Polls/Stats

Join John Hamre, CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, for a dynamic exploration of the transformational forces that will shape the global community throughout the 21st century. Unpacking critical mega-trends like global demographics, water stress and food security, the energy transition, technological disruption, and geopolitics, Hamre examines the fa...

Benjamin Franklin famously warned that our government is a republic, if we can keep it. Most Americans don’t follow the highly pitched partisan battles that are waged over the redrawing of electoral districts after each decennial census. Yet, as we head into the 2022 midterm elections, a flurry of court rulings have upended the maps put in place by state legislators, findi...

Stocks go up, GDP goes up, employment goes up, yet the United States is sliding in the global rankings on real quality of life. Why? Are we really experiencing economic progress if our social standing suffers? In this talk, Michael Green from the Social Progress Index shines a light on America's social slide. What's causing it and what are the solutions for this major dich...

Gather together to watch the 2020 presidential primary season continue with the second night of the official Democratic primary debate. What issues will dominate the discussion? Will the leading candidates meet expectations? Which dark horses will score unexpected points? We’ll watch the second group of contenders in this uncommonly large and diverse field take on our coun...

The state of the U.S. economy is of critical importance to all Americans and sure to be a major issue in the 2020 presidential election. On its face, the economy appears strong – high growth, low unemployment, low interest rates, and little inflation. But beneath the surface worrying trends lurk. Many Americans continue to be left behind. Markets are signaling a high chanc...

More and more, the decisions that rule our lives are made by algorithms. From the news we see in our feeds, to whether or not we qualify for a mortgage, to the rates we pay for health insurance. And while there are demonstrable biases against marginalized communities caused by algorithms, some say the machines are innocent — they’re just doing math. But as more systems rel...

As the US ceases to be a white majority country (a demographic milestone we’re expected to reach by 2020), how will we as a society define what it means to be American — and who gets to decide? With increasing backlash against those seen as not belonging, how do we advance a national dialogue on American identity that considers the increasingly diverse and complex makeup o...

With a dramatically reduced budget, a new system for categorizing race, an unprecedented proposal to count only American citizens, and a move to all-digital implementation (that’s right, no more knocks on the door), the plan for the 2020 Census has many policymakers and close observers deeply concerned. Changes like these, combined with the charged political climate around...

Midterms are often seen as the first nationwide referendum on a first-term president. Donald Trump’s ratings have ranged from low to medium-low, but a “blue wave” of victories is far from guaranteed this fall. Where Democrats strive for inclusiveness with regard to race, gender, and immigration status, critics see “identity politics,” and successfully fending off that crit...

What factors motivate people to make it to the polls in any given year, and what keeps them away? One thing we learned from 2016 is that predicting not only how people will vote, but if they will vote, is extremely complicated. How much impact do positive or negative ads on TV or social media have on voting rates? How and where will gerrymandering, or redistricting, be mos...

What has been predictable about the Trump Administration so far? What has been surprising? What have been the greatest successes — according to both pundits and the public — and the most significant failures? Will this administration ever settle in to “business as usual”? Underwritten by Southern Company

As Latino Americans emerge as the majority minority and the new mainstream, representing 18 percent of the US population and approaching one-third by 2060, questions are emerging about where and how Latinos fit into the national narrative. Latinos are revitalizing rural communities, starting businesses, and entering the workforce and educational system at record rates, yet...

The conventional playbook for winning office involves relying either on big moneyed interests or the angriest and most extreme fringes of our society. Of course, political campaigns are not just a game. Our elected officials heed in office those they need on the campaign trail, so the full force of our federal government—whether setting policy for our economy, our environm...