The Numbers Don't Lie, Except When They Do
The media has been fixating on Donald Trump's surprising "surge" in the polls. But the real story, according to Bob, is more predictable: the media's sloppy and disingenuous use of polls to fill air...
View ArticleMarco Rubio: The Frontrunner in Third
Senator Marco Rubio has been tapped by many in the media as the favorite to win the Republican nomination, despite polling in third place, or worse, for months. The New York Times, NBC News, and U.S....
View ArticleInside/Outside
The launch of a collaboration between On the Media and Nate Silver’s 538 to track the push and pull between polling, media coverage, and public interest in candidates. Plus: a look at the long history...
View ArticleInside the Political Polling Machine
The U.S. currently uses the same type of public-opinion poll to measure attitudes about democracy as it did during the Great Depression. New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore discusses why the influence...
View ArticlePolling & Democracy: An Uneasy Relationship
Knowing your good polls from your bad is essential, especially in an election year. But what if the problem of polling is about more than separating best and worst practices? What if the whole premise...
View ArticlePolitically Correct
What you hear about the Paris climate agreement depends on whom you ask. We sort through the competing messages about what was achieved. Plus, how to spot an accurate election poll as the primaries...
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Support for legal abortion at highest level in 2 years
45 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Planned Parenthood, according to a recent poll. Photo by Mike Blake/ReutersWASHINGTON — Support for legal abortion in the U.S. has edged up to its...
View ArticleHas There Been A Bernie Sanders Blackout?
In our ongoing collaboration with FiveThirtyEight.com, we've been considering whether media coverage drives polls or whether polls (and general interest) drive media coverage. According to Democratic...
View ArticleVoters, What Makes You Anxious?
Polls and other research suggest a growing anxiety about fundamental things: security, economic prospects, and even identity.As part of a project with NPR - which is taking a closer look at the...
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Did the Iowa Caucus Results Discredit Polls?
Two questions to examine here: how immoderate is Marco Rubio's senate record? And, did the results in Iowa discredit polling?Harry Enten, senior political writer and analyst for FiveThirtyEight, said...
View ArticleClinton solidifies lead with wins in 7 states
MIAMI — Hillary Clinton widened her lead over Democratic rival Bernie Sanders as minority voters helped her secure key victories in seven states in the Super Tuesday contests. Sanders won four states...
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Clinton, Trump claim big Super Tuesday victories
Supporters of Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton cheer as they await her arrival at a Super Tuesday primary night party in Miami, Florida on March 1, 2016. Photo by Jonathan...
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Sanders upsets Clinton in Michigan; Trump keeps winning
Sen. Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally in Miami Tuesday. Sanders won the Michigan primary by a narrow margin against rival Hillary Clinton. Photo by Carlo Allegri/ReutersLANSING, Mich. — Bernie...
View ArticleProblematic Polls, Race on the Job, Neighbors to the North
Coming up on today's show:We begin with a look at the questionable methodology of election polling, which often excludes certain populations, and how the results misinform the public. Michael Ramlet,...
View ArticleThe Hard Truth About Election Polls
Bernie Sanders' unexpected win in the Michigan Democratic primary this week has made pollsters take a second look at the electorate they are supposed to be measuring. And with big states like Ohio and...
View ArticleNew York Officials See Spike in Problems at the Polls
The office of New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said it is getting hundreds more reports than usual about problems at polling sites.As of Tuesday evening, the Attorney General's hotline...
View ArticleDe Blasio Makes $20 Million Available to BOE to Implement Reforms
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday he'll make close to $20 million in "incentive funding" available to the City Board of Elections — if the agency agrees to implement a series of reforms he's...
View ArticleAddicted to Approval
Faith Salie, contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning, a panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me!, host of the PBS show "Science Goes To The Movies," and author of Approval Junkie: Adventures in Caring...
View ArticleClinton Could Clinch in New Jersey
Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, talks about national politics with an eye on New Jersey voters.First, let's clear up an important misconception: if you are an...
View ArticleISIS Attacks During Ramadan; The History of Our Highest Court; Juno Swings By...
Coming up on today's show:ISIS has carried out a number of deadly attacks this Ramadan, killing more than 200 people in Baghdad, 44 in Istanbul, and 23 in Dhaka. Ben Hubbard from The New York Times...
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