The Left's Joe Rogan Is Now a Comedy Podcast Regular

Hasan Piker is not as popular as Joe Rogan. The Twitch streamer has 2.9 million followers on that platform, and 1.4 million subscribers Youtube. Meanwhile the manosphere podcaster and frequent peddler of conspiracy theories has more than 20 million subscribers on Youtube. 

But Rogan and Pike are frequently compared in the media,. Back in March, The New Yorker wrote that, “Figures like Rogan and Piker, both of whom have won the loyalty of young men, stand to shape not only the views of their audiences but the art of politics itself.” 

That equivocation is becoming more important as Piker racks up appearances on comedy podcasts, hedging into a space largely controlled by Rogan and his manosphere cronies. Rogan, a former comedian and the most listened to podcaster in the world, regularly holds court with some of the most popular comedians touring right now. Plus, he owns his own comedy club in Austin, Texas, known for pushing an edgelord, right-wing culture. It allows the manosphere to build a bigger audience with those who find regressive ideas and routines that are comfortable with punching down funny. 

Yet something is brewing on the other side of the political spectrum, if not at the same scale.

On Tuesday, Piker made an appearance on an episode of Gianmarco Sorsei’s podcast The Downside. During the episode, the comedian and streamer discussed everything from the recent New York City mayoral election to the real political threat that Donald Trump poses. 

Piker, who was a vocal supporter of incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani, also discussed his own political evolution and education which revolved heavily around class consciousness. Soresi’s podcast wasn’t even the only one that featured  Piker this week. In the political commentary space, Piker guested on the Pod Save America panel on Wednesday that addressed the Democrats’ recent overwhelming wins in the off-year elections. 

He’s been featured not only on the ultra liberal Pod Save America, but earlier this summer, he also guested on The Daily Show with Jordan Klepper. In that interview, he offered up a less-toxic view of masculinity than what is pushed on Rogan’s program. (To date, Piker has never interviewed anyone who sells scammy blood test subscriptions like the former Fear Factor host does on a regular basis.)

Piker is also making his way through the heavy hitter comedian podcasts. Two months ago, he was on Hasan Minhaj’s Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know. On that show, Piker responded to a series of questions from Minhaj about leftist politics, providing definitions and explanations for a lot of the buzzwords that circle in the media. 

When asked to define socialism, Piker said: “Socialism is redefining and and reorienting the classist politics that we currently have away from the capital owning class, owning both the means of production and virtually every facet of power and and redistributing it in a democratic fashion back to the largest class, the working class.”

One year ago, Piker was also on Stavros Halkias’ comedy podcast Stavvy’s World. It is clear that Piker’s comedy world immersion is an effort to not only to seek new audiences but to also broaden the reach of his progressive messaging. He’s not shy about this goal, either. 

Speaking to Soresi on Tuesday’s podcast episode, Piker said, “I use the left flank of the existing political infrastructure to advance that interest to try to unlock class consciousness in as many Americans minds as I possibly can.” 

And for a realm that is still dominated by voices like Theo Von and Joe Rogan, muscling up comedy spaces with more varied political perspectives—not just from comedians but from guests like Piker, is a net positive.