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

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.&nbsp;
Have a question we should answer on the show? <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.kuow.org/podcast/sound-politics">Sound Politics</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.gelliottmorris.com/">Strength in Numbers Substack</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/">Real Clear Polling</a></li>
<li><a href="https://fiftyplusone.news/">FiftyPlusOne</a></li>
</ul>

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data &mdash; hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data &mdash; and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. 

Control F

What makes a political poll reliable, and how to interpret poll data with midterm elections coming up.

Can you trust political polls?

On November 1, daylight saving time ends in the United States. That means most of us will “fall back” to standard time for the following four months. But many states want to stop this twice-yearly clock change and instead stay on daylight saving time all year. One question is at the center of this proposed change: What would permanent daylight saving time do to our health? Clare interviews Dr. Katie Sharkey, professor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, to find out – digging into the data on time changes, the body clock, and how proposed changes to the time system could affect our well-being. 

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.

Further reading:
Ending clock changes. But which direction should we reset the clock?

On November 1, daylight saving time ends in the United States. That means most of us will &ldquo;fall back&rdquo; to standard time for the following four months. But many states want to stop this twice-yearly clock change and instead stay on daylight saving time all year. One question is at the center of this proposed change: What would permanent daylight saving time do to our health? Clare interviews Dr. Katie Sharkey, professor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, to find out &ndash; digging into the data on time changes, the body clock, and how proposed changes to the time system could affect our well-being.&nbsp;
Have a question we should answer on the show? <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Further reading:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/ending-clock-changes-but-which-direction">Ending clock changes. But which direction should we reset the clock?</a></li>
</ul>

The data tells us to stop flipping our clocks back and forth twice a year. But what should we pick? Standard Time, or Daylight Saving Time?

Should we ditch daylight saving time?

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

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.&nbsp;
Listen to Brandi's podcast Seattle Eats wherever you're listening to this episode.&nbsp;
Have a question we should answer on the show? <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/29/1089587173/the-land-of-the-fee-2021">The Land of the Fee (2021)</a>, Throughline from NPR, 2021</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/2023/11/09/tipping-culture-in-america-public-sees-a-changed-landscape/">Tipping Culture in America: Public Sees a Changed Landscape</a>, Pew Research Center, 2022</li>
<li><a href="https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/data/restaurant-tipping-trends?srsltid=AfmBOoq6_qA3hWMRiD6SJ-Fv9tOSHJbs81M8j5Z2RZHLFLBAo6lsZUoc">Average Restaurant Tip Percentages &amp; Tipping Trends in the U.S. (2026)</a>, Toast, 2026</li>
<li><a href="https://squareup.com/us/en/press/food-beverage-q1-2026-data">Square Food &amp; Beverage Data&nbsp;Reveals Higher Tipping Rates and&nbsp;Growing "High-Low" Spending Pattern</a>, Square, 2026</li>
<li><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1528008X.2024.2443762">A Critical Exploration of Tipping Practices in the American Hospitality Landscape from a Qualitative Approach</a>, 2024</li>
</ul>

A podcast combo with KUOW's Seattle Eats to explain the data behind tipping, plus a side of advice.

How much should you tip?

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

When someone says &ldquo;reading is dead,&rdquo; is that really true? Reading for fun has taken a big hit, but what&rsquo;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&rsquo;s book club curator. She has read over 51 books this year so far, but who&rsquo;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? <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bls.gov/tus/database.htm">American Time Use Survey</a>, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003-2026</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/atus.pdf">American Time Use Survey Report</a>, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1">The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey, iScience, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1">A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity, Social Science &amp; Medicine Journal, 2016</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/09/21/who-doesnt-read-books-in-america/">Who doesn&rsquo;t read books in America?</a>, Pew Research Center, 2021</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/chart/book-reading-habits-in-the-u-s-vary-by-education-age-and-other-factors/">Book reading habits in the U.S. vary by education, age and other factors</a>, Pew Research Center, 2026</li>
</ul>

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.

Can you trust political polls?

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