Is 2024 the podcast election?
The Trump and Harris campaigns are turning to alternative media to reach voters


Technology has always transformed presidential elections. John F. Kennedy benefitted from the rise of television. Donald Trump won his first race with the help of Twitter. This year, podcasting may be the breakthrough medium.
Kamala Harris could soon sit down with popular podcaster Joe Rogan as she "works to shore up support with male voters," Reuters said. It's potentially a huge audience for Harris: Spotify says Rogan has 14.5 million followers on the platform, in addition to millions more who see podcast clips on Instagram and YouTube. If the interview happens, it will be the latest salvo in the "all-important Bro-Podcast War of 2024," Matt Stieb said at New York magazine.
Podcasts are "transforming the presidential election," Brady Brickner-Wood said at The New Yorker. Harris has already appeared on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast to discuss women's issues, while Trump has appeared on just about every male-oriented podcast imaginable, including those hosted by Theo Von and Lex Fridman. Why the newfound podcast popularity? Traditional interviews — like Harris' visit to "60 Minutes" — can feel "especially rigid." Podcasts offer candidates an "affable, jovial hang." And they reach voters.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the commentators say?
Some mainstream reporters are dismayed that Harris has "dispensed with legacy media as gatekeepers," Jennifer Rubin said at The Washington Post. In addition to the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, the vice president has also appeared on the NBA-oriented "All The Smoke" podcast and shows with radio hosts Howard Stern and Charlamagne Tha God. That's because "traditional news audiences are shrinking" while podcasts and other alternative formats offer "vastly more voters and potential voters" to candidates. Harris' media strategy is "exactly the right thing."
Harris' "Call Her Daddy" appearance "wasn't a hard-hitting accountability interview," Helen Lewis said at The Atlantic. But it did contain a "substantive policy discussion" about abortion rights, housing costs and other issues. Most Americans who do follow "hard news" have already decided how they'll vote. "Nailing down undecided voters — including those who don't currently plan to cast a ballot — is vital." Trump has already been on the podcast trail for months. Harris' decision to do the same is a "smart tactic."
What next?
The podcast presidential campaign reflects the Internet-era "scattering of audiences" that has left legacy outlets less powerful than they once were, Axios said. Hit podcasts, meanwhile, "over-index with audiences public figures want to reach." They also offer a different look at the candidates — Trump, for example, "showed a rarely seen softer side" while discussing his late brother's alcoholism during one podcast interview.
"The campaigns are still holding to some traditional tactics," said The Boston Globe. Together, Harris and Trump are expected to spend $2.1 billion on TV, radio, digital, and other media advertising during 2024, making this year's race the "most expensive election cycle in history." But podcasts are steering the conversation as never before, said media columnist Margaret Sullivan. "As journalists," she said, "we have to realize we are not the gatekeepers of information as we once were."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
‘We must empower young athletes with the knowledge to stay safe’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Russian drone tests Romania as Trump spins
Speed Read Trump is ‘resisting congressional plans to impose newer and tougher penalties on Russia’s energy sector’
-
Trump renews push to fire Cook before Fed meeting
Speed Read The push to remove Cook has ‘quickly become the defining battle in Trump’s effort to take control of the Fed’
-
Will Donald Trump’s second state visit be a diplomatic disaster?
Today's Big Question Charlie Kirk shooting, Saturday’s far-right rally and continued Jeffrey Epstein fallout ramps-up risks of already fraught trip
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killing
TALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events