The “Trump bump” during President Donald Trump’s first term in office referred to the jump in ratings news outlets enjoyed. With his inauguration just days away, the second term may mean a jump in downloads for news and talk podcasts after the medium played its biggest role yet during the election season. Some producers are expecting a bump in interest and are launching new shows.
Premiere Networks has launched The 47 Morning Update hosted by conservative talk radio host and podcaster Ben Ferguson. The 12- to 15-minute program debuted Monday (Jan. 20), the day Trump was sworn in as the 47th President.
“I’m excited to launch this short-form podcast, taking listeners behind the scenes of the Trump administration to tackle the biggest stories the media won’t cover,” Ferguson said in the announcement. “The 47 Morning Update will deliver unfiltered insights, exclusive interviews, and honest commentary on the issues shaping America today, straight from President Trump’s Oval Office.”
New episodes of The 47 Morning Update will be available Monday through Saturday, with a weekly recap on Saturdays. It is in addition to The Ben Ferguson Podcast, which he releases daily.
“We’re thrilled to present this short-form podcast hosted by Ben Ferguson,” added Julie Talbott, President of Premiere Networks. We are confident that Ben’s fresh and vibrant style of entertainment will offer audiences a crucial means to stay informed and engaged in the national conversation.”
Elsewhere, Bloomberg is launching a new weekly podcast series Trumponomics on Wednesday (Jan. 15). The series is hosted by Stephanie Flanders, Bloomberg’s Head of Economics and Politics, who will be joined each week by her colleagues in Washington D.C, Wall Street and beyond to discuss the impact of the Trump administration’s economic policies and plans on the global economy. It will be a weekly roundtable series that will look at the impact and significance of the new administration’s policies on the worlds of finance, business, and regulation. Some of the topics to be discussed in the series include tariffs, crypto, deregulation, tax cuts, protectionism and trade.
Some of the new shows are even coming from overseas. The UK’s Daily Mail has just debuted its first US-focused podcast with the launch of Welcome to MAGALand: Inside Trump’s Second 100 Days. Hosted by the Mail’s Washington Editor, Kelly Laco, and NY-based Chief US Reporter, Germania Rodriguez, the show will bring listeners a different take on the new administration—including the gossip; the scandals; the fashion; the family; the accusations; and – of course – the biggest political news stories of the day. The limited-run series will publish three times weekly with 15-minute episodes.
The Daily Mail says Welcome to MAGALand builds on the newspaper’s already growing podcast efforts, having expanded from a single show—The Trial of Lucy Letby—to a slate that covers everything from celebrity lives and gossip to sports and politics. Mail podcasts have had more than 33 million combined downloads to date.
Also, the UK’s Sky News has rolled out Trump 100. The daily podcast will analyze the US President’s first 100 days in office. Hosted by Sky News US correspondents Martha Kelner, Mark Stone, and James Matthews, Trump 100 will cover each days news and preview the day’s agenda. And Saturdays, the show will take an extended format, hearing from the people of America to gain a deeper sense of how they are reacting to Trump’s latest developments, four years after his first term in office.
Progressive news outlets have seen their user numbers decline post-election, but many observers are banking that interest will return once Trump is back in the White House. MSNBC has announced several programming changes, and that includes the launch of a new podcast from host Jen Psaki. A new original podcast, The Blueprint, will take a deep dive into what lies ahead for the future of the Democratic Party after their brutal election season in 2024.
Other shows are being reworked. NPR last month announced that its Trump’s Trials podcast about his legal cases will be retitled Trump’s Terms and will examine Trump’s return to Washington. The news-driven series will publish multiple episodes a week. It’s hosted by “Weekend All Things Considered” anchor Scott Detrow, who is also the former NPR Politics Podcast host.
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