“Yet the role of podcasts in the information ecosystem has gone largely unexamined. While alt-right figures have been increasingly chased off Facebook and Twitter, podcasting is shaping up as the next arena where the fight over questionable or dangerous content will play out. However, the problem of how to moderate audio content is proving thorny.
If there is a centre to the fight over podcast moderation, it is The Joe Rogan Experience. Spotify signed the popular podcast, hosted by a former UFC commentator and comedian, in an exclusive deal this year.
Before he joined Spotify, Rogan interviewed far-right figures such as Stefan Molyneux and Milo Yiannopoulos – who have been banned from YouTube and Facebook respectively for hate speech – and arguably gave others a big break.
But better and more moderation is only a partial answer to a more difficult question. The appeal of Bannon’s podcast to Amelia’s father arises not only out of his politics, she says, but a loss of trust in public officials and media, and above all, the isolation.
The informality and intimacy of his preferred shows are both their appeal and danger – the way they talk right to you, tell you what you want to hear.”
