AS an avid podcast listener, I observe with interest at the rising popularity of the podcast “Keluar Sekejap” hosted by Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.

Putting aside my own views about the content, I find the podcast to be a good model of a Malaysian political podcast done right, other notable examples being “Waroeng Baru” and BFM’s “Beyond the Ballot Box”

This is important because Malaysia generally lacks podcasts about politics despite the opening up of political space.

Freedom alone does not make a good podcast, and it’s crucial to note what clicks for political podcasts.

Here are 10 tips for a good political podcast:

1. Do it in Bahasa Malaysia.

Politics is about shaping the national conversation, so it makes sense to do it in the national language.

2. Rapport is everything.

The hosts must be comfortable with one another before the audience can get comfortable with them. The long, working relationship between the two hosts works to their advantage here.

The key, however, is not to get so comfortable that the podcast just becomes a buddy “catch-up” show, which a lot of podcasts devolve into (Joe Rogan does that but succeeds remarkably).

3. Settle into your roles.

It’s clear Shahril has taken on a more junior and hosting role while Khairy plays the more senior and discussant role. Shahril tends to say the nicer things about Pakatan Harapan, and Khairy often is the more provocative one.

There’s a subtle hierarchy there, but they both seem comfortable with the ‘older-younger brother’ dynamic there. The dynamic strengthens the rapport, but it also sustains the flow.

There is the understanding that Khairy, who plays the role of the older brother, will always get the final word.

4. Use guests sparingly.

People who do political podcasts tend to fall into the trap of a “one issue, different guest every week” format.

As someone who enjoys shows with such a format, such as “Talking Politics” in the UK, I also think having a different guest every week breaks the rapport between the host and the audience, not to mention the established role dynamics between the hosts.

It’s actually easier to build a loyal audience base if you keep to that rapport and role dynamics, which is why shows without guests, such as “Ones and Tooze” by Foreign Policy are so successful.

Just because you don’t have guests doesn’t mean that you can’t engage in multiple topics, which gets us to the next point…

5. Do your homework

People often think podcasts are just people talking, but the good ones tend to be extremely scripted.

Even a polymath like economic historian Adam Tooze of “Ones and Tooze” has admitted that it is so.

As far as I can observe, both the hosts in “Keluar Sekejap” also rely on notes. A good podcast isn’t one without notes; it’s one where you fool the audience into thinking there aren’t any. 

6. Don’t wing it even if you know the subject well.

Most people overestimate their abilities to speak off the cuff. Even if you know a subject well, it doesn’t mean you can talk about it effectively.

Actually, the more you know about something, the more you tend to blabber on. That’s why doing one’s homework is important. It helps you to organise what to say and know when to stop.

The worst thing that can happen in a podcast is when the hosts open up a topic and don’t quite know how to close it. Preparation is paramount.

7. Don’t be afraid of the technical stuff.

One thing “Keluar Sekejap” does well is that it never assumes that audience doesn’t want to know the “boring” policy stuff.

If one were to only talk about the issues that interest social media users, the podcast will end up like Fox News, speaking about the culture wars 24/7.

“Keluar Sekejap”  always starts a topic issues by providing ample background.

That’s how the show can talk about issues as varied as ketum, the EPF, the death penalty to the South China Sea territorial disputes.

8. Be opinionated.

No one switches on a podcast just for “education”. They listen because they have a connection with the host.

So, they want to know what you think. Being nuanced and opinionated is not mutually exclusive. If the hosts don’t have an opinion, the podcast will not have an identity. Say what you think but…

9. Let your audience make up their minds.

Even when the “Keluar Sekejap” hosts do not take a firm position (sometimes that can be a problem), they always show some degree of variation in terms of how they approach a topic.

There’s enough context for a lay audience to understand the topic.

This helps to lower the entry barrier for the mass audience and prevents the show from sounding too condescending.

10. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

The podcast chose to take a joke from the start so that it doesn’t have to explain itself further. The name of the show says as much.

It pokes fun at the hosts’ status as political exiles while providing depth of content. That explains the success of the show. – May 16, 2023.

* A Forensic Science-Asian Studies hybrid, Nicholas Chan is interested in how authority is shaped, exercised, and more importantly, resisted in Southeast Asia.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.