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Making Political Impact through Podcasts

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Introduction

From feminist podcasts in Serbia challenging gender norms, to diasporic communities in Germany and France using audio storytelling to preserve memory and resist erasure, to mutual aid networks in Greece sharing practical knowledge and solidarity stories—podcasts today are being used to build shared narratives across fragmented movements.

They are shaping public discourse, building political community, and shifting culture.

Four reasons to consider podcasts as a political tool:

  1. Reach audiences traditional media often misses: Especially younger, disengaged, or digitally-native communities who are tuned out of legacy platforms.
  2. Build authenticity and trust: Podcasts create a direct, intimate space. The informal tone of voice makes room for human connection, vulnerability, and solidarity.
  3. Allow space for complexity, nuance, and deeper storytelling: Unlike quick social clips, podcasts let you slow down and explain, reflect, and engage with challenging ideas.
  4. Give movements and campaigns control over their message: You decide what gets said, how, and by whom. It’s an uncensored channel to speak in your own voice while claiming space in media.

Two Ways to use Podcasting

There are actually two powerful ways to use podcasting to advance your mission:

1. Going on Others’ Podcast

If you don’t have the resources or time to produce your own podcast, that doesn’t mean you can’t still use the podcasting ecosystem to build political impact. One highly effective—and underused—strategy is to go on existing podcasts as a guest or pitch stories for them to feature.

This approach allows you to:

  • Reach engaged and already-established audiences
  • Save time and money on production and editing
  • Raise awareness for your cause, campaign, or organisation

​​Here’s how to do it:

  • Make a list of relevant political, social, or issue-focused podcasts
  • Think about podcasts that have previously covered topics similar to your work
  • Identify the format, style, and tone of each show—this helps you tailor your pitch
  • Pitch compelling stories, campaign updates, or credible spokespeople as guests
  • You don’t have to be featured yourself—just getting your issue discussed is a win

If you work in the EU context, you can start with the podcasts below:


But if you operate on a national or local level, prepare a tailored list of country-specific or issue-specific shows, just as you would for traditional written press outreach.

Treat podcast hosts like journalists. Send them short but sharp pitches. Link to your campaign, and explain why their audience will care. Make it easy for them to say yes.

Don’t forget:

  • Prepare your spokespeople. Make sure they’re briefed with clarity on the audience and the kind of conversation to expect.
  • Help them shape their stories in a way that aligns with your messaging principles. They should be authentic, emotionally engaging, and relatable.

Getting featured on the right podcast can be just as impactful as a written media article—if not more. Many listeners feel deep trust in their favorite hosts, which creates a strong bond between the issue and the audience.

2. Creating your own Podcast

Producing your own podcast is more work—but it offers unmatched potential. You get to shape the story from the ground up and maintain full control over your messaging, tone, and structure.

Creating your own podcast allows you to:

  • Shape your narrative from the ground up
  • Build a loyal community over time
  • Drive consistent engagement and meaningful calls to action
  • Claim visibility in a crowded media space with your unique perspective and analysis

Before you begin, consider these four core principles to guide your podcast design:

  • Fill a gap in the field
    Offer what’s missing in the current media or activist landscape. What stories aren’t being told? Whose perspectives aren’t being heard?
  • Tell authentic stories
    Focus on lived experience, emotional connection, and real-world relevance. Speak about what you care about—or elevate perspectives that do.
  • Be consistent
    Establish a rhythm. Publish on a regular schedule and maintain a recognisable sound and visual identity. Consistency builds trust and anticipation.
  • Design with your audience in mind
    Choose a format, structure, and content that your audience wants and needs. What platforms are they on? What formats do they consume?

Also:

  • Make distribution strategic
    Don’t just publish—share your podcast where your audience already spends time. That might be YouTube, Spotify, newsletters, or niche community platforms.

Ultimately, your podcast should fill a real demand. It should offer your target audience something useful, empowering, and engaging. Ask yourself:

  • What are they hungry for that no one else is delivering?
  • How can you become their trusted source, guide, or companion in that?

Your podcast becomes a political tool when it aligns meaningful content with strategic design. Done right, it’s not just a podcast—it’s part of your organising infrastructure.

Steps

Step 1 – Define your Mission

What are you trying to accomplish with this podcast?

Your podcast needs a clear purpose. It’s your anchor—the reason the podcast exists and what impact you hope to have. A well-defined mission will help guide every decision you make: from episode topics to your call to action, tone of voice, and even the guests you invite.

Some example goals include:

  • Put a topic or story on people’s radar that isn’t getting attention
  • Make noise around an issue and increase public awareness
  • Spark curiosity and deeper interest in a political or social issue
  • Build a loyal community that engages regularly with your content
  • Mobilise a community to respond to calls to action—sign a petition, attend an event, support a campaign
  • Create a platform for underrepresented expertise and perspectives that are often overlooked in traditional media

Having a mission doesn’t mean your podcast must be rigid—it just helps you stay focused, especially in a crowded media environment. When you know your purpose, it becomes easier to measure success and build an audience that aligns with your values and vision.

Your mission should shape:

  • Who your audience is
  • The topics you cover
  • Your format and frequency
  • Your messaging and promotion strategy

Treat your mission as a compass. Return to it whenever you’re unsure about how to move forward.

Step 2 – Know and Understand your Audience

To be able to create a podcast that truly resonates, you need to know clearly and specifically who you’re creating it for. Your target audience will shape everything—your tone, your stories, your language, even your promotion strategy.

Start by asking yourself these three questions:

  • Who will this podcast benefit the most?
  • Who would be most interested in this podcast?
  • Who do I want to reach out to through this podcast?

Once you’ve answered those, define your audience more concretely:

  • What age group do they fall into?
  • Where are they located (locally, nationally, regionally)?
  • What are their values or political leanings?
  • What platforms do they use to consume media?
  • What type of storytelling formats do they prefer?

This clarity will not only help guide your episode planning and style—it will also help you connect with them more meaningfully. Every decision you make, from the kinds of guests you feature to the channels you publish on, should reflect the needs and preferences of your chosen audience.

Step 3 – Choose a Format that Fits

Your podcast format is important—not just for planning and production, but also for how your audience connects with the content. Choose your format by asking yourself the following:

  • What would be most interesting for my audience?
  • What would fit the topic best?
  • What would be more original?
  • What would be more striking or unexpected?
  • What am I more comfortable with hosting or producing?

Here are some common format options:

  • Interview
    Conversations with experts, activists, or people with lived experience
  • Co-host
    Two or more hosts discussing, debating, or analysing topics
  • Solo
    A single voice guiding the audience through commentary, monologues, or storytelling
  • Panel
    Multiple guests discussing from different angles, often with a host moderating
  • Theater/Fictional Drama
    Narrative storytelling using voice acting and soundscapes
  • Narrative/Documentary
    Edited, journalistic formats often combining narration, clips, and interviews

Most podcasts today use either the interview or co-host model. These are familiar to audiences, but they’re also highly competitive. If you choose one of these, think about what makes yours stand out—such as your unique guest list, your tone, your visual identity, or a surprising framing.

You might also add creative twists to stand out: record in the field, use consistent thematic music, or structure episodes around immersive storytelling moments (e.g., sounds from a protest, or on-location dialogue).

Length

Research what length your audience prefers. Since the pandemic, there’s been a fragmentation in listening habits. Previously, most listeners preferred episodes between 30 and 40 minutes. 

But now, listeners tend to fall into two camps:

  • Short-form fans: They prefer 15–20 minute podcasts, often tightly edited and scripted
  • Long-form listeners: They enjoy 60–90 minute episodes, often unedited, relaxed, and conversational.

Decide based on your audience’s preferences and the kind of story you want to tell.

Frequency

This depends on your audience, content type, and team capacity. As a general rule:

  • The maximum gap between episodes should be one month.
  • Shorter podcasts should be published more frequently, as they’re easier to digest and keep the audience engaged.
  • Weekly is ideal if you can manage it—it builds loyalty and habit among listeners.

Whatever you choose, stay consistent. Consistency is not only good for your audience—it also helps you get discovered.

Podcast apps like Spotify and Apple Podcasts reward frequent, regular publishing in their algorithms.

Step 4 – Pick Topics and Angles that Resonate

Recent research from the Reuters Institute shows that audiences are increasingly tuning out of news and political media. There are three key reasons for this disengagement, and each opens an opportunity for more effective, engaging political podcasting.

Step 5 – Use Storytelling that Connects

In an age of so much online noise and AI-produced content, what audiences crave is realness.

As audiences are tired of emotionally detached, abstract reporting, they’re gravitating toward content that feels emotionally grounded, human, and clear. Podcasts allow you to connect—not just inform.

So, your storytelling should be:

  • Authentic
    Speak from lived experience—or invite in voices who can. If it’s not your story, don’t claim it. Instead, create space for those directly affected to speak in their own words. Real connection comes when people feel your words are rooted in truth.
  • Personal and passionate 
    People can tell when you care. Passion is contagious. If you’re disconnected from the topic, it’ll feel flat. But when you speak with energy and genuine interest—even about something niche—your audience will be drawn in by your emotional investment. Your enthusiasm becomes the listener’s curiosity.
  • Human interest-driven 
    Start with a person, not a policy. Use lived stories, memories, moments. Don’t open with abstract stats—start with a voice, a name, a feeling. This makes your content emotionally engaging and grounded. It gives your audience a way in.
  • Relatable 
    Use examples your audience can see themselves in. Reach for metaphors, analogies, and shared experiences. Bring in humor, family stories, the smell of a protest, the sound of a kitchen. Ground your politics in everyday life—because that’s where change begins.
  • Bold 
    Clarity is powerful. So is courage. Say what you mean. Take a position. Name injustice. Ask uncomfortable questions. In a landscape flooded with cautious PR and vague statements, bold storytelling stands out and resonates more deeply.
  • Culturally grounded 
    Speak in a language your audience already trusts. That might mean humor, slang, pop culture, or political context. Know your references. Use your community’s tone. Avoid academic or bureaucratic language unless that’s what your audience actually speaks.
  • Consistent 
    Your tone should feel stable and familiar. If you’re known for warmth and emotion, don’t suddenly go cold and technical. Let your audience know what to expect—and deliver on it.

Step 6 – Structure Each Episode with Intention

Each episode should have:

  • Intro
    This is the first thing the audience hears. This is when they decide whether they will listen to the whole episode. So, hook listeners early. Use a quote or clip, or a striking fact that immediately grabs attention. Then introduce the episode’s stakes and relevance. Why the topic is important, why the person you’re interviewing is THE person to talk to, etc. 
  • Conversation or main story
    Keep it engaging and rich. Hit emotional beats. Add humor, tension, and clarity. Bring the story to life.
  • Outro
    This is what your audience hears last. So, use the outro wisely and end strong. Reiterate the key message in 1–2 sentences. Add a clear call to action. If possible, tease the next episode to create anticipation.

​And Finally…

Try, test, observe. Ask your audience what’s working and what’s not. Adapt as you go.

Many podcasts start and finish after a few episodes. This is a long game. Podcasting builds power slowly. But it’s a powerful medium for sustained, meaningful political impact.

Start small, stay bold, and grow with your audience. You’ve got this.

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