The political landscape has shifted dramatically in the very recent past. It is heavily influenced not just by campaign rallies or television spots, but by the rising power of alternative media platforms like the podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.
Rogan’s podcast has a massive reach and a unique style. Recently, it has started to give political figures a new stage to connect deeply with millions of audiences. The Trump interview on YouTube alone has accumulated over 45 million views in less than 10 days since its release.
The podcast’s impact allows comparisons to how Barack Obama harnessed social media during his candidacy. However, Rogan’s show’s influence has evolved beyond the reach of even traditional platforms, and it can very well be argued that this has positioned him as the “kingmaker” in U.S. politics.
Power of Long-Form Conversations and How They Help Shape Public Opinion
Unlike social media’s short, often polarizing messages, Rogan’s long-form interviews allow listeners to learn about a fuller, more nuanced side of political figures allowing voters an insight into the personas of their (potential) representatives.
During his interviews with Donald Trump and JD Vance, Rogan gave them very much space to discuss not only policy, but vision, and even very controversial topics such as abortion, free from the rapid-fire format of today’s TV or radio news. This allows leaders to present themselves in a more authentic way, and less scrutinizing environment.
This new style of communication provides strategic implications for defense and government leaders, as long-form media allows politicians to establish authenticity and trust, essential for both domestic and international influence.
Podcasts, as a platform are not merely about information and entertainment, but shape perceptions, allowing ideas to resonate on a deep level, a point relevant for understanding influence campaigns abroad or fostering national support domestically.
Reach and Metrics: Rogan vs. Traditional Media
Rogan’s podcast reaches an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, which dwarfs traditional media outlets with cable networks like CNN averaging well under a million viewers… even at primetime. This metric shows just how outpaced mainstream media has become. Beyond the podcast’s platform, Rogan’s influence extends across a plethora of social media platforms, where clips and quotes are shared millions of times, allowing his show to gain even further traction.
Especially among younger and politically diverse listeners, this broad reach is a testament to Rogan’s appeal as a counter-culture figure.
It’s also important for military and diplomatic strategists should note: that reaching this audience through unconventional means may be crucial for shaping public opinion. Any other country could leverage independent media personalities to influence hard-to-reach demographics.
Counter-Culture and Masculinity Themes
Rogan’s platform hits cultural currents that mainstream media often overlooks. There’s an appeal in his focus on values like resilience, strength, and independence, resonating with a demographic that values “tough talk” over political correctness. This tone has helped Rogan’s show attract an audience that feels disregarded by traditional media’s very filtered and diluted narratives, including groups who feel underserved by traditional messaging and don’t care about wokeness.
Especially for defense leaders, these themes can be very powerful when harnessed appropriately as they align with ideas of patriotism, loyalty, and discipline… And these values are core to military culture.
Understanding Rogan’s appeal provides insight into how alternative media takes advantage of these values, whether to strengthen support or counter domestic and international challenges to them.
The Risks of Unfiltered Platforms
One of the unique traits of Rogan’s platform is its lack of gatekeeping. Rogan interviews who he wants when he wants.
Without the checks performed by legacy media, unfiltered platforms come with clear risks: misinformation and ideological echo chambers. Even though Rogan’s assistant, Jamie, is known to fact-check during every episode, the conversational style means not every statement is as closely examined, and misinformation occasionally slips through. Due to Rogan’s unique setup though, this happens much less than in other podcast mediums. To be fair: the quality of journalistic research in traditional media has reduced as well.
For military and intelligence services, these risks could be significant and are worth mentioning because misinformation or unvetted claims can create new fronts in information warfare, where the ability to verify and control narratives becomes almost impossible.
Rogan’s influence showcases the power unfiltered channels can achieve, highlighting the need for effective counter-messaging and rapid response tactics.
Global Implications and Defence Considerations
Rogan’s successful interviews of Trump and Vance reveal broader lessons that may very well play a significant role in reshaping political and military strategies beyond the U.S.:
- Personal Connection vs. Mass Appeal: Rogan’s show demonstrates the power of targeted, in-depth, individual engagement overbroad, shallow outreach tactics traditional media has evolved to. Adapted globally, this could help leaders connect more personally with (niche) audiences who value unfiltered, long-form content.
- Taking advantage of Long-Form Content: For countries where trust in the media is low, alternative media like podcasts and/or long-form videos can provide a more authentic avenue of communication, potentially improving public trust in government narratives.
- Transparency vs. Discipline: Rogan’s approach illustrates the tightrope walk between transparency and message discipline. Military and government leaders can benefit from adopting elements of this unique model while mitigating risks by implementing fact-checking protocols and accountability measures.
- Global Adaptation of Alternative Media: From Eastern Europe to Southeast Asia, similar alternative media figures are emerging, and they are on their way to becoming key players in influencing public opinion. Whether for recruitment, ideological influence, or policy support, nations may look to Rogan’s model as a blueprint.
Conclusion: A New Frontier for Defence and Diplomacy
The rise of Joe Rogan as a “kingmaker” in U.S. politics is more than just a media trend; it’s a shift in how political and strategic influence are employed.
Offering a platform where politicians can engage in unscripted, authentic dialogue, particularly Rogan’s show has shown that alternative media can shape the public’s perception as effectively as the legacy media ever has been able to. For defense and government leaders, understanding and adapting to this shift is quintessential.
As we look toward future campaigns, Rogan’s interviews of Trump and Vance offer critical lessons in the power of authenticity, the reach of alternative media, and the need for disciplined yet engaging communication strategies.
Whether in shaping public sentiment, countering disinformation, or understanding adversarial influence, the insights of Rogan’s interviews with Donald Trump and his VP candidate JD Vance will likely be relevant in defense and diplomacy for years to come.
Lars Hilse
Lars G. A. Hilse is an independent political/corporate advisor, and expert/witness in information security with a focus on the risks of cyber terrorism, and cyber warfare, and their impact on the security of critical, national/global infrastructurewith degrees in electrical engineering, and finance.
He maintains close cooperations withmilitary, law enforcement, and the intelligence community, and actively contributes to some of the most difficult, and notable cybercrime investigations.
He acts as a cyber-crisis-manager, and through his vast network is able to deploy highly specialised cyber-incident-response teams globally at breathtaking speeds.
In his capacity as an information security consultant he performs state-of-the-art risk assessments & mitigation directives, crisis response protocols, and establishes cyber security maturity models.
Among his other talents are intelligence gathering, accessing fortified infrastructure/networks, forensics, all with a focus on social engineering and other unorthodox access methods.
Since his first exposure to the internet at age 13, Hilse has constantly broadened his skillset in cybersecurity, focussing on cyber crime, cyber terrorism, and cyber defence.
Due to his precise foresight of all developments in the digital realm for over 25 years, he is repeatedly referred to as a global thought leader in cyber security, and digital strategy.
Hilse has privately funded research in cybersecurity worth over USD $1.000.000 since 2011. Some of the results hereof were the Advanced Cybersecurity Risk Assessment Checklist (ACRAC), and the advancement of several information security maturity models, and numerous papers and books (see below).
He acts as a political advisor among others to the European Parliament, proposing highly individualised, complex, multi-phase approaches in which a threat-landscape is established, risks identified thereien are mitigated, after which a (legislative) framework will reduce the potential fallout of cyberattacks.
