TrumpWatch with Jesse Lent

Show Launch: December 7, 2016 on WBAI 99.5FM Pacifica Radio New York 

Show Timeslot: Wednesdays at 6:30pm

Podcast Launch: March 21, 2017 on SoundCloud and iTunes

Show Synopsis: Each episode of “TrumpWatch with Jesse Lent” explores one specific aspect of the Donald Trump administration or the various protest movements that have galvanized in its wake. In an age of cable outrage over 30-second sound bites, this show aims to go beyond the headlines and hysteria in an attempt to grasp what changes are occurring under our new government. By speaking with journalists, academics and activists, from famed linguist George Lakoff to Washington Post White House correspondent Karoun Demirjian, host Jesse Lent forgoes partisan grandstanding in search of a common understanding of complex issues far too often dumbed down to a matter of us vs. them.

Listenership: Since officially launching the podcast three months ago on SoundCloud and iTunes, “TrumpWatch with Jesse Lent has been downloaded over 4,300 times. This does not include people listening to the live broadcast of the show or streaming it in the WBAI archives. Below is a breakdown of the averages.

358 downloads per episode if averaged across the 12 new episodes released since the official podcast launch

143 downloads per episode if averaged across the first 30 episodes of the show since premiering back in December

Median average downloads (highest and lowest number averaged together): 146 per episode

Syndication: Since May of 2017, “TrumpWatch” with Jesse Lent has been rebroadcast on five Pacifica affiliates: KCEI in Taos, New Mexico, KRWV in Gold Canyon, Arizona, KYAQ in Siletz, Oregon, KKFI in Kansas City, Missouri and Workforce Rising Radio in Moscow, Pennsylvania.

Top 10 Highest Rated Episodes:

George Lakoff, professor of cognitive science and linguistics at UC Berkeley's Graduate Program, on what behind President Trump’s unique speaking style

Oriana Skylar Mastro, an assistant professor in security studies at Georgetown University whose work has been featured in The Atlantic, the New Republic and the Journal of Strategic Studies, on what the President's policy will be toward North Korea

Karoun Demirjian, a foreign policy reporter for the Washington Post and a former correspondent at the paper's Moscow bureau, on whether the Trump administration's ties to Russia are legal

Trina Realmuto, litigation director of the National Immigration Project at the National Lawyers Guild, on how Trump's new travel ban is different from the first one

Olivia Solon, a tech reporter for the Guardian on what President Trump will mean for net neutrality

Sari Horwitz, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for the Washington Post on how Attorney General Jeff Sessions is running the Justice Department

Adam Cancryn, a health care reporter for POLITICO, on what is in the Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare

Tracy Clark, Jason Roer and Ashley Graham, the founders of the Fire The Fool Declaration Rally on how their organization is resisting POTUS

Jeet Heer, managing editor of the New Republic, on Mike Pence's role as Vice President

Greg Palast, Rolling Stone investigative journalist, on whether there is any truth to President Trump's election fraud claims

Media Outlets: Host Jesse Lent has interviewed reporters from 10 news organizations: 

Axios
The Guardian, 
The Indypendent 
The Miami Herald 
The New Republic 
The New Yorker 
The New York Times 
POLITICO 
Rolling Stone 
The Washington Post 

Nonprofit Organizations: Representatives of six non-profit organizations have been guests on the show:

Drug Policy Alliance
Fire The Fool 
Harlem Copwatch 
National Immigration Project at the National Lawyers Guild 
RootsAction Network 
the Women’s March on Washington

Academic Institutions: Professors from six colleges have appeared on “TrumpWatch with Jesse Lent”:

CUNY School of Law
City College of New York's Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership 
Georgetown University, 
NYU
Queens College 
UC Berkeley

Social Media: Though both the Facebook page and Twitter account for “TrumpWatch with Jesse Lent” have yet to catch fire, we are currently working with interns and staff to increase their number of followers through the use of marketing and providing quality content through these sites and others, like Reddit and Instagram.