Michelle Obama’s new podcast with her brother Craig Robinson has failed to meet expectations after it launched with great fanfare in early March.
The new media venture, titled, IMO [In My Opinion] with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, follows the sibling duo as they give advice, discuss current events, and interview a variety of special guests.
The podcast is underperforming on the charts, with recent statistics placing it as the 34th most listened to show on Spotify, according to the streamer’s charts.
The podcast has also fallen on the charts, with other shows like The Ezra Klein Show with the New York Times and The Determined Society with Shawn French rising.
Meanwhile, the podcast is only ranked 19 on Apple Podcasts, with shows like The Mel Robbins Podcast, Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce, and The Joe Rogan Experience outperforming the sibling duo.
Good Hang with Amy Poehler launched on February 10, only a month before IMO and is already ranked second on Apple Podcasts and third on Spotify.
Poehler’s show has also released two less episodes than Obama and is still outperforming on the charts.
IMO released two episodes on its launch date, the first titled, You Should Start a Podcast with Your Sibling.
Michelle Obama’s new podcast hasn’t generated impressive numbers after the show was met with great fanfare upon release
Obama hosts the show with her brother, Craig Robinson (pictured). The show ranks lower than other recently released podcasts like Amy Poehler’s Good Hang
The show has already released multiple episodes featuring Issa Rae, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, Jay Shetty, and Dr. Laurie Santos
The second episode featured executive producer and actress Issa Rae, and was titled, Some Friendships Need to Go.
The sibling duo also had episodes featuring Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren, psychology professor Dr. Laurie Santos, Keke Palmer, and podcaster Jay Shetty.
IMO is produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s media production, Higher Ground, which was behind films such as the Julia Roberts-led Leave the World Behind and Colman Domingo’s depiction of civil rights icon Bayard Rustin in Rustin.
The production company also produced Michelle’s previous podcast, The Light Podcast, that ended its run last February.
Michelle Obama’s YouTube account, where fans can watch the podcast currently has 67,000 subscribers, which pales in comparison to Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast with a whopping 1.2 million.
The Joe Rogan Experience has a jaw-dropping 19.6 million subscribers and the Jay Shetty Podcast has 3.91 million.
The statistics come after IMO kicked off with a slow start, with the first episode only clocking in about 50,000 views upon release.
The disappointing numbers come as Democrats strategize to find a, ‘Joe Rogan of the left,’ after podcasts seemed to help Donald Trump appeal to the younger generation during the presidential election.
The first episode of IMO featured executive producer and actress Issa Rae as the three discussed the topic of friendships
Michelle Obama’s YouTube account currently has 67,000 subscribers, which pales in comparison to Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast with a whopping 1.2 million and Joe Rogan’s channel with 19.6 million
Michelle Obama and her brother Craig attended the SXSW Conference on March 13 to promote their new podcast
A recent study from Media Matters revealed that conservative podcasts and pundits dominate the alternative media space, with left-leaning shows paling in comparison.
Joe Rogan was the most listened to right-leaning figure, clocking in at 39.9 million followers.
Charlie Kirk, Ben Shapiro, and Jordan Peterson also had substantive followers, all clocking in at over 18 million.
Meanwhile, the top left-leaning online show was hosted by Trevor Noah, with only 21.2 million.
The Young Turks and The Breakfast Club only had about 12 million followers each, paling in comparison to the following of right-leaning figures.
Other prominent Democrats like California Governor Gavin Newsom has also thrown his hat in the ring with a new podcast called This is Gavin Newsom.
The podcast launched on February 26, just a few weeks before IMO, and is ranked 47 on Spotify and 57 on Apple Podcasts.
