Step aside Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow, there’s a new way to consume political commentary… and it involves your ears. 

For those who have never trekked into the enlightening world of podcasts, let me explain what they are: A podcast is an audio recording of spoken word content that usually has episodic installments. Podcasts take many different shapes and forms; some are investigative, documentary-style works, while others are comedy sketches reduced to an audio form.

Political podcasts are a way to enjoy long-form political thought while remaining efficient throughout the day. Unlike traditional TV or print political commentary, there is no need to engage visually with the content. Podcasts streamline new ideas and discussions straight through a robust pair of headphones or some speakers into listeners’ ears all around the globe. This means you can enjoy anything from the news of the day to long form political theory while on the go – on your commute for example. 

These enlightening ear excursions are on the rise for good reason. Podcasts depart from popular TV punditry by allowing for nuanced conversations that dive deep into the challenges facing America. Rather than the same talking points being regurgitated in a 30-second window, podcasts deliver the opportunity for listeners to engage with meaningful political philosophy. 

Take for example a leader in the podcast world, Joe Rogan. Though his podcast isn’t solely dedicated to politics, he often has political figures and guests for interviews. In this recent election season, he interviewed three Democratic Presidential candidates: Tulsi Gabbard, Andrew Yang, and Bernie Sanders. Rather than the usual minute long spiel they were used to giving on the debate stage, the candidates had the opportunity to flesh out the nuances of their policy positions. In the conversations that lasted up to two and a half hours, Joe and his guests covered a plethora of topics at a depth unachievable through other forms of media.