My after-school routine growing up was the same every day. I’d come home, let my dog out, make a snack plate and then, to avoid my homework, I’d turn on my favorite talk show, “Ellen”. My favorite part of the show wasn’t the crazy games she had celebrities play, but the conversation host, Ellen DeGeneres, would facilitate with her guests. Fast forward to today, and I still love hearing these personal discussions between well-known individuals. However, instead of tuning in to a talk show, I’ve turned to a different form of media, one that has grown exponentially since I was a kid: podcasts.
As a student in the public relations world, my love for podcasts has turned into analyzing how many opportunities they hold for celebrities and public figures.
According to Podcasts Statistics, “Approximately 584.1 million people worldwide listened to podcasts currently.” Podcasts are one of the most powerful PR tools available today, offering public figures opportunities for campaigning, publicity and even image rehabilitation in a way that traditional media cannot.
Take the 2024 election, for example. President Donald Trump went on numerous podcasts while campaigning. Ten days before the election, President Trump was hosted on “The Joe Rogan Experience”, that accumulated more than 61 million views on YouTube. In this more conversational setting, listeners were able to hear an in-depth explanation on the policies President Trump was campaigning.
Former Vice President, Kamala Harris also used podcasts as part of her 2024 campaign strategy. One of her appearances included an interview on Alex Cooper’s podcast, “Call Her Daddy”. The 45-minute podcast dove into subjects such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, debunking her critics’ statements about her family and more.
This long-form format allows candidates to control their narrative in a way that traditional, time-constrained interviews do not, giving them uninterrupted space to explain complex ideas, share personal context, and connect with audiences on a more human level.
Podcasts also provide a platform for individuals to promote not only themselves, but also their products or personal projects. Former first lady, Michelle Obama appeared on “Call Her Daddy” to generate publicity for her new book, “The Look”, where she discusses exclusive topics present in her book. This created a tease to persuade people to go out and buy it. On the podcast, she spoke about her time at the White House, how her clothes were constantly scrutinized, her marriage and other exclusive topics covered in her book. Through opening up on a widely popular podcast, Obama used this casual interview to connect with Cooper’s listeners and thus, in turn, garner attention for her book.
Podcasts give audiences a more personal and conversational view of the figures they admire, while also helping those public figures build their image and promote their side projects.
My personal favorite use of a podcast is when public figures use them for image rehabilitation. Hilary Duff recently went through an image rebuild when she went on Jake Shane’s podcast, “Therapuss.” Shane, who originally became famous on TikTok, is wildly popular with the GenZ community with a following of around 3.6 million. Known by millennials for her role as Lizzie McGuire on the Disney Channel in the early 2000s, Duff has since struggled to connect with GenZ and remain a relevant part of pop culture. Shane’s podcast allowed Duff to reintroduce herself to a new generation of potential fans as she sought to make her music career and recent album launch appealing to them.
So, next time you see your favorite celebrity featured on a podcast, be like me, and tap into your PR brain. Ask yourself what are they looking to accomplish?
