Dan Bongino is unapologetically himself, both on his podcast and his nationally syndicated radio show. What you see is what you get with the former NYPD and Secret Service member.
After the death of Rush Limbaugh in 2021, Bongino was one of several news/talk radio shows launched looking to fill the then-vacant 12-3 PM ET timeslot the venerable Limbaugh held around the nation.
He was a natural choice for Cumulus, as the native New Yorker had launched a burgeoning podcast that was a major player in the growing conservative digital media space.
That podcast success has continued, as The Dan Bongino Show was the most-listened-to conservative podcast in March, according to rankings from Triton. The program was the seventh most popular podcast in the country.
When asked what he attributed the podcast’s success to, he pointed to a strong work ethic and an even stronger passion for the medium and the content he produces.
“I know it sounds cliche, but it’s true: You really have to be willing to put in the work,” said Bongino. “And the problem with podcasting is, because the barrier of entry is so low, basically anyone can do one of those. And that’s not the problem. The problem is you’re probably going to work for a good — I mean, unless you’re a big name power like a Tucker Carlson or someone who could just come in and right away command an audience — most people, even mid-level guys who have decent following, it’s gonna take a while.
“We never took a day off. My first I think five years of podcasts, we never took a day off during the work week. If Christmas was on a Wednesday, we worked. Outside of the weekend, we never took a day off. We worked Thanksgiving. My team worked for five years straight. And our theory was ‘Someone else’s taking the day off. People are gonna want fresh content, and we’re going to be there.’ We did, and it took us a really long time. We were like a five-year overnight success,” he said with a chuckle.
“So that’s the easy answer. The hard answer is — listen, content is king, brother. That’s just the fact. Content is king,” he reiterated. “And why has our content rocketed into the top of the podcast space? I wish I knew. I’d write a book and I’d sell the formula. I don’t know. I really candidly don’t know, I have no idea. I’m really passionate, but so’s Mark Levin. He’s got a successful podcast. Maybe that’s it. I don’t really know. There’s something about it that people seem to really enjoy, and I wish I could bottle it and sell it.”
Hosting the podcast every single weekday for several years — in addition to adding a nationally syndicated radio show, investing in platforms like Rumble and Parler, and previously hosting a weekend program on Fox News that at the time was the network’s highest-rated Saturday program before exiting last April — has taken a toll.
Dan Bongino admitted he had recently been dealing with heart issues that have led him to miss his radio program and popular podcast. While he was quick to point out that the issue doesn’t appear to be serious, he shared that the problems are stress-related.
“If you really care about your product — which I do and I know tons of other conservative podcasters do, I’m not the only one, not even close — there’s a FOMO. There’s this fear of missing out,” he stated, noting that he often has to be asked by his wife and children to put his phone down to be present in the moment instead of checking social media. “I’m not a snowflake and I don’t want to sound like whining. I love my job. I would do it for free. But yeah, it is stressful.”
He added that his inexperience in the news/talk radio medium — and more broadly, being a public figure — has led to him learning how to handle certain aspects of the job. However, the 49-year-old freely admitted that’s a work in progress.
“I’m just a guy. I was not born a radio host. It’s great if you were, but I was out there as a cop and an agent. I had a regular job like every regular guy. So I haven’t been in this business 30 years, and I haven’t learned to ignore stuff,” Dan Bongino said. “I know a bunch of hosts who I am friends with and they told me you got to let that stuff go and — I’m candid with people. I can’t. It’s hard for me to do that. I just can’t let stuff go … You really gotta learn to segregate stuff I should pay attention to and stuff I should let go.”
In spite of the burnout, Dan Bongino didn’t hesitate when asked what motivated him to push past the fatigue.
“Fear,” he said, bluntly. “Fear, man. I just don’t want to lose. I have a lot of internal personal inadequacy … I am as much of a regular dude as regular dudes are. I’m the Kathy Bates character in Titanic, you know, like new money? That’s me. I grew up, my dad was a plumber, my mom worked at a supermarket. My brother’s an electrician. I’m terrified — terrified — that I’m gonna wake up one morning and my listeners and viewers are just going to disappear and say ‘Yeah, show’s not good anymore.’ I mean, legit terrified.”
He added that constant doubt can lead to more burnout because the need to create top-of-format content leads to obsessing over details that could be relinquished to those on his team.
“I’m just deathly afraid of the show failing. The dirty little secret about this content creation business that anyone will tell you, — it’s the same as sports radio and sports TV — it is entirely news cycle driven. It’s like the NFL. After the Super Bowl, ratings drop. The host could be the most talented guy you have ever seen on the air, and the ratings are gonna go down,” said Bongino. “Radio and podcasting, it’s the same thing. Summer? Parents go on vacation and the audience drops off. The news cycle? Primaries are over, it drops off. You get a debate, and the radio and the ratings go up.
“But I still drive myself crazy. The other day we had like 109,000 live streams, which was the biggest live stream in the United States by far at 11 o’clock. And I’m looking at my team like ‘Yeah, but we had 115,000 yesterday. They’re like, ‘Dude, are you serious? Like you’re complaining about this? The next closest guy had 40,000 streamers. What are you whining about?’ And that’s fear, man. I’m afraid and I think it’s a gift, if use it right.”
One could argue that The Dan Bongino Show host has certainly turned that fear into a gift. As he approaches his third anniversary of launching his radio show, it doesn’t appear as if he’s slowing down anytime soon.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
