Big tech platforms, including TikTok and Netflix, are all looking to add video podcasts to their content, a rapidly growing format that attracts a young audience prized by advertisers and where YouTube dominates.Roman Wasenmüller, the head of podcasts at Spotify, said that the development “marks a new chapter for podcasting,” as he announced a partnership with Netflix in mid-October.Google-owned YouTube is now the leading destination for podcasts in the United States, with 33 percent market share according to Edison Research, and more than one billion consumers worldwide.YouTube even offers audio show producers the ability to generate video using artificial intelligence to better illustrate their show on the platform.Spotify is now moving in, and by the end of September, 390 million users of the Swedish streaming service had watched at least one video-version of a podcast.”Podcasting is correctly seen as a medium that is growing in usage considerably faster than a lot of legacy media, and that’s attractive to investors,” said Martin Spinelli, a podcasting professor at the University of Sussex.- Connect with Gen Z -The rise of the podcast is particularly pronounced among young people, noted Yoram Wurmser, an analyst at Emarketer.”Gen Z are heavy podcast listeners and viewers, so it’s good to connect with them” as much as possible, Wurmser said.Donald Trump’s podcast tour during his US presidential campaign helped increase his popularity among young adults.Democrat Zohran Mamdani, recently elected mayor of New York, also gave significant attention to podcasters.A latecomer to this space, Netflix has already announced the release, in early 2026, of a dozen programs licensed from Spotify.But according to Business Insider, Netflix aims to quickly offer more than 50 and eventually up to 200 in total that will include new productions made for Netflix.TikTok announced Monday a collaboration with American radio giant iHeartMedia, aimed at launching up to 25 programs hosted by influencers.”We’re combining our vast networks to deliver relevant content on a massive scale,” said Rich Bressler, iHeartMedia’s number two. “It’s a win for creators, fans, and brands alike.”TikTok will not broadcast entire episodes but excerpts, similar to what most successful podcasts already make available, some garnering several million views each time.The Chinese-owned social network doesn’t produce its own videos, any more than YouTube does, but Martin Spinelli expects streaming services to “amplify the content that they’ve already monetized” using podcasts.Even before launching its offensive, Netflix had already produced audio extras for several of its hit series, from “The Crown” to “Heartstopper.”Disney has also heavily invested in this niche and announced in early September the arrival of podcasts spun off from series like “Only Murders in the Building” and “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.”For existing podcasts, access to new audiences using video should increase revenues, said Emarketer’s Wurmser, whether through advertising, subscriptions or merchandise.Spinelli sees it as a victory for independent podcasts, which “will be able to expand their audience.””It’s much easier to find” a podcast based on its content “on YouTube than on Apple Podcasts,” said Spinelli, who himself hosts the program “For Your Ears Only,” “and I think it will be the same for Netflix and TikTok.”

Is it still the economy, stupid? US President Donald Trump has floated a string of sometimes outlandish policy ideas as he seeks to fight back on the cost-of-living issue that is causing jitters in his Republican Party.While bristling at suggestions that he is the latest US leader facing an economic problem, Trump has also suggested plans ranging from $2,000 dividends for Americans to half-century mortgages.- Affordability – The cost of living has been on the minds of Americans since Democrats scored big wins in off-year elections last week in New Jersey, New York and Virginia, fueled by voters angry over rising prices.Billionaire Trump insisted afterwards that “I don’t want to hear about the affordability,” lashing out at reporters — including an AFP journalist — when asked about the issue, instead opting to blame inflation on former president Joe Biden.Yet Trump’s MAGA movement has pushed him to react, and there are signs that Trump and the White House recognize the issue could damage Republicans in the 2026 US midterm elections.The White House this week highlighted what it said were Trump’s moves to lower prices on essentials like gas and eggs, and pointed to an announcement last week of a deal to lower the prices of some weight-loss drugs.Trump meanwhile is set to “ramp up” his domestic travels in the near future to push his economic message, a White House official told AFP.The 79-year-old tycoon has always made a big play of his economic prowess, and will recall the words of Democratic strategist James Carville, who famously explained what was behind Bill Clinton’s presidential win in 1992 with the phrase: “The economy, stupid!”- Dividends – One of Trump’s most eye-catching suggestions came on social media over the weekend as he proposed dividends of $2,000 for each American, funded by the sweeping tariffs he has imposed around the world.The scheme is reminiscent of the Trump-branded stimulus checks he sent out during the Covid pandemic, but economic figures suggest that it may be a while before any tariff dividend checks arrive in the mail.Trump said tariffs were bringing in “trillions of dollars,” but US Treasury Department data showed customs revenues — which includes tariffs — rose by $179 billion in the January to September period of this year.The US Supreme Court is meanwhile examining whether the levies are even legal.Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt insisted that the White House was “committed” to the dividends and exploring legal options, but said there was “no timeline” for Trump’s scheme.- Mortgages – Trump’s most controversial suggestion — again posed on social media — has been to give homeowners the option of 50-year mortgages, instead of the normal maximum of 30 years.”It’s not even a big deal,” Trump told Fox News this week. “All it means is you pay less per month, you pay it over a longer period of time.” But the idea has again enraged some in the MAGA movement, as it would end up with homeowners paying more interest to banks in the long run.US media have reported that even key White House staff were furious with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte for suggesting the 50-year mortgages without more consultations.- Healthcare – Trump has also suggested that the subsidies the government pays to health insurance companies under the so-called Obamacare program should instead go directly to Americans.Extending subsidies was a key issue in the record US government shutdown that ended on Wednesday, and they will also likely be a big focus in the midterms.In yet another proposal made on his Truth Social network, Trump said this direct payment would allow Americans to choose and purchase their own healthcare instead of the money going to “money sucking insurance companies.”Trump has however given very few details of how the plan would work.

Roads and sidewalks in the US capital Washington were again clogged as thousands of federal employees returned to work Thursday following the record-breaking government shutdown — but some, like management analyst Lee Hardwick, never left. Hardwick had to work the entire 43-day shutdown — unpaid. “I’m pleased that my colleagues, the ones who haven’t gotten paid, or the ones who haven’t been working, that they actually at least get to come back to work,” the 62-year-old told AFP. The shutdown — a uniquely American phenomenon that happens when Congress cannot agree on a budget — impacted more than a million government employees.Those deemed essential, such as air traffic controllers, kept working. The others were furloughed and left waiting for news. After 43 days, the waiting came to an end Wednesday, when President Donald Trump signed a bill funding the government through January — the result of a deal brokered by Republicans and a handful of moderate Democratic lawmakers. Many federal workers approached by AFP declined to be interviewed, a reflection of the political tension behind the shutdown. “It was stressful as it relates to the unknowing” of what was going to happen, Hardwick said of the shutdown, adding that people were “annoyed and frustrated” by the impasse.Scenes of federal employees waiting for food handouts in the Washington suburbs showcased the hardships some faced while on furlough, their incomes slashed to zero.- ‘Lesson learned’? -Things began to get back on track Thursday, with air traffic returning to normal levels after shortages of controllers forced thousands of flights to be delayed or cancelled. Museums in Washington, many of which closed during the shutdown, are set to reopen on Friday. “I felt bad for my other colleagues and friends at other agencies,” said Steve, a government worker in his 50s who asked to use a pseudonym. One federal worker at the Office of Personnel Management, who requested anonymity, said they had to work throughout the shutdown. “It was a little sad to see all my federal comrades not being able to come to work, and then taking the bus for some of them that had to come to work and not get paid. It was sad,” the worker told AFP.”There’s an African proverb that says: ‘When the elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers,'” the employee said. “And I think that both (political) parties bear some responsibility, because we, as the grass, suffered during that argument.” Though the bill funded the US government through January 30, another possible shutdown is possible in 2026. “Hopefully…this was a lesson learned, and I’m hoping that even if it happens in January, that it would be a short one,” said Hardwick.”Hope it won’t happen again.”