There’s a typical path that former presidential speechwriters take, which usually ends with becoming a columnist—think Peggy Noonan, David Frum or James Fallows. One thing speechwriters don’t typically do is actually speak.

Former Barack Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau is different. In March 2016, he and fellow ex-Obama aide Dan Pfeiffer launched the campaign-obsessed podcast “Keepin’ it 1600.” It took time to find its footing. But the conversations tightened up, fellow Obama alums Jon Lovett and Tommy Vietor joined as co-hosts, and as the race grew competitive, their analysis became reassuring for a certain segment of liberals—especially the “bedwetters,” the hosts’ term for Hillary Clinton supporters who worried that Donald Trump might win.

Then Trump did just that—and Favreau et al. launched a new show mixing analysis with a heavy dose of anti-Trump advocacy. Since January 2017, “Pod Save America” has emerged as something akin to Radio Free Europe for disaffected Democrats in the Trump era. The show has a distinctly chatty vibe—a sort of older millennial “woke bro” sensibility that can give episodes an intimate, shooting-the-shit feel. But underneath that informality lies a deep ambition. “Pod Save America” is the flagship of a fleet of five podcasts under a new banner hoisted by Favreau and his co-hosts: “Crooked Media.” (Its name is a wink at one of Trump’s favorite insults.) All five shows—the other four trade in international relations, activism, humor and long Q&As—debuted this year and are now among the 150 most popular podcasts on iTunes.

It’s not hard to see in Crooked Media the seeds of something liberals have lacked for years: a counterpart to conservative talk radio and television, with its relentless stream of anti-liberal agitation that has been powerfully converted into votes. Trump’s presidency might do for the left what Bill Clinton’s did for the right, creating a demand for outlets that don’t just serve up the news but rouse appalled listeners to action, one podcast at a time. —Zack Stanton

Q & A Best book you read this year? Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman Out-of-the-box policy idea that we aren’t paying enough attention to? Sprinklecare. Twitter: Useful new tool or obnoxious distraction? Useful obnoxious distraction. Is Trump draining the swamp? Come on. What historical moment does 2017 most resemble? 1972.