Podcasting

Democracy won, apparently. More than 73 million people voted for Donald J. Trump, who won 312 Electoral College votes and the popular vote, making him the 45th and 47th president of the United States. In the end, it wasn’t particularly close, and the exit polls from the night paint a pretty bleak picture for Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party. By now, you will have read most of the breakdowns — she lost ground with Hispanics, whites, blacks, married people, non-college-educated people, et cetera. In fact, the only demographic group that she gained ground with was college-educated white women — she even somehow managed to lose ground from 2016 and 2020 with black women, a stunning and impressive feat. Tim Walz lost his home district in deep-blue Minnesota.

Can a single podcast episode change the outcome of a presidential election, and consequently, of history? If former president Donald Trump has his way, the answer may be yes. Trump joined Joe Rogan in Texas for just under three hours for a wide-ranging episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, the crown jewel of the podcasting universe; each episode nets millions of views, and its stats in coveted younger demographics are off the charts. If Trump was successful with the interview, he could motivate several thousand possible voters off their couches — and succeed he did.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBMoPUAeLnY&ab_channel=PowerfulJRE Within hours, millions of people had tuned in across YouTube, Spotify and X.

Tucker Carlson is just asking questions. Questions like: what if Andrew Tate’s camgirl harem is actually the height of masculinity? And: isn’t the Russian grocery equivalent of Aldi absolutely incredible, just as the Moscow train station is perhaps the most beautiful thing mankind has created? And this week: why don’t we fully appreciate the total bind Adolf Hitler was in when he had just so many prisoners of war thanks to German success on the battlefield? The decisions Carlson has made in the past several months have struck his former friends and ideological allies as veering in the space between the eccentric and the outrageous.

As Democrats met in Chicago for their party convention, Trump made his latest podcast appearance on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend. The Republican nominee showcased his intention to make the election less about vibes and more about policy, while showing a side of himself that’s not often on display at his rallies or press conferences. One great part of the podcast focuses on Trump’s relationship with his family, which even Hillary Clinton once praised. He talked about his brother Fred, who passed away twenty-five years ago, explaining how his experiences — and advice — are the reasons for why he has never had a “drop of alcohol,” drugs or even a cigarette. “What’s something that you miss about him?” Von asked. “He was wise in a sense,” Trump responded.

Donald Trump is apparently so eager for an invite on to The Joe Rogan Experience that his ally Roger Stone has challenged Rogan to a cage match to force the issue. Earlier this month, Trump and Rogan were seen shaking hands at the UFC 290 fight in Las Vegas. Since then, the former president, who listens to Rogan's podcast according to advisors, has been eyeing up an invitation to go on the show. However, Rogan has previously claimed that he's told Trump's team "no every time." Speaking about Trump a few weeks ago, Rogan said on Lex Fridman’s podcast: "I'm not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form. I've had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once.  “I've said no every time. I don't want to help him. I'm not interested in helping him.