The Gallup Podcast

Confidence in higher education has fallen sharply. How much of the decline can be attributed to the larger loss of confidence in institutions? What role is student debt playing? And what is holding back thousands of Americans from achieving their higher education aspirations? Stephanie Marken, partner of Gallup’s Education Division, joins the podcast to discuss.

Michael Smerconish joins the podcast to discuss the record-low confidence Americans have in U.S. institutions. Is distrust an American norm? “We’re about to enter a period of the greatest stress test in my life of our most important institution,” says Smerconish.

Confidence in the media to report the news accurately has fallen over the past several decades. Mosheh Oinounou, founder of Mo News, and Jill Wagner, managing editor at Mo News, join the podcast to discuss how the currents of social media and politics have shaped the media climate, and the challenges the industry now faces to regain public trust.

How the world is feeling? Julie Ray, managing editor for world news at Gallup, joins the podcast to discuss the latest findings from Gallup’s 2023 Global Emotions Report. Where are people feeling the most positive -- and the most negative? “These metrics tell us about life’s intangibles that you can’t get from looking at hard numbers like GDP or income,” says Ray. “This gives a really good indicator of how people are living their lives.”

Where do Americans stand on Gallup’s long-standing abortion measures one year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization? Gallup’s Director of U.S. Social Research Lydia Saad joins the podcast to discuss the “new landscape on abortion” in the U.S.

What are the challenges facing the citizens of Detroit? Camille Lloyd, director of the Gallup Center on Black Voices, joins the podcast to discuss the findings of the Detroit Resident Voices Survey Report, a study of more than 11,000 Detroiters that highlights the daily experiences of Detroit residents.

Jeff Jones, senior editor at Gallup, joins the podcast to talk about Gallup’s key historical trends on LGBTQ+ issues. Later, Jenny Marlar, Gallup’s director of survey research, discusses how Gallup leverages the Gallup Panel to get at the experiences of LGBTQ+ people themselves.

Dr. Jim Harter, chief scientist for workplace management and wellbeing at Gallup, joins the podcast to discuss Culture Shock, the new book authored by Harter and Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton. Employees love their newfound freedom to work remotely -- and expect it from their workplaces. How organizations adapt to this culture shock will determine whether they thrive or even survive and whether U.S. and global productivity will go up or down.

Julie Ray, managing editor for world news, joins the podcast to discuss the latest findings of Gallup’s annual Rating World Leaders report. How does the world now view Russian leadership -- and how do China, Germany and the U.S. fare? Later, Jay Loschky, regional director for Gallup’s global research in the Middle East and North Africa, discusses leadership approval ratings for Iran and Saudi Arabia as tensions between the two countries thaw. How does the Middle East view the U.S. as a promoter of democracy 20 years after the invasion of Iraq?

Dan Witters, research director for the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, joins the podcast to discuss the state of loneliness in the U.S. Which groups are struggling most? And how does loneliness impact our wellbeing? Later, Gallup’s Lydia Saad and Jeff Jones give an update on Americans’ attitudes toward the pandemic.

Ben Smith, cofounder and editor in chief of Semafor, joins the podcast to discuss the loss of faith in U.S. news and media and the major industry changes over recent decades that have created today’s news environment. Where does the industry go from here? Smith is the author of the new book, Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral.

About nine in 10 Americans turn to individuals with public platforms for information and place a lot of trust in them. To whom are they turning and why and how are they following them? Dr. Sarah Fioroni joins the podcast to discuss.

How corrupt is government in the U.S.? Why are Americans so down on their institutions -- and how did we get here? Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, joins the podcast to discuss the rise of populism, the role of modern media and more.

Americans' confidence in media has fallen to record lows. There are critiques aplenty of the media, but what does the conversation about declining trust often miss? And was there really ever a “golden era” of journalism? Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Wesley Lowery joins the podcast to discuss.

Confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court is at a record low, but should the court care about its public image? Dahlia Lithwick -- senior legal correspondent at Slate, host of the podcast "Amicus" and author of the upcoming book Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America -- joins the podcast to discuss.

As the two-year anniversary of one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history approaches, how do Lebanese adults feel about their justice system and how this case is being dealt with? “The challenges that Lebanon is facing are more than any one country can handle,” says Kim Ghattas, who joins the podcast to discuss the multiple crises that people in Lebanon are enduring.

Public confidence in U.S. institutions is down to a new low in Gallup’s trend spanning more than four decades. Which institutions have lost the most confidence -- and are there others that remain largely trusted by the public? Confidence in institutions is the “glue that keeps society together,” says Gallup senior editor Jeff Jones, who joins the podcast to discuss the latest findings.

Two years of a booming U.S. housing market have brought great wealth to many, while others are now locked out or unsure about their next steps. Are there similarities to the housing bubble of the 2000s -- or are these new, uncharted waters? Dr. Len Kiefer, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac, joins the podcast to discuss the factors that led to the current state of the market. He also shares what to watch for in the future and offers advice to prospective homebuyers.

Organized labor in the U.S. is having an “exciting and interesting moment.” How much of a factor has the pandemic played in its resurgence? What factors should employees consider when voting to unionize? And how are companies reacting to labor organization efforts? Dr. Thomas A. Kochan, Post-Tenure George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a faculty member in the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research, and Dr. Harry C. Katz, Jack Sheinkman Professor of Collective Bargaining and Director of the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution at Cornell University, join the podcast to offer their expert insights.

How is the world feeling? According to Gallup's annual Global Emotions report, people across the world are sadder and more stressed, marking a new high in the Negative Experiences Index. Gallup managing editor for world news Julie Ray joins the podcast to discuss where in the world these negative experiences have increased the most. Later, Dr. Carol Graham -- senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and Gallup senior scientist -- talks about the drivers behind negative emotions and the importance of hope.