The H3 Podcast is a live commentary podcast hosted by Ethan Klein. The show airs on YouTube and started in 2016.
The H3 Podcast is among the most listened-to podcasts in the United States. According to the 2023 U.S. Podcast Report by Triton Digital, the podcast was among the 100 most downloaded podcasts in 2023.[3] The podcast ranked 22nd in Edison Research's list of shows with the largest weekly audience in the third quarter of 2023.[4]
History
Origins
The H3 Podcast was originally hosted on YouTube, then streamed on Twitch before being moved back to YouTube on May 19, 2018.[5] Its first episode featuring Justin Roiland, co-creator of Rick and Morty,[6] was uploaded to the h3h3Productions YouTube channel on December 20, 2016, before being re-uploaded on the H3 Podcast channel on April 7, 2017. The podcast began with conversational interviews with notable internet personalities such as PewDiePie, Post Malone, and Jake Paul.[7][8]
In 2017, the Kleins created the channel H3 Podcast Highlights which posts highlights of podcast episodes.[9] The podcast grew alongside Hila Klein's clothing line Teddy Fresh, promoting the brand to the audience which became popular among fans.[10]
Shows
The H3 Podcast airs four live video podcasts episodes per week, three available to the general public and a members-exclusive show See You Next Thursday.[11] The show originally consisted of a mix of live and pre-recorded episodes with separate formats but has since evolved to a fully live format.
Frenemies was a show hosted by Trisha Paytas and Ethan Klein on the H3 Podcast channel. The podcast focused on discussing personal experiences, pop culture, internet drama and mental health.[12] It consisted of 39 episodes and two accompanying vlogs. Paytas' and Klein's friendship was occasionally tumultuous, leading to episodes that were incomplete due to a verbal argument.[13] The podcast came to an end during its 39th episode, after a dispute with Paytas and Klein about podcast revenue[14] and production ownership.[15] Despite this, Frenemies gained recognition in the podcasting realm and found a place in numerous Top 50 lists,[16][17] frequently pulling in millions of viewers per episode.[18][8]
The Families podcast was created in response to Paytas unexpectedly quitting Frenemies.[15]Families, which also discussed internet drama as well as focused on Ethan's relationship with his parents, was co-hosted by his mother, Donna Klein and featured his father, Gary Klein.[19][20]Families aired its last official episode in August 2021 and reunited for a special holiday episode in December 2021.[21][22]
Leftovers, a left-leaning political podcast co-hosted by Hasan Piker and Ethan, was launched in September 2021.[8]Tubefilter reported that the first episode reached 1 million views a day after being published.[23] This podcast ended after its 61st episode, which was a nearly four-hour discussion of the Israel-Hamas war.[24]
H3TV, Off The Rails and H3 After Dark
H3TV, Off The Rails and H3 After Dark are shows that were hosted on the H3 Podcast channel and aired on Monday, Wednesday and Friday respectively. All three came to an end on the same week and were merged into a single show, the H3 Show, which airs three times a week.
Controversies and lawsuits
Triller Fight Club II LLC v. The H3 Podcast
In May 2021, Triller's event company filed an updated lawsuit to the US District Court for the Central District of California against the H3 Podcast and the Kleins, seeking $50 million in damages. The lawsuit alleged copyright infringement in the now deleted podcast episode titled Jake Paul Fight Was a Disaster, which aired five days after the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight and featured knockout footage along with Ethan's commentary on the event.[25]
YouTube suspensions
In May 2022, the channel was suspended when Ethan joked on air that someone should bomb the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) convention.[26] In October 2022, it received a strike and one week suspension following comments directed at Jewish conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, in which Ethan stated he hoped "Ben gets gassed first. Or last" in the event of a second Holocaust. In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson said that the channel was given a strike for "violating the platform's harassment policy". Ethan responded later that "[a] few white supremacists successfully lobbied YouTube to suspend me, a Jewish dual citizen of Israel & USA, for antisemitism."[27][26][28]
