Happy Thursday! 

Before we wrap up International Women's Month, I wanted to share some insights from some women in podcasting, which has a bit of a reputation for being male-dominated. I chatted with Claire Parker and Ashley Hamilton of the Good Noticings podcast as well as sisters Evelyn and Erica Ha of the HAHA Podcast (which they also host with their youngest sister Emily) about their experiences with the medium. I also got some interesting data from Spotify. Here is a quick rundown of what we discussed:

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Podcasting often gets a bad wrap for being a boys club.

Indeed, mansosphere podcasters have been dominating the medium for a time. These hosts, including the likes of Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and Andrew Schulz, were largely credited with helping boost Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election. Beyond that, they have elevated conspiracy theories and spouted anti-woke rhetoric. 

Meanwhile, women take up far less real estate in the upper echelons of podcasting. A study from USC Annenberg analyzed the 100 most popular podcasts of 2024 on Spotify and found that 64.1% were men, 35.9% were women, and none were nonbinary. This means that there have been very few female-led podcasts who have the cultural cache to serve as counterprogramming to these überpopular misogynists freaks with megaphones. 

The industry is changing, with Spotify sharing with Yap Year that over half of the Top 100 shows on its podcast charts as of March 25 are hosted or co-hosted by women. While women still face significant barriers when entering the podcasting industry, it is growing at a rapid pace, opening up new opportunities for those seeking to grab a mic.