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< August 2016

Friday, August 12 2016

  • Magic 8 Ball August 12, 2016

    Political commentators have reliably been wrong this election season. We take&nbsp;a look at why pundits make bad predictions, and why they probably won't stop. &nbsp; (episode)

    segments

    • The Psychology of Predictions August 12, 2016

      If political prognostication is usually so wrong, why do we keep listening? And what makes a good forecaster, anyway?

    • Polling & Democracy: An Uneasy Relationship August 12, 2016

      What if the problem with polling isn't bad polls but polls in general? The New Yorker's Jill Lepore on the history of polling and why skepticism is, and has always been,&nbsp;necessary.

    • 'The Election-Industrial Complex' August 12, 2016

      You've heard&nbsp;that money buys elections. But if most of it is used on ineffective television ads, then what is it really buying?&nbsp;

    • 'Magic' Terre Haute August 12, 2016

      What if the will of the electorate could be divined without&nbsp;polling and pundit guesswork? There may be a way.

    • The Punditocracy August 12, 2016

      Why are pundits like&nbsp;Bill Kristol still paid for their botch prognostications?