PODCAST · news
Lost in the Middle
by Scott Klug
44% of American voters self-identify as centrists. 71 million bewildered, frustrated political orphans. We'll explore how we got into this mess. But we will also tell you uplifting stories of people around the country trying to change the current zeitgeist. Listen Live: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Saturday
Episodes
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Post-election special with Justin Young and Andrew Heaton
So what did the political orphans do in the Presidential election? Check this out. Self-identified independents accounted for a larger share of voters than Democrats and were tied with Republicans, Edison Research exit polling data showed. The independent turnout share was up 8 percentage points...
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The undecided voter
When you keep looking at polls that say Trump is up one here, Harris up 2 there—you need to keep one fact in mind. It’s not uncommon for pollsters to push undecided voters and leaners to pick a candidate. To say, “if you were going to vote today who would you choose?” It distorts the true state…
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Election Countdown special with guest Seth Masket
There are a zillion political scientists at colleges around the country, most are dry and mind-numbing. Seth Masket is one of a handful who is both entertaining and insightful. He’s a perfect guest for our Lost in the Middle Countdown series because he manages to cut through the clutter and spin....
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Balanced news coverage?
Frustrated by the media coverage of the election? Boy, am I with you. Look, I spent a third of my career working as a journalist. And then became a Republican Congressman. Add in an MBA and that makes me unicorn of sorts. What is frustrating you with media coverage today is not driven by some…
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Election Countdown special with Isaac Saul of 'Tangle News'
60% of Americans say they are worn out by so much coverage of the 2024 presidential election (Pew research). And then there are the nagging questions of fairness when only 7% of journalists identify as Republicans.Since I spent 8 years as a Member of Congress and 13 years as a journalist…
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Calling all political orphans, independents and undecideds
For the last year we’ve been tracking America’s bewildered 71 Million voters who are lost in the middle and can’t abide today’s politics. They are frustrated by the partisan hatred swirling around the political class. Join me tomorrow for an appearance on 5 things I learned about America. Part…
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Election Countdown special with guest Justin Young
Justin Young, host of the podcast “Politics, Politics, Politics,” is a comedian, magic aficionado, and the inventor of the card game “The Contender” about how to run a presidential campaign. In our second episode of the Countdown, we arm wrestle over the debate, what is the key state to watch...
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Election countdown special with guest Andrew Heaton
In our first episode of our election countdown special, political podcaster and comedian Andrew Heaton files his observations from Scotland from a phone booth in Edinburgh. He’s the host of “The Orphanage” podcast where some of my fellow political orphans happily live. This is a public episode.…
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Tips to win a bar bet on Election Night
The United States has 3,242 counties. But we will tell you the seven to watch on Election Night, which are loaded with political orphans. Episode 13, “Tips to win a bar bet on Election Night.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to…
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Episode 12: The ghost of Bob La Follette
Today, everyone has an election reform idea. A noble cause, or just trying to change who wins? Episode 12 of Lost in the Middle: America’s Political Orphans. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...
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Tinkering around under the hood of American politics
Better maps, open primaries, more parties, ranking candidates–a roadmap to a souped-up democracy with the same clunky, beat-up sedan. Hear all about it in part one of Lost in the Middle, America’s Political Orphans’ series on election reform, “Improvements or Illusions?” This is a public episode....
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Can a Washington bowling league get Congress to work together?
If you are a Democrat Texas makes you scream in outrage at the sight of pickup trucks, cowboys boots and open-carry guns. If you are a Republican the vegan-lecturing, global-warming, charter-jet-flying Hollywood red carpet speeches tell us everything we need to know about California. Political...
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AI & Election Security
With half of US election oficials quitting in the last two years it is a scary scenario this November. We still haven’t figured out guard rails for social media, much less AI and its ability to create deep fakes and penetrate the election infrastructure. More in our podcast episode From hanging...
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From hanging chads to deep fake videos, American democracy wobbles
Once upon a time working as an election worker was a badge of honor, a commitment to democracy. Now nobody wants the job. And now here comes AI. From hanging chads to deep fake videos, American democracy wobbles in this episode of Lost in the Middle. This is a public episode. If you would like to...
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Ugly campaign ads and car wrecks: Why we can't turn away
Scientists will tell you that if they scan people's brains while listening to negative campaign ads, it will light up a spot that triggers disgust and revulsion. Did they have to spend a lot of money to figure that out? You can just talk to any one of America's 71 million political orphans. Ugly...
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Professional wrestling and the rise of the independent voter: Lessons from the American Southwest
If Republican and Democrats were listed on the New York Stock Exchange, I would sell right now. The two legacy parties are tied at 27% in January polling. And dropping. And the buy signal is flashing bright green on independents. Now at 44% of voters —most members of the lost political middle.…
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How the Democrats swapped the headquarters of Walmart to the Republicans for a fleet of Maine lobstermen: The never-ending realignment of American politics
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit scottklug.substack.com
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Klug talks ticket-splitting on North Georgia's WDUN
Former Congressman Scott Klug, host of “Lost in the Middle: America's Political Orphans,” joined “The Martha Zoller Show” on North Georgia radio station WDUN to talk about ticket-splitting. Listen to the ticket-splitting episode and subscribe here. This is a public episode. If you would like to...
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The joy of ticket splitting: How voters threw off their political shackles in 2022
Political Scientists tell us ticket splitting is disappearing. But it sure didn’t in the '22 elections where voters in Kansas, Nevada, Georgia, Vermont, New Hampshire and Wisconsin shopped around. We focus on two states: Wisconsin, where ticket splitting seems to be wired into the state’s DNA…
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How the sale of a used car in 1995 blew up the American media
Meet an old friend of mine from my broadcasting days in Seattle who we are going to blame for the long slow decline of TV news. And have you ever checked out a website called Newspaper Death Watch? You should before all the papers are out of business. And in Palm Springs, California, you’ll meet…
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Broken hearts: Lessons from third-party runs for president and a bad high school date
I actually dragged a high-school girlfriend to a George Wallace rally. It was not exactly her dream date. This year, a coalition of bi-partisan political leader plan to launch a bi-partisan presidential ticket in 2024. Nearly half of Americans say they are interested in the No Labels idea....
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Host Scott Klug discusses "Lost in the Middle: America's Political Orphans" on "The Briefing with Steve Scully"
Former Congressman Scott Klug, host of “Lost in the Middle: America's Political Orphans,” joins Steve Scully, host of “The Briefing with Steve Scully,” on SiriusXM POTUS 124 to talk about the podcast and the ousting of now former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. This is a public episode. If you…
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Maybe America needs a mom to call a big time-out
Meet Tami, a Utah special-ed teacher, Mormon Tabernacle singer and mom of five who launched a civility index web site to grade America’s politicians. And then had to take it down because of comments we will say weren’t remotely civil. She’s not the first. A decade ago, a Georgia evangelical...
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America’s bewildered 71 million political orphans
71 million American voters define themselves as centrists. So why is nobody listening to them? We do. Focus group guru Frank Luntz discusses what he calls commonsense voters. And we find a ton of them in Rockford, Illinois, a blue-collar city that has voted for the winning presidential candidate…
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Civic Media Interview
Lost in the Middle creator Scott Klug, a former U.S. congressman and Emmy award-winning reporter, discusses the story behind the podcast with Civic Media's Todd Allbaugh. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
44% of American voters self-identify as centrists. 71 million bewildered, frustrated political orphans. We'll explore how we got into this mess. But we will also tell you uplifting stories of people around the country trying to change the current zeitgeist. Listen Live: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Saturday
HOSTED BY
Scott Klug
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Lost in the Middle have?
Lost in the Middle currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Lost in the Middle about?
44% of American voters self-identify as centrists. 71 million bewildered, frustrated political orphans. We'll explore how we got into this mess. But we will also tell you uplifting stories of people around the country trying to change the current zeitgeist. Listen Live: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Saturday
How often does Lost in the Middle release new episodes?
Lost in the Middle has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Lost in the Middle?
You can listen to Lost in the Middle on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Lost in the Middle?
Lost in the Middle is created and hosted by Scott Klug.
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