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Pod Save America
Presentation
Hosted by
Genre
Political

progressive talk radio

LanguageEnglish
UpdatesThrice weekly (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday)
Length41–96 minutes
Publication
Original releaseJanuary 2017 (2017-01)
ProviderCrooked Media
Related
Related showsPod Save the World
WebsiteOfficial

Pod Save America is an American progressive[1][2] political podcast developed and distributed by Crooked Media.[3][4][5] The podcast debuted in January 2017 and airs three times per week, hosted by a rotating cast of former Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer.[6][7][8]

It is the flagship podcast of Crooked Media, a media company founded by Favreau, Vietor, and Lovett.[9] The show averages more than 1.5 million listeners an episode, and has been downloaded more than 120 million times as of November 2017.[10]

Four Pod Save America one-hour HBO TV specials aired in fall 2018 to cover the U.S. midterm elections.[11][12] Crooked Media also films the podcasts and releases them on their YouTube channel.[13]

History

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The podcast debuted in January 2017 as a successor to Keepin' it 1600, a political podcast produced by Bill Simmons' The Ringer and hosted by Favreau, Vietor, Lovett, and Pfeiffer which ran from March to December 2016. Pod Save America maintained the basic format of its predecessor.[14]

In an interview with Recode's Kara Swisher, the hosts have stated that, rather than continue the previous podcast, the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States spurred them to create a progressive media company with a network of podcasts.[15] They also wanted to be able to have the freedom to do more activism.[16] A goal is to inform their millions of fans and viewers that trust them as a reliable source.[15]

In the fall of 2017, Crooked Media took the podcast on its first live tour, Pod Tours America. Live shows were recorded and released as podcasts.[17] An international tour, Pod Tours the World, was announced for 2018, with live shows in Stockholm, Oslo, Amsterdam, and London.[18]

Content

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The podcast typically covers recent news items relating to politics, including the Trump administration, the US government and the Democratic Party, as well as center-left grassroots activism.[19]

The show typically features interviews with politicians, activists and journalists, including Obama's last interview as president.[20]

Favreau, Vietor, and guest Seth Meyers at a live taping at Radio City Music Hall

Reception

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The show averages more than 1.5 million listeners an episode, and had been downloaded more than 120 million times by November 2017.[10]

The New York Times described the podcast as "one of the big breakout hits of the nascent resistance movement",[7] and "the left's answer to conservative talk radio... with a shoestring budget and no organizational backing, its hosts seem to have created something that liberals have spent almost two decades, and hundreds of millions of dollars, futilely searching for".[10]

The San Francisco Chronicle called it "one of the nation's most popular podcasts".[21] GQ called it one of the "most popular strategies for coping with the looming death of the republic".[22]

Newsweek wrote that the show's hosts "do something far more rare [than political analysis], which is to make politics entertaining and even fun, without ever downplaying what they see as the threat posed to American democracy by the man elected to defend it."[23]

The show ranked #19 in the US in Q2 of 2024.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (January 15, 2021). "After the Resistance, What's Next for the Crooked Media Podcasting Empire?". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  2. ^ Kilkenny, Katie (August 9, 2024). "After Walkout, Crooked Media Union Reaches Tentative Deal With 'Pod Save America' Company". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  3. ^ Stuart, Gwynedd (August 14, 2019). "Pod Save America Has Moved Political Discourse to the Left...Coast". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  4. ^ Pierce, Scott D. (July 12, 2019). "Obama-inspired 'Pod Save America' hosts can't wait to visit deep-red Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  5. ^ Luning, Ernest (July 15, 2019). "Tommy Vietor talks 'Pod Save America,' 2020 political landscape ahead of podcast's Denver show". Colorado Politics. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  6. ^ Gillies, Craille Maguire (January 18, 2017). "Pod save America: 12 podcasts to get you through the Trump presidency". The Guardian.
  7. ^ a b Rutenberg, Jim (March 20, 2017). "Opposition and a Shave: Former Obama Aides Counter Trump". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  8. ^ Willis, Jay (April 6, 2017). "The Pod Save America Guys Have Some Ideas About What President Obama Should Do Next". GQ. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  9. ^ Wilstein, Matt (January 9, 2017). "The 'Keepin' It 1600' Guys Launch Crooked Media to Counter Trump". The Daily Beast. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  10. ^ a b c Zengerle, Jason (November 22, 2017). "The Voices in Blue America's Head". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  11. ^ "- HBO Announces Pod Save America Podcast Specials". HBO.
  12. ^ O'Connell, Mikey (February 8, 2018). "'Pod Save America' Getting HBO Treatment With Election Specials". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  13. ^ Ugwu, Reggie (April 26, 2024). "With YouTube Booming, Podcast Creators Get Camera-Ready". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  14. ^ O'Connell, Mikey. "'Keeping It 1600' Podcast's Obama Alums Launch New Show and 'Crooked Media' Company". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Farnsworth, Meghann (March 14, 2017). "How to watch Kara Swisher's SXSW interview with the founders of Crooked Media". Vox. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  16. ^ Johnson, Eric (March 15, 2017). "Crooked Media's founders aren't paying themselves anything". Vox. Retrieved August 21, 2024.
  17. ^ "Pod Save America announces nationwide tour". Consequence of Sound. August 16, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  18. ^ "Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It are coming to London in January, here's how to get tickets". The List. December 1, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  19. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (March 19, 2017). "The week in radio: Pod Save America; The Long View". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  20. ^ Verdier, Hannah (January 26, 2017). "Pod Save America – the podcast that won Obama's last interview". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  21. ^ Garofoli, Joe (December 9, 2017). "'Pod Save America' about to take its next step". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  22. ^ Willis, Jay (April 6, 2017). "The 'Pod Save America' Guys Gave Donald Trump His Best, Weirdest Nickname Yet". GQ. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  23. ^ Nazaryan, Alexander (March 26, 2017). "How the Crooked Media trio is taking on Donald Trump with "Pod Save America"". Newsweek. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  24. ^ "The Top 50 Podcasts in the U.S. for Q2 2024". Edison Research. August 12, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
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