Chris Cuomo Doesn't Understand What Makes Joe Rogan So Successful | Bobby Burack
Chris Cuomo says Joe Rogan is entering the final few months as the most influential voice in podcasting. In a conversation with comedian Tim Dillon this week, Cuomo predicted that several podcasters would surpass Rogan by this time next year.
"My big prediction is that Rogan … will not be where he was three months ago a year from today," Cuomo said. "There are too many talented people entering that space now, who want his real estate. And they are going to be better at what he does than he is. He is going to see attrition."
We disagree.
Consider the crux of Cuomo's argument: "They are going to be better at what he does than he is." That's decades of legacy media indoctrination speaking.
Corporate broadcasters like Cuomo have never respected Rogan's style of interviewing because it defies what they were taught. In Cuomo's mind, incoming podcasters like Chris Wallace, Chuck Todd, and Don Lemon are more polished than Rogan. They are better in terms of traffic-copping a conversation, asking pointed questions, and holding the guest accountable using New York Times-approved fact-checking.
However, what Cuomo misunderstands is that the qualities that impress him are qualities that the average American finds loathsome.
Joe Rogan is the most influential voice in media because he appeals to most ordinary Americans. He is curious and not some pompous, elite institution-educated journalist-turned-attack-dog.
Put simply, the success of independent podcasting is a rejection of the establishment media. After Rogan, there's an argument that the next three most influential hosts in space are Theo Von, Shawn Ryan, and Alex Cooper—none of whom have traditional media training.
And their guests sense that.
Industry experts deemed the November race the "podcast election" because of the influence shows like Rogan and Von's had after their discussions with Donald Trump and JD Vance. But it wasn't just the ability to reach normies, if you will, that flexed the power of these podcasts. It was also the atmosphere that allowed Trump, in particular, to show a different side of his character.
While political podcasters asked Trump about the Middle East and NATO, Von implored Trump to discuss his golf skills and whether Barron is a ladies' man.
Trump suggests his youngest son isn't--at least not yet.
Von and Rogan might not use proper preposition stranding, but they know how to humanize their guests in ways that Yale, Fordham, and CNN never taught Chris Cuomo.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Joe Rogan looks on in the Paddock prior to the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Mark Sutton/Getty Images)
Though the oversaturation of podcasts is real, the development has actually made it harder for incoming shows to wrest market share from the industry leaders. There is such minimal demand for more podcasts that newer shows, no matter how talented the host, often settle for very small audience sizes.
Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson are among the rarest of exceptions to launch podcasts with immediate success. In actuality, the idea of someone entering the podcast space and challenging Rogan is harder today than it was five years ago.
Furthermore, Rogan's reach is so grand that the most influential figures in the country now choose him over interviews with mainstream television anchors.
Last week, FBI director Kash Patel sat down with Rogan for over two hours and discussed the current administration and the latest details surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Again, we don't expect Chris Cuomo to understand this. We don't say that as a knock against Cuomo. The podcast-sphere is not the industry in which he grew up.
Cuomo is used to the shows with the best production, the best-designed studio, and the best-dressed anchors reaching the largest audience.
The idea of someone who is 5-8 without makeup changing the course of media in a smokey, little Texas studio with two cameras and a production crew of less than five must be maddening for someone like Cuomo.
But that's all part of the charm.
In fact, we predict Rogan will be more influential in a year than he is today, as more people who try to do what he does look like wannabes--especially those with fancy degrees and a shelf of meaningless industry awards.