Welcome!
What Is American Storylines?
American Storylines is a place for polling-based commentary about critical aspects of American life and experience. Whether it’s Generation Z, dating, abortion, loneliness, or the rapidly changing religious landscape, I share with my readers the best and most reliable research on the most pressing political and cultural topics of the moment. The newsletter serves as an extension of the polling work I do at the Survey Center on American Life, a project of the American Enterprise Institute. My goal here is simple: to inform and educate people about the political and cultural forces shaping American life.
Whether it’s through social media, newsletters, or blogs, Americans have more opportunities than ever to share their opinions. I see this as a good thing. As a public opinion scholar, my livelihood is based on the willingness of strangers to share their experiences and perspectives. But too many opinions are shared by too few people. We are inundated with opinions from politically active people, but large swathes of the country go largely unheard. Public opinion research is one remedy. Polling—at least in theory, if not in practice—can lift up marginalized voices and surface perspectives rarely featured in social media or news reports.
I hope this work encourages people to become a bit more thoughtful and a lot more curious about each other. After nearly 20 years of doing this work, I’m still regularly surprised by what Americans believe and why.
Why Subscribe?
I write two research-based articles a month, or, more precisely, every other week. These pieces rely on polls we conduct at the Survey Center, publicly available data sources such as Gallup, and archived survey data that most people do not have access to. All posts are available to free subscribers, but archived newsletters are only available to paid subscribers. Additionally, all annual paid subscribers are eligible to receive a signed copy of my book, Generation Uncoupled. More on that below.
About Me:
I’ve been a public pollster for my entire career. My work is designed to be digestible to anyone and everyone with an interest in these topics. I received a PhD in Government from Georgetown University, but my research interests have always been broader than politics. I started my polling career at the Pew Research Center, cofounded the nonprofit polling organization PRRI, and in 2020 I launched the Survey Center on American Life. Since then, my team and I have conducted polls focused on friendship, dating, conspiracy theories, and the religious decline in family life—topics not regularly featured in media polls. My goal has always been to conduct research that is relevant to the people taking our surveys.
On Oct. 13, 2026, I’m publishing my first book, Generation Uncoupled, the culmination of two years of public opinion and qualitative research. It documents not only a growing gender divide in politics, but also rising mistrust and misunderstanding between young men and women. You can pre-order it using the link below.
For Paid Subscribers
If you are a monthly or yearly paid member of American Storylines and are interested in receiving a signed copy of Generation Uncoupled, please complete the Google form below.
