Janelle Irwin Taylor
In June 2023, Ballard Media Group Chair Adam Goodman was chatting with the boss, Brian Ballard, about the firm’s latest media product, a podcast called 13th & Park. The program is now in its third season.
At the time, the YouTube channel for the podcast had just 37 subscribers. For someone like Ballard, that’s the kind of number that might make you think that maybe it’s better to not have a podcast than to have one with just 37 subscribers.
So Goodman set out to grow the show’s popularity, honing in on aesthetically pleasing visual components to set it apart from other podcasts, and booking quality guests who answer compelling questions.
Now, the podcast has nearly 2.3 million subscribers, and it’s considered a top get for comms professionals looking to nab exposure for their clients.
“We’ve gotten to be popular largely because of the quality of the guests,” Goodman said.
And he’s right. The show has hosted 13 U.S. Senators, including one who has since left office and now serves as U.S. Secretary of State. And it was Marco Rubio who began 13th & Park’s surge.
Unlike some interviews with elected officials — Rubio sat for the interview while he was still in the Senate — Goodman didn’t just focus his interview prep on issues facing Congress, or even the U.S. and world more broadly. Obviously, issues came up, but Goodman spent considerable time learning about who Rubio was.
He found one particular detail that really took the interview up a notch, Goodman believes. That is, Rubio is a big music fan, and one of his favorite artists is hip hop star Eminem.
Goodman quoted lyrics to one of Eminem’s songs as a sort of icebreaker. The ice, it’s safe to say, was broken.
“He was like, ‘Oh my God, this isn’t a typical news interview,’” Goodman recalled. “It really opened my eyes about how the guests love this format and they’re not getting enough of it.”
That interview, which ran in November shortly after the Presidential Election, had 362,000 views. Senators were popular on the program overall. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, who offered the GOP response to former President Joe Biden’s final State of the Union address, was on a show last December that had 288,000 views. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, Rubio’s then-Florida counterpart, had 212,000 views.
Other Senators eclipsing the 200,000 view mark include U.S. Sens. Todd Young and Steve Daines, with U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson, Chuck Grassley, Bob Kerry and Ashley Moody all breaking 100,000 views.
The show has also hosted 16 current, and two former, members of the House, with U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina drawing an impressive 338,000 views in January.
And the show doesn’t just tackle federal politics, it also gets into local issues. The show has hosted several Democratic Mayors, including Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
“They obviously are now facing a new world,” Goodman said, referring to uncertain federal funding for local governments, things Goodman said “are critical to the health of American cities.”
Castor’s interview garnered 103,000 views.
Goodman said the show also represents an opportunity to cut through political silos.
“We try to present a very balanced, open platform where everyone can feel welcome,” he said. “We’re very interested in trying to advance information that will inspire dialogue.”
Goodman thinks that format — something he describes as being somewhere between CSPAN and moderate political coverage on major networks — is driving popularity.
“I think there’s a real thirst out there for information that inspires people, as opposed to depresses people,” he added.
But over the past several years, voters have increasingly flocked to programming that reinforces views they already have. More than ever, media can often be described as either conservative or liberal, and it sometimes operates with an agenda that people tune in to share.
Asked how 13th & Park avoids criticism from viewers and listeners who perhaps don’t want to hear from Democratic Mayors — or from one of the biggest Democratic targets among the GOP and its supporters, California Gov. Gavin Newsom — Goodman said it’s about making guests feel comfortable by getting to know them.
He described an interview with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, which just aired Monday and in the first six hours had already amassed more than 18,000 views in less than one day.
Patrick, like Goodman, is from Baltimore. So Goodman spoke with him at length about things only Baltimore people might appreciate, such as Natty Boh and Orioles games. By the end of the conversation — which Goodman was quick to point out lasted about 90 minutes even as the Texas Legislature was entering the final days of its biannual Session — the two strangers, who had never spoken before, felt like best friends.
“The secret sauce is to get to know them personally, not just professionally,” Goodman said.
Another point of success is that 13th & Park isn’t just a political podcast. It also features guests from the entertainment and sports worlds.
The show, about a year ago, hosted Cedric the Entertainer, drawing more than 150,000 views. Ted Nugent drew 129,000. Sports stars have also joined, including Johnny Bench, the Cincinnati Reds baseball legend, who drew more than a half million viewers. Swimmer Mel Stewart and baseball star Ben Casparius each drew nearly 210,000 viewers.
Other guests have included media personalities such as Chris Matthews, Jeanine Pirro, Larry Sabato and Chuck Todd.
Goodman said the show’s growth isn’t showing signs of slowing down.
“We’re getting more and more people approaching us to get on the show, in and well beyond government,” Goodman said, and he sees it as an opportunity.
“We’ve been the beneficiaries of a movement where more and more people are looking for different kinds of platforms that reach audiences searching for legitimate information and stories of inspiration.”
