Joe Biden launches podcast 'so we can keep talking with each other'

Joe Biden is a podcaster now.

The former vice president and presidential candidate has launched a new podcast, Here's the Deal, as part of a virtual campaign from his basement amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In the first episode, he interviews Ron Klain, his former chief of staff and former Ebola czar.

"Why am I doing this?" Biden says at the start of the first episode. "Well, first, so we can keep talking with each other. We can't hold rallies anymore, but we're not gathering in large public spaces. We're living in a new normal."

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Biden has recently started broadcasting from a home studio set up in his basement in Delaware, where he's conducted television interviews and held virtual press conferences. His communications director, Kate Bedingfield, told Politico last week that "we're thinking through what does a virtual campaign look like" amid the pandemic and "we're experimenting with a lot of different formats." This comes after an early virtual town hall from the campaign suffered from many technical issues.

In addition to interviewing Klain and discussing his plan for responding to the coronavirus crisis, Biden in the first episode of his podcast takes some questions, in response to one describing the precautions he's taking amid the pandemic including having anyone who comes into his house wear gloves and a mask. As he wraps up, Biden assures listeners that "we're going to beat this" and recommends that "if you have any friends or relatives or anybody who is shut in, pick up the phone and call them. Tell them you're thinking of them. See what they need."

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also expected to soon launch a podcast, reportedly inspired by Howard Stern.