In this episode we unpack what makes a poll reliable or not and how us regular people should be reading poll data, especially with the midterms coming up. Our guest is Scott Greenstone, politics reporter and host of KUOW's Sound Politics. He gives us some tips and tricks to make sure we're interpreting poll results correctly.

Have a question we should answer on the show? Click here to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:

• Sound Politics
• Strength in Numbers Substack
• Real Clear Polling
• FiftyPlusOne

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've all been there: Staring at a screen that prompts you to "leave a tip," and three options to press. How much should you tip for a meal these days? How about a coffee or a hot dog at a baseball game? In this episode, Clare and guest host Brandi Fullwood dig into the data on tipping, and how it impacts workers in restaurants of all shapes and sizes.

Listen to Brandi's podcast Seattle Eats wherever you're listening to this episode.

Have a question we should answer on the show? Click here to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:

• The Land of the Fee (2021), Throughline from NPR, 2021
• Tipping Culture in America: Public Sees a Changed Landscape, Pew Research Center, 2022
• Average Restaurant Tip Percentages & Tipping Trends in the U.S. (2026), Toast, 2026
• Square Food & Beverage Data Reveals Higher Tipping Rates and Growing "High-Low" Spending Pattern, Square, 2026
• A Critical Exploration of Tipping Practices in the American Hospitality Landscape from a Qualitative Approach, 2024

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When someone says “reading is dead,” is that really true? Reading for fun has taken a big hit, but what’s really going on here? Teo and guest co-host Katie Campbell look at the data on American reading habits to find the answer, and provide tips for aspiring book nerds to get more pages in. Katie Campbell is KUOW’s book club curator. She has read over 51 books this year so far, but who’s counting?

Correction, 9/8/2026: In this episode, we incorrectly state that adult American gamers spend roughly 90 minutes gaming daily. The correct average time per day for gamers is two hours.

Have a question we should answer on the show? Click here to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:

• American Time Use Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003-2026
• American Time Use Survey Report, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025
• The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey, iScience, 2025
• A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity, Social Science & Medicine Journal, 2016
• Who doesn’t read books in America?, Pew Research Center, 2021
• Book reading habits in the U.S. vary by education, age and other factors, Pew Research Center, 2026

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.