Why the right is better at podcasting 

Five of the top 10 podcasts on Spotify are overtly right-leaning. The other five include the Crime Junkie, The Daily, Amy Poehler’s, Good Hang, Up First from NPR, and Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.  

The Crime Junkie and the Secret Podcast are both largely apolitical. Their hosts haven’t endorsed or platformed political candidates. 

Good Hang, The Daily, and Up First have slightly left-leaning podcasts. The Good Hang, hosted by Amy Poehler, featured Michelle Obama, and Poehler has endorsed candidates in the past, but the podcast isn’t overtly political.  

The NYT runs the Daily and has a subtle left-leaning bias— they tend to focus on issues like social justice and climate change. Up First follows the NPR goal of objectivity and balance, but it still has a centrist to slight center-left leaning. 

The top three hosts all endorsed Trump in 2024 (Joe Rogan, Theo Von, who didn’t officially endorse Trump but had him on his podcast and attended his inauguration ceremony, and Shawn Ryan). The other two podcasters, Tucker Carlson and Candice, both right-leaning political pundits. 

Podcasting is the 4th most popular form of media, but it also has the fastest-growing audience. Currently, the right has a hold on podcasts.  

Statistics could be stated, numbers numbered, and facts figured, but this article holds only an anecdote.  

The right media is not afraid to be themselves. They don’t worry about purity tests or establishment. They bother themselves with telling it like it is. They condemn “virtue signaling”. The right has developed a monopoly on comedy; they don’t worry about being canceled because they are staying true to their audience. It doesn’t matter if they are being are being real or not, they are being perceived that way. 

The left media strains itself with establishment; they grasp onto Hollywood and center-left news outlets. The trust in these bastions of the left has disintegrated. The appeal of authenticity that only podcasting has driven audiences away from traditional media. The left is more worried about comparing and contrasting, making judgments about micro blunders. The left is right to be wary of micro-aggressions and dog-whistles, but they disregard the fact that not everyone is aware of these as transgressions.  

During the election cycle in 2024, the current president didn’t keep score on which podcasters were too controversial. He didn’t care if they were mainstream or properly established. His podcast stint garnered over 100 million views. Kamala Harris took a different strategy and went on podcasts with negligible audiences.  

There is no way to know for sure, but the decision seems to come from the idea that these hosts were too controversial; they would ruin her image. This strategy of ignoring touchy subjects created a static character. 

The political gender gap plays a role in this. Women are leaning to the left, and men are leaning towards the right. The left hasn’t created a space for men under the tent. They have chased after commendable goals in society, but have left the men behind in the process. Podcasts have created a safe space for men who just haven’t been represented in the mainstream media. It doesn’t matter if they’re right or wrong; it is what it is. That’s where they convene, and it has real-world ramifications. 

Skepticism andthe  pursuit of objectivity are virtues, but sharing a joke gives it all meaning.