Hello everyone and welcome to the focus group podcast.

I'm Sarah Longwell, publisher of the bulwark.

And this week, I want to check in on something that has run through most of our focus groups over the last, you know, seven or so years that I've been doing these. And that is

people's disaffection with everything remotely connected to the political process. When my team

shows up to do a focus group, we are jonesing always to talk about politics. But as we're going to

hear today, some of the people in the focus groups would rather be getting a root canal, which is something that they tell us, rather than talking about politics. But as we're going to hear today, some of the people in the focus groups would rather

be getting a root canal, which is something that they tell us rather than talking about politics.

So you're going to hear from some of those voters today, and we're going to preview one of the

big Democratic proxy wars of 2026, the main Senate race. My guest today, a favorite of regular

focus group pod listeners, has been all over

this beat. A Stan Herndon host an editorial director at Vox and previously host of the New York

Times political podcast, The Run Up, which is what you were doing last time I talked to you,

which was like a year ago. Yeah? Exactly. I'm happy to be here. And I'm excited for this topic, too. Yeah. How are you like in Fox? It's been fun. It's only been like a month or so, but we're building towards launching a show over the spring. And I also think that it helps put me in our modern media environment. So, you know, the run-up was super fun, but I also was doing one narrative

podcast a week. I think that this will put me in more places, and I think to the type of people

I like talking to will reach them more easily. So I'm pumped about taking the lens that has

informed my work to a long time and actually matching it with, I think, a language of informality

and I think a language of the internet that I think will help it. Cool. And so, sorry, I interrupted you. You're excited to be

back. Why? On focus group? Yeah. Oh, because it's fun. I don't know. I feel like you all talk to

the type of people I like talking to, anything that, like, deals with the gaps in our political system

and kind of where electorate and regular

people are coming from and don't feel reflected, you know, that's my jam. So I'm happy to do it.

I know. This is why I love having you on because speaking of root canals, I'll tell you,

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