Back to All Events

Robert Merry with Peter Hart

  • Whidbey Island Center for the Arts PO Box 52 | 565 Camano Avenue Langley, WA 98260 (map)

Robert Merry interviews Peter Hart, founder of Hart Research and leading interpreter of cultural trends and political messages.

Mr. Hart has been acknowledged by the leaders in the field as one of the most astute observers of public, political, and consumer attitudes. David Brooks of the New York Times called him the “uber pollster,” and Albert Hunt of Bloomberg referred to Hart’s NBC/Wall Street Journal poll as the “gold standard” of public polling.

During the conversation, Robert will ask Peter about the famous politicians with whom he worked, his insights into American history of the last half century, and his views on the Biden performance, the state of the Republican Party, and the major issues facing the nation. He also will ask Peter to peer into his crystal ball for ideas about where the country is headed.

Robert Merry will be joined by an in-person audience in our theater. Peter Hart will participate in the conversation via Zoom from his home.

TICKETS

$50 | All Seats

“Happy Hour” begins at 6:30 PM in Zech Hall.

SUGGESTED READING

WHAT IS PUBLIC OPINION POLLING AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?


ABOUT PETER HART

Peter D. Hart founded Hart Research in 1971, and since 1989 has been the pollster for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal. His political clients have included leaders in the forefront of American politics over the past half century, from Hubert Humphrey and Jay Rockefeller, to Edward Kennedy and Bill Clinton. He has represented more than 55 US senators and 40 governors. His work with Hart Research has focused on public policy and cultural issues and has included work for clients such as the Smithsonian Institution, Habitat for Humanity, UNICEF, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the international realm, he has conducted studies in South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has conducted strategy planning projects for clients such as Coca-Cola, AT&T, and Tiffany & Co.

For the past 30 years, Peter has been a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. He has taught public opinion and public policy at Duke University, the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, Berkeley. In the fall of 2013, he was a visiting fellow teaching at the JFK School at Harvard University. Learn more here.

ABOUT HART RESEARCH

Hart Research is the leading research firm in the United States and has been at the cutting edge of change in public opinion since its founding. They have conducted more than 8,000 public opinion surveys, 7,500 focus groups and in-depth interviews, talking with more than five million individuals across the United States and beyond. In addition to conducting research among everyday Americans, voters, and consumers, they routinely interview elite audiences. These include C-suite decisionmakers, senior government officials, and thought leaders across a full range of disciplines, both nationally and abroad.

Their clients include organizations from virtually every major sector of society, including candidates for public office and political parties, labor unions, the nonprofit and policy advocacy sector, business, health and medicine, technology, journalism, law, education, the arts, and major agencies of the federal government. Since 1989, a highlight of their work has been their regular public opinion polling for NBC News and The Wall Street Journal. These surveys are regarded widely as leading barometers of American opinion.