The power of turning political attitudes into numbers

We take it as a given that Americans are politically polarized, but how do we actually know if empirically this is the case? We talk with Prof. Patrick Egan (NYU) about how we can quantify something as abstract as a political attitude, why doing so helps us understand polarization, and how all of this helps reveal opportunities where we can make progress on areas where we're most divided -- such as climate change.

Explore Pat's research and writing: https://wp.nyu.edu/egan/.

Papers and resources mentioned in the episode:

• An example of Pat's work on issue ownership is here.
• The data Pat mentioned on Americans' political attitudes since 1948 is from the American National Election Studies (ANES), which you can explore for free here.
• An example of measuring leaders' ideologies based on their roll call votes is here.
• An example of measuring ideology based on campaign contributions is here.
• Learn more about Hanna Pitkin's concept of representation in her 1972 book The Concept of Representation (helpful summary here).
• Pat's 2024 climate change paper (with Megan Mullin) is US partisan polarization on climate change: Can stalemate give way to opportunity? (appeared in PS: Political Science and Politics 57(1): pp. 30-35).
• BTW: the adage that states that headlines that pose a question tend to have the answer "no" is Betteridge's law of headlines and it's very fun.

Follow Andrea at @jonesrooy on Instagram and/or learn more at jonesrooy.com. Be sure to check out our partner show The Daily Tech News Show!

Behind the Data is a podcast that uncovers the hidden stories within the data shaping our world. From political polls to global happiness trackers, we dive into the datasets that influence the decisions we make—while showing you why data isn’t just numbers, but a way to understand the world. Whether you're a data newbie or a seasoned pro, each episode makes complex data approachable, revealing surprising insights and the human side of every dataset. Come for the discoveries, stay for the stories.

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