Megyn Kelly announced Thursday she will be launching a podcast this month, with the former Fox News and NBC News journalist saying it will be free of an agenda or “corporate overlords”
“Some news: I am launching a podcast this month. It’ll be free & available pretty much everywhere. No B.S. No agenda. No corporate overlords. Should be fun!” Kelly wrote in a tweet to her more than 2.4 million followers.
Kelly also said in a statement to The Hill that she believes “a vast majority of Americans are tougher than people think” and can handle the kind of “sharp, compelling discussions about tough issues” her podcast will offer.
“So many in the media are terrified to talk about difficult issues in a way that does not conform with what the perpetually outraged scolds want to hear or what their corporate brass demand, but don’t expect that from me,” Kelly said.
“There will be no safe spaces here. There will be spaces that challenge you, make you think, help you understand, stimulate your intellect and help build resiliency,” she added. “The vast majority of Americans are tougher than people think – they can handle sharp, compelling discussions about tough issues.
“Those are my people, and I miss them,” she said.
Former CNN Senior Digital Producer Steve Krakauer will serve as executive producer of Kelly’s podcast. Krakauer also authors a nightly media newsletter, “Fourth Watch,” that launched earlier this year.
The podcast industry has exploded in recent years with more big names in politics and journalism launching their own offerings.
Joe Rogan, for example, reportedly earned $30 million in revenue last year with 190 million downloads per month for the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast on YouTube, where he currently has more than 8.4 million subscribers. The 52-year-old has since signed a lucrative deal with Spotify, which boasts 130 million subscribers.
Former first lady Michelle Obama also recently launched her own podcast to much fanfare, with former President Clinton also announcing this week his plans for a podcast.
Deloitte predicted the global podcast market would rise 30 percent and eclipse $1 billion for the first time in 2020.
–Updated at 10:24 a.m.