Three weeks before Election Day, the podcast microphone has a very familiar new occupant. The Hillary Clinton Kara Swisher podcast is real, and it drops tomorrow. Vox Media announced Tuesday that the two will co-host “High Stakes,” a limited weekly series built around the November midterms.
Yes, a former Democratic nominee is now part of the podcast economy. Timing, after all, is everything.
What the Hillary Clinton Kara Swisher podcast actually is
“High Stakes” is a limited series that runs Wednesdays, starting this week, according to The Washington Post. Instead of getting its own feed, it will air as a third weekly episode inside Swisher’s existing New York magazine feed, “On with Kara Swisher.” The premiere is Wednesday, Oct. 14, per TheWrap.
Vox Media produces the Clinton Swisher show, distributes it and sells the ads. Meanwhile, Swisher, Clinton and Vox will split the ad revenue, The New York Times reported. So this is a business deal as much as a political one.
Topics include the cost of living, healthcare and technology, plus the fights for control of Congress. In addition, guests with differing viewpoints are planned.
The pitch: Pivot, but with a politician
Swisher kept her description short. “Think of this series as ‘Pivot,’ but with an actual expert as my co-host,” she said in a statement carried by The Hollywood Reporter. Clinton already has a tryout behind her. In August, she guest-hosted “Pivot,” filling in for co-host Scott Galloway.
Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff, for his part, predicted it will click. “She and Kara are forces of nature, and have an undeniable chemistry as hosts,” he said.
Clinton, meanwhile, went straight to the stakes. “I don’t think the stakes for our country and the world have ever been higher than they are in November,” she said. In her announcement video, she also made the pocketbook case: “What you pay for groceries, rent and healthcare is on the line,” The Hill reported.
Why the High Stakes podcast lands now
Midterm season is a content arms race. As Clinton noted in her video, every seat in the House is on the ballot Nov. 3, along with 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships. Candidates, parties and media companies are all fighting for the same scarce thing: your attention. The High Stakes podcast enters that fight with a famous name attached.
Here’s the thing: the topic list reads like a household budget. Cost of living, healthcare and technology are the issues that show up in your bills long before they show up on a ballot.
Clinton knows this lane. She hosted “You and Me Both” from 2020 to 2023. Now she is back at the mic with a bigger partner, a bigger network and an election clock that forces the show to say something fast.
The idea reportedly came from a spring conversation at the Kalorama home of former Atlantic owner David Bradley, so it has had months to cook.
What to watch next from the Clinton midterms podcast
Sources disagree on how long the run lasts. One outlet says weekly through Nov. 3, while the Times and Rolling Stone say mid-November. Either way, the real question is what comes after. Clinton told the Times she might keep going past the midterms if the audience is big enough. Likewise, TheWrap says Vox plans more projects with both hosts.
The Clinton midterms podcast also arrives in a crowded political week. The White House press room has its own new voice, and Trump is already stumping for Senate hopefuls. So the first test is simple: do people press play?
Episode one lands Wednesday. Then the podcast charts get a vote.
