How podcasts swayed the 2024 election

 

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Around 2:45 on the morning of November 6, Donald Trump beckoned Dana White to the lectern to address the sea of MAGA-hatted supporters assembled to celebrate the former president’s election victory.

In his brief but animated remarks at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, the CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship made sure to thank a cadre of figures who might just have been the key to Trump’s shocking triumph. “I want to thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin’ With the Boys,” White said, “and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan!”

You would be forgiven for not knowing who all these people are. No doubt many of the faithful assembled to cheer Trump were perplexed as well. But for many of the young Americans who turned out to vote for the Republican nominee this year in numbers not seen in decades, these figures might be the reason why.

In the wake of Trump’s win, the drastic political realignment that catapulted him to the White House has been much discussed. But he also won thanks in no small part to a vast media realignment in which the traditional press — TV networks and newspapers that have seen their audiences and revenues shrivel over the years — has been supplanted in influence and audience by an alternative media ecosystem made up primarily of guys with microphones and millions of obsessive fans.