How to make sense of political polls

Just over seven years ago, we launched this daily news podcast from The Washington Post.Our goal was to bring you inside our newsroom, sharing our reporting with listeners to help make sense of what was happening in the world. We’ve published hundreds of episodes. We’ve covered e ... Show More

In his second term, President Donald Trump has gone on a mission to reinvent the Kennedy Center, the beloved performing arts venue in Washington, D.C.Trump promised to overhaul the center’s programming. He installed loyalists on the board who made him chairman. In December, Trump ... Show More

In late January of last year, an American Eagle flight and a U.S. Army helicopter collided above the Potomac River, killing everyone aboard both aircraft. It was the deadliest flight disaster in the U.S. in decades.A year later, families and first responders are reflecting on the ... Show More

How will the trial of Donald Trump affect voters? There’s been a lot of partisan messaging from all sides about the numbers and what – if any effect – that’s going to have in November. How do we make sense of all of this? CNN polling and analytics editor Ariel Edwards-Levy joins ... Show More

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

Pollsters are starting to panic. There’s headline after headline after headline ahead of the midterms on whether this election cycle’s polling is accurate or not. How does polling actually work? Is it really representative of how voters are feeling and what the outcome will be on ... Show More

Joining Playbook’s Eugene Daniels on this episode of Deep Dive are two pollsters who know how to find the signal in what has been a very noisy election. John Anzalone aka “Anzo,” was Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama’s pollster. And Greg Strimple is a veteran of John M ... Show More

The outcome of a race is ultimately up to voters to decide. And while polls aren’t always perfect, they can be helpful to gauge support for a candidate and inform decisions for a campaign. CNN Political Director David Chalian sits down with prominent Republican pollster Neil Newh ... Show More

Is Donald Trump up big? Down big? Basically tied? The answer depends on which polls you believe — or maybe you shouldn't believe any of them. Rich Baris joins Charlie to talk about the latest polling, and goes through which which VP picks would take him closer to victory and whic ... Show More

As votes from Election Day 2023 were tallied up this week, wins for Democrats may have given a preview into next year’s presidential election. But new polls seem to point towards a rocky road to re-election for President Joe Biden. It’s not all good news for Trump, though. He and ... Show More

Polls are snapshots in time, but often helpful to get a sense of where people stand on key issues–especially heading into a midterm year. CNN Senior Political Analyst & Reality Check host John Avlon dives deep into a new CNN-SSRS poll out that paints a picture of what issues Amer ... Show More

There is new and significant polling from the swing states which is energising the Democratic campaign. But beyond the headline numbers, what do the polls tell us about how long Kamala Harris’s boost in popularity might last? This week Justin and Sarah look at what voters in swin ... Show More