#flagrant

Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby, and Noel Sims at Popular Information:

One of the most significant political developments in the last few years is the emergence of the “manosphere,” a loose network of longform podcasts that are especially popular with young men. Although the top manosphere podcasts are not primarily about politics, they have been credited with effectively promoting right-wing viewpoints. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump was interviewed by manosphere podcasters Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Andrew Schulz, and Shawn Ryan. On election day, Trump won 56% of the votes of young men 18-29. That was a huge improvement over 2020, when Trump was supported by just 41% of young men. At Trump’s November 2024 victory party, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White took the stage and thanked Rogan, Von, and other manosphere podcasters for contributing to Trump’s win. Why are these podcasts so influential? What is actually discussed? The answers to these questions are difficult to ascertain. Yes, the podcasts are public, but they are also extremely long. Rogan, for example, puts out around three podcasts a week and each one can be three or even four hours. The only people who regularly listen to these podcasts are fans. To pull back the curtain on the manosphere, Popular Information reviewed every edition of The Joe Rogan Experience, This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant, and The Shawn Ryan Show published in September. Collectively, these podcasts have over 30 million subscribers on YouTube and millions of additional listeners on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other platforms. The shows and hosts also have tens of millions of followers on social media platforms like X and Instagram. In September, these four shows published 35 episodes with a combined runtime of 94 hours and 55 minutes. Nearly 95 hours of content includes little overt discussion of public policy or political philosophy. But the episodes frequently feature crude racism, outlandish political conspiracy theories, brazen misogyny, medical quackery, and homophobia. Wealthy Democrats are reportedly spending tens of millions of dollars to identify “the next Joe Rogan” for the left. The people financing these efforts do not seem to have grappled with the kind of content Rogan and other major players in the manosphere create to attract a loyal audience.

Popular Information reviewed 4 podcasts in the diet manopshere in September: The Joe Rogan Experience, This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant, and The Shawn Ryan Show.