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What polls tell us ahead of an election

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River to River, hosted by Ben Kieffer

People look to the polls to gauge who has the best shot at political victory each election, but Director of the Grinnell College National Poll, Peter Hanson, says pollsters find even more valuable information than just who people plan to vote for.

Hanson joins River to River host Ben Kieffer to discuss what people should take away from polls ahead of next week's election.

Later, University of Iowa Associate Professor Dimy Doresca is a native of Haiti, a country overtaken by political unrest and gang violence, a situation escalated by the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Doresca says the international community is focused on politics, but they need first to address the humanitarian crisis. He and the chair of the Community Health Initiative Haiti, Kim Riley-Adams, discuss the crisis with Kieffer.

Guests:

  • Peter Hanson, associate professor of political science, director of the Grinnell College National Poll
  • Dimy Doresca, associate professor of practice, management and entrepreneurship, University of Iowa
  • Kim Riley-Adams, chair, Community Health Initiative Haiti
Ben Kieffer is the host of IPR's River to River
Dani Gehr is a talk show producer for Iowa Public Radio. She holds a bachelor's degree from Iowa State University. Since 2022, Gehr has worked with IPR's talk team to bring news and features to IPR's listening audience.