Last year was widely known as the ‘year of elections’, with more than 60 countries heading to the polls. Yet beyond the sheer volume of electoral activity across the globe, last year’s elections were notable for another reason: the rise of a new medium that played a powerful role in determining voter behaviour. Podcasts. Ok, not a ‘new medium’ per se – podcasts have been around for over a decade. But 2024 was largely seen as the first time that podcasts played a significant role in shaping political discourse. Elon Musk has attributed President Trump’s electoral triumph (at least in part) to the power of podcasts, claiming that his willingness to undergo lengthy interviews with popular podcasters – such as Joe Rogan, the US’ most-listened-to podcaster – made a “big difference” during the campaign trail. Speaking to American commentator Tucker Carlson, Musk said that marathon podcast interviews, covering a wide range of topics, allowed listeners to decide if they liked President Trump or not: “To a reasonable-minded, smart person who’s not like hardcore one way or the other, they just listen to someone talk for a few hours, and that’s how they decide whether you’re a good person.”
Podcast interviews offered listeners a better insight into the candidates ‘as people’ (if not necessarily their policies) than interviews conducted in traditional media. Long-form, nuanced conversations enable an audience to dig deeper into the mindset of candidates, and escape political slogans and soundbites.
The medium also grants politicians direct access to diverse and younger audiences that are often disengaged from political discourse. Let’s look at some numbers. It is said that 100 million Americans listen to at least one podcast each week, accounting for 34% of Americans aged 12+.1 The average age of a podcast listener is 34, which is younger than broadcast radio (47) and network television (57).2 And what’s more, podcasts are on the rise, with 546.7 million listeners worldwide in 2024, up 7.85% year-on-year. This number is forecast to hit 651.7 million by 2027.3
As a publishing house, we have been harnessing the power of podcasts with our Palladian Energy Podcast for some time. However, I’m pleased to announce that we have recently launched the Hydrocarbon Engineering Podcast, which is dedicated to bringing you insightful interviews with leading experts from across the downstream oil refining, gas processing, and petrochemicals sector. And while we can’t promise freewheeling, three-hour conversations touching upon UFC and extraterrestrial life (à la Trump and Rogan), we will delve into the topics that matter to you and your business. For example, we recently sat down with Alan Gelder, Vice President of Refining, Chemical and Oil Markets at Wood Mackenzie, to review how the downstream sector fared in 2024 and look ahead to what may lie in store in the year ahead. You can listen (and subscribe) to the Hydrocarbon Engineering Podcast wherever you usually get your podcasts, or by scanning the QR code.
