Podcasting is in disaster. Across the English-speaking world, the charts are dominated by males like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Tucker Carlson and Chris Williamson, who platform dangerously fringe thinkers. They have flourished in the unregulated wilderness of Spotify and YouTube. But, right here in the UK, the most distinguished podcaster on this house – the softly spoken Steven Bartlett – is given a primetime place on Dragons’ Den, the BBC’s long-running present for entrepreneurs. It is a Faustian pact that demonstrates the inner contradictions consuming away at the ethical coronary heart of the BBC.
In December 2024, the BBC’s Global Misinformation Unit revealed a considerate critique of Bartlett, accusing his podcast, Diary of a CEO, of sharing “harmful health misinformation”. They targeted significantly on two company. Firstly, Aseem Malhotra, a heart specialist who turned infamous for his opposition to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. And, secondly, Thomas Seyfried, an American analysis biologist who has argued for utilizing a ketogenic weight loss program to deal with superior most cancers. Seyfried has referred to traditional therapies corresponding to radiation remedy and chemotherapy as “medieval”, regardless of the near-total absence of evidential assist for this thesis.
This should have been embarrassing for somebody at the BBC. Bartlett isn’t a BBC worker; he’s a contractor for BBC Studios (and due to this fact not topic to the company’s pay disclosures), but his presence as a choose on a primetime present inextricably hyperlinks him to the organisation.
The report was revealed on the World Service after which mentioned throughout BBC TV and radio. Indeed, I analysed it on Radio 4’s The Media Show, at the time, alongside the journalists answerable for the reporting. That present was instantly adopted by PM, hosted by none apart from Evan Davis, the narrator of Dragons’ Den. The entire story turned an intra-BBC fiasco, and but, by some means, Bartlett bought away with it. He has occupied a seat in the Den for nearly two years since that unique reporting.
We don’t know the way a lot Bartlett is paid for his appearances on Dragons’ Den (a former Dragon, the late Hilary Devey, has mentioned that she and her fellow judges have been paid a flat charge of £15,000 per sequence), however I believe we are able to safely assume that he’s not in it for the cash. Earlier this summer season, Forbes estimated his annual earnings at $45m (£33m), making him the world’s third highest paid podcaster (behind simply Rogan and the hosts of tech podcast TBPN). A 15-grand paycheck would represent simply 0.03 per cent of these earnings.
With a mean of 11.5 investments per sequence, Bartlett is the present’s most prolific shareholder, but, like most Dragons’ Den ventures, these are all small beer. Steven Bartlett’s best funding is in himself: Brand Steven. And even when the BBC can’t afford a monetary return on par along with his podcast empire, it can provide one thing that cash can’t purchase: credibility.
There is a motive why podcasters like Rogan and Andrew Huberman haven’t been snapped up by main broadcast networks, regardless of their huge reputation. They are autonomous beasts, drawn to contrarian and fringe concepts which might replicate poorly on their employers who’re answerable to legislators, regulators and shareholders. Bartlett is extra delicate than them – however he seems to be shifting into the similar house.
This is the elementary failing that the BBC has made. The day they revealed their investigation into medical misinformation on Steven Bartlett’s podcast, they should have backed their journalism and ended their relationship with him. Failing to take action has operated as a tacit endorsement of his extracurricular initiatives. It is completely affordable for the viewers of Diary of a CEO to view Bartlett’s common appearances on BBC One as a guarantor of the podcast’s editorial requirements.
In July this 12 months, Bartlett revealed a brand new interview with Thomas Seyfried, titled “They’re Ignoring My Research”. It is an indication that Bartlett has discovered little from the BBC investigation. He would argue that Diary of a CEO launched on-screen fact-checking in 2025 to right and make clear scientific factors of knowledge (Bartlett, who dropped out of a Business Management course at college, does little apart from nod by means of complicated discussions).
This ignores the proof that podcasts, even video ones, are nonetheless overwhelmingly consumed with out lively viewer consideration to their display. The solely means to make sure correct scrutiny of controversial concepts is to have a number and manufacturing staff who’re rigorous and knowledgeable. Those are the requirements of the BBC, however they don’t seem to be the requirements of the podcast trade.
Commissioners at the BBC have clearly made a calculation. They want to appeal to extra Gen Z viewers to BBC One and hope to leverage Bartlett’s immense social media following. It is an comprehensible choice, albeit an unscrupulous one. Every time that Bartlett seems on Dragons Den, the BBC’s status is being co-opted to launder the status of somebody who, by their very own evaluation, “amplifies harmful health misinformation”. The undeniable fact that Bartlett appears neither ashamed nor apologetic simply reveals how toothless the BBC is, and the way morally bankrupt our fashionable media has grow to be.
Dragons’ Den is on tonight at 8pm on BBC One