Get the Ricochet app
Ricochet will work fine in a browser on your mobile devices, but for the best experience please download our app.
Become a member.
Tired of the toxicity of social media? Why not join Ricochet for just $5/month? Think of it as an online bar. Come in, have a drink, hang out, say whatever you want. But don’t badger, bully, or berate the other drinkers. That's our only rule.
Karlyn Bowman
Karlyn Bowman compiles and analyzes American public opinion using available polling data on a variety of subjects, including the economy, taxes, the state of workers in America, environment and global warming, attitudes about homosexuality and gay marriage, NAFTA and free trade, the war in Iraq, and women’s attitudes. In addition, Ms. Bowman has studied and spoken about the evolution of American politics because of key demographic and geographic changes. She has often lectured on the role of think tanks in the United States and writes a weekly column for Forbes.com.
Series
Recent Episodes
America's birthday is almost here, and the semiquincentennial milestone imbues the annual celebration with special significance. For this reason, Henry sits down with the American Enterprise Institute's Karlyn Bowman to discuss her latest report, America at 250: Surveying Change and Continuity on Civic Values, a grand survey comparing American sentiments today with those of respondents nearly 30 years ago. Tune in to hear the surprising—and mostly reassuring!—findings on what's changed and what's stayed the same when Americans reflect on what it means to be American.
- Host:
Henry Olsen
- Organization
Ricochet
July 2025
We're on theme this week! As Americans head toward the celebration of another free and independent trip around the sun, Henry sits down with AEI's Karlyn Bowman to discuss the latest findings on how citizens of different stripes feel about their country and their sentiments about being Americans, along with their handling of flags and familiarity with our founding documents. Happy Independence Day to all!
- Host:
- Organization
October 2020
Our crazy election season is nearly over, and Real Clear Politics' Sean Trende and the American Enterprise Institute's Karlyn Bowman help us unpack the polls and discuss the future of a post-Trump Republican Party. Only on the Horse Race with Henry Olsen!
- Host:
- Organization
Only ten days to go and about 1/3 of the ballots have already been cast. Can Donald Trump come from behind? Can the Republicans hold the Senate? Polling expert Karlyn Bowman and election analyst Jacob Rabushkin help us answer these questions. And a special guest appearance by the late Mao Tse Tung on the Ad of the Week - only on the Horse Race with Henry Olsen!
- Host:
- Organization
President Trump has continued to drop in the polls and he's spending his time in states he won handily four years ago. The Sabato Crystal Ball's Kyle Kondik and the American Enterprise Institute's Karlyn Bowman join the Horse Race this week to tell us what it all portends. Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report also joined the podcast to run down the state of play in the U.S. House races. All this and FIVE ads of the week - only on The Horse Race with Henry Olsen!
- Host:
- Organization
The race has entered its last full month with twists and turns galore. Karlyn Bowman sorts the polling out for us this week while the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Craig Gilbert gives us the state of play in the key swing state of Wisconsin. All this and three ads of the week, only on The Horse Race with Henry Olsen!
- Host:
- Organization
Will Tuesday's disgusting debate shake up the presidential race? Election expert Ruy Teixeira joins the Horse Race to give his assessment. Arizona is perhaps the key battleground state, and the University of Arizona's Samara Klar gives us the lowdown from the ground. Polling analyst Karlyn Bowman joins in the launch of our new regular feature, Poll Barometer, which looks at what the polls tell us and gets down under the hood for a close look. All this and a barbarically humorous Ad of the Week, only on The Horse Race with Henry Olsen!
- Host:
- Organization
April 2020
This week, Ben Domenech of the Federalist grades Trump's response to the coronavirus while the American Enterprise Institute's Karlyn Bowman explores what the polls say Americans think about the pandemic's effects on their lives. J. Miles Coleman also dissects North Carolina's political divisions. All this and an Ad of the Week that takes aim at China and the "Chinese Virus"!
- Host:
- Organization
January 2020
August 2018
Will the November election produce a (Democratic) blue wave or a (Republican) red tide? Pre-election opinion polls this year seem more volatile than ever, and beyond the horse-race aspect, there are lots of problems with opinion polling in the age of cell phones and the internet. Steve Hayward sat down with Karlyn Bowman, public opinion specialist at AEI and author of recent article on "Is Polling Broken?" in National Affairs, to talk about the condition of opinion polling today. Bottom line: polling may not be completely broken, but there are a lot of loose pieces that need reassembling.
- Host:
Steve Hayward
- Organization