The Podcast Bros Aren’t Happy with ICE

An October review of how leading podcasters are responding to Trump’s immigration crackdown

Podcasts have become a dominant medium in today’s attention economy, with young Americans driving the trend. As of 2024, over 100 million Americans tune in weekly to everything from The Office deep dives to murder mysteries to political conspiracies. Fueling this surge is the 12-34 crowd, with nearly three in five Americans in this age group (59%) listening weekly.

The overwhelming majority of podcast listeners expect accurate information, often trusting podcasts more than traditional news sources. For young men especially, podcasts have become a low-friction way to stay informed and form opinions on politics and society. While some shows focus squarely on commentary—Pod Save America, The Ben Shapiro Show, and the like—political takes now regularly surface in comedy, sports, entertainment, and other genres.

The power of podcasts to shape opinion is starting to be appreciated. Ahead of the 2024 election, Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Andrew Schulz, the Nelk Boys, and Logan Paul hosted Donald Trump, collectively drawing over 100 million views (Rogan’s episode stands out at 60 million, one of his most-watched ever). Kamala Harris made pit stops on Call Her Daddy and All the Smoke, both popular among young men, though there was no shortage of criticism for not going further. Since then, Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear have launched their own shows; Ro Khanna has appeared on a whopping 60 podcasts; Pete Buttigieg rallied for three hours with the Flagrant bros, and Bernie Sanders make his populist pitch on This Past Weekend w/Theo Von.

Understanding the significance of this space, Young Men Research Initiative will soon publish regular analyses of the top podcasts among young men. We will track how shows respond to major political stories, social trends, and more—from government shutdowns to sports gambling, from feminism to foreign wars.

For this preview, we examined transcripts from October 2025 across the 25 most-listened-to podcasts among young men, using data from Edison Podcast Metrics (excluding The Daily, which serves more as straight news than political commentary). Here’s what we found about how leading podcasters are responding to Trump’s immigration crackdown.

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The following table breaks down key statements from these top information sources. What stands out is how often hosts appear on both the “pro-” and “con-” side of the ledger. While many view these hosts as ideologically committed, the tone of the discussion is contingent on the guest. Many of the most-heard statements against Trump’s immigration policies came up when Joe Rogan was speaking with Marina van Zeller, and many of the statements in favor of these policies came up when Rogan was speaking with his comedy friends. (And in each of these cases, none of Rogan’s guests expressed views that were “only” pro-Trump or anti-Trump overall). Note: The quotes below are from the shows themselves, not necessarily the host.

Joe Rogan

As ICE raids and mass deportations have ramped up in recent weeks, Rogan and his guests have been sharply critical. On his October 18th episode with Andrew Schulz—host of Flagrant—the pair agreed that the administration’s family separation policy is “fucked up.” Schulz noted that he pushed back on the mass deportations of non-criminals during his pre-election interview with Trump, calling the current situation “frustrating.” Still, both agreed that the border policy under Biden was untenable and correction was needed.

The sharpest discussion came during an interview with investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller. Van Zeller outlined the economic and humanitarian impact of the deportations and detailed how the Trump administration is arresting vast numbers of non-criminals. Rogan was visibly impressed when she cited figures showing immigrants’ substantial tax contributions, countering popular right-wing narratives that they free-ride the system. Both agreed that the administration’s approach has been “heartless,” the separation of kids from their parents “traumatizing.”

Theo Von

The second most-listened-to podcaster among young men, Von has adopted an increasingly skeptical position of the administration’s policies over time. Though he describes having “a lot of different thoughts” about immigration, Von has expressed broader concerns about civil liberties, noting his fears that the U.S. is heading towards becoming a “surveillance state.” When he hosted Aziz Ansari, who is based in London, Ansari discussed being warned about National Guard officers grabbing Mexicans off the street. Von concurred with his analysis.

Ben Shapiro

Unsurprisingly, Shapiro has been a staunch defender of the administration’s immigration enforcement. He’s cited attacks on ICE facilities as evidence of a broader trend of left-wing radicalism and has condemned the film One Battle After Another for glorifying violence against ICE agents.

The Breakfast Club

While primarily new-oriented, Charlamagne tha God and other hosts of The Breakfast Club—hugely popular among young Black men—have been vocally critical of the ICE raids. Charlemagne tha God has warned of creeping “martial law” in American cities, echoing longstanding concerns about authoritarian overreach that has drawn ire from Trump himself.

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In the coming weeks, YMRI will continue tracking these conversations, providing regular updates across shows and topics to see what’s resonating—and what’s not.

For millions of young men, these podcasts extend beyond entertainment—they shape how listeners understand politics, offering unfiltered opinions and permission structures to endorse or reject different viewpoints, movements, and individuals. As the podcast landscape continues to evolve, we’ll be here to monitor it, analyze it, and explain it.