Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ)
Karl Stefanovic’s exit from Nine will accelerate his transition from morning television star to right-wing podcast provocateur. The catalyst was an interview with far-right anti-Islam campaigner and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon).
It was removed from the internet within hours of being published, only to re-emerge on One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s YouTube channel. But Stefanovic’s courting of Robinson was more than simply a misstep.
It reflects a well-worn strategy that’s resulted in far-right podcasting gaining a foothold in the United States and the United Kingdom. So will it be successful in the Australian context?
‘Joe Bogan’ Announcing the new podcast on his Instagram account in January 2026, the two-decade co-host of the Today program declared that the show would feature “the people I know you want to hear from […] across politics, sport, business and culture.
Unfiltered. Unscripted. Uncensored.” Stefanovic has jokingly referred to himself as “Joe Bogan”, referencing the host of the juggernaut American podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. That show regularly tops podcast charts and has been credited with helping to sway voters in favour of Donald Trump in the 2024 US election.
Before Robinson, Stefanovic’s podcast featured interviews with a cast of right-wing figures. These included Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce (who have both appeared multiple times), John Howard, Matt Canavan, Pete Evans, and former UK special forces soldier-turned online commentator and Reform supporter Ant Middleton.
He’s also had South Australian Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas on the show. The tone is jocular and upbeat, in the mould of the American podcast “bros”. Freed from the editorial guardrails of broadcast television, Stefanovic readily swears and rarely challenges his guests, who monologue about culture war issues such as immigration and “wokeism”.
He regularly flatters them, telling Middleton he’d make a “great prime minister” and says to Robinson that he admires his “tenacity and the courage you’re showing”. These are not interviews in the traditional sense, but extended conversations that generally affirm – and even promote – the guest’s perspective.
Spinning a victim narrative Right-wing podcasting is now entrenched in the US. A 2023 report found these podcasts much more readily spread mis- and disinformation than their liberal counterparts, with Bannon’s War Room the worst offender.
My research with colleague Dominic Knight explained how the podcast’s host, one-time Trump administration official Steve Bannon, appeals to listeners by appearing as authentic and willing to take a hit for a larger cause, as per his stint in prison for contempt of Congress.
This victim narrative is a key feature of right-wing podcasting. It regularly appears in Stefanovic’s interviews. He exclaims to Robinson “I can’t believe you’re alive,” and later warns that “they’re gonna […] keep coming at you”.
He also makes no attempt to fact-check.
For instance, he allows Robinson to talk at length about his prison sentence without acknowledging what landed him there: his repetition of false claims about a Syrian schoolboy, for which he was found in contempt of court.
It’s not yet clear why the Robinson episode has been taken down, but its removal, together with Stefanovic’s exit from Nine, will only help to boost his profile as a right-wing culture warrior.
The battle for attention Stefanovic is not alone in developing a media brand off the back of a retreat from legacy media. Ette Media, Lamestream, and Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps are other examples of independent Australian media ventures started by journalists who previously worked for mainstream outlets.
In a country with high media concentration, diversity is a good thing. But the difference between the above examples and Stefanovic’s podcast is his closeness to a political campaign machine that leverages the outrage economy of social media to advance a right-wing populist agenda.
The platform X has gone into overdrive following the Robinson interview, with One Nation capitalising on the saga. Robinson himself has railed against Stefanovic’s exit from Nine. And the platform’s owner Elon Musk, shared a post by activist and recently announced “chief chaos correspondent” for Stefanovic’s podcast, Drew Pavlou, attracting millions of views.
The real danger lies in the podcast’s normalisation of extreme, racist ideals that threaten Australia’s social fabric. In the US, reports show followers of the white nationalist Nick Fuentes succeeded in pushing media figures such as the late podcaster Charlie Kirk further rightward, helping to mainstream ethno-nationalism.
As long as figures like Tommy Robinson are given a platform to share their ideas without scrutiny, couched in friendly conversation, there is a risk of fuelling xenophobia.
The risk of getting political While the attention on Stefanovic will benefit his brand, particularly as he presents himself as a victim and champion of free speech, his gamble in courting controversial political figures could backfire.
Streamer Adin Ross, who interviewed Trump in the lead-up to the 2024 election, has declared that he wishes he never got into politics. Other American podcasters who supported Trump have voiced similar regrets. Having gone independent, Stefanovic’s income will likely mostly come from direct advertising and views on YouTube.
Experts warn it will be hard for the show to generate the kind of money he was earning at Nine – A$2 million a year. But there is evidence the controversy is working for him. The re-published version of the Robinson interview on Pauline Hanson’s YouTube Channel has more than 443,000 views at the time of writing, far outpacing the videos on his own channel.
The next closest recent video to that figure is the one he published after his exit from Nine was announced, with nearly 390,000 views just two days after posting. In that clip, he also expresses a hope for more sponsors to join the show.
For 20 years, Stefanovic crafted a persona as a larrikin morning television personality who didn’t take himself too seriously.
His reinvention might suit the times for now, but if the populist surge fuelling One Nation’s rise subsides, he could well find himself out in the cold with advertisers and the public alike.
Dylan Bird does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/06/28/without-nines-shackles-karl-stefanovic-is-free-to-become-a-culture-warrior-hero/