Inside Washington: how a PSM podcast on US politics has taken Austria’s podcast charts by storm

With US politics going through a highly turbulent period, it is impossible for the average listener to keep up with the sheer volume of news stories generated and, more importantly, to know whether decisions taken in Washington will have any impact on their own lives. With ‘Inside Washington’, ORF has hit on a winning format that leverages the insider knowledge and connections of its cohosts to bring clarity to the chaos. A look at the Austrian podcast charts proves just how popular it is, with success that cuts across a wide range of demographics. What is their recipe for success? And how does the podcast fit into the wider Austrian podcast market, where public media face much stricter rules than their commercial peers?