America’s not actually polarized. It can agree on Mr. Beast — and Joe Rogan
Source: Fortune ·
We asked 741 people to name their top influencers, podcasts, comedians, musicians, video games, films and TV series and found the United States of America.
From the source
Research on political polarization points to how people’s preferred news outlets and social media use create information silos, environments in which people primarily encounter views consistent with their own, further cementing those views. But this research often omits an important source of political information: popular culture, from influencers and podcasts to comedy, television and movies. Politics are intertwined with popular entertainment media. The current president is a former reality television star who was reelected in 2024 with the help of comedy podcasters like Joe Rogan. Blockbuster films such as “The Odyssey” spark controversy and turn into political footballs, while late-night talk show hosts must skirt the Trump administration’s regulatory ire with their politically oriented humor. While we know a lot about the news-consumption habits of Republicans and Democrats, there is less data about the other places that people encounter political ideas. This is particularly…