This suggests a growing role for podcasts in future elections, alongside a growing need for clearer standards. As podcasts become more embedded in political communication, greater attention must be paid to transparency, especially around sponsored content.
This is particularly important in Singapore, where the lines between government messaging and partisan promotion are often blurred. If podcasts are to retain public trust, disclosures around affiliation and sponsorship should be standard practice.
Electoral politics in Singapore still depends on ground engagement, local trust and a party’s ability to deliver material benefits. Podcasts can support those efforts, but they can’t replace them.
Their value is cultural and atmospheric. In a society where political speech is often cautious, podcasts have created space for risk, laughter and – at their best – honest connection. That’s not electoral revolution, but it’s not nothing either.
GE2025 wasn’t decided by podcasts, but it may be remembered as the election where politicians spoke more freely, and voters began listening differently.
Kenneth Paul Tan is a professor of politics, film and cultural studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. His recent article Podcasting Politics in Singapore: Hegemony, Resistance and Digital Media was published in Critical Asian Studies.
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This is particularly important in Singapore, where the lines between government messaging and partisan promotion are often blurred. If podcasts are to retain public trust, disclosures around affiliation and sponsorship should be standard practice.
Electoral politics in Singapore still depends on ground engagement, local trust and a party’s ability to deliver material benefits. Podcasts can support those efforts, but they can’t replace them.
Their value is cultural and atmospheric. In a society where political speech is often cautious, podcasts have created space for risk, laughter and – at their best – honest connection. That’s not electoral revolution, but it’s not nothing either.
GE2025 wasn’t decided by podcasts, but it may be remembered as the election where politicians spoke more freely, and voters began listening differently.
Kenneth Paul Tan is a professor of politics, film and cultural studies at Hong Kong Baptist University. His recent article Podcasting Politics in Singapore: Hegemony, Resistance and Digital Media was published in Critical Asian Studies.
Continue reading...