Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
One of the biggest questions of every election is: What’s going on with young voters? There is endless speculation on the news about what young people care about, but very little good research examining their views on the candidates and the issues that matter most to them. The first-of-its-kind GenForward Survey changed that when it was created in 2016 at the University of Chicago.
Led by renowned University of Chicago political scientist Cathy Cohen, the survey digs into what is animating young voters—especially young voters of color who are millennials and in Generation Z—and what they think of the candidates. With tight races in key swing states, young people might just hold the keys to the White House—and Cohen says that understanding what how they may vote in November is crucial to understanding the 2024 election.
Big Brains podcast playlist on YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmPDDhOPKAShDWcB3BtYYLvpPh9XaRUdO
00:00 Introduction: The Burning Question of the Year of How Gen Z Voters Could Decide the 2024 Election
00:37 The Power of the Youth Vote
01:42 GenForward Survey: A Deep Dive
03:49 Young Voters' Concerns and Preferences
05:09 Analyzing the GenForward Election Survey Results
06:52 Young Voters' Discontent with Current Political Parties
08:20 The Latino and Black Vote Dynamics in the 2024 Election
12:02 Gen Z Economic Concerns and Other Key Issues
23:29 Media Consumption and Candidate Strategies
26:36 Conclusion: The Pessimism and Optimism of Young Voters
One of the biggest questions of every election is: What’s going on with young voters? There is endless speculation on the news about what young people care about, but very little good research examining their views on the candidates and the issues that matter most to them. The first-of-its-kind GenForward Survey changed that when it was created in 2016 at the University of Chicago.
Led by renowned University of Chicago political scientist Cathy Cohen, the survey digs into what is animating young voters—especially young voters of color who are millennials and in Generation Z—and what they think of the candidates. With tight races in key swing states, young people might just hold the keys to the White House—and Cohen says that understanding what how they may vote in November is crucial to understanding the 2024 election.
Big Brains podcast playlist on YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmPDDhOPKAShDWcB3BtYYLvpPh9XaRUdO
00:00 Introduction: The Burning Question of the Year of How Gen Z Voters Could Decide the 2024 Election
00:37 The Power of the Youth Vote
01:42 GenForward Survey: A Deep Dive
03:49 Young Voters' Concerns and Preferences
05:09 Analyzing the GenForward Election Survey Results
06:52 Young Voters' Discontent with Current Political Parties
08:20 The Latino and Black Vote Dynamics in the 2024 Election
12:02 Gen Z Economic Concerns and Other Key Issues
23:29 Media Consumption and Candidate Strategies
26:36 Conclusion: The Pessimism and Optimism of Young Voters
