Cross Tabs

Our world is governed by numbers — surveys, polling, algorithms, and data. On Cross Tabs, we bring you the stories behind these numbers. This podcast is your introduction to the people, perspectives, and agendas that shape our reality, and call it “public opinion”.We invite experts to discuss pressing issues and walk us through their methods. You’ll hear about the issues that matter from some of the brightest thinkers in policy and politics, tech and business.Join us and you’ll learn about how polling works — or doesn’t work — and how research can be manipulated to advance a political agenda. Discover the history of topics in the news and hear insights on culture and society. And learn what’s really at risk in the race to influence and optimize, well, everything.The show is hosted by Farrah Bostic, founder of The Difference Engine, where she works as a qualitative researcher and strategist working outside The Beltway to understand what drives business leaders, experts, and people

Cross Tabs is a news podcast hosted by Farrah Bostic, with 60 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Farrah Bostic hosts Cross Tabs, a news show with 60 episodes published.

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  Episode #8

  Angrily Not Paying Attention: Polling in the UK with Matthew Price

  May 7, 202631 minS3

  <p>Britain has spent a century as a two-party country. That may be over - and this week's local elections may be the strongest signal yet of a big breakup. </p><p>This week, I talk with Matthew Price, analyst and strategist at Focal Data in London, about what's happening to British politics right now — and what the polls are (and aren't) able to tell us about it. They cover what the 2024 MRP polls got wrong about Labour's vote share, how public polling shapes voter behavior (including the Conservative "stop the supermajority" strategy), the unprecedented rise of five-party competition in a...

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  Episode #7

  Governing Drunk: Sleep & Power, with Lindsay Scola

  Mar 27, 202633 minS3

  <p>What happens when the people making decisions on your behalf are running on fumes? In this episode, I talk with Lindsay Scola — former advance person for Barack Obama, Hill staffer, and now sleep health educator — about the always-on culture of American political life, and what it actually costs us. From the Celsius cans visible in every Capitol hallway walk-and-talk, to the pharmacy hand-delivering Alzheimer's medications to sitting members of Congress, to a president who prowls Air Force One checking who's asleep: the evidence that our leaders aren't getting enough rest is hiding in plain sight. Lindsay brings both the insi...

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  Episode #6

  Once You Start Asking Questions... With Kathleen Weldon of The Roper Center

  Mar 19, 20261h 22mS3

  <p>The Roper Center at Cornell holds the world's oldest social science archive — over 25,000 data sets, nearly 900,000 survey questions, dating all the way back to the 1930s. It's a record not just of politics and elections, but of ordinary life: have you ever spent a night in jail? Would you tell a five-year-old not to lie about seeing a purple dragon? Do you remember the color of your first love's eyes?</p><p>Kathleen Weldon, Roper's Director of Data and Communications, joins me to talk about what the archive reveals — and what it's missing. We cover a lot of ground - fr...

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  Episode #5

  "Life Is After You": Talking Gen Z Men with Charlie Sabgir of Young Men Research Project

  Feb 19, 20261h 16mS3

  <p> In this episode, I sit down with Charlie Sabgir to unpack the "unprecedented gender gap" facing Gen Z. We dive into new research concerning the economic and social behaviors of young men—from the "gamification" of their finances through crypto and sports betting to their surprising nostalgia for unions and traditional stability. The conversation explores why the "manosphere" is winning the narrative war by offering concrete (if sometimes toxic) life advice, and how a positive reframing of masculinity—centered on serving the community—might be the key to re-engaging a generation that feels politically apathetic and economically "screwed."</p><p>Char...

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  Episode #4

  Paid Leave is What Power is For, with Dawn Huckelbridge of Paid Leave for All

  Feb 12, 202657 minS3

  <p>It's likely that Democrats will retake the House this fall. But the most important question for a new majority is this: what will they use the power for?</p><p>This conversation is part of an ongoing series of interviews and explorations I plan to do this year trying to answer a slightly modified version of that question - what should the power be for?</p><p>One answer to that question is paid leave for all. In 1993, the Clinton Administration and a Democratic-controlled Congress passed FMLA - the Family and Medical Leave Act, protecting workers with unpaid family...

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