How RFK Jr. Uses Podcasting to Shape Tech and Farm Policy

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has run a regular podcast since 2021, releasing 189 episodes through 2024. The RFK Jr Podcast focuses on technology policy, farming reform, and what Kennedy calls regulatory capture—the idea that large companies shape rules to their advantage. The podcast has continued throughout his presidential campaign.

What He's Been Talking About

In December 2024, Kennedy released episodes on economic and regulatory themes. One episode with Lloyd Chapman examined how regulations can favor big corporations over small ones. A few weeks earlier, he interviewed farming advocate Joel Salatin about alternative farming models and ways to decentralize the food system.

Kennedy's podcast follows a simple format: one-on-one interviews with guests who are experts or practitioners in a field. Each episode stands alone rather than being part of a longer series, so episodes can cover different topics while staying within Kennedy's main interests.

Technology and Digital Rights

Kennedy has spent considerable podcast time on technology policy, particularly concerns about how tech platforms influence information and user behavior. His campaign manager, Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, joined him for an interview with researcher Dr. Robert Epstein about how major tech companies shape what information people see and how they shape user decisions.

Kennedy has also covered digital rights questions with figures like Bret Weinstein, who discussed the September 29, 2024 Rescue the Republic Rally in Washington D.C., an event centered on constitutional rights in the digital age.

These episodes frame technology issues through the lens of regulatory capture—asking how incumbent tech companies shape the policy environment in their favor. The basic question underlying these conversations: who decides what information people see, and how much power should tech companies have over that.

Looking at Policy Around the World

Kennedy uses the podcast to explore how other countries handle similar policy challenges. He featured Rene Zegerius discussing Dutch drug policy and its real-world results. These episodes offer a window into how different regulatory approaches address the same problems, and what outcomes those approaches produce.

By examining drug policy in the Netherlands, for example, the podcast explores harm reduction strategies and whether they actually improve public health. This approach lets Kennedy make the case that American policy could learn from international examples.

How He Reaches People

The podcast distributes through Apple Podcasts and other major platforms. The consistent publishing schedule from 2021 through 2024—189 episodes despite Kennedy's political activities and campaign work—suggests he views podcasting as a long-term tool, not just something to use during election season.

Kennedy's podcast reaches people directly, without traditional media gatekeeping. This mirrors a broader trend: political figures increasingly use podcasts, social media, and newsletters to speak directly to audiences without going through news organizations. Kennedy's podcast leans heavily toward policy discussion rather than campaign messaging.

Why This Matters

The broader pattern here is worth noting. Political figures have used direct-to-audience communication channels for decades—starting with websites and email lists in the 1990s, then social media, now podcasts. Kennedy's approach fits this evolution. His sustained episode count and regular publishing schedule suggest he intends to keep the podcast going, regardless of electoral outcomes, as a vehicle for ongoing policy advocacy.

This is different from campaign podcasts that scale up during election season and then disappear. Kennedy appears to be treating the format as a permanent platform for influence.

Agriculture and Environment

Kennedy's environmental background—he led restoration work on the Hudson River and was named one of Time magazine's "Heroes for the Planet"—shapes his podcast's agricultural coverage. The Joel Salatin interview examines regenerative farming practices and building a more resilient food system.

These discussions connect technology policy to agriculture by examining corporate consolidation in food production. Kennedy typically frames small-scale, sustainable farming against industrial agriculture models backed by large technology and chemical companies.

Kennedy's podcast, then, represents an ongoing effort to maintain policy influence through channels he controls. Whether through electoral success or not, the platform allows him to build audiences around specific issues and keep policy advocacy in motion.