It's Podcast Mania At The White House, And Beyond
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has launched "Podcast Row" to showcase the power of podcasts to reach Americans.
💬 Quick CONVERSATION STARTERS:
What are “Podcast Row” podcasters saying about the new White House event?
Thoughts? We asked Shira Lazar, Lia Haberman, Francesco Zaffarano, Lindsey Gamble
The White House all in on podcasters!
President Donald Trump dedicated much of the last few months of his presidential campaign last year to podcasting… Sometimes even 2 to 3 hours on podcasts with hosts such as comedian Theo Von, wrestler Logan Paul, streamer Adin Ross, and UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
According to the Washington Examiner, “Trump’s teenage son Barron Trump encouraged him to do the podcasts, which were intended to showcase him in a casual setting before an audience of young men.”
And just last week, the White House launched a new push towards podcasts and podcasters, dubbed “Podcast Row” — and the White House intends to make this a recurring event, according to the Verge.
“Hey everybody, today is Podcast Row here at the White House and our team has gathered a room full of podcasters with cabinet officials, White House officials who are talking to them about the president and his agenda,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week in welcoming a group of podcasters to Washington DC. “And I bet you, the people in that room have much more viewers than CNN and the legacy media, just saying. We’re proud to welcome them to the White House.”
In a later video, Trump’s Press Secretary said: “This is what it’s all about: new media, new voices, and getting the President’s message out to all Americans.”
A White House official told Semafor the private event was meant “to showcase the rapidly growing media apparatus that the American people are actually consuming,” and get Trump’s “message to a broader subset of Americans,” including younger voters.
White House Press Secretary Leavitt also told the Washington Examiner about Trump’s support of young people and the push towards platforms that reach younger audiences: “The President believes in the young people of this country, the future generation, the next generation the next generation of leaders. He wants to live the country better off for us, and for our children and our grand children.”
“It’s the age of new media,” stated White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr.
Dorr told the Daily Mail: “We’ve made it clear from the beginning that we will attempt to communicate the President’s agenda to as many Americans as possible by providing unprecedented access to administration officials for outlets that have been overlooked by prior administrations.”
“The event also served as a jab at the Washington press corps, who have become a piñata for the Trump administration,” added the Verge.
What podcasters got invited?
According to Sean Burch in The Wrap, some of the attendees “included David Freiheit, a Canadian political commentator who goes by Viva Frei on YouTube, where he has 638,000 subscribers, and
, an independent journalist who previously produced for Fox Corp. and Newsmax.”Natalie Winters, co-host of Steve Bannon's War Room and White House Correspondent, The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles, Ask Dr. Drew host Dr. Drew Pinsky, Blaze Media’s Unfiltered host Sara Gonzales, host of The Signal Sitdown Bradley Devlin, Human Events Daily host Jack Posobiec, Libbey Dean and ESPN anchor-turned-podcaster Sage Steele, host of The Sage Steele Show also posted about being at the “Podcast Row” event.
And this is a photo posted on X by Edward Lawrence, White House Correspondent for FOX Business, with the caption: “Group of podcasters and influencers at the White House today all taking selfies in different directions.”
How did the podcasters spend their day at the White House?
In a post on X, Freiheit mentioned “a number of familiar faces” available to be interviewed, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Harrison Fields, Special Assistant to President Donal Trump and White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary.
According to Libbey Dean of NewsNation, in addition to RFK Jr., Fields, and Leavitt, podcasters in attendance had other top US officials readily available for interviews, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, US Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought.
Natalie Winters said on X that she was able to interview Alex Pfeiffer, Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Communications Director; White House Senior Policy Strategist May Mailman, and interim U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba.
Other Trump officials spotted at the “Podcast Row” event: White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr.
What are “Podcast Row” podcasters saying about the new White House event?
Jack Posobiec told The Post Millennial: “The White House podcast Row was an honor. The Trump Admin is completely embracing new media and bringing in audiences that are interested in direct reporting without the legacy media distortions.”
Winters said on her podcast: “How you know this event was really successful? Not just because of the interviews you’re about to see, but the legacy media is melting down over it, they’re extremely jealous.”
Dr. Drew said in his chat with Leavitt during the “Podcast Row” event: “I think in this room we’ve got a bigger reach [than CNN]. This is a new world.”
Knowles pointed out in his interview with Secretary Bessent: “It’s wonderful to come to the White House. It’s always wonderful to interview top administration officials.”
Thoughts?
We asked a few experts. Here is what they told us…
Shira Lazar, content creator and Emmy-nominated host and interviewer covering social media, emerging tech, and the future of well-being:
As someone who works in independent media and is a content creator myself I am a proponent of the White House bringing in non traditional broadcasters aka digital creators and even those deemed as podcasters to participate as press in innovative ways.
I would love to see a variety of individuals being invited, including not just those from one supposed view point, but I guess it shouldn’t be surprising given the state of affairs.
Creator economy and marketing expert , author of :
I didn’t love the “journalists vs. creators” framing last August when the press got booted from Biden’s Creator Economy Summit, and I don’t love it now as Trump’s administration takes shots at legacy media.
The GOP has been prioritizing and praising podcasters over traditional journalists since the campaign. And, sure, creators are an effective way to reach young people. But we need to stop acting like this is the end of media. At some point, even these podcasters will have to cover serious issues.
Swap out the Press Corps for news creators, and at some point their audiences will expect them to ask some tough questions and hold the administration accountable. What happens then?
Francesco Zaffarano, Executive Audience and Content Strategist at Chora and Will Media:
What Karoline Leavitt said is true: some podcasters in the United States have a larger audience than certain TV broadcasters and many legacy media outlets. A single episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast is listened to by twice as many people as the average viewership of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News combined during prime time. I would also argue that it’s a good thing that the White House treats new media as a legitimate part of the Fourth Estate.
What is unacceptable, however, is for the White House, or any other political power, to decide which media can do their job and which cannot.
We are facing an overt attempt to choose who can or cannot have access to the Trump administration, not only to silence critical voices but also to overwhelm voters with information spread by aligned creators and media.
Democracy doesn’t only die in darkness. It can also die in the noise created by an excess of irrelevant information that prevents us from seeing what truly matters.
Creator economy and influencer marketing expert Lindsey Gamble, author of the Lindsey Gamble's Newsletter:
Giving creators and podcasters access is a good thing, but if it’s only about controlling the narrative, it misses the point. When the administration first announced they would open press briefings to new media, it was hard not to think that it would be new media aligned with the administration’s agenda. And based on what we’ve seen so far, that is what is happening.
Why not include differing voices willing to ask tough questions and be critical? Without a diverse range of perspectives, these initiatives won’t have the impact they could.
The current conversation about legacy and new media often frames them as opposing forces, but I believe it’s not an either/or situation… it’s an “and.”
Both are important, especially in news and politics. Legacy outlets provide fact-checking and journalistic rigor, while new media offers fresh perspectives and accessibility. Those who can balance both will be the most valuable to audiences.
Other reactions…
Commenting on the White House event, Robert Bluey, President and Executive Editor of The Daily Signal, said: “2024 was the Podcast Election, so it’s only appropriate to welcome them to the White House!”
Social media expert Matt Navarra said in a post on Threads that the goal was “to boost alt-media influence.”
- wrote in her most recent post on : “The White House has established ‘Podcast Row’ where new media figures will be welcomed in to cover Trump (of course only right wing podcasters have been invited).”
Tina Nguyen of the Verge described the new “Podcast Row” initiative as “an event meant to engage alternative media by granting them hours of unprecedented access to senior Trump administration officials.”
Crypto investor Erik Finman: “New media is now shaping the message. Not chasing it.”
- of the posted: “Hilarious. The Trump White House just launched an official podcast initiative to promote MAGA podcasts and help right-wing podcasts get more downloads than us. It ain’t working.”
The podcast industry in numbers
According to a February 2025 white paper on podcast “fandom” commissioned by the Wondery podcast network, ad agency Dentsu, and Edison Research, “podcasts are mainstream, having evolved from a niche audio medium into one of the most widely consumed forms of entertainment.”
The white paper adds that “fueled by passionate fandoms once reserved for sports teams and music artists, podcasts are fostering deep connections and rich communities across the globe.”
Today, more than 190 million Americans have listened to a podcast. Nearly 100 million tune in each week. For context, that’s more than 33% of the U.S. population, the highest percentage to date, and a +40% increase since 2020.
83% of monthly podcast listeners identify as podcast fans.
46% of podcast fans are bigger fans of their favorite podcast than anything else.
71% of fans say their fandom stems from feeling like they are friends with the host.
54% of fans agree or strongly agree that podcasts are part of their daily routine, compared to 11% of casual listeners.
9h 24min is the average time fans spend listening to podcasts every week, compared to 8 hours 59 minutes for casual listeners.
92% are fans because podcasts help them learn new things.
62% are fans because podcasts help them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.
82% are fans because podcasts help spread awareness of a specific topic.
Indeed, it looks like podcast fandom translates really well on social media:
68% of fans have followed a podcast on social media.
52% have commented or posted on a podcast’s social media account.
Trend alert: podcast, podcast, podcast!
“As traditional media companies cut back and ad dollars get tighter, former anchors, journalists, and producers are deciding not to wait for a green light,” wrote
in here on Substack. “They’re building their own platforms, owning their audiences, and creating space for the kinds of conversations that legacy media often overlooks.”“This shift isn’t just about journalism,” M.T. Deco wrote, pointing out at a few examples:
Alex Cooper, who turned Call Her Daddy into The Unwell Network and now backs other creators
Lauryn Bosstick, who expanded The Skinny Confidential into a full lifestyle brand under Dear Media
And then there’s Megyn Kelly, who recently launched MK Media, a full podcast network featuring voices across politics and pop culture.
“The message is clear: creators don’t just want to host shows. They want to own the ecosystem.”
— M.T. Deco
Loved being featured in this! Podcasting’s takeover era is here, and we're just happy you enjoyed our insights about creators owning the whole content playground 🙌We’re always down for a collab if you’re interested 👀
Will they be sharing military secrets??I mean seriously🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬