Today's Poll Question: Are Americans hopelessly divided and increasingly hateful?

About this episode

Michael challenges the narrative of a divided America by exploring social data and insights from Jim VandeHei.

Today's Poll Question at Smerconish.com: 'True or false? Americans are hopelessly divided and increasingly hateful.' Michael challenges the dominant narrative of a fractured America, drawing on insights from Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei and broader social data. While cable news and social media amplify conflict, most Americans remain disconnected from that noise—focused instead on work, family, and community. Listen in as Michael explores how algorithms, declining shared experiences, and social “self-sorting” create the illusion of division, even as acts of generosity and civic engagement tell a different story. Is the country truly coming apart—or are we being misled about who we really are? Be sure to vote at Smerconish.com, and rate, review and share this podcast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

People in this episode

Host: Michael

Topics covered

• division
• hate
• social media
• civic engagement
• American values

Keywords

• poll
• Americans
• divided
• hateful
• social data
• civic engagement
• algorithms

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Axios

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