Political podcast

Political podcasts are podcasts that focus on contemporary politics and current events.

With increasing growth of the Internet and new technologies and devices to disseminate information digitally such as laptop computers and smartphones, political podcasts have become an "emerging industry" according to one view. Most began as spinoffs of existing media. In 2005, Slate began its Slate Political Gabfest podcast with its journalists discussing current events. Since then, many new programs have been created. Most political podcasts maintain a connection with an existing news source; for example, the podcast Start Making Sense is closely allied with its parent publication, The Nation magazine. Podcasts have "come into their own recently" according to Matt K. Lewis of the Daily Caller, with an increase in the number and length of political podcasts in recent years, with growth further spurred in 2016 by the United States presidential election.

Political podcasts serve a variety of purposes, such as to inform, to make money, to entertain (often with satire and humor), to advocate a cause, or to accomplish some mix of these and other purposes. Sometimes they help drive traffic to a particular website or news medium; podcasts have been used by political parties and candidates to sway likely voters. Analyst Matt K. Lewis uses political podcasts to keep himself informed on current events; he describes them as his "secret weapon" and listens for two hours per day. Some podcasts focus on the horse-race aspects of elections, such as strategy and which candidate is doing well in the polls, while others focus on politics and issues. They typically feature reporters, politicians, academics, writers, pollsters, and others who have established credentials in the public sphere; for example, Start Making Sense, hosted by historian Jon Wiener, has featured discussions on Edward Snowden, campaign strategy, inequality and class conflict, The Nation's yearlong investigation into abuses in the federally-run private prisons, as well as various authors and artists and activists. Some are designed as public relations vehicles to bolster the candidacy of a politician, such as Hillary Clinton's With Her podcast. Her podcast was criticized for being promotional and lacking critical commentary or substantive information about her policy positions, according to the political journalism organization Politico.

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