Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is about to embark on one of the biggest interviews of his presidential campaign – with America's number one podcaster, Joe Rogan.

With 14.5 million Spotify followers and 17.5 million YouTube subscribers, The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE for short) has built a huge, predominantly male audience since its launch 15 years ago.

Trump confirmed media reports about the upcoming interview, scheduled to be recorded on Friday, describing his counterpart as “a nice guy” with whom he expected to have a “very interesting” conversation.

“I do a lot of shows,” he told Fox News Radio on Wednesday. “Good, bad or indifferent. I do a lot of shows and they come out well.”

This response highlights the Trump campaign's calculated media strategy, which has focused on podcasts popular with younger men rather than traditional outlets like 60 Minutes.

And it underscores how big a deal this could be for the former president, longtime listeners say.

“Rogan will soon have the most listened-to podcast in human history,” says Matthew Foldi, a conservative journalist and self-proclaimed JRE expert who has spent thousands of hours listening to the entire catalog — in chronological order and at 3.5x speed – since 2020.

A New Jersey native, Rogan began his career as a stand-up comedian in the Boston area before moving to California in the 1990s. He starred in two sitcoms – Hardball and NewsRadio – and gained national fame as host of the US version of the game show Fear Factor.

He was one of the first comedians to venture into podcasting in 2009 and quickly built an audience with his easy-going, conversational style and sense of humor. By 2020, he had signed one of the industry's largest licensing deals with Spotify, where he dominated the podcasting ranks.

Rogan is known for discussing everything from current affairs and politics to aliens and drug use. It hosts an ideologically diverse mix of guests – from astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson to right-wing extremists Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to comedians like Chris Rock and Kevin Hart – in hours-long interviews.

Part of his appeal, says Kat Rosenfield, a freelance culture writer and novelist, is his willingness to talk to anyone, about anything.

“He is naturally curious. He wants to ask questions. He wants to know what’s going on with his guests, and he has a good instinct for making it an exciting listen.”

But his willingness to accept opposing perspectives has also gotten him into trouble.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, he was criticized for promoting vaccine skepticism, leading a coalition of medical experts to denounce Spotify for allowing the spread of “false and socially harmful claims.”

In 2022 Musicians Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have had their music removed from Spotify in protest against Rogan's use of the platform to spread alleged Covid misinformation. The company ultimately removed around 70 previously released episodes.

Also this year, Rogan came under fire when a video circulated on social media of him repeatedly using racially offensive language on his show. He has since apologized.

Ms. Rosenfield describes Rogan's personal politics as libertarian – very socially liberal, as evidenced by his support for same-sex marriage and general drug legalization, but also as someone who values ​​free speech and gun rights.

In 2020, he endorsed Bernie Sanders for president after the then-Democratic candidate appeared on his show.

“Rogan seemed like a refreshing alternative at a time when audiences had lost trust in much of the (mainstream media) media,” argues Ms. Rosenfield.

“He doesn't think he's smarter than his audience, which I think is very popular with the people who listen to the show. He doesn't talk down to people and always says, 'Don't listen to me, I don't know anything'.”

Trump and Rogan didn't always see eye to eye.

As recently as 2022, the podcaster said he didn't want to “help” Trump get elected because he was “an existential threat to democracy.”

Earlier this year, he praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then running as an independent presidential candidate, as “the only one who makes sense to me.”

That didn't go over well with Trump, who said Rogan would be booed the next time he competed in an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event.

But it's also their shared love of the UFC and mixed martial arts in general that suggests some similarities they might have during the interview.

Rogan is a longtime color commentator and interviewer for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events. Trump is also a fan of sports, which he has discussed extensively on other podcasts.

The two are both long-time friends of UFC CEO Dana White, who praised Rogan this week as “the best combat sports commentator of all time” and has done so effusive praise for Trump as “the ultimate American badass.”

They also have two other allies – RFK Jr. and Elon Musk, both of whom recently threw their support behind Trump.

On a recent broadcast, Rogan spoke fondly of Trump as a “hustling, hustling, fun-loving billionaire” whose deregulation agenda helped the economy.

He added that he was “scared to death” by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza – two wars that Trump has vowed to end if elected, although he has not given specifics as to how.

Mr. Foldi, the conservative journalist and Rogan superfan, says the attention Trump will get from this podcast could help him dominate the final days of the campaign and win over flagging undecided voters.

“This is the most watched show in the world and the attention you will get… is unmatched.”

Like the 28-year-old Mr. Foldi, Rogan's listeners are predominantly young and male. Nearly 80% are men and half are between the ages of 18 and 34, according to Edison Research, which compiles survey-based data on podcasting in the United States.

Such numbers suggest that Rogan's audience is part of an important voting bloc that the Trump campaign is clearly trying to reach. In August, the campaign told reporters that it was focused on convincing a group of voters that it said represented about 10% of the electorate in key swing states. This group is disproportionately young, male, and racially diverse.

Trump eschewed traditional media interviews with networks like CBS and NBC, instead spending time with podcasters who appeal to a predominantly male audience, including comedians Andrew Schulz and Theo Von, social media influencer Logan Paul, retired wrestler Mark Calaway (aka The Undertaker) and YouTube pranksters The Nelk Boys. But based on viewership and cultural reach alone, JRE is arguably the lynchpin of this podcast tour.

Harris has also made podcasts a part of her media campaign, although to a lesser extent. She sat down with Call Her Daddy — the top-ranked show among women — earlier this month and spoke at length with host Alex Cooper about reproductive rights, the top issue facing Democrats and particularly female voters this year calls.

Around the same time Rogan's episode airs, Harris is scheduled to sit down with famed social psychologist Brene Brown for her podcast “Unlocking Us,” which is also popular with female listeners.

Despite objections from some quarters, Harris' team reportedly met with Rogan's staff last week, but an appearance on the show has not been announced.

As anticipation builds for the Trump interview, Americans on social media are fantasizing about the questions they want Rogan to ask, from alien clearance to documents about Jeffrey Epstein.

If Rogan stays true to form, says Mr Foldi, no issue will be out of reach.

“I hardly see any downside for Trump because no matter what you think of the man, he is clearly comfortable with his personality,” he added.

“The only way you fail (JRE) is if he asks you about the core of who you are and you don’t have a pleasant answer.”