What is making podcasts stand out ahead of the Singapore GE2025?

In Singapore, the rise of podcasting has shifted from entertainment and lifestyle into a new arena – public discourse and politics. As the 2025 General Election draws near, podcasters are making waves across online news and social media. To kick things off, we used Narrative AI, the first search engine for public opinion, to identify […] The post What is making podcasts stand out ahead of the Singapore GE2025? appeared first on Isentia.

Apr 16, 2025 - 04:49

What is making podcasts stand out ahead of the Singapore GE2025?

In Singapore, the rise of podcasting has shifted from entertainment and lifestyle into a new arena – public discourse and politics. As the 2025 General Election draws near, podcasters are making waves across online news and social media. To kick things off, we used Narrative AI, the first search engine for public opinion, to identify how large the global narrative on podcasts and their influence on audiences is in the last 6 months, using data from X.

We subsequently narrowed the focus of this global trend to Singapore and analysed on Pulsar TRAC more than 7k mentions across platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, TikTok, podcasts, Online News, blogs and forums to understand where the discourse is coming from, which channels are capturing the podcasters’ content and how audiences are responding to this content.

Mentions of podcasts in news and social media are growing

Social media is where the larger chunk of podcast conversation is taking place, specifically those episodes that feature a political figure, journalist or those that include healthcare-related discussions. The audiences that engage with these videos, majority being on YouTube, search for political credibility that resonates with them. Young Singaporeans watching these podcasts expect to see leaders who don’t just uphold the image of being a politician, but also someone who is grounded and trustworthy. For example, the episode with Dr Paul Tambayah on Yah Lah BUT’s podcast was praised because of how sincere he sounded around his journey as a healthcare professional and his role in opposition politics.

Youth and politicians’ lives dominate podcast narratives

The audiences that consume these podcasts the most are young Singaporeans looking to participate in the conversation as much as they can. These audiences are being more proactive than ever. With younger voters consuming media differently, these appearances are efforts by political candidates to connect with the public. Lawrence Wong, Josephine Teo, Indranee Rajah, and Desmond Tan, all from the ruling PAP (People’s Action Party), have used podcasts to communicate directly with the public – sidestepping traditional media filters. On a recent episode of The Daily Ketchup, Calvin Cheng, former nominated member of parliament, addressed criticism over the EBRC report (Electoral Boundaries Review Committee Report), rejecting claims of gerrymandering. He argued that such manipulation isn’t possible in Singapore due to the lack of cluster demographics – there aren’t concentrated pockets of voters by race or class.

The launch of the Youth Charter under the People’s Association Youth Movement (PAYM) is a high-profile attempt to engage youth in civic life and community issues like mental health and sustainability. It was met with mixed public sentiment where Yah Lah BUT and the Online Citizen hint at a lingering concern around how environmental, mental health and community concerns are highlighted, but economic issues aren’t emphasised much. This cautious tone suggests a gap between the state’s intention to mobilise youth and the lived reality of young Singaporeans navigating rising costs and limited political expression, with a lot of this discourse happening under podcaster videos on YouTube and TikTok.

Top podcasters on election-related content

When we focus on who the most mentioned podcasters around election content are, the Straits Times’ podcasts, the Daily Ketchup and Yah Lah BUT emerge on top. These podcasts have figured that the most discourse happens around content that’s either educational or controversial around elections. The public is actively responding to political content shared via podcasts, particularly those by The Straits Times and independent shows like Yah Lah BUT.

These platforms are no longer passive formats but interactive spaces where narratives are challenged. Praise for Mariam Jaafar’s focus on intent during Meet-the-People Sessions, critique of PAP’s ideology so far, as discussed in the commentary following Ong Ye Kung’s podcast quote, or reactions to Sun Xueling’s work on scams and family violence, audiences are engaging deeply with podcast content as a way to evaluate politicians’ positions and understand how transparent they are being.