David Remnick

This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.

Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour.

I'm David Remnick.

One of the big changes in our politics, and I don't think we've really gotten our heads around it yet, is the change in how and where people get their information.

You know the top line here.

Very real declines in people watching the nightly news and reading the newspapers.

And in their places come a much more scattered, much more siloed universe of social media feeds, TikTok explainers, podcasts, newsletters, and all the rest.

Now, I don't think it's unfair to say that most of these outlets, not all, but most, whatever their virtues, are not exactly obsessed with fairness and accuracy in the way that the best traditional journalism outlets are, or damn well should be.

And yet there's no denying the power, even the relatability of many podcasts, whether it's Ben Shapiro on the right, Joe Rogan wherever he might be on a given day, or on the left, someone like our guest today, Jennifer Welch.

Welch came to political podcasts in a kind of roundabout way.

She had a successful career as an interior designer, and she co-starred in a reality show on Bravo.

But since 2022, she and her co-host Angie Sullivan have been pushing political buttons and getting millions of fans on the podcast called I've Had It.

And that's Jennifer Welsh's daily state of mind.

Furious.

Her frustration is not only with MAGA.

Welch has gotten particularly contentious in interviews with establishment Democrats like Cory Booker and Rahm Emanuel.

And she takes real advantage of a certain surprise factor that a white woman in her 50s from Oklahoma has emerged as one of the most provocative voices on the left today.

I spoke last week with Jennifer Welch, co-host of the podcast I've Had It.

So you have one of the biggest podcasts out there.

And as you know, there are hundreds of thousands of podcasts.