Shows
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 7: Redistricting Turbulence in Texas and Elsewhere, with Nathaniel Rakich from VotebeatOne of the leading stories this year has been mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump began encouraging Republican-run states to create more favorable congressional maps for the GOP, starting with Texas. Democrats have responded with their own redistricting moves, including a redraw in California via the voter-approved Proposition 50. This week, the redistricting saga encountered its latest twist when a federal judicial panel blocked Texas’s new map, ruling it an illegal racial gerrymander — a decision that Texas Republicans have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.To review the redistricting drama we’v...
2025-11-2054 min
Beyond the Polls with Henry OlsenHow Data Nerds Earned Their Seat at the TableTragedy hit the once-marginalized psephological community last week when FiveThirtyEight closed shop. Henry hosts a celebration of life with two of its top contributors, Nathaniel Rakich and Geoffrey Skelley, to discuss the former outfit's inconceivable achievement of mainstreaming political data journalism. The trio digs into the explosive history of innovative election modeling and explores the lingering unknowns while looking to the future for a field tasked with telling the human story behind complicated quantifications.
2025-03-1343 min
FiveThirtyEight Politics538 Debate Club: Should TikTok Be Banned?Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would ban TikTok unless its owner, the Chinese company ByteDance, sells its stake in the app. This decision has ignited a national debate about TikTok and the effects of social media. So, in true 538 fashion, we’re reintroducing a segment we like to call ‘Debate Club’ to discuss the issue. In this installment of the 538 Politics podcast, Senior Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley, Podcast Intern Jala Everett, and Senior Editor and Senior Elections Analyst Nathaniel Rakich engage in a spirited debate. They'll defend their arguments on whether to ban TikTok...
2024-03-2156 min
Democracy in Color with Steve PhillipsRedistricting 101As redistricting maps get finalized across the country, Democrats are in better shape than most pundits predicted following the 2020 election. Steve, Sharline and Julie share updates on the redistricting process and dive into the numbers to highlight how and where Democrats should focus their energy and investment to win this year.
We also discuss what’s wrong with the commonly held belief that the President’s party always suffers in the midterms. And Steve shares important takeaways from his latest article in The Guardian on the fight for voting rights.
REFERENCES:
Martin Luther King quotes
“So the great stumbling block and a...
2022-01-2042 min
LA PodcastRecall Me by Your NameCOVID numbers keep dropping and vaccine eligibility expands. A report documents LAPD's response to the May and June protests against police brutality. And Alissa and Scott debate whether or not they should be freaking out about Gavin Newsom's recall election.HousekeepingScott was on Councilmember Mike Bonin's PodcastCovidCOVID Hospitalizations Drop Below 1,000 Ahead of LA County's Move to Red Tier (City News Service; NBC4; 3/13/21)California counties sidestep direct Blue Shield oversight in new vaccine deal (Melody Gutierrez; LAT; 3/12/21)AirTalk | Audio: LAUSD, Teachers Union Reach School Reopening...
2021-03-151h 11
Jigsaw PoliticsThe Final CountdownElection day is coming up! This week we take you through the key battleground states while analyzing supreme court picks! Listen to Jigsaw Politics on 90.7fm WKPS https://www.thelion.fm/ You can send your thoughts to jigsawpoliticspod@gmail.com or connect with us on social media @Jigsawpolitics or on the web https://jppodcast.wixsite.com/jigsawpolitics Music by Joakim Karud https://youtube.com/joakimkarud JIGSAW POLITICS MERCH OUT NOW https://teespring.com/stores/jigsaw-politics-podcastSources: "Why Trump’s Supreme Court Fantasy List Is Bad for Real Life" by Martin J. Siegel https://www.nytimes.co...
2020-09-1826 min
Stay Tuned with PreetBorn to Poll (with J. Ann Selzer)On this week’s episode of Stay Tuned, "Born to Poll," host Preet Bharara answers your questions about:
-- Former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's move to withdraw his guilty plea
-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement naming the House Impeachment Managers
-- The documents provided to the House Intelligence Committee by Rudy Giuliani's associate, Lev Parnas
The guest is J. Ann Selzer, the president and founder of polling firm Selzer & Company. She is one of the country's most widely-respected pollsters and has been overseeing the Des Moines Register Iowa poll almost every year since the 1980s.
REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MAT...
2020-01-161h 19
Stay Tuned with PreetBorn to Poll (with J. Ann Selzer)On this week’s episode of Stay Tuned, "Born to Poll," host Preet Bharara answers your questions about:
-- Former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's move to withdraw his guilty plea
-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement naming the House Impeachment Managers
-- The documents provided to the House Intelligence Committee by Rudy Giuliani's associate, Lev Parnas
The guest is J. Ann Selzer, the president and founder of polling firm Selzer & Company. She is one of the country's most widely-respected pollsters and has been overseeing the Des Moines Register Iowa poll almost every year since the 1980s.
REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MAT...
2020-01-161h 18