Popular podcasts in the "manosphere" helped sway young men to go MAGA in the 2024 election. New Yorker writer Andrew Marantz explains how Democrats can win them back.Also, Ken Tucker shares songs by Neil Young, Benjamin Booker and Teddy Swims.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the focus of 'The Political Battle For The Bros' episode?
This is Fresh Air. I'm Tanya Mosley. California Governor Gavin Newsom recently joined the Manosphere, the world of political podcasts, streams, and YouTube channels where young men have become the new MAGA vanguard.
This is Gavin Newsom. And this is Steve Bannon. And this is Michael Savage. And this is Charlie Kirk.
The Democratic governor says the purpose of his new podcast is to have unfiltered conversations with people he doesn't always agree with. And so far, he's had on far-right media stars, many of whom were instrumental in Donald Trump winning the election.
Well, my guest today, The New Yorker staff writer Andrew Morantz, looks at how Democrats are attempting to win back the support of young men in America, those they lost during the 2024 election.
And for his piece, Morantz spent time with several high-profile podcasters and streamers, like Hasan Piker, a leftist star on the livestream platform Twitch with more than 3 million followers, who's known for modeling modern masculinity with progressive politics.
Morantz's article, The Battle for the Bros, Young Men Have Gone MAGA, Can the Left Win Them Back?, appears in the current copy of The New Yorker. And Andrew Morantz, welcome back to the show.
Thank you so much, Tanya. So good to be back.
Yeah. So as we just heard so far, California Governor Gavin Newsom has had on a couple of right-wing notables, including activist Charlie Kirk, who is the founder and president of the right-wing student organization Turning Point USA. And I actually want to play a clip from that particular interview. Kirk had just finished an event at the University of Southern California.
And for the first few minutes of the podcast, Governor Newsom talks with him about how his niece and son both know Kirk, and how his son was especially excited that Kirk would be on Governor Newsom's show. Let's listen.
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Chapter 2: How are political podcasts influencing young men?
Right. Right. Yes. You know, I mean, Trump was was embraced by pop culture by appearing at. UFC fights and football games and appearing alongside celebrities. I mean, the left did that too. Harris also had many appearances and was alongside celebrities.
But do podcasters and influencers you spoke with really feel like it would have made a difference for Kamala Harris to make those same appearances at those same places? I'm just also thinking about... While there is like this offense against identity that it does play such a huge role in all of this as well. I mean, many of the podcasters you feature are male. Many of them are white male.
I guess my sort of like really rudimentary rubric on this would be it's not, you know, how many celebrities can you line up on your side? It has more to do with kind of. What does it signify? And to your point about identity, showing up at a UFC fight is not just a random room with a lot of people in it. It's about brutal combat. It's sending a very, very specific message.
Certainly there was more that the Harris campaign could have done. For example, she tried to get booked on Hot Ones, the show where you eat really spicy wings.
Eat wings, hot wings, yeah.
And that would have been, I think, a great humanizing moment for her. She could, you know, place for her to hang, be a human being, be relatable. You know, yes, I think there is more that any politician can do to get out there, but a lot of times... just speaking purely from a kind of
media, new media, social media angle, it's not always can you get the biggest celebrity because often that doesn't have the spontaneity, the authenticity, the feeling of, you know, this is really what people are like in a room. Beyonce is many, many things, but she's not spontaneous and authentic. She's very controlled about her image.
I mean, the sort of viral behind-the-scenes moment that was working, as far as I could tell, the best for Kamala Harris was... I think I do. Yes. And I just think it's an element of campaigning that when you're too controlled, too risk-averse, and too cautious, and you let it fall by the wayside, you're leaving votes on the table.
Okay, I want to play a clip from Theo Vaughn's show. It's when he had on social scientist Richard Reeves, who you also spoke with. Reeves is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and president of the American Institute for Boys and Men.
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