Episodes

  • S6 Ep3: 'Secure Borders...At What Cost?' (with Adrian Carrasquillo)

    S6 Ep3: 'Secure Borders...At What Cost?' (with Adrian Carrasquillo)
    Sep 20 2025
    Donald Trump is bleeding support from Hispanic voters, including from some who voted for him. So, we found some former Trump voters who are souring on him, and asked them why. Adrian Carrasquillo, author of The Bulwark's Huddled Masses newsletter, joins the show to discuss voter sentiments on immigration, the future of the immigration debate (especially among Democrats), and his on-the-ground reporting in cities around the country.

    By Adrian Carrasquillo:
    Trump Hasn’t Invaded Chicago, But the City Is Still Rattled

    Get free shipping and 365 day returns from Quince at https://Quince.com/THEFOCUSGROUP.

    For our friends in Canada, we added a second live show with Sarah, Tim and Sam to the schedule. Tickets are on sale now for our bonus Bulwark Live Q&A Matinee show on Saturday, September 27, here.
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    55 mins
  • S6 Ep2: You Can Ramp It Up or Ramp It Down (with Rachel Kleinfeld

    S6 Ep2: You Can Ramp It Up or Ramp It Down (with Rachel Kleinfeld
    Sep 13 2025
    The murder of Charlie Kirk was the culmination of Americans' long-brewing fear of political violence. First, political violence expert Rachel Kleinfeld joins Sarah to discuss the ramifications of Kirk's death on the American body politic, and then Sarah discusses voters' fears of political violence that we've heard through the years.
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    42 mins
  • S6 Ep1: Swing Voters Say Trump is "Meh" (with Ashley Parker)

    S6 Ep1: Swing Voters Say Trump is "Meh" (with Ashley Parker)
    Sep 6 2025
    Donald Trump has run into some summer doldrums...from the uncertainty in the economy, to his Big Beautiful Bill, to his refusal to come clean about Jeffrey Epstein. We're wondering how voters are processing the last couple of months. Atlantic staff writer Ashley Parker, who's covered Trump for over a decade, joins Sarah for our season premiere.

    By Ashley Parker:

    'I Run the Country and the World'
    Flattery, Firmness, and Flourishes
    Why Is the National Guard in D.C.? Even They Don’t Know.
    Inside the White House’s Epstein Strategy
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    1 hr
  • S5 Ep26: What Are Focus Groups For Anyway?

    S5 Ep26: What Are Focus Groups For Anyway?
    Aug 16 2025
    The Focus Group Podcast will be back for real in a couple of weeks, but by popular demand, Sarah and her producer, Conor Kilgore, take on some of our listeners' frequently asked questions about how and why they do all these focus groups.
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    34 mins
  • S5 Ep25: 2024 Trump Voters on the "Epstein Files"

    S5 Ep25: 2024 Trump Voters on the "Epstein Files"
    Jul 12 2025
    The Focus Group Podcast is still on hiatus, but the Trump administration's walkback of the promised "Epstein Files" this week got us curious about how voters were thinking.

    The Bulwark's own Will Sommer sat down with Sarah to break down a focus group we convened with 2024 Trump voters who disapprove of Trump's job performance, and discuss how Democrats can talk about this Epstein news.
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    25 mins
  • S5 Ep24: Do the Next Right Thing, Change the World (with Heather Cox Richardson)

    S5 Ep24: Do the Next Right Thing, Change the World (with Heather Cox Richardson)
    Jun 28 2025
    Our season finale is a bit of a pep talk. America is in a precarious place, but Americans everywhere are speaking up against the authoritarian threat. Historian extraordinaire Heather Cox Richardson joins Sarah to discuss the lessons history leaves for this moment, and Americans' role in fighting back.

    By Heather Cox Richardson:
    Letters from an American
    Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • S5 Ep23: Cuomo vs. Mamdani (with Harry Siegel)

    S5 Ep23: Cuomo vs. Mamdani (with Harry Siegel)
    Jun 21 2025
    The New York City mayoral primary is "dumb" and getting lots of "dumb attention," at least according to our (radically candid) guest. Democratic voters face a choice between disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and the inexperienced socialist state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. There's another candidate who was just arrested by ICE, which may shake up this race at the VERY end. The City's Harry Siegel joins Sarah for a wide-ranging conversation about New York City's politics today.

    By The City:

    • The City's Meet Your Mayor Quiz
    • FAQ NYC Podcast
    By Harry Siegel:

    • NYC’s lousy election rules create lousy choices
    • Mamdani’s moment for momentum: The surging socialist in the Democratic mayoral primary
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    1 hr
  • S5 Ep22: 'This Country is Effed' (with Jonathan Cohn)

    S5 Ep22: 'This Country is Effed' (with Jonathan Cohn)
    Jun 14 2025
    Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is moving through Congress, and you may be surprised by some former Trump voters' reactions. Bulwark in-house policy wonk Jonathan Cohn joins Sarah to talk about the bill's negative consequences and why healthcare has been such a political albatross for the Republican Party. We also learn that plenty of voters are irritated by Congress only seeming to pass 'big' bills these days.
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    53 mins