On October 26, UW–Madison’s fall Public Affairs Journalist in Residence, Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, shared his experiences and insights around election forecasting and politics through a class visit, a conversation with local journalists, and a public talk. Silver’s visit inspired lively conversations about the midterm elections and the forecasting process, important policy questions facing voters, and what issues voters care most about.
MPA student Amelia Wagner and Gov. Jim Doyle chat at a lunch event. Photo by Clint Thayer.La Follette School outreach director Lisa Ellinger leads a conversation with local journalists. Photo by Clint Thayer.Professor Tim Smeeding introduces Nate Silver during a class visit. Photo by Clint Thayer.The class included undergraduate students from Professor Smeeding’s “Public Policy Issues” class as well as graduate students from Gov. Jim Doyle’s class, “The Politics of State Policy Issues.” Photo by Althea Dotzour.A student asks a question during Nate Silver’s class visit. Photo by Clint Thayer.Two former Wisconsin governors, Scott McCallum and Jim Doyle, chat during the pre-event reception. Photo by Clint Thayer.Attendees chat during the pre-event reception. Photo by Clint Thayer.La Follette School Board of Visitors member Chuck Pruitt introduces the public talk by Nate Silver. Photo by Clint Thayer.Nate Silver addresses a packed house during the main event at Shannon Hall. Photo by Clint Thayer.Around 600 people attended in person, over 350 people attended virtually, and the YouTube video of the talk already has over 1,000 views.La Follette School Director and Professor Susan Webb Yackee asked questions during the Q&A portion of the talk.