logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
50m 41s

The Media is Missing Something Big in Bi...

The Ringer
About this episode

Today’s episode is about the question of the moment in politics: the meaning of Joe Biden’s terrible polling numbers. Today’s guest is Nate Cohn, chief political analyst at the New York Times, where he does public opinion, polling, demographics, and politics. We talk about the notorious New York Times poll that showed Donald Trump trouncing Biden in the swing states. We talk about why it’s not crazy to take presidential polls seriously right now—even though we're 300 days out from the election. We talk about the multi-layered problems of Biden’s age. And we talk about why the new "engagement gap" might be the most important, under-discussed phenomenon in American politics today.

If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Nate Cohn

Producer: Devon Manze

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Aug 20
Plain History: How the Transcontinental Railroads Built the Modern World
Today’s pod is about the economic story of the moment. It’s about new technology that supporters claim will transform the U.S. economy, an infrastructure build-out unlike anything in living memory that demands enormous natural resources, fears that corporate giants are overbuildi ... Show More
55m 49s
Aug 13
The Modern World Is Changing America’s Personality For the Worse
According to analysis by Financial Times writer John Burn-Murdoch, something extraordinary has happened to Americans’ personalities in the last decade. Longitudinal tests indicate that we’ve collectively become less extroverted, less agreeable, and more neurotic. The most signifi ... Show More
47m 10s
Aug 6
Will AI Usher In the End of Deep Thinking?
Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis published the latest GDP report. It contained a startling detail. Spending on artificial intelligence added more to the U.S. economy than consumer spending last quarter. This is very quickly becoming an AI economy. I’m interested in how ... Show More
58m 13s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
The ‘Mind-blowing’ Thing About This Year’s Polls
The days before an election always bring uncertainty, but that’s especially true this year, with polls showing a near deadlock between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. This week, Republican pollster and CNN Political Commentator Kristen Soltis Ander ... Show More
26m 24s
Jun 2024
One Thing: Some Dems Hit the Panic Button After Biden's Very Bad Night
In the first debate matchup between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, Biden turned in a lackluster performance that has some Democrats wondering if concerns about his age might be valid. In this special episode of One Thing, we break down the moments that mattere ... Show More
17m 20s
Jul 2024
WSJ Poll Shows 80% of Voters Think Biden Is Too Old to Run
P.M. Edition for July 3. A new Wall Street Journal poll finds Donald Trump has opened a 6-point lead over President Biden among U.S. voters, with 80% saying that the president is too old to run for a second term. And WSJ markets reporter Sam Goldfarb digs into how the fiscal impl ... Show More
15m 52s
Jul 2024
Fresh Wave Of Calls For Biden To Exit Race
Despite Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer saying just Tuesday that he's "with Joe," new reporting tonight from legendary investigative journalist Carl Bernstein suggests Schumer’s words didn’t reflect his true feelings of President Biden’s campaign. Plus, Danny Freeman speaks ... Show More
47m 17s
Jul 2024
Top House Democrat Meets with Biden, Election Polling Margins Razor Thin, Virginia Moves to Ban Cell Phone in School | July 12
TOP NEWS | On today’s Daily Signal Top News, we break down: President Biden holds his first press conference this year.  House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries meets with Biden to discuss Democrats’ opinions on Biden’s “path forward.” Rep. James Clyburn voices strong support for B ... Show More
14m 51s
Jul 2024
Alex Thompson: Why Did Biden Drop Out?
The past month has been one of the most tumultuous in modern American political history: a devastating face-plant in a televised presidential debate, an attempted assassination of an ex-president favored in the polls to win reelection, a COVID-19 infection of the sitting presiden ... Show More
1h 17m
Nov 2024
Stunning Poll Shows Harris Leading Trump in Iowa
While national polls continue to forecast a virtual tie in the US presidential race, a new one in Iowa showing Harris leading Trump by three points in that ruby-red state has raised the question of whether pollsters have been missing a critical voting bloc that could determine th ... Show More
1 h
May 2023
The Pulse of America: Can We Still Trust Polls? – Interview with Gallup’s Editor-in-Chief
One of the most popular questions we get at Mo News is about polling, how it works and why it can be trusted. In today’s edition we speak with the editor-in-chief of Gallup, one of the organizations that does it best. Gallup is nearly 90 years old and conducts polls in 140 countr ... Show More
1h 12m
Jul 2024
WSJ’s Election Coverage: Your Questions Answered
In an election season like no other, how is The Wall Street Journal approaching its coverage of political races? WSJ Editor in Chief Emma Tucker answers your questions on how the Journal reports on politics, from polling to deepfakes, from fact-checking to retaining readers’ and ... Show More
14m 36s
Jul 2024
Biden quits US presidential race - what happens next?
Joe Biden has withdrawn from the US presidential race, saying it is in the best interest of his party and country. He has now endorsed his vice-president Kamala Harris to be the Democratic candidate - as have a growing number of senior members of the party.    On the Sky News Dai ... Show More
20m 53s