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Planet Money · October 21, 2026 · 29m

We try to fix election polling (update)

Polling faces an existential crisis: response rates are plummeting, and trust is eroding. The Planet Money team took an idea from the economics canon and convinced the Marist Institute for Public Opinion to test it in a real-world experiment. They traveled to Marist to learn the history, science, and tricks of the trade, then got on the phone themselves. An update checks in on the experiment's progress and what it might reveal about the 2026 midterms.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Preview

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Polling is in crisis
The traditional telephone-based polling model is collapsing because people no longer answer unknown calls and trust in institutions is declining.
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An economic idea as a polling fix
The Planet Money team plucked a solution from the economics canon and persuaded Marist to test it in a real polling experiment.

3 more ideas & all timestamps

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