Political commentator Ben Shapiro, a vocal critic of Hollywood, could be attending the Golden Globes, the very same awards program he ridiculed last year.
“They literally created an award just for ‘Barbie’ because it wasn’t going to win any of the artistic awards,” he said. “Those all went to ‘Oppenheimer.’” He was referring to the “Barbenheimer” craze that began in 2023 when the internet found itself preoccupied with the two very contrasting major studio films.
But Shapiro may find the red carpet rolled out for him this time around.
The Golden Globes recently announced 25 podcasts, including “The Ben Shapiro Show,” were eligible for a brand new category: Best Podcast.
The list includes a mixed bag of true crime, entertainment and sports. Among the selections for political commentary and news shows, conservative podcasts outnumber liberal-leaning ones.
Aside from Shapiro, the shows of Shawn Ryan, a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan, were also on the list.
Comedian and podcast host Theo Von’s political views are a little harder to pin down but are considered “MAGA friendly.”
Many liberal leaning legacy news companies also made the list, including NPR’s “Up First,” The New York Times’ “The Daily” and ABC News’ “20/20.”
“Pod Save America,” hosted by former Barack Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor, is also eligible.
This uneven political representation in the podcasting space has been well documented
A report from left-leaning Media Matters from earlier this year found right-leaning shows dominate the online media landscape in general, with 480.6 million followers compared to 104 million for left-leaning shows.
The study further states that right-leaning shows often present as nonpolitical, landing in categories like comedy and entertainment, which helps them attract wider audiences while sprinkling in political content.
The true crime category included CBS News’ “48 Hours,” “Crime Junkie,” NBC’s “Dateline,” “Morbid,” “MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories” and “Rotten Mango.”
Actors like Dax Shepard (“Armchair Expert”), Amy Poehler (“Good Hang”), Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett (Smartless) dominate the entertainment category.
“Pardon My Take” and “The Bill Simmons Podcast” are the two sports entries.
The Golden Globes will announce winners in January 2026.