Matthew Sheffield
Religious radio is a massive media ecosystem that most Americans don't know much about. It's highly influential at shaping opinions and promoting lifestyle choices
https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2026/03/26/religious-radio-across-america/
Religious Radio Across America

Almost all U.S. adults live in range of a religious radio station, most commonly Christian radio. Stations tend to broadcast either mostly music or mostly talk.

Pew Research Center
11:58pmWeb
Show threadMisuse Case10h ago
@mattsheffield @KrissyKat I remember Emily Gorscecki (I’m probably spelling that wrong) raising this point years back. Out in rural areas, especially, there’s all this conservative talk radio and it’s been largely invisible to non-conservative politicians and campaigns. They don’t get on the airwaves. There’s no counter-programming.
Show threadAZ Guy 9h ago
@MisuseCase @mattsheffield @KrissyKat I was briefly in a corner of Kansas and the only radio stations I could receive were Country or Religious
Show threadKrissyKat8h ago

@az @MisuseCase @mattsheffield

When I was younger, I used to drive all around the northern third of Indiana. Once the Chicago radio signals faded, a lot of the radio became super conservative. The AM radio from Chicago was also dominated by Rush Limbaugh.

I haven't listened to commercial radio outside of the Chicago area, so I'm not sure what's going on these days, but I assume it's a lot of Sinclair Broadcasting or similar organizations.

Show threadvieuxnez8h ago

@az @MisuseCase @mattsheffield @KrissyKat

It’s ok. You’re safe now.

Show threadOfficial Kakistocracy Jester 🪓7h ago
@az I’ve driven across Kansas the long way - there are long stretches where the only stations you get are nutty Christian talk radio.
Show threadBebadefabo9h ago
@mattsheffield so you're saying we need to start jamming frequencies with home radio systems?
Show threadthriftwicker8h ago
@bebadefabo @mattsheffield I hope they all collapse so I can get my hands on some airwaves.
Show threadMatthew Sheffield8h ago
@thriftwicker @bebadefabo Highly unlikely since most don't have to pay taxes, and get both advertising and donation revenues. It's an incredible business model--and of course, no one on the left is interested.
Show threadthriftwicker8h ago
@mattsheffield @bebadefabo Yeah, it is pretty gross.
Show threadFilthius7h ago
@mattsheffield Long ago, I had a coworker who listened to Jayzus radio all day-erry day. Dude was addicted to bootay bars.
Show threadMatthew Sheffield6h ago
@tobi Strip clubs were ok because Jay-Zus is his boyfriend.