Dole Institute to host 'Secret Science of Winning Campaigns' author

LAWRENCE — Sasha Issenberg, Slate journalist and author, will be at the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas discussing his latest book, "The Victory Lab: The Secret Science to Winning Campaigns" in a Dole Forum event at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23. It is free and open to the public.

It's been done in sports and now Issenberg presents the untold story of the analytical revolution upending the way political campaigns are run in the 21st century. "The Victory Lab," dubbed "'Moneyball' for politics" by "Politico," uncovers the secret history of modern American politics, which helped to decide the 2004 and 2008 races and have become essential to the campaigns of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

"Sasha's book is very important to anyone who wants to understand the future of our campaigns," said Dole Institute director Bill Lacy. "This book reveals the strategies transforming campaign politics and brings to light just how key political scientists are. The Victory Lab discussion will appeal to voters, especially those with an interest in politics."

The Victory Lab follows the maverick political operatives and academics now calling the shots in some of the most cutting-edge war rooms, in the process transforming the highest-stakes industry in the country. Armed with research from behavioral psychology, data-mining and randomized experiments that treat voters as unwitting guinea pigs, the smartest campaigns now believe they know who you will vote for even before you do.

Issenberg is the "Victory Lab" columnist for "Slate" and the Washington correspondent for "Monocle," where he covers politics, business, diplomacy and culture. He covered the 2008 election as a national political reporter in the Washington bureau of The Boston Globe, and his work has also appeared in New York, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Monthly, Inc., The Atlantic, Boston, Philadelphia and George, where he served as a contributing editor.

His first book, "The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy," was published by Gotham in 2007.