Many people aspire to host their own podcasts, and politicians are no exception.
Have you heard the newest installments of Inside CentCom? And This is Gavin Newsom? Did you catch Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw? If the political podcast market has left you wanting more, a new program is about to debut: World War Chi, hosted by Chi Ossé, a 28-year-old member of the New York City Council.
Ossé, who aligns with the Democratic Socialists of America, is slated to helm a series for Crooked Media, the outfit founded by Pod Save America team, Vulture reported recently. He indicated to Vulture that recording would mostly happen on weekend evenings and that the show would browse mainly cultural topics. Yet, he allowed that there would “be a slow IV drip of socialism throughout each episode,” per Vulture.
If that “gradual infusion of socialist ideas” idea isn’t your cup of tea, you can tune into the program of former Rep. Nancy Mace (R–S.C.), where she covers the Lindsay Clancy case, the WNBA, and discussions of Sharia law on her show, Get Maced. The inked lawmaker launched her podcast in August via YouTube and has accumulated more than 100,000 subscribers.
And if none of these shows catches your interest, you’re not alone. As Reason‘s Robby Soave highlighted in April, after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his own podcast, “There are just too many podcasts.”
It’s understandable why a growing number of politicians are stepping up to the mic. The 2024 race was dubbed “the podcast election,” as figures like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris appeared on widely listened-to podcast programs to bolster support (with mixed results). And by 2025, as mainstream Democrats perceived a slipping hold on the podcast scene, they embarked on a somewhat quixotic hunt for a “left-wing Joe Rogan” to reclaim voters. That summer even saw former Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison launch a show titled At Our Table in a vain bid to rebrand the party; incidentally, his latest episode has barely surpassed 100 views on YouTube. Political operatives also recognize that podcasts aren’t going away anytime soon. In the 2026 midterms, successful candidates delivered almost three times as many podcast appearances as their defeated rivals, according to Spotify data, Axios noted.
The democratization of the media via podcasting or platforms like Substack is a positive development, reducing the monopolies of big networks over political discourse. However, if officeholders only show up on programs hosted by peers who share their views or spin up their own series, they can dodge hard questions while still giving the impression of openness. And as Soave observed in April, there may be times when our leaders should pause the podcasting chatter to carry out their duties funded by taxpayers.
Perhaps the podcast boom is already nearing saturation, and many shows will fade away like At Our Table. Not everyone has that podcasting spark. Additionally, dull politicians will have to contend with the lure of mesmerizing AI-generated fruit videos vying for viewers’ attention. To secure votes in 2028, candidates may need to focus more on real policies that enhance residents’ lives rather than chasing the next MrBeast-inspired thumbnail.
