Media Monday: Brian Tyler Cohen’s Media Gospel

**Brian Tyler Cohen** (0:01)
We don't have the House, we don't have the Senate, we don't have the White House, we don't really have the Supreme Court, and we didn't have the popular vote. And so I think that our job right now, our only job, inherently, has to be expanding the coalition.

**Peter Hamby** (0:14)
Welcome to The Powers That Be Daily, Puck's podcast focused on the intersection of Wall Street, Washington, Silicon Valley and Hollywood, and the players who run it all. I'm Peter Hamby. It's Monday, July 20th, which means it's Media Monday. Today, I'm joined by Brian Tyler Cohen, not John Kelly, who is on a little summer vacay, to talk about political media in a digital world. Brian is one of the biggest creators in progressive media with a new book out on power and politics in the Donald Trump era. He joins me today to talk about whether Democrats are finally figuring out new media and podcasts, how the creator economy really works, AOC and the 2028 presidential race, his thoughts on the left versus liberal warfare that's flaring online during this primary season, and whether the FCC needs to be eliminated. We'll discuss all that and much, much more on today's episode of The Powers That Be.
Happy Monday, everybody, and welcome to The Powers That Be. If it's Monday, it's Media Monday. But to paraphrase the annoying waiter at your local small plates restaurant, we're going to things a little differently today. We have a guest from the outside, not a Puck employee. Yes, that's right. Brian Tyler Cohen, the progressive content creator, my pal out here in Los Angeles, joins me today. He's got a new book out, The Day After.
How to wield power in a post-Trump world?
With the Saddam Hussein pulling down of the statue photo. I'm sure that will crush at the Barnes and Noble in Cambridge. Brian is a very sharp guy. I have been very impressed by him over the years. He understands media and new media. He started with an iPhone camera back in 2018
Out of rage, really. Is that right, Brian? Just filming yourself, posting. Eventually growing across platforms, a following of almost 8 million people. We're talking YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, everywhere you look, Brian Tyler Cohen is there and has become both a powerful voice in the progressive left media ecosystem and also an in-demand person for every Democratic and left-leaning politician who wants to reach audiences beyond traditional television news, newspapers, press releases, etc. And so Brian also has some big thoughts on media. I remember after 2024, I interviewed him for PUC and I want to update that conversation here today about how Democrats failed to create a new media ecosystem, how Donald Trump seized it. Brian, welcome. First of all, good to see you, buddy.

**Brian Tyler Cohen** (3:03)
Good seeing you too. Thanks for having me, man.

**Peter Hamby** (3:05)
I'm going to ask you about your book and your thoughts on the FCC. You've got some big thoughts on Brendan Carr and the FCC in a moment. But I want to read back to you something you told me at the end of 2024, after Kamala Harris lost, after Donald Trump won by doing all of those podcasts and quote unquote Manosphere interviews. You told me, quote, if anyone has 60 bucks to buy a microphone, Donald Trump will show up and talk to them for 10 minutes and not only validate that person, not only legitimize that person, but make that person a missionary for him for the other 364 days a year. And you made that point to say, Democrats were still relying throughout that election in the previous decade on that, not every Democrat, but a lot of them on the press release, the MSNBC segment, the press conference in front of a bank of TV cameras and didn't nurture that outside ecosystem. You were asked to come to Capitol Hill actually right after that interview to talk to a bunch of Democrats on Capitol Hill. And so I ask you, because this is Media Monday, we talk about the media generally. The media that we're talking about right now is just the same. The media is Barry Weiss and CBS News. Have Democrats gotten better since the end of 2024 with engaging creators, with thinking, you know, being more nimble with vertical video, et cetera? What's your honest verdict on this right now? Because Democrats have been trying to improve.

**Brian Tyler Cohen** (4:27)
So I think objectively, yes, at embracing this ecosystem, there's no doubt that even the least technologically savvy politicians on the left are absolutely even recognizing the importance of embracing this stuff. Now, whether they themselves are good at it is another question altogether, because there are some people who've really surged to the forefront in terms of their media strategy. Zoran Mamdani is excellent at it. AOC is excellent at it. Newsome is excellent at it. And so the people who've invested in this space and who are savvy enough to know how to optimize in this space are obviously rising to the top.