The Gallup Podcast

For a second consecutive year, global employee engagement has fallen — a pattern without precedent in Gallup's trend, and a loss of productivity that carries a $10 trillion price tag. At the center of the decline: managers. In this episode, Chief Scientist for Workplace Management & Wellbeing Jim Harter unpacks the findings of Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace report. Later, Gallup CEO Jon Clifton talks about what the data mean for AI adoption, employee wellbeing and the future of work.

The findings of “Black Thriving in America” reveal a complex landscape for the lives and experiences of millions of Black adults in the U.S. This annual report, the product of a partnership between the Dr. N. Joyce Payne Research Center and the Gallup Center on Black Voices, is an in-depth, data-driven examination of Black Americans’ lived experiences, with a focus on wellbeing, equity and opportunity. Camille Lloyd, director of the Gallup Center on Black Voices, and Dr. M.C. Brown II, executive director and research scientist at the Dr. N. Joyce Payne Research Center, discuss the report’s latest findings with: Delano Squires, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Human FlourishingDr. LaToya B. Parker, senior researcher in the Office of the President at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

In a conversation between Gallup CEO Jon Clifton and Dr. Marlene Tromp, president of the University of Vermont, Tromp shares how her strengths shape the way she leads. Listen in as Tromp discusses how she thinks about building trust and belonging across campus and why clarity and self-awareness are essential in moments of uncertainty. Originally recorded as part of Gallup’s “Leading With Strengths” leadership interview series, this discussion offers timely insight for leaders across education and beyond — especially those guiding the next generation through rapid change.The Gallup Podcast will return with new episodes in 2026.

Synopsis: Americans are hesitant and skeptical when it comes to AI — but at the same time, U.S. employees’ use of AI at work has taken off. However, there are bigger-picture questions about AI that linger, on safety and national security, governance, international cooperation, and more.New research with the Special Competitive Studies Project provides insights on how Americans are grappling with the threats and possibilities of these advancing developments. Read up on Gallup’s latest findings on this topic: AI: Major Threat or Just the Next Tech Thing?AI Use at Work Has Nearly Doubled in Two YearsAmericans Prioritize AI Safety and Data SecurityAmerican Views on AI, National Security in 5 Charts

What makes a leader worth following? At Gallup, this question has long guided both our research and our conversations with those shaping the course of society. As The Gallup Podcast pauses for the summer, we invite you to explore Leading With Strengths, a special series on global leadership. This collection of stories profiles real leaders confronting real challenges and shows how impact is shaped by each leader's unique strengths.

Gallup research with the Equity Research Action Coalition at the University of North Carolina explores how Black parents bond with their children and navigate through challenges, from transportation to conversations about race. Camille Lloyd, director of the Gallup Center on Black Voices, talks with Dr. Iheoma Iruka, the coalition’s founding director, about the findings.Read up on Gallup’s latest findings on this topic:Discrimination Takes Less Toll on Socially Connected Black Parents: https://news.gallup.com/poll/648344/discrimination-takes-less-toll-socially-connected-black-parents.aspx Most Black Parents Discuss Racial Challenges With Children: https://news.gallup.com/poll/648410/black-parents-discuss-racial-challenges-children.aspx 25% of Black Parents Agree: Transportation a Childcare Barrier: https://news.gallup.com/poll/649631/black-parents-agree-transportation-childcare-barrier.aspxTogetherness: Shared Activities Within Black Families: https://news.gallup.com/poll/654335/togetherness-shared-activities-within-black-families.aspx

A new administration has already made significant changes to the government’s approach to public health in the U.S., with more changes likely on the way. But where do Americans stand on key health issues? The Rollins-Gallup Public Health Priorities Survey from Gallup and Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health provides some early insights into Americans’ priorities for the Trump administration in terms of public health.

Gallup’s 2024 Global Safety Report finds that people’s trust in their local police is one of the keys to their overall perceptions of safety. In the U.S., police were the only institution that saw an increase in public confidence in 2024. But racial gaps on this measure persist -- and research from the Gallup Center on Black Voices provides greater context to Black Americans’ relationship with the police. This week’s guests include:Lydia Saad, Gallup director of U.S. Social ResearchCamille Lloyd, director of the Gallup Center on Black VoicesDr. Rashawn Ray, senior fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings InstitutionJulie Ray, Gallup managing editor for World NewsBenedict Vigers, Gallup senior global news writer

Though confidence in organized labor is stable, U.S. approval of labor unions -- one of Gallup’s oldest trends -- has seen a major rebound over the past 15 years. More recently, Gallup research has yielded new insights about the experiences of union members themselves amid this eventful period for the labor movement. This week’s guests include: Megan Brenan, Gallup Senior EditorDr. Ben Wigert, Director of Research and Strategy, Workplace Management at GallupMike Ritz, Executive Director for Gallup's Federal Government InitiativePatrick Crowley, Secretary-Treasurer and incoming President for the Rhode Island AFL-CIO

It’s arguable that, of all the items in Gallup’s annual Confidence in Institutions survey, higher education is the institution on the list that has endured the greatest number of destabilizing shocks in recent years.As a new school year has begun, confidence in higher education is at a low point -- but new data from Gallup and Lumina Foundation paint a more detailed picture of why this is. And what are experts in the field doing to restore confidence?Read Gallup’s latest update on confidence in higher education: U.S. Confidence in Higher Education Now Closely DividedLearn more about Gallup’s research with Lumina Foundation: ​Gallup-Lumina State of Higher EducationThis week’s guests include:Stephanie Marken, Senior Partner, Education Division at GallupCourtney Brown, Vice President of Impact and Planning at Lumina FoundationZach Hrynowski, Senior Research Consultant at GallupLee Strang, Director of The University of Toledo Institute of Constitutional Thought and Leadership

How do residents of member states of NATO view the alliance’s leadership? And what factors drive these views? Zacc Ritter, project director and advanced data analyst at Gallup, joins the podcast to discuss soft power, the crossroads NATO finds itself at, and a new analysis of attitudes of NATO member states.

What makes for a flourishing life? A five-year longitudinal data collection and research collaboration measures global human flourishing across six areas: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, and material and financial stability. Dr. Tyler J. VanderWeele, professor of epidemiology at Harvard University and director of the Human Flourishing Program, and Byron Johnson, director of the Institute for Studies of Religion and distinguished professor of the social sciences at Baylor University, join the podcast to discuss The Global Flourishing Study.

The challenges posed by climate change will fall disproportionately on the world’s youth -- but how well do they understand the challenges they face? What are their perspectives on climate change, and where are they getting their information? Moira Herbst, special projects editor at UNICEF Innocenti, and Nahjae Nunes, a UNICEF Youth Foresight Fellow, join the podcast to discuss the latest findings from the UNICEF-Gallup Changing Childhood survey.