Podcasts like Joe Rogan’s and Theo Von’s aren’t on the fringes. Their blend of off-the-cuff, Trump-leaning commentary blurs traditional lines between left and right – and offers listeners companionship

One night after his now infamous appearance at the Trump rally at Madison Square Garden – where he joked that Black people carve watermelons instead of pumpkins at Halloween and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” – Tony Hinchcliffe appeared on stage in Austin, back at his day job, as the host of the podcast Kill Tony.

When Hinchcliffe took the stage he was still front-page news, the subject of endless cable news panels and late-night talkshow monologues. Some Democratic pollsters were suggesting it was a rare moment that “broke through” with voters and could even help Kamala Harris win in Pennsylvania.