The Unwritten Rules of Celebrity Podcasts

KRIS JENNER WAS DUMBFOUNDED. There she was, on the red carpet at last month’s Vanity Fair Oscar Party, being interviewed not by a veteran Hollywood journalist but a duo of Gen Z social media influencers.

“How did you get this gig?” she asked upon greeting Jake Shane and Quenlin Blackwell, who had been tapped as the magazine’s official carpet hosts alongside Brittany Broski. Shane, who hosts a podcast called Therapuss, clocked Jenner’s polite-but-incredulous tone and burst into laughter.

Shane himself seemed stupefied that he had been selected to speak to the town’s elite. The 26-year-old has been open about the fact that he does not identify as a journalist and recently told Rolling Stone that he finds it “insulting to journalists to say what I do is journalism.” Though his mother, Helaine Olen, is a journalist — she was a longtime columnist at the Washington Post — Shane did not study the profession in college and doesn’t ask his podcast guests “real, thoughtful, hard questions.”

Instead, he said he’s focused on creating a “comfortable, friendly environment” for his guests — many of whom, like Hailey Bieber, Sofia Richie Grainge and Kaia Gerber, are his personal friends. If anyone on Therapuss later asks him to edit out one of their answers, he does it without hesitation. “I think it’s really selfish to not honor someone’s discomfort with something they’ve said,” he said. 

It’s an attitude shared by many of the podcast industry’s most popular hosts, creating a soft landing spot for stars looking to promote their latest projects. Sure, there’s still cultural cache in appearing on the cover of GQ or Vogue — but is the high-end photoshoot worth spending three hours with a journalist who might paint you in a less-than-glowing light? (Publicists still speak in hushed tones about the unflattering New York Times Magazine profile some believe cost Bradley Cooper a best director nod for A Star is Born at the 2019 Oscars.) Surely it would be far less risky to sit for a 45-minute interview on a podcast hosted by a fellow celebrity — one who isn’t looking for a “gotcha!” moment and might even let you Zoom in from a junket where you’re already in glam.

Podcasts had been considered a legitimate promotional vehicle for at least five years before President Donald Trump did his manosphere tour with hosts like Joe Rogan, Theo Von and Lex Fridman in the lead-up to the 2024 election. Now, it’s pretty much a given that any star trying to publicize something will not only appear on one podcast, but multiple. When Jennifer Lawrence was trying to spread the word about her indie horror drama Die My Love earlier this year, she sat down with the guys from Smartless (Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes), Las Culturistas (Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang) and Amy Poehler on her Good Hang pod. Hilary Duff, who is advertising her comeback album and forthcoming world tour, has done seven, including Therapuss, Call Her Daddy (Alex Cooper) and On Purpose with Jay Shetty.

Which isn’t to say that podcasts have killed off the traditional media machine entirely. Just look at Duff. Her jam-packed press tour has also included late-night shows (The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon), daytime television (The Drew Barrymore Show), morning shows (CBS Mornings) magazine covers (Glamour, Gay Times) and print features (The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Interview Magazine). She still made sure to hit all of the old-school stops, but most of her time was spent with podcasters.

So just how cozy are the relationships between the pod producers booking celebs like Duff and her reps? Which podcasts actually move the needle when it comes to spreading the word about a new movie or TV show? And…is Jake Shane’s one of them? We grilled four well-connected Hollywood-based insiders whose clients both host pods and regularly go on them — all of whom requested anonymity so as not to damage their relationships — to get a handle on the state of the celebrity podcast ecosystem.

In terms of sheer numbers, nobody has been able to topple Rogan. The podcasting veteran still attracts more listeners than any other host — upwards of 15 million an episode, according to one industry executive. “If he has an author on, they go to the top of the audiobooks chart. An artist will always end up in the top 100 on the music charts,” said the exec, who is familiar with internal industry data. “In terms of biggest impact, the most valuable thing you can do is still Rogan.” 

Which doesn’t mean that everyone in Hollywood is comfortable associating themselves with the often-controversial host, who has platformed guests espousing COVID-19 falsehoods, climate change skepticism and misogynistic worldviews. The Joe Rogan Experience still welcomes a right-leaning roster heavy on comedians, UFC athletes and longevity experts — recent guests have included HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., vaccine skeptic Dr. Robert Malone and Elon Musk. 

But there have also been a surprising number of A-listers who have been willing to spend two-plus hours chatting with the host at his Austin, Texas studio. Ethan Hawke, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper and Priyanka Chopra Jonas all appeared on Rogan’s show in the past year. 

“You have to really be prepared for what you’re getting into and what doing that show means,” said one talent publicist. “Comedians can get away with it, but I don’t think actors and actresses can without giving a vibe of who they are as people.”

Even before she won the inaugural Golden Globe award for Best Podcast earlier this year — which, let’s be real, wasn’t exactly a shining beacon of industry prestige — Amy Poehler’s show had quickly become the go-to stop for celebrities on the press circuit. The video podcast is co-produced by Poehler’s production company and Bill Simmons’ The Ringer network, which distributes her program via its parent company Spotify. Good Hang with Amy Poehler is recorded at a studio she built in her L.A. office, not Spotify’s newly-opened Sycamore Studios in Hollywood or its downtown offices.

Good Hang was a near-immediate hit after launching in March 2025, even momentarily besting Rogan on the podcast charts after the release of just two episodes. That’s due largely to the SNL alum’s easy, relaxed rapport with guests — and the fact that Poehler’s most controversial opinions usually relate to sleeping habits or eating dinner at 5 p.m. “It’s blown up in the last year because people feel so comfortable with her,” said a publicist who works on film campaigns at a major studio. “People who never wanted to do podcasts are open to doing it because it’s her. She’s well-respected, and they know she’s safe and uncontroversial.”

Part of the reason she’s cultivated that reputation is because Poehler really only sits across from people she is friends with IRL or would consider a legitimate “good hang.” Her comedian pals are quick to make the list —Tina Fey, Andy Samberg, Seth Meyers— as are random people she’s fans of, like musician Sarah McLachlan. And she doesn’t really do industry favors. Think you can get on just because you share the same team of representatives? Think again. Discussions on appearances routinely begin months in advance. “I used to be, like, ‘Oh my God, we have to book the Vogue cover for 13 months from now. Now, it’s all about thinking about how to try to get on these things,” said another rep whose roster includes a slew of past Oscar nominees.

“The reason Amy Poehler shines is because she lets the people she’s sitting across from shine,” the source continued. “There are a lot of podcasts where the host is the personality, and that’s really tricky for a guest to land, which is why you don’t see, like, Keanu Reeves sitting with them. If you’re on Therapuss, you’re in his sandbox.”

Meaning that Shane — who started a TikTok account during his time at USC — has now become a famous personality in his own right. He had a supporting role in the fourth season of HBO’s Hacks, had his Broadway debut this year in Simon Rich’s All Out: Comedy About Ambition and will soon be seen in his first feature film, a supernatural dramedy starring Lewis Pullman and Maya Hawke.

When Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce started dating Taylor Swift in 2023, a whole new swath of listeners began tuning into New Heights, the football-heavy podcast he hosts with his brother, Jason. Suddenly, Swifties were willing to put up with an entire segment breaking down the biggest moments of a big NFL game just in case Travis made a passing reference to “Tay.”

Historically, the guests on New Heights — which launched in 2022 — typically had a stronghold in the sports world, with guests like ESPN analyst Pat McAfee, Inside the NBA co-host Charles Barkley or the bros’ teammates from the Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles. There would be the occasional celebrity appearance: Jason Sudeikis or Paul Rudd, both KC natives. Adam Sandler, who cast Travis in Happy Gilmore 2. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an admirer of the brothers’ athleticism. 

But as the bros’ listenership broadened in the Swift era, so too did their appeal to major movie stars. The guest who really moved the needle was Brad Pitt, who came on an episode last July before his car racing drama F1 hit theaters.

“Brad was the biggest person they’d ever had, and I think that took the show to a completely different level. It took a lot of negotiation,” said the studio publicist. So why would Pitt want to do it? “Yes, you know you’re not going to be put in a controversial position, but the guys are also genuine movie lovers, and I think that comes through in such a real way. They’re also at the top of their game, and I think [actors] relate to that and have crazy respect for what they do.”

A month after Pitt’s appearance, Swift herself decided to launch her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, on New Heights. Asked why she wanted to come on the show, she quipped: “I just said, ‘Can I go on the podcast? Because Brad Pitt did it, and I wanna do it too.”

But outside of Travis’ fiancee, the brothers don’t have a great track record with big female guests. In the past year, they’ve spoken to DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Kevin Hart, Bill Murray, Will Ferrell and Dwayne Johnson. Swift was the only woman in Hollywood to come on the show during that same period. 

Despite the upside, there are still many stars who aren’t interested in doing podcasts. Many complain about the time commitment, which is usually a minimum of 45 minutes. Preparing a quippy anecdote for a late-night show can be nerveracking, but a freewheeling conversation that can focus more on you as a person instead of your work can prove especially daunting for some public figures.

“Some people just don’t feel comfortable in that format,” said the seasoned awards campaign vet. “I mean, in this world, it’s so fucking hard to do any interview. It’s not even like, ‘Oh my God, I’m scared [a hard-hitting journalist] is going to ask me something challenging.’ People are scared to do a perfect interview and then Sally Jo in Kansas has one thought on TikTok and they’re fucked. Some don’t think it’s worth it.”

Others argue that length can offer the freedom for guests to deep dive on their backgrounds — or even contentious perspectives — more fully. “If you have two hours to talk and explain yourself, you’re very unlikely to get cancelled,” said the podcast exec. “If you say the wrong thing on CNN, you might be toast. Podcasts give people more space to breathe.”

Like Therapuss’ Shane, the majority of celebrity podcast hosts don’t have an issue granting a guest’s request to cut an unwanted remark out of a recording before it airs. 

“The guys on SmartLess don’t fancy themselves to be investigative journalists, so if you hang up the phone after your interview and your pulse is racing and you say you were a little caught off guard by a question, you can probably get an edit,” said a publicist who works with high-profile talent. “I’m sure every single one of them has made the same call for themselves.”

Reps say they don’t normally ask outright for editorial control during booking negotiations, but there’s a tacit understanding that the environment will be “amicable and malleable,” added the other publicist who works with performers. “I would never tell a producer, ‘You can’t ask my client this.’ But I’ll suggest topics for them to talk about. These hosts aren’t interested in ‘I got you’ — that’s not their value.” 

As ubiquitous as certain podcasts have become, they’re still only part of a marketing campaign. Even if more people listen to a pod than tune into The Today Show, “you can’t do one without the other and really expect to open a movie or show,” said the awards insider. 

One thing that is increasingly falling by the wayside, however, is the traditional print profile. “I came up in the Taffy Brodesser-Akner world,” the source continued, referencing the journalist behind the infamous Cooper profile. “But I would never have put my clients there. I don’t know why anyone would anymore, and that’s a bummer.”

Putting in “four months of work and stressing over what will be said” in a magazine cover piece is increasingly not worth the reward, added the talent rep. “Sometimes after all of it, you’re like, ‘Did that even matter?’”

Back in the day, the insider lamented, at least you could rely on print placement having a meaningful impact. An Entertainment Weekly cover, Premiere magazine feature and the Sunday pre-release New York Times. “Then we could say, ‘Everyone’s gonna buy a ticket,” the source said. With podcasts? “Now, we all don’t fucking know.”

Amy Kaufman is is a journalist who spent 15 years at the Los Angeles Times and wrote the New York Times bestselling book "Bachelor Nation."