Is Political Polling Helping Or Hurting Democracy?

Part of how we know — or think we know — the race is close in New Hampshire is because of all that polling! If you've dared to turn on your TV this election season, you've probably heard about a lot of polls.

Yes, they're everywhere! But we have to stop and ask — is all this polling good for us? Is it actually helping democracy, or is it helping to destroy it?

That's the question Jill Lepore, Harvard historian and staff writer for The New Yorker, tackles in her latest article, "Politics and the New Machine."

Jill Lepore, Harvard historian and staff writer for The New Yorker.

Steve Koczela, president of MassINC Polling Group, which conducts polls for WBUR. He tweets @skoczela.

The New Yorker: Politics And The New Machine