1 · Aggregate
We aggregate at least three independent polls per issue, weighted by sample size and recency. Single-source claims don't make it in.
Resources
The shelves we read from.
We don't ask you to take our word for anything. Every fact on this site is footnoted; every footnote points to one of these sources.
Featured this month
"Two-thirds of Americans are tired of how polarized we have become. They are exhausted by the negativity, ready to compromise — and ignored by the political conversation."
On the shelf
Books for the moderate populist.
Six books that shaped how this site thinks. Mix of left, right, and orthogonal. Read at least one.
- 01Bookshop
The Righteous Mind
Why good people are divided by politics and religion — and how moral foundations explain the disagreement.
- 02Bookshop
A Time to Build
Why our institutions failed and how to rebuild them. Reading list staple for anyone who cares about civic repair.
- 03Bookshop
Love Your Enemies
A practical case for treating people you disagree with as people, not problems. Methodical and humane.
- 04Bookshop
Why We're Polarized
The structural and psychological forces pulling the country apart — clearly explained, soberly argued.
- 05Bookshop
The Vanishing American Adult
Civic decline as a generational problem. A center-right case for the habits of citizenship.
- 06Bookshop
Strangers in Their Own Land
A sociologist crosses the aisle. The book changed how a lot of liberals understand rural conservative grievance.
Subscribe to better
Newsletters & podcasts we read.
The information diet matters more than the meals you skip. These are the regular sources we recommend.
Newsletter
Tangle
by Isaac Saul
Daily summary of one news story, told from the left and the right. The closest thing to required reading.
Subscribe
Newsletter
Persuasion
by Yascha Mounk
Cross-partisan essays on liberalism, free speech, and democratic resilience.
Subscribe
Newsletter
Slow Boring
by Matt Yglesias
Center-left policy wonk who often disagrees with his own side. Substack of record for evidence-first liberals.
Subscribe
Newsletter
The Bulwark
by Sarah Longwell et al.
Conservatives who broke with the GOP over institutional norms. Sharp, gracious, indispensable.
Subscribe
Podcast
The Ezra Klein Show
by Ezra Klein, NYT
Long-form interviews that take ideas — and ideological opponents — seriously.
Subscribe
Podcast
Honestly
by Bari Weiss
Center / heterodox interviews that platform thinkers across the spectrum.
Subscribe
Podcast
The Argument
by Jane Coaston
A debate-format podcast structured around disagreement done well.
Subscribe
Read across
Honest news from each side.
Information siloing is the disease. The cure is reading a thoughtful voice from a tradition you disagree with — at least once a week.
Center-left
Center
Primary sources
Where our evidence comes from.
These are the polling firms, policy shops, and government databases we draw on across the site. Every fact has a footnote; every footnote points here.
Polling
Policy analysis
Cross-partisan dialogue
Government data
Glossary
Words we use — and what we mean by them.
- Populism
- A political style claiming to represent 'the people' against entrenched elites. Can come from the left or the right.
- Moderate
- Not 'in the middle of every issue.' A moderate prioritizes evidence over ideology and is willing to change positions when the data does.
- Classical liberalism
- The pre-20th-century tradition of individual rights, free speech, free markets, and limited government. Rooted in Locke, Mill, and the U.S. founding.
- Communitarianism
- The view that strong families, neighborhoods, and civic institutions are essential to a free society — that liberty needs roots.
- Steelman
- Stating the strongest possible version of an opposing argument before you respond to it. The opposite of a strawman.
- Common ground
- A specific, plainly-worded claim that majorities of both parties endorse. Not a vague feeling — a measurable overlap.
Methodology
How we count common ground.
2 · Define the floor
"Common ground" is the percentage of Americans who agree with a specific, plainly-worded statement — across party lines.
3 · Show the gap
Disagreement is reported alongside agreement, never hidden. The point isn't to pretend we agree on everything.
4 · Cite & update
Every fact links to its primary source. When evidence changes, the page changes — with a visible note.
Help us widen the shelf
Know a source we're missing?
Reputable polling, primary documents, or bridging organizations — we read everything readers send.
More to explore