1d ago

Anti-Trump MeidasTouch dethrones mighty Joe Rogan as top podcast in US

www.independent.co.uk

Anti-Trump podcast dethrones Joe Rogan for top spot in US

After months of sharply criticizing President Donald Trump’s actions, decisions and rhetoric, the left-leaning MeidasTouch Podcast overtook the Joe Rogan Experience for the first time last week, according to YouTube’s weekly ranking of top podcast shows.

While Rogan’s 20.1 million YouTube followers dwarf MeidasTouch’s 5.2 million, the podcasting giant’s show finished in second place. Progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen and conservative-leaning Sean Ryan’s shows also made the top ten.

The MeidasTouch Podcast saw its rankings climb in July as Trump attempted to appease Congress, the media, and voters over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, with episodes zeroing in on the president’s past ties to and comments about the disgraced financier.

77 comments

I have no fucking idea why people watch Rogan, he's not particularly well versed in anything other than martial arts, he's not brilliant or even well spoken or educated by any stretch of the imagination... it feels to me as if he became popular because the average idiot finds this interesting but in reality he's just talking about nonsensical themes with some guests that, surprisingly, are quite well educated themselves.
I'll always remember this man as the crazed idiot who screamed bloody murder at a zoologist because her findings, research and experience contradicted what he wanted to showcase so at that moment he truly showed who he was.
- he's not brilliant or even well spoken or educated by any stretch of the imagination
  That's the point. He's the average American idiot. I grew up with legions of these guys. He got people to eat bugs in the 2000s for insane ratings.
  The masses are garbage people.
  
  I don’t think there’s anything wrong with listening to people that aren’t smart for podcasts. I listen a lot to sports podcasts that are just 2 people shooting the shit about random things.
  Now it IS a problem if you base your political identity and take voting advice from them yes. Joe Rogan should not be someone ever reported on by CNN.
  But saying that every podcaster has to have a PHD is a bit heavy handed.
- He’s like a friend’s older brother who isn’t educated but tells coolbro stories and conspiracies with no backing. It’s edgy and cool if you’re 14 with no life experience, but besides that it’s just noise which helped Yamtits get elected.
- People also like McDonald's and coca cola ...... even when they have runaway diabetes.
  The popularity of something or someone is just a barometer of the general intelligence of a population ..... and judging by what's happening in the US, it's a very low level indeed.
  
  runaway diabetes
  The kind of diabetes Soul Asylum get on a train?
- Rogan used to have great stuff on his show pre-covid, especially MMA talks. He even had a great episode with Michael Osterholm at the beginning of the pandemic.
  Shortly after that, he 180'd on his vaccine stance, and moved from Cali to Texas. Since then, he's been a total conservative pundit.
  I've long since kicked Rogan from anything I listen to, but there was a time where he was entertaining, and did have great guests. Some of his "talking nonsense" was kind of what made his show fun, when it was harmless. Now he spreads misinformation and perpetuates brainrot in young men.
  
  I am in the same boat.
  Joe Rogan was a good interviewer, he is humble and unassuming and gives enough space to the guest to share. If you are into the guest, then you will enjoy it, I really enjoyed his interview on Tarantino and a few others.
  It is also nice when he interviews comedians, since you can see the camaraderie and some of them are really funny, like Chapelle, Burr or CK. It is very interesting to listen to them if they are given space.
  I stopped to listen when it became obvious that he is monetizing or capitalizing all the audience he has gained over the years. He is not a neutral commentator, he is a pundit with an agenda and he is making bank on it. That has degraded the image I had of him to the image I have of people as O'Reilly or the Bow-Tie guy.
  It is a shame but I will not listen to anything from his show on principle.
- I'll always remember this man as the crazed idiot who screamed bloody murder at a zoologist because her findings, research and experience
  I missed that because I keep as little Joe Rogan in my life as possible, who was that? What was she talking about?
  
  I, too, would love to laugh at this 1% fascist-supporting useful idiot.
- I think he was right to yell at her, after all there is plenty of photographic evidence of the Bondo Ape. There is even a video of it actually speaking as of 8/1/25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq4y2vh8TD8&t=2134s
- What's this story about the zoologist?
- I don't listen regularly at all, but I think that's the entire point. He's not well versed or brilliant, and he brings on people that are or have a great story to tell, and he is supposed to bring it out of them. That's all it is, it's a conversation.
  One of my friends that listens regularly once told me that he likes the format, there's a guy with a topic & it's explored but they meander off into side conversations. It feels very natural & isn't forced.
- Before he sold his soul to Spotify for 100m he had a few kinds of guests that were interesting. Fringe stuff like Grant Hancock who's got some real archeology content mixed with some more wild hippity dippity stuff. Bob Lazar and UFOs which mostly stopped after Spotify. Random authors. UFC fighters and comedians(not as many of them now either).
  Joe was a good listener and competent conversationalist when he's interested, like his interviews with Neil Degrass Tyson. Problem is his interests are mostly money now.
  
  Fringe stuff like Grant Hancock who’s got some real archeology content mixed with some more wild hippity dippity stuff.
  Graham Hancock is a complete and utter fraud. He’s so full of shit that if you gave him an enema he’d shrivel to a stick figure.
  That “debate” between him and Flint Dibble is fucking pathetic. Please don’t even suggest that that pseudo archeologist hack is worth any fucking respect.
  
  Yeah, I listened to earlier stuff, the ones you mentioned, even when he had Tom DeLonge on. Hamilton Morris was good. When he has guests on that talk about drugs, and the paranormal, and outer space, or just weird shit, it was interesting, and like him or not he can talk about anything with anyone.
  It's when it comes to the politicking that his agenda is very clear, and whether it's his own agenda or just the money talking, doesn't matter.
  
  He's just a modern Art Bell with protein powder and a lot less entertainment value.

Wait, how is he dethroned? The article states Rogan has more watchers/viewers.
For the record I hate that bald turd.
- They say weekly ranking
  
  You're right. They kind of buried it.
  According to data analyzed by Newsweek using podcast analytics platform Podscribe, the MeidasTouch Podcast was the most downloaded podcast overall between June 7 and July 7.
- maybe someone stole his chair
- I wondered this too. But Rogan is just first in followers. MeidasTouch was first in views. Also, this was only for YouTube, which according to the article is the top podcast service now, which is hard to believe considering WHY podcasts have taken over.
  The data showed MeidasTouch amassed 124 million views in that period, with Rogan scooping the second spot with 39.2 million views.
  I think it helps that MeidasTouch has much MUCH shorter episodes. Like, any of Rogan's 3 hour videos counts as 1 view. Hours watched would probably be different.
  On Spotify, the story is way different too. I guess that makes sense to my other point of why podcasts are popular. It's a lot easier to just listen to an imbecile ramble in the background for 3 hours than to watch it.
  On Spotify, however, Rogan remains king, taking the number one spot, while MeidasTouch secured the 73rd spot on the audio streaming company’s U.S. podcast charts.
- The article links to YouTube statistics for the week ending Jul 28, and during that 7-day period MeidasTouch got more views.
  
  Ahhhh

I don't really care for either, and I'm particularly politically minded and listen to podcasts almost exclusively. They just aren't very interesting or funny, the two things I need in a podcast. What's the appeal, rage?
- Rage seems to win elections.
- recommendations?
  
  You might like The Daily Beans (with Allison Gill and Diana Goldberg)
  I’ve been finding the tone “you’re not alone” tone of anger to be… helpful.
  
  I like Crooked Media's Pod Save the World.
  Sometimes Pod Save America, but thats probably more interesting for someone living in the US. I can't listen to it more than maybe once a month.
  
  I tend to keep the news and such to more straightforward broadcasts like stuff from NPR. Otherwise, I'm quite partial to Citation Needed and their other show God Awful Movies (which is atheist stuff making fun of religious and woo movies).
  And if I'm in a more mindless mood, I've been listening to Comedy Bang Bang lately which has existed since the beginning of time. Improv with guests, basically, which makes it pretty hit or miss depending on how it lands.
  (Also other suggestions are good too. There's so many better options than midas lol)

Cool, but what I dislike about the MeidasTouch is how they seem to prop up the importance of something against Trump when it's usually something that isn't going to make him flinch. They are giving people a false sense of security when people should be realizing that they will need a revolution to get out of fascism.
- Clickbait works. If that's what it takes to get promoted in the algorithm and compete with the right-wing garbage, then so be it. It's better than the right-wing garage being presented unopposed.
  
  That may be the point and reason, but that doesn't eliminate the negative side of it. You won't find me defending clickbait or divisive social network algorithms putting people into their own bubbles, that's what got us into this problem in the first place and it's just going to keep waddling societies from extremes to extremes.
- He doesn't cares about nothing and understands less, so your criticism is that they just don't attack his ego 100% of the time.
- "This Bombshell ruling will be the end of Trump"
  Goes into 12 minute video and then says it likely won't change anything.
  
  "THE WALLS ARE CLOSING IN"
- People need to start somewhere, and sometimes smaller acts of defiance can grow

I’m glad Meidas is surging in popularity but the bros are fucking annoying at times.
- The children (TikTokkers) yearn for annoying podcast hosts
- the eternal struggle, fascists will kill everyone but liberals are sort of annoying, who do i support?
  
  Wow.

JOE ROGAN: the guy (who's opinion I could not care less about) that would RATHER VISIT RUSSIA than CANADA.
- It's "whose" and it looks like you CARE A LOT?
  
  Whomthes?
  
  Whose that now?

Ugh. Rightwing liberals under a veneer of anti establishment
But also, I don't trust these rankings. Downloads of episodes versus streaming on YT versus the app versus follower counts. It's all very apples to oranges.
What I can say positively, is that The Majority Report gets about as many live viewers as Meidas touch an YT, and has for much longer as a genuinely progressive outlet. Likewise, for better or worse, TYT has also been putting up those kinds of numbers for a very long time.
But it is interesting to me to see MT bump JRE. It does say something about a turning tide.

Does anyone remember the simpler times where Phillip de Franco was relevant and TYT was leftist? Sigh. The internet is dying.

Dude is a loser and manipulates his audience for profit instead of running a business to support and/or entertain for good, just like everyone else on that side/way of business.
- Hahaha what rock did you crawl out of that you think people are doing it to educate people.
- Rogan yeah?

Incredibly misleading title and also Who?
- Donald Trump. Maybe you've heard of him?
  
  Isn't that the guy on Epstein's list?
  
  Donald Trump, the guy with Mike a dozen separate lists in the Epstein files and was totally best buds until Epstein poached from his happy ending massage parlor?

Rogan just transitioned because that was his base. He leaned more into the base, knowing he would bank millions. Sean Ryan, I would argue, is even more interesting than Rogan. He admits when wrong and will change his views when presented strong evidence. Like the Gavin Newsome interview he had for example.
Rogan just goes along with the guest, some things might stick like the moon landing was fake. But most of Rogan is just going with the flow.

I just scrolled through the top podcasts in Apples Podcasts app. I didn’t realize the landscape had changed so much. There sure is a bunch of bullshit in the top 50 these days.
I knew a bunch of these were popular on YouTube, but I didn’t realize how that was translating to overall podcast rankings on a separate platform.
Makes me miss the more innocent days of early podcasts. And also clarifies why all my favorite long running podcasts say the advertising market for podcasts isn’t what it use to be.
I don’t see how these three bros lookin like assholes in suits are as popular as they are. The branding makes me suspicious.
- I’ve literally never used podcasts. Am I missing anything? I currently just listen to YouTubers read Reddit stores while I drive.
  
  They're basically the modern version of radio shows and can be nearly anything. A lot of them are just interview or current event shows. Public radio puts out a lot of good news and educational ones. My personal favorites are comedians playing Dungeons & Dragons (The Adventure Zone, Not Another D&D Podcast). They end up being part collaborative storytelling and part improv comedy, with the dice introducing enough chaos to keep it interesting.
  Podcasts are an open standard (they're just an RSS feed with audio files attached), so there's tons of different phone apps that can play them.
  
  Podcasts can be highly personal. Personal taste and all that. In other words, my recommendations probally wouldn’t hit with you. Lots of “two white guys talking” energy. But I’ve listened to them for so long I “know” them well.
  I’d say, try exploring them. Stay away from political ones, and maybe away from ones run by big conglomerates like iHeartRadio.
  Also, in my opinion, while the word podcast means content you can subscribe to via an rss feed. Audio, or video. It has come to include “long form content you could listen to, while ignoring the video part.”

This pod is seems over hyped, it’s not even in top 10 on Apple, while Rogan is usually in top 3.
I get people want a central lefty shoe to counter Rogan and co, but I’m sorry that ecosystem just does not exist
FWIW I don’t like or listen to Rogan.
- Seems like it does exist though. I don't particularly get it, but there is apparently an audience for it. I hope they continue to grow if it pulls "independents" and the conspiratorial right to be a new conspiratorial left, that's not bad on it's face.

77 comments