The podcast industry is booming. An enormous 100 million Americans say they listen to podcasts each week. From self-help tips and career advice to true crime and celebrity gossip, audio content has woven itself into the fabric of our lives. But with an election on the horizon, will these evolving media habits affect the political information we take in and, crucially, who we vote for?

The answer might lie across the pond. In the run-up to the U.K. election in July, the political podcast genre exploded in growth. Downloads of political podcasts surged by more than 50% as the electorate prepared to cast their votes, with some series, such as The News Agents, drawing larger audiences than traditional print newspapers. For the first time, voters headed to the polls with a podcast in their back pocket.

An intimate format

Audio content, particularly podcasting, has a unique ability to blend into our lives and catch us in our least guarded moments. Unlike television and radio, which are often enjoyed in the company of others, research shows that podcasts are most often consumed when people are alone.

Whether it’s when we’re making breakfast or commuting to work, podcasts narrate our everyday movements. It’s an intimate format, with regular listeners building connections with the hosts and publications they trust. Over half of U.S. podcast listeners say they follow podcast hosts on social media and six in 10 say they’ve watched a movie, read a book, or listened to music based on a podcast’s recommendation. Podcasts can shape our cultural consumption far beyond an episode’s run time.

And when big news breaks, it’s striking just how much we crave our favorite shows’ perspectives. When President Joe Biden announced he wouldn’t be running for re-election, podcasts rushed to produce episodes to meet listener demand. In the five weeks after the president stepped aside, leading political show Pod Save America released a huge 22 episodes—such is audience appetite for the twists and turns of the current political cycle.

Given the intimacy of podcasts, the impact of political podcasts can be especially powerful—for better or worse.

They can give listeners an opportunity to make sense of complex issues and allow for debates that are more nuanced than the 24-hour news cycle might have room for or social media hot takes allow. Whether it’s providing explainers or humanizing candidates’ backstories, podcasts offer an accessible route into politics. This kind of content, delivered in an accessible audio format, can help us make more informed decisions and even boost voter turnout.

Emerging risks

Unlike traditional media, when mistakes are made, it can be difficult for podcasts to issue corrections or retractions. The editorial policies of each show or production house are bespoke, and there’s no regulator providing oversight. It’s easy for misinformation—intended or accidental—to slip through. 

And then there’s the risk of echo chambers. The reality is most of us likely won’t spend hours listening to content we strongly disagree with. And while many people might come to a podcast based on a recommendation, this is its own kind of echo chamber if we only accept suggestions from people we are already politically aligned with.

There are antidotes that aim to tackle this, with a rise in shows where two hosts from either side of the political aisle come together to discuss both sides of an issue. The U.K.’s wildly popular The Rest is Politics is a case in point. This across-the-divide political show, alongside its sister production Leading, pulled in over 20 million downloads during the U.K. election campaign. No mean feat in a nation of 67 million people. U.S. productions including Breaking Points and Beg to Differ are attempting to strike the same balance and, in the process, achieve the same success.

The global rise in podcast production is also enabling listeners to hear international perspectives on their or other country’s politics. Some 20% of the BBC’s Americast listeners live in the U.S. The Rest Is Politics: US has a large U.K. following, as does the aforementioned Pod Save America (which regularly features in the U.K. top 50) and podcast behemoths such as The Ezra Klein Show, which frequently dive into political themes.

Capitalizing on influence

The exact impact of the U.S. election on the podcast landscape remains to be seen. But there’s every chance that it will attract swathes of new listeners who will be converted into regulars.

Rising listener numbers mean rising influence, but podcasting is still a relatively nascent market when it comes to capitalizing on that influence—both for political parties and for brands. Despite their popularity, there are currently some 2 million active podcasters in the world, compared with over 100 million YouTubers and countless social media pundits sharing soundbites.

Additionally, artificial intelligence is turbo-charging a space that many are keen to grab a larger slice of—whether it’s by translating podcasts to scores of languages, speeding up and automating production processes, or helping iterate ad campaigns at rapid speed. As brands and political parties devote more attention and money to the podcasting space, consumers will see competition, quality, and choice grow.

The impact and reach of the format—and its role in November’s outcome—will be closely scrutinized by politicos, pollsters, and advertisers over the coming months. While this might be America’s first podcast election, it surely won’t be the last.

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