Gavin Newsom’s Sticking With The Podcast Formula That Drove Democrats Crazy

Gavin Newsom is fully embracing his status as his party’s foremost podcast bro.

In an interview with California Playbook, ranging from how he juggles his podcast duties to the private heat he got from Democrats about his guests and what reaction to the show taught him about “cancel culture” on the left, Newsom said he’s sticking with the formula that made “This is Gavin Newsom” the rare politician’s podcast that people actually listen to.

It got off to a polarizing start last March, with a succession of friendly interviews with conservative influencers like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. And while the headlines that tended to enrage Democrats have fallen off, the California governor’s podcasting reach has not.

The show has racked up more than 10 million views and has upwards of 230,000 subscribers just on YouTube, and it was the second-highest ranked official podcast channel for a politician, according to a Washington Post analysis, trailing only Sen. Ted Cruz. Across all platforms, the show has racked up more than 120 million views or listens, according to a tally from his office.

His second turn behind the mic — his first show, the sports and pop culture-focused “Politickin’” with football star Marshawn Lynch and agent Doug Hendrickson, will also be returning soon, he says — was a key driver of Newsom’s warp-speed rise in national prominence last year.

And he’s continuing to sit down with conservative firebrands, and yes, some liberal figures too, in the new year. This week, he’s taping a show with Ben Shapiro.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Heading into 2026, do you feel like the podcast accomplished what you were trying to do?

Oh yeah — exceeded my expectations.

I don't want to do a podcast that is just the same guests as you see on nightly cable … a safe space for a Democrat. I said, ‘Look if we can get folks like [Steve] Bannon, Newt Gingrich …’ I remember that first list, I was writing it down. This is more interesting to me — what’s happening on the other side.

I’m proud of the success of the first year. I’m proud of the engagement being good and bad. I'm proud of the dialectic. I'm proud that we've not fallen prey to just being to type. We've challenged some orthodoxy. We've had challenging conversations and we challenge people's thinking about me, about this moment, the country. And I think that's been very positive and healthy.

When this started with the trifecta of Charlie Kirk, Steve Bannon and Michael Savage, Democrats were baffled. And initial reviews were pretty harsh – there was a New Yorker headline: ‘What Gavin Newsom's embarrassing podcast suggests about the Democratic Party.’ Did you find any of those critiques convincing? Do you change your approach to the podcast based on what you were hearing from those early months?

No. I found them remarkably revealing, because it gave me a different understanding of the critique against the left. I was very defensive about this notion – I thought, frankly, the folks on the right were a little hyperbolic about attacking the left for cancel culture or being overly sensitive or sensitized.

Honestly, I was pushing back, saying, ‘Come on, you guys, you're painting with too broad a brush. That’s overstated.’ And then I was on the receiving end of it, and I was like, whoa. So it was very revelatory to me, and it was very important for me to have that experience. It was very grounding, and I'm very grateful to the critics. I mean that. Because it shifted my worldview a little bit, and it's made me a little more combative in terms of asserting myself.

I was not pleased with some of it. And by the way, I hesitate to say this, because you're going to say what I would say, which is, ‘What are you suggesting?’ I'm not going to tell you. But you don't even know the half of it, this stuff that I received.

Is there one tidbit you can offer?

No, I can’t. I’m sorry to do that. I’m just reinforcing there was even more than those headlines. And it shook things up for me.

Charlie Kirk was the first guy who said yes. I had requests out to all kinds of people. And Charlie said not only yes, [but] I’ll show up in person. I thought, ‘That’s amazing.’ That’s why we started with him. Bannon [was] the same – they were both quick to say yes. Which, in so many ways, was more interesting because I had some other more progressive guests that didn't say yes initially, that were more tough to get.

You told me how appearing on [MAGA influencer] Shawn Ryan’s podcast put you in the headspace to escalate the redistricting fight. Are there times where conversations on a podcast, whether it’s your own or someone else’s, had tangible impacts on governing?

I had this really interesting conversation with Shawn Ryan [on post-traumatic stress and the use of psychedelics among veterans for mental health purposes] and it was indelible. It left an impression on me. It made that bill [fast-tracking research on psychedelics and mental health] very easy for me to sign, and I did so enthusiastically. That's another proof point.

But broadly it shapes perspective, it shapes worldview, it shapes understanding. It shapes the approach we take to our social media and engagement with Trump. It shapes what I say and do. It shapes how I say it and how I do it. It shapes what I said in the State of the State, where we talk about California Derangement Syndrome? I go on these podcasts, and that's all I'm dealing with, all these lies and this is bullshit. This stuff that Joe Rogan says, he just literally spews bullshit about the state. It’s understanding and it's getting into that space. I'm starting to appreciate where a lot of this comes from, and why good people believe a lot of this. But I also understand the legitimate critiques too at a deeper level, and I can absorb those.

This is not your full time job. This is a side hustle. Do you think that there are fair concerns that podcasting may be pulling you away from your day job and what needs to be done for the state?

The opposite. I really believe if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person. It's woven into the fabric of what I do. I don't compartmentalize. It's integrated. It's organized. There's a flow around it. I’ll give you an example — I spent a few hours yesterday in between basketball games, bringing my kids Hunter and Dutch to different games, and I had a few hours in between, and I literally sat there and was going through some interviews that Ben Shapiro had. I may have filled that up just randomly looking at my TikToks and looked up and have wasted an hour and a half on just random nonsense and noise. So it's the integration.

So your doomscrolling time is now replaced by podcast prep?

No, I don't look at it from a scarcity mindset. I literally look at it from an abundance frame. I think I have more time. I’m in conversations with staff on policy and the state with a deeper appreciation and understanding of where the criticism may come in, where the pratfalls may be. I just developed another layer that actually benefits the day job and helps me [with] things we want to touch on, things we want to avoid.

It’s really helped me understand the MAGA movement and understand Trump much more. And I think that's really important. He is an ubiquitous figure, and he has an outsized influence on what's going on in this state. You cannot be governor of California, or aspire to be, unless you rationalize what's going on in Washington, DC and what's happening in this country around California derangement.

I’ll be working out in the morning listening to some interesting podcasts that I otherwise would never listen to had I not started this podcast. And I’ll be honest, I'm spending a tenth of the time I used to. If you look at some of those first preps for the first few interviews, oh my God, I could have written a book — 10 or 15 hours. Now it's an hour. Though I miss that a little bit too, because I was actually reading their books as opposed to just getting reviews of it. Now I'm not necessarily getting that to level.

It's great to meet people you thought you knew, and then you learn something different about them. Or people you thought you'd hate a hard time and you’re like, ‘I have a hard time hating you now.’

Newt Gingrich helped lead my recall. Of all the people who have been on my podcast, he’s the one who should not have been. But it was a really interesting conversation and I’m glad I had it.

I'm doing this selfishly because I want to learn. I want to get better in life, not just politics. And if I'm better in life, I'll be better in politics. It’s a human endeavor, as much as anything else.

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