They Want to Know What You Think
The latest episode of Cross Tabs is almost a crossover with The Focus Group Podcast!
It’s been a busy few weeks here — I’ve been interviewing some really terrific guests who you’ll get to hear from in the coming weeks:
Amanda Litman, co-founder and CEO of Run for Something
Dawn Huckelbridge, founding director of Paid Leave for All
Kathleen Weldon, director of data operations and communications at the Roper Center
Charlie Sabgir, research and strategy lead at Young Men Research Project (and contributor at Young Men Research Initiative)
Matthew Price, research manager at Focaldata in the UK
Kabir Khanna, director of election analytics and technical systems at CBS News
And so many more.
Those are just the ones who are scheduled and/or already recorded, to say nothing of long awaited episodes featuring Cy Canterel talking about kitsch and fascism (at long last - something went horribly wrong with my audio, but we have finally fixed it!); why some brands backed down on purpose-based marketing and some didn’t in this anti-woke moment — and what comes next (featuring Abby Falik Samuel Monnie, Ron J Williams, and Susan McPherson); and we’ve also got some episodes in the work about lie detection, where the idea of “the average man” came from, and much more.
The latest
But as we come to the end of the year, I wanted to make sure you knew that we just put out an episode featuring Conor Kilgore of The Bulwark’s The Focus Group Podcast (he’s a producer and a moderator of the groups you hear on the show, and featured in this BTS episode, too (Bulwark members only). We talked about his path into this kind of work, how they put their groups together, why they matter, and how he hopes listeners of the pod will engage with what they hear.
You can’t put two qualitative researchers in a conversation together and expect it to be quick — I had to do some ruthless cutting (mostly of my own digressions), but the discussion is fun, and most importantly, really, really human. [And because Conor is contractually obligated, there are Kenyon College references.]
You can listen to the full episode here:
If you’re a Spotify listener, here is that link:
A bit of housekeeping
Cross Tabs managed to produce 21 episodes in 2025.
My goal for 2026 is to double that. The release schedule moved to Friday afternoons for a variety of reasons, and I’ll try to stick to that as best as I can.
I’ve just turned on the community chat feature for the substack — so if you have questions, comments, suggestions for topics or guests, please do feel free to reach out to me using these tools.
Expect to see some updates to the way I promote the show — I’m aiming for fun and useful, not intrusive, but there will be some experimenting along the way.
I’m trying to sort out how best to manage my own energy for the newsletter, but I will be bringing back a weekly post to let you know about new episodes, and then writing as I have something to say that feels useful.
But I will also be honest with you — was a tough year for my company, The Difference Engine. Which means my little team of 2-4 people including myself working on this show is really down to me, with some research support from Katie Jo Furrer, who is a treasure.
I am beginning also to think about ways to subsidize an editor for the show again, and would love to hear from you about how you’re feeling about subscriptions/memberships — and any suggestions for ways of adding value to your experience as a subscriber.
I hope you’ll tell a friend about the show. The audience is small, but mighty, and dedicated. It has incremental growth every month, but it’d be amazing if more people could find it, listen to it, and get involved. I love making it and want to keep doing that.
And finally, I want to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, a Happy New Year, a festive holiday season, and a chance for rest, renewal and community as we head into what is sure to be another spicy season of Democracy.