Joe Rogan has been dominating the world of podcasts for years, but now a left-leaning news podcast has finally dethroned him.
The MeidasTouch Podcast, a show that is frequently critical of President Donald Trump, knocked The Joe Rogan Experience from its number one spot, according to Newsweek.
The number of people downloading Rogan’s podcast decreased by 32 percent from the previous month, with the show being played 48.6 million times. Conservative podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience and The Ben Shapiro Show have claimed a huge listener base, but now The MeidasTouch Podcast has taken that top spot, gardening 56 million downloads and plays, which represents a 101 percent increase in February.
What is the MeidasTouch Podcast about?
The MeidasTouch Podcast is a left-leaning political news show that “combines brotherly love, comedy, news coverage, and deep discussions about supporting our democracy and is the go-to destination for top political leaders who view the podcast as a pivotal stop for their interviews,” according to their website.
The show covers major political news stories and is openly critical of Trump and his administration, with recent episodes covering Trump’s deteriorating mental status, Fox news spiraling as Trump “gets weaker and more pathetic each day,” and Trump threatening Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The hosts also conduct in-depth interviews with Democratic politicians, including Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who was on their latest episode.
Who are the hosts?
MeidasTouch was founded by brothers Ben, Brett and Jordy Meiselas and is part of the MeidasTouch media network that started as a liberal political action committee in 2020 before their social media accounts gained popularity.
Ben is a lawyer who represented former NFL player Colin Kaepernick after the quarterback took a knee in support of unarmed Black and brown people who were killed by police. It was this experience that helped inspire the creation of the MeidasTouch Network.
Brett is a two-time Emmy winning video editor who once worked as the web editor for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Jordy is an award-winning advertising executive.
Why it matters
Conservatives have a large online ecosystem of podcasts, YouTube channels, and social media accounts to support and publicize candidates and policies. During the presidential election, Trump went on a handful of popular right-wing podcasts that UFC CEO and longtime friend of the president’s Dana White thanked for contributing to Trump getting elected.
"I want to thank the NELK Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin With The Boys, and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan,” he sad, Newsweek reports.
But now that a left-leaning podcast has knocked Joe Rogan from the top podcast spot, Democrats may have a similar venue to reach millions of potential voters.
What did MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle say about the podcast?
When MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle found out that the MeidasTouch Podcast had beaten out The Joe Rogan Experience to be the number one podcast in the U.S., she and co-host Joel Payne talked about this being a “political shift” and that the podcast hosts are “anti-Trump guys” who “crank it out all day, every day,” Mediaite reports.
Ruhle continued, “People often say that Democrats don’t know how to hit. These guys are hitters!”
Can you watch it on YouTube
You can listen to the podcast on YouTube when new episodes are released every Tuesday and Friday morning at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT. They also release bite-sized YouTube videos hosted by the network’s other contributors and YouTube shorts where hosts provide quick updates and news reports.
Where can you subscribe to the podcast?
You can subscribe to the podcast on all the major podcast websites and apps, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Audible, and Amazon Music.
If you want access to the episodes early as well as perks like voting on future show topics and access to their Discord, you can join the MeidasTouch Podcast Patreon.
