Voice, reach, and influence in political media, measured.

We've analyzed 20,481 hours of political audio from 242 independent and legacy shows and scored 257,768 mentions, and counting. Soapbox measures what they say, how far it reaches, and which way it moves the conversation.

L+1.0

Online political media is leaning left over the last 7 days. ↓ 0.1 vs the prior 7 days

Independent vs Legacy

Independent

L+1.3

Legacy

L+0.5

Independent creators vs legacy media, same issues, same scoring.

Range L+1.1 to L+0.3 · rolling 7-day index

Last 7 days · as of Oct 18, 2026242 channels34,927 episodes tracked

Why is the Index where it is?

The Soapbox Index is L+1.0 over the last 7 days.

Pulling left: Trump / GOP leadership, Government corruption & institutions, and AI, crypto & tech. Pulling right: Immigration & border, Democratic Party leadership, and Transgender / LGBTQ policy.

Trump / GOP leadership		L+2.1848 mentions
Government corruption & institutions		L+3.1563 mentions
Immigration & border		R+1.3734 mentions
AI, crypto & tech		L+1.7393 mentions
Ukraine–Russia		L+1.0639 mentions
Israel–Gaza		L+1.1347 mentions
Democratic Party leadership		R+2.1293 mentions
Health care & coverage		L+1.9246 mentions
Transgender / LGBTQ policy		R+1.8257 mentions
Free speech & moderation		R+0.9462 mentions
Crime & public safety		R+1.9225 mentions
Climate & energy		R+1.5212 mentions
Education & DEI		R+1.8155 mentions
Trade & tariffs		L+1.0309 mentions
Election integrity		L+0.6399 mentions
Race & discrimination		L+1.4129 mentions
China policy		R+1.8147 mentions
Government spending & debt		R+0.5252 mentions
Iran conflict		L+0.2626 mentions
Gerrymandering & redistricting		L+2.853 mentions
Housing & homelessness		L+1.284 mentions
Abortion & reproductive rights		R+0.4122 mentions
Social Security & Medicare		L+0.572 mentions
Drug policy		R+1.652 mentions
Veterans & military affairs		L+0.960 mentions
Justice system & rule of law		R+0.2608 mentions
Public health & medical establishment		R+0.599 mentions
Gun policy		R+0.1110 mentions
Inflation & affordability		L+0.0439 mentions

8,935 mentions

← Pulls LPulls R →

Each bar shows how much that issue moved the Soapbox Index over the last 7 days - longer means a bigger push, and the side shows which way it pushed. The number is the issue's average lean - which way it tilts per mention. The two can disagree: an issue discussed a lot but mildly can move the Index more than one discussed rarely but intensely. How this is calculated → Click any issue for the channel-level breakdown.

Biggest movers this week

Issue

Last week

This week

Change

Mentions

Volume

Issues earn a row for the biggest shifts this week on either axis: lean movement on the left–right scale (→ / ←) or a swing in attention (↑ / ↓ mention volume). An issue can move right (→) yet still sit in left territory, or hold steady on lean while attention spikes or collapses. Expand any row to see which shows drove it.