[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"nav-categories":3,"article-the-rise-of-useful-idiot-podcasters-a-new-media-phenomenon":70},{"data":4},[5,37,57,64],{"name":6,"slug":7,"categories":8},"Productivity","productivity",[9,13,17,21,25,29,33],{"id":10,"title":11,"slug":12},17,"Branding","branding",{"id":14,"title":15,"slug":16},19,"Marketing","marketing",{"id":18,"title":19,"slug":20},20,"Work","work",{"id":22,"title":23,"slug":24},34,"Community","community",{"id":26,"title":27,"slug":28},21,"For newbies","for-newbies",{"id":30,"title":31,"slug":32},24,"Investment","investment",{"id":34,"title":35,"slug":36},22,"Finance","finance",{"name":38,"slug":39,"categories":40},"Tech","tech",[41,45,49,53],{"id":42,"title":43,"slug":44},28,"Technology","technology",{"id":46,"title":47,"slug":48},32,"Artificial Intelligence","artificial-intelligence",{"id":50,"title":51,"slug":52},26,"Security and protection","security-and-protection",{"id":54,"title":55,"slug":56},31,"YouTube Blog","youtube-blog",{"name":58,"slug":59,"categories":60},"News","news",[61],{"id":62,"title":58,"slug":63},18,"quasanews",{"name":65,"slug":66,"categories":67},"Business","business",[68],{"id":69,"title":65,"slug":66},16,{"post":71,"published_news":95,"popular_news":163,"categories":233},{"title":72,"description":73,"meta_title":72,"meta_description":74,"meta_keywords":75,"text":76,"slug":77,"created_at":78,"publish_at":78,"formatted_created_at":79,"category_id":22,"links":80,"view_type":85,"video_url":86,"views":87,"likes":88,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"category":90},"The Rise of \"Useful Idiot\" Podcasters: A New Media Phenomenon","In the ever-evolving landscape of new media, a peculiar trend has emerged: podcasters who, when faced with world leaders, transform into wide-eyed schoolchildren, lobbing softball questions and allowing unchecked nonsense to dominate the conversation.","The consequences are stark. Listeners, craving unfiltered perspectives, may walk away with a skewed understanding of critical issues, mistaking charisma for credibility.","The “useful idiot” podcaster, knowingly or not, amplifies this distortion, trading substance for spectacle","\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>In the ever-evolving landscape of new media, a peculiar trend has emerged\u003C/strong>: podcasters who, when faced with world leaders, transform into wide-eyed schoolchildren, lobbing softball questions and allowing unchecked nonsense to dominate the conversation. These “useful idiots” of the podcasting world - borrowing a term historically used to describe unwitting propaganda enablers - are reshaping political discourse, often to the detriment of substance and accountability.\u003C/p>\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cpicture class=\"image-align-right\">\u003Csource srcset=\"https://cdn.quasa.io/photos/00/photo_2025-10-03_09-39-14.webp\" type=\"image/webp\">\u003Cimg alt=\"The Rise of "Useful Idiot" Podcasters: A New Media Phenomenon\" class=\"image-align-right\" height=\"274\" src=\"https://cdn.quasa.io/photos/00/photo_2025-10-03_09-39-14.jpg\" width=\"300\" />\u003C/picture>Take the Nelk Boys, for instance, who sat down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, instead of probing geopolitics, asked him about his McDonald’s order. Or Lex Fridman, who earnestly inquired whether former President Donald Trump is driven more by a love of winning or a hatred of losing. Then there’s Joe Rogan, engaging Trump in a bizarrely serious discussion about how wind turbine vibrations might be driving whales insane. These moments, while meme-worthy and entertaining, expose a deeper issue: a failure to challenge powerful figures, leaving listeners with little more than viral soundbites.\u003C/p>\n\n\u003Cp>The result is predictable, especially in what some have dubbed the “first podcast election.” Politicians, armed with rehearsed talking points, seize the opportunity to push propaganda without pushback. The podcaster, often styling themselves as an independent voice, becomes an unwitting accomplice in the guest’s PR machine. These interviews may feel raw and authentic, brimming with the casual vibe that draws millions of listeners, but they are hollow at their core. The absence of critical engagement allows misinformation to flourish, dressed up as unfiltered conversation.\u003C/p>\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cpicture class=\"image-align-left\">\u003Csource srcset=\"https://cdn.quasa.io/photos/00/image-2025-10-03t094740049.webp\" type=\"image/webp\">\u003Cimg alt=\"The Rise of "Useful Idiot" Podcasters: A New Media Phenomenon\" class=\"image-align-left\" height=\"225\" src=\"https://cdn.quasa.io/photos/00/image-2025-10-03t094740049.jpg\" width=\"300\" />\u003C/picture>Why does this happen? Part of it stems from the podcasters’ desire to maintain access and appeal to broad audiences. Hard-hitting questions risk alienating guests or sparking backlash, while lighthearted banter guarantees clicks and shares. But this approach sacrifices journalism for entertainment, turning serious platforms into stages for unchallenged narratives. The Nelk Boys’ fast-food banter with Netanyahu might get laughs, but it sidesteps the complexities of Middle Eastern politics. Rogan’s whale-vibration tangent with Trump might trend on X, but it distracts from pressing policy discussions.\u003C/p>\n\n\u003Cp>This phenomenon isn’t just a quirk of new media - it’s a symptom of a broader cultural shift. As traditional journalism wanes, podcasters fill the void, often without the training or incentive to hold power to account. Their informal, “just chatting” style creates an illusion of authenticity, but it risks normalizing a lack of scrutiny. When leaders face no resistance, their talking points - however absurd - gain legitimacy.\u003C/p>\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Also read\u003C/strong>:\u003C/p>\n\n\u003Cul>\n\t\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"https://quasa.io/media/where-users-prefer-to-see-ads-and-where-marketers-prefer-to-buy-them\">Where Users Prefer to See Ads - and Where Marketers Prefer to Buy Them\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\t\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"https://quasa.io/media/disney-surrenders-streaming-giant-embraces-youtube-creators-content\">Disney Surrenders: Streaming Giant Embraces YouTube Creators' Content\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\t\u003Cli>\u003Ca href=\"https://quasa.io/media/tiktok-deal-details-emerge-a-clever-workaround-preserves-u-s-law-and-chinese-interests\">TikTok Deal Details Emerge: A Clever Workaround Preserves U.S. Law and Chinese Interests\u003C/a>\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\n\u003Cp>The consequences are stark. Listeners, craving unfiltered perspectives, may walk away with a skewed understanding of critical issues, mistaking charisma for credibility. The “useful idiot” podcaster, knowingly or not, amplifies this distortion, trading substance for spectacle. As podcasting continues to shape public discourse, the question remains: can these platforms evolve beyond viral moments to deliver the accountability their influence demands? For now, the answer seems as elusive as a whale driven mad by windmills.\u003C/p>","the-rise-of-useful-idiot-podcasters-a-new-media-phenomenon","2025-10-03T07:48:58.000000Z","03.10.2025",{"image":81,"image_webp":82,"thumb":83,"thumb_webp":84},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/DXmYldXLXXnsNm11ihlvviY2MBiNkD8xxoT4VjWG.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/DXmYldXLXXnsNm11ihlvviY2MBiNkD8xxoT4VjWG.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/DXmYldXLXXnsNm11ihlvviY2MBiNkD8xxoT4VjWG.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/DXmYldXLXXnsNm11ihlvviY2MBiNkD8xxoT4VjWG.webp","large",null,958,0,"en",{"id":22,"title":23,"slug":24,"meta_title":91,"meta_description":92,"meta_keywords":91,"deleted_at":86,"created_at":93,"updated_at":94,"lang":89},"All the community news from around the world","From heart warming stories to everyday heroes and shocking events, we've got the latest real life stories to keep you entertained","2025-01-10T08:48:23.000000Z","2025-01-10T09:34:07.000000Z",[96,112,124,137,150],{"title":97,"description":98,"slug":99,"created_at":100,"publish_at":101,"formatted_created_at":102,"category":103,"links":104,"view_type":109,"video_url":86,"views":110,"likes":88,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"GitHub’s AI Agent Tsunami: 275 Million Commits a Week, 14 Billion Projected for 2026 — And the Platform Is Starting to Crack","GitHub just hit numbers that would have sounded like science fiction twelve months ago.","github-s-ai-agent-tsunami-275-million-commits-a-week-14-billion-projected-for-2026-and-the-platform-is-starting-to-crack","2026-04-17T17:10:50.000000Z","2026-04-20T11:57:00.000000Z","20.04.2026",{"title":58,"slug":63},{"image":105,"image_webp":106,"thumb":107,"thumb_webp":108},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/XZTYmDGdaBEeRqB4Fv56AeOVoRtMa9PgoABzA3uj.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/XZTYmDGdaBEeRqB4Fv56AeOVoRtMa9PgoABzA3uj.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/XZTYmDGdaBEeRqB4Fv56AeOVoRtMa9PgoABzA3uj.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/XZTYmDGdaBEeRqB4Fv56AeOVoRtMa9PgoABzA3uj.webp","small",15,false,{"title":113,"description":114,"slug":115,"created_at":116,"publish_at":117,"formatted_created_at":102,"category":118,"links":119,"view_type":109,"video_url":86,"views":42,"likes":88,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"Time’s Up for SaaS: Grow Faster or Disappear","The public markets have spoken — and the verdict is brutal. In early 2026, the software sector is in freefall. The Meritech Public SaaS Index has plunged 37% since the end of Q3 2025.","time-s-up-for-saas-grow-faster-or-disappear","2026-04-17T16:42:27.000000Z","2026-04-20T09:32:00.000000Z",{"title":31,"slug":32},{"image":120,"image_webp":121,"thumb":122,"thumb_webp":123},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/Pgd6kFN0MEzRDCuMrQRslHnVu4QNjjMMfuhEgOWY.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/Pgd6kFN0MEzRDCuMrQRslHnVu4QNjjMMfuhEgOWY.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/Pgd6kFN0MEzRDCuMrQRslHnVu4QNjjMMfuhEgOWY.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/Pgd6kFN0MEzRDCuMrQRslHnVu4QNjjMMfuhEgOWY.webp",{"title":125,"description":126,"slug":127,"created_at":128,"publish_at":129,"formatted_created_at":102,"category":130,"links":131,"view_type":109,"video_url":86,"views":136,"likes":88,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"Twitter Dev Builds “Stukach-Claw” — An AI Snitch Bot That’s Already Reported 4,250 People to the IRS for Tax Jokes","A crypto trader and developer known as @camolNFT has gone viral after revealing he built an autonomous AI agent called OpenClaw (affectionately dubbed Stukach-Claw by Russian-speaking users) that actively hunts for “jokes” about tax evasion on social media and automatically files whistleblower reports with the IRS.","twitter-dev-builds-stukach-claw-an-ai-snitch-bot-that-s-already-reported-4-250-people-to-the-irs-for-tax-jokes","2026-04-17T12:09:57.000000Z","2026-04-20T06:06:00.000000Z",{"title":19,"slug":20},{"image":132,"image_webp":133,"thumb":134,"thumb_webp":135},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/Bknfo3h65dH5eqJ5coCdgVsAxMYJsDIOPyZplmaX.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/Bknfo3h65dH5eqJ5coCdgVsAxMYJsDIOPyZplmaX.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/Bknfo3h65dH5eqJ5coCdgVsAxMYJsDIOPyZplmaX.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/Bknfo3h65dH5eqJ5coCdgVsAxMYJsDIOPyZplmaX.webp",46,{"title":138,"description":139,"slug":140,"created_at":141,"publish_at":142,"formatted_created_at":102,"category":143,"links":144,"view_type":109,"video_url":86,"views":149,"likes":88,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"Baidu Drops ERNIE-Image: A Compact 8B Open-Source Text-to-Image Model That Tops the Charts","Baidu has just released ERNIE-Image — a new open-weight text-to-image generator that is already turning heads in the AI community.","baidu-drops-ernie-image-a-compact-8b-open-source-text-to-image-model-that-tops-the-charts","2026-04-17T11:57:35.000000Z","2026-04-20T03:44:00.000000Z",{"title":47,"slug":48},{"image":145,"image_webp":146,"thumb":147,"thumb_webp":148},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/1QiOJcmqi34aQvnRfCwi97GmGUD4JPEukbjf4csU.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/1QiOJcmqi34aQvnRfCwi97GmGUD4JPEukbjf4csU.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/1QiOJcmqi34aQvnRfCwi97GmGUD4JPEukbjf4csU.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/1QiOJcmqi34aQvnRfCwi97GmGUD4JPEukbjf4csU.webp",60,{"title":151,"description":152,"slug":153,"created_at":154,"publish_at":154,"formatted_created_at":155,"category":156,"links":157,"view_type":109,"video_url":86,"views":162,"likes":88,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"Cloudflare Just Made Email a First-Class Citizen for AI Agents — And Traditional Email Services Are Feeling It","On April 17, 2026, Cloudflare quietly turned a long-standing dream into reality: it moved Email Service into public beta and added full Email Sending alongside the years-old Email Routing.","cloudflare-just-made-email-a-first-class-citizen-for-ai-agents-and-traditional-email-services-are-feeling-it","2026-04-19T18:41:05.000000Z","19.04.2026",{"title":43,"slug":44},{"image":158,"image_webp":159,"thumb":160,"thumb_webp":161},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/BL8rqDdPh380Xfk5TP00aXBFWdOVXI5BUQ1TuSaC.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/BL8rqDdPh380Xfk5TP00aXBFWdOVXI5BUQ1TuSaC.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/BL8rqDdPh380Xfk5TP00aXBFWdOVXI5BUQ1TuSaC.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/BL8rqDdPh380Xfk5TP00aXBFWdOVXI5BUQ1TuSaC.webp",109,[164,177,192,204,219],{"title":165,"description":166,"slug":167,"created_at":168,"publish_at":169,"formatted_created_at":170,"category":171,"links":172,"view_type":109,"video_url":86,"views":175,"likes":176,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur","Entrepreneur is a French word that means an enterpriser. Enterprisers are people who undertake a business or enterprise with the chance of earning profits or suffering from loss.","the-anatomy-of-an-entrepreneur","2021-08-04T15:18:21.000000Z","2025-12-14T06:09:00.000000Z","14.12.2025",{"title":65,"slug":66},{"image":173,"image_webp":86,"thumb":174,"thumb_webp":174},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/mVsXPTMuHZuI7UXCsENgL1Qwp1uSOf7Rz3uVPMfm.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/mVsXPTMuHZuI7UXCsENgL1Qwp1uSOf7Rz3uVPMfm.webp",70924,2,{"title":178,"description":179,"slug":180,"created_at":181,"publish_at":182,"formatted_created_at":183,"category":184,"links":185,"view_type":85,"video_url":86,"views":190,"likes":191,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"Advertising on QUASA","QUASA MEDIA is read by more than 400 thousand people a month. We offer to place your article, add a link or order the writing of an article for publication.","advertising-on-quasa","2022-07-06T07:33:02.000000Z","2025-12-15T17:33:02.000000Z","15.12.2025",{"title":58,"slug":63},{"image":186,"image_webp":187,"thumb":188,"thumb_webp":189},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/45SvmdsTQbiyc3nxgbyHY1mpVbisYyub2BCHjqBL.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/45SvmdsTQbiyc3nxgbyHY1mpVbisYyub2BCHjqBL.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/45SvmdsTQbiyc3nxgbyHY1mpVbisYyub2BCHjqBL.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/45SvmdsTQbiyc3nxgbyHY1mpVbisYyub2BCHjqBL.webp",70689,4,{"title":193,"description":194,"slug":195,"created_at":196,"publish_at":197,"formatted_created_at":198,"category":199,"links":200,"view_type":109,"video_url":86,"views":203,"likes":191,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"What is a Startup?","A startup is not a new company, not a tech company, nor a new tech company. You can be a new tech company, if your goal is not to grow high and fast; then, you are not a startup. ","what-is-a-startup","2021-08-04T12:05:17.000000Z","2025-12-17T13:02:00.000000Z","17.12.2025",{"title":65,"slug":66},{"image":201,"image_webp":86,"thumb":202,"thumb_webp":202},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/EOsQhSW3VXyG7a6NPdE1oZd00xfJXe3bjY5aJGb7.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/EOsQhSW3VXyG7a6NPdE1oZd00xfJXe3bjY5aJGb7.webp",68319,{"title":205,"description":206,"slug":207,"created_at":208,"publish_at":209,"formatted_created_at":210,"category":211,"links":212,"view_type":109,"video_url":86,"views":217,"likes":176,"lang":89,"comments_count":218,"is_pinned":111},"Top 5 Tips to Make More Money as a Content Creator","Content creators are one of the most desired job titles right now. Who wouldn’t want to earn a living online?","top-5-tips-to-make-more-money-as-a-content-creator","2022-01-17T17:31:51.000000Z","2026-01-17T11:30:00.000000Z","17.01.2026",{"title":19,"slug":20},{"image":213,"image_webp":214,"thumb":215,"thumb_webp":216},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/gP8kiumBPpJmQv6SMieXiX1tDetx43VwFfO1P4Ca.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/gP8kiumBPpJmQv6SMieXiX1tDetx43VwFfO1P4Ca.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/gP8kiumBPpJmQv6SMieXiX1tDetx43VwFfO1P4Ca.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/gP8kiumBPpJmQv6SMieXiX1tDetx43VwFfO1P4Ca.webp",42287,1,{"title":220,"description":221,"slug":222,"created_at":223,"publish_at":224,"formatted_created_at":225,"category":226,"links":227,"view_type":85,"video_url":86,"views":232,"likes":176,"lang":89,"comments_count":88,"is_pinned":111},"8 Logo Design Tips for Small Businesses","Your logo tells the story of your business and the values you stand for.","8-logo-design-tips-for-small-businesses","2021-12-04T21:59:52.000000Z","2025-05-05T03:30:00.000000Z","05.05.2025",{"title":15,"slug":16},{"image":228,"image_webp":229,"thumb":230,"thumb_webp":231},"https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/Wbx2NtS1CnTupgoQbpFMGspJ5jm4uob2hDOq33r0.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/images/news/Wbx2NtS1CnTupgoQbpFMGspJ5jm4uob2hDOq33r0.webp","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/Wbx2NtS1CnTupgoQbpFMGspJ5jm4uob2hDOq33r0.jpg","https://cdn.quasa.io/thumbs/news-thumb/images/news/Wbx2NtS1CnTupgoQbpFMGspJ5jm4uob2hDOq33r0.webp",41380,[234,235,236,237,238,239,240,241,242,243,244,245,246],{"title":23,"slug":24},{"title":47,"slug":48},{"title":55,"slug":56},{"title":43,"slug":44},{"title":51,"slug":52},{"title":31,"slug":32},{"title":35,"slug":36},{"title":27,"slug":28},{"title":19,"slug":20},{"title":15,"slug":16},{"title":58,"slug":63},{"title":11,"slug":12},{"title":65,"slug":66}]