The Gallup Podcast

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.