Political podcasting is the hottest career right now: with MPs, journalists, and comedians netting multimillion-dollar deals and sell-out shows
The 2024 general election was a watershed moment for political podcasting in the UK.
Once a tiny sliver of the mainstream media, political podcasts are now coming of age. They’ve spurred best-selling book launches, sold-out shows, and, for the first time, broken into mainstream television, putting new media stars at the forefront of one of the biggest media moments of the year.
Many of the country’s new political broadcasters have become key players in the campaign, relaunching their careers and cementing their status as businesspeople in their own right.
Former senior politicians such as Alistair Campbell, Rory Stewart, Ed Balls, George Osborne and other former BBC talent have pioneered election coverage on the country’s major TV networks, paving the way for a new world of podcasting that challenges the mainstream media.
The rest is politics.
At first glance, the duo of former Conservative cabinet minister Rory Stewart and Tony Blair’s Labour Party communications chief Alistair Campbell may seem an odd pairing, but in just two years their show has blossomed into the UK’s most popular political podcast.
HENRY NICHOLS/AFP via Getty Images
The rest is politics. The book reveals the secrets of Westminster, and in their own words offers “…an insider’s view of politics at home and abroad, while reclaiming the lost art of playful disagreement.” In January 2023, the duo added: Leadership, A weekly series of interviews with some of the biggest names in politics.
In April 2024, the podcast expanded across the Atlantic, launching The rest is American politics. Which created another unlikely duo with political heavyweights Anthony Scaramucci (former White House press secretary to Donald Trump) and Katty Kay (former BBC World News anchor).
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Stewart and Campbell’s work is published by Goalhanger Podcast, now one of the UK’s largest independent podcast networks with up to 17.5 million downloads per month.
Founded by football pundit and former England footballer Gary Linekar, Goalhanger has developed a slate of successful podcasts including The rest is football., The Empire, Today’s match is for the top 10.
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Financial information about Goalhanger is limited, but company accounts The data showed that her “current assets” more than tripled to £842,936 ($1.08 million) last year.
20000
Number of live shows sold.
The company’s revenue-sharing model means that when podcasters win, Goalhanger wins too. That makes Stewart and Campbell one of the company’s most valuable assets.
The rest is politics. It has grown into a major media franchise in its own right, boasting premium memberships and live shows across the UK, selling out large arenas such as London’s 20,000-seat O2 Arena.
Both Stewart and Campbell rebooted their careers, which spanned Best Selling Books Offers and presenting concerts, including coveted slots on Channel 4’s nightly television coverage of the 2024 General Election, marking a significant move from new media to mass media television.
Unsurprisingly, revenue from advertising, subscriptions and live performances such as their O2 performances also help boost the couple’s bank accounts. Speaking to The Times of London Last year, Stewart said: “It’s extraordinary. It’s a good amount of money. I would say it’s a lot of money for a Championship player.” Championship players, who play in the second tier of English football, routinely earn thousands of pounds a month.
News Agents
Join Stewart and Campbell on Channel 4 for UK election night coverage with Emily Maitlis, one of the BBC’s biggest stars, best known for her 2019 interview with Prince Andrew, the disgraced Duke of York linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
Maitlis is now known as a third News Agents, arch rival of The rest is politics. Which has continued to compete at the top of the charts since the podcast launched in August 2022.
News Agents The show features two other heavyweight presenters alongside Maitlis, including her former BBC Newsnight colleague Louis Goodall and BBC News North America correspondent Jon Sopel. It is being syndicated by radio and advertising giant Global, and the acquisition of some of the BBC’s biggest talent at the time of launch was a significant milestone in the meteoric rise of podcasting in the UK.
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Freed from the strict restrictions imposed by the BBC, News Agents The show quickly gained popularity by allowing first-time listeners to hear what veteran journalists Maitlis, Goodall and Sobel really thought. Publishing episodes every weekday, the show has been a commercial success since its launch, attracting launch sponsorship from BT and The deal was recently extended with HSBC UK..
Reflection of their arch-rival The rest is politics. In June 2023, former BBC North America Editor Jon Sobel and Emily Maitlis launched a weekly spin-off called News agencies in the United States of America. The sub-series gained international attention after an audio recording of an argument with republican Marjorie Taylor Greene went viral, with Maitlis calling her a “conspiracy theorist” and saying “why don’t you go to hell, what about that?” In a typically British response, Maitlis replied “Thank you, thank you very much.”
Full disclosure
Award-winning presenter and best-selling author James O’Brien has radio roots from BBC Newsnight, and has become one of the most respected political presenters on British radio.
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LBC Radio (part of the Global Media Group, which also publishes (News agents) It has been his permanent home since 2004, where he has gained a reputation as one of Britain’s toughest debaters and a vocal critic of Brexit. O’Brien is known as a divisive figure in politics, and has been described as a “liberal firebrand” and “boring and dogmatic”.
4,000,000
The number of viewers who watch O’Brien’s ramblings.
His team has skillfully used social video on platforms including Twitter (X), Facebook and YouTube, to amplify his epic delusionswhich sometimes lasted for more than 10 minutes. It reached 4 million views.LBC has rejected three podcasts from its on-air radio programmes, including James O’Brien, The Complete Show, The James O’Brien Mystery Hour, and The Best of James O’Brien.
In March 2019, O’Brien launched Full disclosure To the world of podcasting, Featuring hour-long interviews with leaders from the worlds of politics, entertainment, and NewsThe long-form, in-depth format has become a notable success and a contrast to a media world dominated by short audio clips and social media videos.
(Full Disclosure with James O’Brien) Bonus Episode – #WorldPodcastDay #FullDisclosure with James O’Brien https://t.co/yyOFOUu0EW via @addict podcast pic.twitter.com/uD5uFlSDQP
— John Reynolds ⚒️ (@JJMReynolds) September 30, 2019
Global bet on podcasting with big names like James O’Brien and News Agents It helped it become a billion-dollar company. Sales last year exceeded £806 million ($1.03 billion), Company accounts showWhich helped it achieve a net profit of 138 million pounds ($176 million).
political currency
Continuing the previous topic about unlikely pairs, political currency The book brings together former Labour minister Ed Balls and former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne for a fascinating look into the dark worlds of politics and economics.
🎙️A new episode of the political currency…
🥊 Should Starmer have ‘gone for the jugular’?
😳 Are Labour’s tax promises turning into tax cheating?
🗡️ Did Starmer use Corbyn to become leader?🎧 Listen: https://t.co/9qA6ffpP8h pic.twitter.com/OIMvieddPo
— Political Currency (@polcurrency) June 27, 2024
The show is produced by Persophonica, the production company behind the competing show. News agencies and Dua Lipa: At your service, One of the world’s most listened to entertainment podcasts.
2023
The year the “political currency” was launched.
Described as former “frenemies”, Osbourne and Bowles launched the podcast in September 2023, quickly rising to the top of the podcast charts across the UK at the time of launch, One writer joked who political currency It has a sarcastic name, “The Resource That These Men Have Spent All Their Energy On.”
Hosts:
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Osborne and Bowles may have had the last laugh, as did their rivals Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell. The rest is politics. Emily Maitlis from News agents, The duo have made a major media breakthrough in this election, both appearing as co-hosts on ITV News’ coverage of the 2024 election.
Political party
Launched in 2013 by impressionist and writer Matt Ford, Political party It is one of the most popular political podcasts in Britain.
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Like her competitor The rest is politics. Ford’s podcast venture has evolved into a serious media business in its own right, with live recordings selling out in theaters months in advance. So far, the series has featured 70 sold-out shows over the past seven years.
The show has a unique format, combining political satire and comedic impressions alongside in-depth interviews with some of the biggest names in politics, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who is now Meta’s Head of Global Affairs.
70
The number of shows sold by the chain.
Known as one of Britain’s best impersonators, Ford is known for his ability to make his guests on the show laugh with his hilarious and realistic impersonations of well-known figures including former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former President Donald Trump.
In the run-up to the 2024 general election, Ford has embarked on an ambitious project to interview candidates from as many of the UK’s 650 constituencies as possible. At the time of writing, Ford has interviewed a total of 133 candidates across 24 episodes during the campaign, providing an insight into behind-the-scenes campaigning across the country.
“I will find a way to get to 650 points. I think I will interview every member of parliament before the next election and give myself more time,” he said in his last episode before the July 4 election.
