This podcast was my favorite source of data-backed political analysis before ABC shut them down. But it’s not gone! If you’ve been missing the 538 team go listen to GALEN’S NEW PODCAST: GD POLITICS! It’s like this one but even better!

No better way to learn about and evaluate divisive politics than with data and humor. 538 will be missed. Fortunately I have also learned that we can still hear Galen - now at GD Politics!

I almost never write reviews but it is a true shame ABC decided to cut this podcast. So many talented hosts and data based information. I wish the best for everyone involved and hope that someday this podcast will make a return.

This podcast was a pillar in the political world, sad to see it end.

I hope the 538 team knows how thankful we are for all their amazing work. 🫶🏻 I hope they bring you all back one day- your dedication to keeping up the non biased but thoughtful political opinions was literally unmatched. We will miss your talent and commitment! ❤️‍🩹

I was a loyal listener for almost this podcasts’ whole existence. I will miss it

Thank you for being a true voice of what Americans are thinking and feeling through smart analysis of polls. I hope someone comes along and keeps it going.

This was intelligent, thoughtful, and measured. Its departure worsens journalism and tarnishes ABC News.

As this title indicates, I am disappointed about the sudden ending of 538. 538 survived after NYTimes. Why can’t it survive after ABC? Somebody needs to pick up this podcast and site. It should not be left to die.

So sad to hear that you all have been cut. Thanks for many great years of political data analysis and reporting, and I wish you all nothing but the best.

Long after other podcasts tired me with their constant appeals to emotion, FiveThirtyEight Politics remained worth tuning into. Always smart, always thoughtful, always data-driven in meaningful and intelligent ways. Thanks for all the good work. You all deserve to land on your feet out there (and I suspect you will) but not sure what I’ll do without you—be much more misinformed I fear. There’s no good substitute for this podcast out there! Maybe some of you will go start something similar, the current landscape without you doesn’t have it.

Thank you so much for all your hard work over the years. I always appreciated your hard work Galen! Wishing everyone all the best.

I’ve been loyally listening to this podcast for nearly a decade. Over the years it has lost a lot of great contributors as some awesome people left FiveThirtyEight - Micah Cohen, Clare Malone, Perry Bacon Jr, and of course Nate Silver… But through it all this podcast managed to continue to give insightful, data-driven analysis through some truly crazy years. I really appreciate all of the work that Galen Druke and the rest of the remaining FiveThirtyEight team was putting in right until the very end, even recording that last late-night episode after just having learned about the coming cuts… Thank you all for everything. I am eager to see what you all do next!

I am adrift without new episodes and the invaluable data and analysis I have come to depend on…please someone bring back the 538 podcast!

Good riddance!

OMG! can’t believe they cut 538. I’m finding it harder and harder not to be paranoid. Days after Trump went underwater…

One of my favorite listens since the beginning. I will miss you. Start a new pod guys & gals!!!

Good job to the producers! Thanks for the years of info.

Even after Silver & Malone left, there was usually some pretty decent analysis and excellent interviews. I’ll really miss having these folks in my feed every week - and I hope the team finds good homes elsewhere

Loved that they stayed up late to do one last podcast even though they knew they were likely to be out of a job in the morning. Class act!

Great to hear how people poll in democracies here and abroad. Sad to hear ABC is dropping 538

Hate that Disney dissolved 538. Ya’ll were one of my favorite listens. We’ll miss you Galen & co! Maybe start another pod? I’ll definitely listen.

Used to love this show, but now I rarely can listen to an entire episode.

I used to love this podcast. Now listening makes me sad. It has lost its bite. It started after Clare Malone was fired. And it just slowly slid to a place where no as there is a constitutional crisis breaking nearly everyday, there is no change in urgency or even inflection. Capitulation. Really sad from a once great pod.

The woman in this podcast promoted multiple surveys with Trump losing the election, why should we believe any of this now? The woman is the expert on surveys and obviously, that is a joke! Honestly, it comes down to the fact that nothing that you are saying, can be believed you lied before in all of your surveys, and you are lying now. Gayland and your guests, you people are no longer relevant.

Increasingly bland coverage of national politics since Silver & Malone left. Recently summarized Biden’s presidency w/o a mention of Palestine.

Went downhill after clare left. Still works great to sleep to

The commentary by Galen and his panel regrettably is NOT unaligned. It is decidedly partisan in its presentation. This is especially frustrating in that objective, scientific polls present the opportunity to share objective information. Unfortunately Galen and many (most?) of his panelists delight in snarky partisan commentary that prejudge too many voters. This pod might win 5 stars but as currently produced does not rise above average predictability in the way it delivers results. Too bad!

nerdy but smart nerds know polls are lazy and weak stat anyways. cool nerds don’t listen to the pontificators of this show or it’s gambling addicted founder.

I used to love this show. I have been to multiple live shows, I have submitted two questions for model talk and they both were answered on the show, but these days I’m finding the show to be unlistenable. Hope this is just an awkward transition post Nate.

I am statistics person, so love it when they discuss margins of error and probability and in the outlying things that can make it difficult to predict. Unfortunately, their post election takes lean towards one political direction. Would be refreshing to hear a podcast from someone that can take an unbiased look at both the left and the right. Unfortunately, this is not the podcast.

The hot takes were bad. Americans are hungry for a populist agenda… Biden may have taken a few of sanders ideas and ran with them in a way the dem establishment was okay with. But that didn’t satisfy let alone convince enough people the dems have the backs of American workers. Trump is appealing because he knows how to speak a populist agenda even without enacting one… second hot take is that leftism is loosing on a global stage. Which isn’t the case unless said leftism is not leftism and is really the enactment of authoritarian policies while leaving workers poorer. This episode is very Eurocentric, white liberal elitist take.

I don’t think I’ve ever reached the end of one of these podcasts while still conscious, & I mean that in the best way possible. It’s the most reliable way to put me to sleep(people speak at a calm, even pace, on the same predictable topic, and the audio stays at about the same level, regardless of who’s talking). I haven’t learned a single thing from this podcast cuz I’m asleep within the first 20 minutes, and I’m so grateful for that.

Two issues stand out to me so far on this episode. First, your consensus around the hot take that among major countries incumbents got spanked shows the typical Eurocentric chauvinism of most US media. If you look to your south, Mexico is a huge nation, a huge trading partner and a huge ally of the US, and it held free and fair presidential elections a few months ago in which the incumbent party was rewarded handsomely. It is a big exception on the world stage and you clearly don’t see it which unfortunately is not a surprise. Then, on the B Sanders hot take, there is an aspect, I think, that is important and should be recognized. Candidate Harris was not comfortable speaking to non-college educated white and Latino men (at least), and really didn’t have anything to offer them. I thought she ran a good campaign generally but, with the exception of the affordable housing proposal, she was not speaking to them and certainly not speaking in a language they could buy into. Ask Sen. Baldwin, Rep. AOC, or Rep Gluesenkamp Perez. Robert Curley, Universidad de Guadalajara

Used to be a great data driven podcast, but it has collapsed since Nate left. Pretty damning that they tossed some of the most accurate polls from the 2024 election and they try to argue they weren’t off by too much.

I love this podcast, and the latest episode gave me quite the giggle. To quote, “That’s not how math works!” Correct. That is NOT how math works. Hahaha! Thanks for the laughs during this election season. They were few and far between with all of the noise but much needed!

After listening to this podcast for years, it seems incontrovertible that they don’t know what the heck they are talking about. It’s amazing people pay for this pontificating. As was so clearly confirmed in today’s podcast, the only utility is in explaining what happened, after the fact. Adios.

This was a great podcast that had a focus on numbers and would look past the top line number and break down the trends others were not seeing. These last two years have been episode after episode of reading polls as is and road trips for fun? and shrug emojis/ “who know”.

Latest episode says educated liberals know everything and anyone without a degree is a child who needs to be told what to do. No wonder liberal media is dying.

If you’ve heard the media be accused of “sane washing Donald Trump” and didn’t quite understand what that means, this podcast is the essence of it.

There are no centrist or center left voices featured. And as the election approaches the coverage has leaned away from data into more of a group therapy session for the hosts. And the topic doesn’t seem to matter. Israel, debates, Trump… Conversations start off with a data point then slide into a warm bath of emotion.

The “Call Me Daddy” podcast has a huge following and a name that intends to show that women can be powerful in those spaces where men are traditionally heard, while making fun of those who buy into the patriarchy. Your comment “Call Me Mommy” showed how ignorant you are. I don’t listen to Call Me Daddy but I can at least respect that there are others who do. Grow up 538 and maybe bring back Nate.

Here for data analysis, not fluffy opinions. Hosts spent this whole VP debate episode hyping up JD Vance’s performance and criticizing Walz’s, which boiled down to…smooth talking? No mention of Vance’s outburst over fact checking, talking down to moderators, or constant lying. When it came to substance and trustworthiness, Walz brought home a clear gold. This pod is for your educated but misinformed republican uncle.

There are 3 million new registered voters since Cruz’s narrow 2018 win. 3 million voters who have never voted for or against him. And by the way there are about 2 million more than 2020. The Texas electorate is growing too quickly for your speedy dismissal about Dem chances to make any real sense.

The sound is terrible. Unlistenable.

Smart analysis of actual data with charming hosts who have good chemistry

I listened to the debate episode and I didn’t realize this was Fox News 2.0. The critique was over Harris not bringing up policy when she clearly articulated policies while also addressing blatant lies during the debate. There was virtually no critique of Trump who told lies, rambled on incoherently, and frankly made things up as he glared at the screen. There are no journalists on this podcasts, only pundits that live in fear of offending the right of center.

Yours is a hugely influential podcast and you are failing voters by ignoring Trump. Yes you talk about his economic policies, etc. You treat Trump as a normal politician. And you are not talking about his threats to America: to deport 11 million undocumented migrants and that he has “every right” to interfere in the election, which should be front page news and is not. Coupled with broad presidential immunity these are no longer empty threats. Trump is not a normal politician. The job of the press is to bring these issues to light, not accommodate them.

538 under Nate Silver was my favorite podcast of all time. However, the new Nate-less (and man do I miss Harry Enten too) is just a gossipy, fairly substance lacking show. It’s just lost its magic. Sad to unfollow it after so many years.

I’m enjoying this podcast much more with new host and guests. I though previous group were better writers than podcasters ie Claire Malone. I felt like she failed to contribute analytical commentary, just dished out facts. Stats are being presented in a much less dry academic way and used to reinforce guests’ arguments/opinions. Overall massive improvement.