► Tell us about you and your podcast
My podcast was started to help resolute the moral deficit in society of sharing truthful news, without bias, and with a sense of humor. People find it harder and harder to trust the mainstream news outlets (and for good reason), however, it's imperative that everyone is still able to receive the information necessary for them to make the best decisions for themselves. The Jonathan Kogan show is helping fill that void of lost trust and help rebuild the media industry in a much more helpful, entertaining way. My listeners are anyone who wants objective facts on major public events and wants to know about them literally months before the mainstream media outlets end up reporting on it (and we have a track record to prove that!).
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
I'm obsessed with podcasts. I listen to hours of podcasts every single day. In fact, I recently came across an interesting statistic: 25% of Americans get their "news" from podcasts. It's my belief that if you have even a little bit of talent, create content consistently, and gain the trust of listeners, then just by the amount of people who aren't on the internet yet (but will be in the next 5 years) or the people who don't listen to many podcasts yet but will over the next half decade, that there is a massive opportunity for independent media creators to build a worldwide media outlet sharing news commentary that people genuinely want to hear.
It took me two years to really get started with my podcast. I posted some episodes here and there, but until a few months ago, I never created an episode everyday like I do now. I have strong feelings about the importance of an independent press that is not biased, not paid by large corporations, and largely supported directly by its listeners rather than big business. We have seen an increase in censorship, collusion between governments and corporations, which has made it almost impossible to simply get the information necessary to become informed and make decisions using person critical thinking. I feel like I can play a small role in helping people get the news they want (and should be getting) without an agenda or any intention other than sharing the facts and my opinions to get people to think for themselves (and be free!).
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
On average, I release an episode everyday. If I do miss publishing an episode for any reason, I will do two episodes the next day (or shortly thereafter). It takes me one day to publish an episode because I try and publish every single day! Podcasting is my full-time job now. I don't spend much time on marketing or editing. The majority of my time is spent on research, gathering information, and then of course, recording.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
Podcasting brings me joy and satisfaction that I am contributing to the 'greater good'. Even though the topics I cover are controversial and my opinions may be unpopular, they are authentic. It's my belief that people across the world are hungry for the truth and I want to help play a role in sharing that no matter how small it might be. I currently don't have sponsorships, however, I am open to all kind of deals with any brands that are looking for more exposure and are trying to do the right thing in their respective industries.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
I use Riverside.fm to record and then I publish the podcast videos directly from there to Anchor.fm (https://anchor.fm/jsk). In the beginning, I only did podcasts with guests (interviews). Now, I mainly do episodes by myself sharing video clips and articles. In the future, I will do a mix of both types depending on what the listeners enjoy more. My preparation for each episode includes countless hours of research whether that's watching videos, listening to podcasts, or reading articles - it's a ton of work. But, I love it! I try to get the best information possible that is reliable and trustworthy for each and every episode.
► How do you market your show?
Many listeners find my podcaat show directly by searching for "The Jonathan Kogan Show" on their native podcast players. Other things that have helped are being in the Top 100 News Podcasts on the Goodpods app, sharing podcast episodes on social media (i.e. Twitter), and my YouTube channel ("The Jonathan Kogan Show"). The best performing channel has been Twitter. Whenever I do a topic, I search for hashtags or tweets related to that topic and share that episode link in reply to relevant tweets where I think the person (or their followers) would be interested in that episode. I personalize every tweet I reply to so it isn't just a "mass distribution", but rather a human-first strategy because I do think that matters a lot.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
I've learned that putting your thoughts and opinions out into the public sphere is extremely difficult. Everything inside of you tells you that you shouldn't or that you should self-censor. It has not only been really hard to consistently put out controversial content, but it has also been extremely "freeing" once you realize that hundreds, or thousands, of people in the world feel the same way that you do. My biggest takeaway is that no matter how weird your "take" might be or how "alone" you might feel, you are not the only one in the world that feels that way. I promise that there are so many other individuals who share your point-of-view or experiences to the point it will blow your mind to how similar we all are as human beings. It's actually quite beautiful.
► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?
You can check out the podcast wherever you get your podcasts by searching "The Jonathan Kogan Show" or check out any of the links below to get there faster!
https://kite.link/jsk
https://anchor.fm/jsk
https://link.chtbl.com/jsk
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHW9g3h9aeC7_XDa_FdxpvA
https://lnns.co/NA1j6lxeX0-
https://ownershipeconomy.substack.com
https://page.fyi/@jsk
https://poplme.co/kogan
https://open.spotify.com/show/2BqyNQrvi8bp3jADwfSDDz
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-jonathan-kogan-show/id1519798213
https://overcast.fm/+3YlAxF1rY
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ceb7c8f9-e10b-479c-8534-9de726ff919a/the-jonathan-kogan-show
https://twitter.com/kogz
https://linkedin.com/in/ownershipeconomy