxing OnlyFans. Meanwhile, JD Vance is still on the struggle bus with swing voters, especially women. Will Sommer, The Bulwark’s right-wing fever swamp correspondent, joins Sarah to break down the growing rift between the MAGA establishment and the America First wing—and what it means for 2028.

By Will Sommer:

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

]]><![CDATA[America: Playing Stupid Games, Winning Stupid Prizes (with Bill Kristol)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/america-playing-stupid-games-winninghttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/america-playing-stupid-games-winningSat, 17 Jan 2026 11:01:37 GMTThere's a lot of bad news right now—so much that none of it is breaking through that much to the voters we talked to. From the ICE killing of Renee Good to the Epstein files to the criminal investigation into Jerome Powell, Bulwark editor-at-large Bill Kristol joins Sarah for a reflective conversation on the tough times we live in and how voters are processing them.

Previous shows discussing the Epstein Files:

With Will Sommer (November 2025)

With Ashley Parker (September 2025)

With Will Sommer (July 2025)

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

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]]><![CDATA[What a Difference a Year Makes (with Jonathan Chait)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/what-a-difference-a-year-makes-withhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/what-a-difference-a-year-makes-withSat, 10 Jan 2026 11:01:25 GMTThe United States just captured Venezuela's dictator, and we needed to get some quick voter reactions. Is this REALLY what the newest members of Trump's coalition voted for? We're also sensing growing discontent from them with the state of the country, and with the Trump administration governing more for its friends than for them. Atlantic staff writer Jonathan Chait joins the show to break down voter sentiment nearly a year into Trump's term.

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

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]]><![CDATA[Sarah’s First Focus Groups]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/sarahs-first-focus-groupshttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/sarahs-first-focus-groupsSat, 03 Jan 2026 11:00:55 GMTSarah started doing focus groups in 2018 and 2019 hoping to save the Republican Party from Trump—by finding a primary challenger who wouldn’t embarrass themselves. Instead, she discovered voters who were fine with Trump, and she picked up a years-long addiction that turned into this show. We listen to audio from Sarah’s earliest focus groups with reluctant Ohio Trump voters, and not-so-reluctant New Hampshire Trump voters. Then, Sarah and producer Conor Kilgore take some listener questions and look ahead to 2026 races.

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

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]]><![CDATA[America on Tape: A Brutal (and Hopeful) Year]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/america-on-tape-a-brutal-and-hopefulhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/america-on-tape-a-brutal-and-hopefulSat, 27 Dec 2025 11:01:12 GMTA year in review from The Focus Group Podcast: the revealing moments, toughest conversations, and warnings that hit a little harder with hindsight—from swing voters to Democrats to cracks inside MAGA.

Original Episodes:

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

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]]><![CDATA[MAGA's 'Crunchy' Surprise (with Jonathan Cohn)]]>https://www.thebulwark.com/p/magas-crunchy-surprise-with-jonathanhttps://www.thebulwark.com/p/magas-crunchy-surprise-with-jonathanSat, 20 Dec 2025 11:02:11 GMTRobert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s 'Make America Healthy Again' movement and its adherents have done some of the most harm of anyone in Donald Trump's second term. The voters who are motivated by 'MAHA' are also some of the most interesting. The Bulwark's resident healthcare expert, Jonathan Cohn joins the show to break down the policy consequences of RFK's healthcare regime, and what motivates the everyday 'MAHA' voter.

By Jonathan Cohn:
This Is What It Looks Like When RFK Jr. Wins

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The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell is available wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Click to find the show or add this podcast to your player of choice, here.

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