The Podcast Influence: Listening Habits of Registered Voters Revealed

While plenty of research demonstrates that podcasting is mainstream and podcast listeners are highly engaged, public affairs professionals tend to consider the audiences they want to reach as special or different.

In August of 2024, Voxtopica fielded what we believe to be the only podcast survey ever to focus entirely on the listening habits of registered voters: The Podcast Influence. 

Key Takeaways:

Registered Voters Listen More

Nearly half of survey’s respondents, 49%, said they’ve listened to a podcast in the last week. Compared to the 37% of the general public who say the same, it’s clear that registered voters are listening more often. In fact, more than a quarter of the registered voters we surveyed said they had listened to a podcast in the last 24 hours.

What’s more, 34% of them listen to five or more episodes each week, which means they listen to a podcast episode on average every day. More than half (53%) say the most important reason they listen is to add to their knowledge.

Registered Voters Trust Podcasts

One of the most important and surprising findings was how much trust registered voters place in podcasts. Eighty-five percent of respondents said they trust the news and information they receive from podcasts — more than any traditional or social media.

Registered voters who listen to podcasts trust traditional media more than the general public of podcast listeners, but for both cohorts, podcasts are seen as most trustworthy.

Podcasts Influence Opinions

Public affairs communicators who want to influence public policy outcomes, need to influence public opinion. Can podcasts help us do that?

The answer is a resounding, yes, according to Voxtopica.

Nearly 4 in 5 registered voters we surveyed (78%) said podcasts influence them to learn more about issues and topics in the news, and 63% said podcasts change their opinions on issues and topics in the news.

The data indicates that podcasts have enormous potential to influence the opinions of the podcast listening public. And, as the latest research from Sounds Profitable shows, podcasting is mainstream. More than half of Americans 18+ have listened to a podcast in the last month, so ignoring this medium is no longer an option.