Eric Oliver is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and studies American politics, public opinion, political psychology, local politics, racial attitudes, and the politics of science.

His current research examines why people believe in conspiracy theories, why liberals and conservatives name their children differently, why 2016 was a populist election, and what is changing in America's democracy.

His latest book, Enchanted America: The Struggle between Reason and Intuition in US Politics (publication in September 2018), argues that the major political divisions in America right now are not between liberals and conservatives, but between "intuitionists" and "rationalists."