this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024
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Initial disclaimer: I'm very much a progressive person.

Recently listening to podcasts like Heavyweight, Reply All, Invisibilia, Underunderstood etc, I noticed that while the episode - or podcast overall - is investigative journalism lite, something incidental but progressive might happen (using the correct pronouns for a trans person, for example.) I also recently rewatched the Some More News episode on why conservative comedy is so awful, which sparked my pondering.

So... while I'm not interested in veering to the right, this did get me wondering what content might be out there that I've not been exposed to at all. Are there (relatively) apolitical podcasts out there that mirror those lite journalism examples above?

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[–] [email protected] 102 points 7 months ago (3 children)

How could it be both right-leaning and apolitical?

[–] [email protected] 29 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

Sounds like OP means right-leaning, topic-wise, but not getting into the politics of it. If I had a good example, I'd have replied with it. lol

As a left-leaning example, NPR is pretty apolitical, but the stories they cover and the words/phrasing they choose to use are designed to appeal to those who lean left. While they're not a podcast, they do have radio shows.

I'm not a podcast person, so I can't really offer any of either bias.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Uh... NPR absolutely gets into the politics of things. Maybe not a deep dive, but 90% of what I hear that isn't music I'd describe 100% as politics.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago

Sounds like too may only be listening to news shows.

Fresh Air, This American Life, Car Talk, Something Wild are all largely non-political, but many cover liberal topics, but not from a political standpoint.

They also tend to cover factual stories about science and the environment, which— unfortunately for the right—tends to involve topics that the right wing have made political.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

How would one ever discover that a given podcaster is right wing if they are apolitical?

[–] otp 8 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Dog whistles? Jokes that punch down?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Wouldn't that count as political?

[–] otp 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Not explicitly. The whole point of dog whistles is that they're not supposed to sound political so someone can hide their intentions from people who don't know and signal their beliefs to the in-group.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

What's an example of an apolitical dog whistle that cannot be identified as right or left wing?

[–] otp 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Dog whistles are political, but they don't sound political. They could be used in apolitical podcasts to signal the host's political affiliation without explicitly stating it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

OK, what's an example of one?

[–] otp 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Using "diversity" or "inclusive" as a bad word.

Using 88 without reason (or 1488).

There's also people using the term "Monday" to refer to black people. (So they can say "I hate Mondays" and stuff without it being immediately obvious).

"Those [kinds of] people" is another pretty transparent one.

In Canada, there was "traditional Anglo-Saxon words", lol

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Using “diversity” or “inclusive” as a bad word.

Using 88 without reason (or 1488).

There’s also people using the term “Monday” to refer to black people. (So they can say “I hate Mondays” and stuff without it being immediately obvious).

“Those [kinds of] people” is another pretty transparent one.

In Canada, there was “traditional Anglo-Saxon words”, lol

None of these seem apolitical to me. I would associate most of these with right wing philosophies. I was specifically looking for examples of apolitical dog-whistles.

[–] otp 5 points 7 months ago

My point was that they could be used in an apolitical podcast to send the signal to the in-group (aka. The right wing). They don't necessarily sound political to someone who doesn't know what they mean.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago

It can't...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Okay, that's a good question. Tbh I wasn't sure anyone would respond so I tried to keep the post succinct.

I just meant that I'd been listening to podcasts about a neutral topic and then the host would say something to show their leaning. And my only exposure to the right was mostly via the alt right. So I was wondering if there was interesting content out there where the focus is mostly neutral also

[–] ryathal 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'll try to actually give some answers.

I'd say efap qualifies along with most the individuals. More long form film criticism than journalism outright though.

Dave Ramsey is worth a listen to his radio show, but they other personalities in his group are pretty trash imo. He's financial advice.

If you listen to local radio, in my experience most the people involved are moderate to slightly right leaning. It's uncommon to really come up though.

Hunting and fishing podcasts tend to be more right leaning, maybe give some of them a try.

You won't get newsy/journalism content without going pretty far right to things like project veritas or patriot radio levels.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Thank you so much! EFAP might be closest to what I'm looking for so I'll check it out. I'm in Ireland so my local radio might be of a different flavour, but it wouldn't be a bad thing to get a better idea of what's going on in the community.

Thanks again

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

https://www.somethingyoushouldknow.net/

Something you should know is just about learning new things. But the host conservativ bias show sometimes during interview

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

I mean there is always talk radio, but you are in some ways conflating sociallity and politics (and perhaps rightly so?). They may not be different in the way you are seeming to think they are. The only suggestions I could maybe offer are for pretty niche topics.

Here is a crotchety conservative mine engineer from Canada doing tool breakdowns and reviews:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVwc4DZbcoE

Here is a some-what anti-vax gardener from Austrailia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhz9FGHirrI

Here is a young mason teaching you how to make block foundations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySfTC_PT_2w

None of these are as produced as what you mention, but I don't like things very produced. However, each of these pod casters has some things they definitely lean to the right on.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

What kind of podcast? Last Podcast on the Left is pretty apolitical in its topics but has some conservative undertones. I think one of the hosts used to work for Fox News? It's been a few years since I listened to them though.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

If you're into pro wrestling, a lot of older wrestlers have podcasts and they're generally pretty conservative.

Chris Jericho keeps politics typically separate but has donated to the Republican party in the past, Matt Cardona is at least center right depending on where you sit, Undertaker has one too, Busted Open has a variety of hosts and some are definitely right wing.

All of these are first and foremost about other topics though, so the political leaning of the hosts rarely gets involved.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

you're probably looking for centrist content.

That or a very small time moderately right leaning, centrist right leaning geezer who simply yaps about stuff on the internet.