The Politics of Podcasting
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have been utilizing podcasts at a level not seen in prior campaigns. This is undoubtedly good for the medium, but there’s more to podcasts than these high-level appearances may demonstrate.
The objective of these podcast appearances is clear: in the final weeks before the election, the candidates are energizing their bases to maximize voter turnout. Trump has appeared on shows favored by young White men, while Harris has been a guest on shows favored by young women and Black Americans.
More importantly, podcast appearances are strategically savvy. Podcast interviews can be more accessible and less formal than other interview formats, offering candidates a unique way to connect with constituents.
Why Politicians Like Podcasts
Traditional media appearances with journalists (like 60 Minutes) usually involve answering tough questions. A journalist’s job is to get the candidate to explain their positions and hold them accountable. Podcast hosts typically don’t have the same goals. They want the candidate to engage and captivate the audience. They might ask tough questions but usually won’t push the guest to provide detailed answers like a network news journalist would.
These podcasts reach a lot of people. In a conversation with Lora Kelley at The Atlantic, Helen Lewis, who writes about podcasting, said, “We need to stop treating these podcasts as the ‘alternative’ media when they are absolutely mainstream these days.” These podcasts are not, she says, “mom-and-pop outfits competing with chain stores. They’re behemoths.”
The national media is paying a lot of attention to the presidential candidates’ appearances on podcasts. In addition to The Atlantic, the topic has been covered extensively by NPR, The New Yorker, and think tanks like The Brookings Institution. (Disclaimer: I was Associate Vice President of Communications at Brookings from 2013 to 2017.)
Every Candidate Can Benefit
However, one frequently overlooked aspect is podcasts' overwhelming influence on the communication strategies of many down-ballot candidates and elected officials.
To date, Voxtopica-produced podcasts have featured more than 25 elected officials, former elected officials, and candidates as guests. We’ve produced segments and shows with leaders including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Mike Pence, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Senator Jon Tester.
To be sure, none of the shows these officials appeared on could be called “behemoths,” but showing up for them still had value for them. That’s not because of the size of the audience but because of the specificity of the audience.
One of the greatest attributes of podcasting as a medium is its ability to serve highly niche audiences. There are podcasts for just about every profession one could think of, regardless of how exclusive. For example, Voxtopica produces shows for executives at for-profit hospitals, leaders in trade school education, and experts in the defense industry's electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) function (don’t worry, we’re not sure what EMSO means, either).
None of these are large audiences, but they are all important audiences.
These and the hundreds of other podcasts appealing to small but highly targeted audiences offer elected officials and candidates the opportunity to speak directly to constituencies that would otherwise be nearly impossible to reach. If one wants to discuss reforms to the health care system, for example, appearing on a podcast exclusively for hospital administrators is a highly efficient way to get the message to an essential audience.
Create These Opportunities On YOUR Podcast
Podcasting creates unprecedented opportunities for commercial brands, non-profits, institutions, and associations that want to influence public policy. But to make a difference, you have to produce a show that provides value to the listeners.
The total number of people involved in EMSO worldwide is counted in the thousands, not millions or even hundreds of thousands. But listeners love From The Crows’ Nest, the show about EMSO, because it’s about them and for them, and host Ken Miller ensures they are front-and-center in everything he does.
The upshot is that regardless of how large, small, broad, or niche your podcast’s audience is, your listeners can be critical to candidates and elected officials at all levels—local, state, and national—if you can demonstrate that they respect you and your content.
Susanna Cassisa assisted with writing and editing this article.