How Aaron Parnas built a massive Gen Z news audience | The Excerpt
How Aaron Parnas built a massive Gen Z news audience | The Excerpt
Jay Stahl, USA TODAYTue, March 10, 2026 at 9:10 AM UTC
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On the Tuesday, March 10, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast: Aaron Parnas went from law school to becoming one of the most influential political voices on TikTok and Instagram. The independent reporter talks with USA TODAY Senior Reporter Jay Stahl about why younger audiences trust him, how he delivers news differently than traditional media and what he hopes to do next.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Jay Stahl:
From Lawyer to TikTok star, Aaron Parnas' career path has been anything but typical. He was already attending college at 14. By 18, he was in law school. Parnas is now an independent reporter with the most popular new Substack and nearly eight million followers on Instagram and TikTok. With the variation of his signature tagline, we have some news right now. He's also managed to do something that the mainstream media has truly struggled with, getting Gen Z invested in politics and current affairs. So what's his secret?
Hello and welcome to USA TODAY's The Excerpt. I'm USA TODAY's Senior Reporter Jay Stahl. Today is Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. Here to talk about politics and his personal rise, I'm joined by Aaron Parnas right now. Thanks so much for joining me, Aaron.
Aaron Parnas:
Super excited.
Jay Stahl:
So one of the things I wanted to ask you that we've discussed before is why do you think so many people trust you?
Aaron Parnas:
I mean, I think I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. I think that's number one. I think number two is the way you see me online is the way you see me in real life. The authenticity factor is really there. And then I think number three is that it's a relatable kind of way of presenting information. I'm presenting information from my bed, from an airport bathroom, from the couch in a Snuggie. Doesn't matter where I am, what I look like, what I sound like, I'm just giving you news and giving you information. And then kind of going back to the first point is I'm not afraid to admit when I get things wrong. I think that it's important in this day and age to ensure that you're not only providing accurate information, but that also when you get something wrong, when you misinform your audience, that you tell them that and you share how it happened, why it happened and fix your mistakes.
Jay Stahl:
Can you talk about the authenticity factor? I think for people our age, we're both 26, you're turning 27 in April. I think one of the things that people our age have really struggled with with news intake is that it just doesn't feel real. And the difference between seeing someone online from their couch versus seeing someone in a chair at that anchor desk.
Aaron Parnas:
Listen, I think that at the end of the day, something that I ... Growing up over the past five, six years, something that really irked me was that when I turned on TV or when I turned on streaming services, I would often see news anchors that didn't look like me, sound like me, or talk about issues that mattered to me. You had folks who are much older, who have been in this space for a much longer period of time, who didn't really ever speak to the issues that Gen Z cared about. And so I always thought that any major media company to reach audiences that are younger should hire younger anchors. And some have in recent years, but still to this day, the average age of someone on television is probably 40 to 50 years old. That's 20 years older than me. And I also think part of it is also kind of where I'm sharing this information.
The average 26-year-old these days, you know this as well as anyone, is that we don't have cable. We're not watching CNN, MSNow, Fox News regularly to get information. We have TikTok, we have Instagram. And so the platforms that we're on, that young people are on are simply ... We're looking for a new place to get news and new people to get news from. And so it's kind of just like the perfect storm in a way.
Jay Stahl:
I think it's interesting you've seen the memes and you've also seen all the TikToks about your work ethic. You basically are a one man machine who's working all day long. Can you kind of talk about that and what it takes? Because I don't have that in me at all.
Aaron Parnas:
Yeah. I mean, I tell everyone that I've been perpetually burnt out since starting law school. The way I kind of do this work is the way I did this work as a lawyer working nonstop on a big case. So I wake up every morning somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 AM. I'm at my desk usually by 8:00 AM and I'm working nonstop until I go to bed, which is 10:00 PM, 11:00 PM. I sleep eight to nine hours a night comfortably, but between the 16 hours during the day, I don't stop working. I think for me, my workflow is very different from the average person in the sense that I'm so hyperactive. I have multiple screens in my house where I'm getting constantly watching CSPAN and other news organizations. I have tips coming into my inbox every day. I have the notifications of every member of Congress and world leader on their social media platform.
So it's like this constant ... You ever see the New York Stock Exchange floor where there's 10 screens and a bunch of different tickers going on? That's kind of what my life is like and that's what my brain is like. And that's why, I mean, I don't ever focus on one thing more than five minutes at a time. It's just like a constant stream of information. Is it healthy? Def not. But is it kind of key to success? Yeah.
Jay Stahl:
Speaking of success, last year you had a big year. You were named to Forbes 30 Under 30. You moderated the first night of former Vice President Kamala Harris's book tour, and you also spoke at a round table discussion with former President Obama. And I wanted to ask you what that felt like for you. How did your 2025 feel for you?
Aaron Parnas:
Yeah, I mean, I think 2025 was amazing. I mean, I truly to this day still haven't let it kind of set in of the rise of the past year, and especially even the success of 2026 already. I think for me, the accolades are just a recognition of the work that I'm doing. They're not something that I'm working toward, if that makes sense. I think Forbes is great, but I would've been fine without it. I think the Kamala book tour was great, but I also would've been fine without it, but it is a recognition that we're doing something good. And to me, at the end of the day, my goal in all of this is to bridge the gap that's been left in the fact that civics education and media literacy hasn't been taught to kids across the country. And if I can educate some folks then I'm doing my job.
Jay Stahl:
You told me that your goal really wasn't to be famous, but your goal was something deeper. Can you talk about that, about wanting to start a nonprofit and the criminal justice work that you care about?
Aaron Parnas:
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My dream growing up, my dream job ever since I was ... The reason I went to law school was to be in a courtroom. I wanted to be truly a public defender fighting for people who couldn't fight for themselves, who couldn't afford to fight for themselves. That was always the goal. Right now, one of the biggest problems in our justice system, in my opinion, is the fact that public defense is overworked, underpaid. Starting salary back when I was leaving law school in Florida, I believe it was $36,000 or $40,000 a year. And in Miami, that is an unlivable wage for many folks in a town like Miami. And so my dream in all of this one day is to start some type of foundation or nonprofit where I can take that burden off of public defenders across the country and do that work for free.
Public defense work, public defenders shouldn't have hundreds of cases on their workload, and they're some of the best lawyers in the country. They should be able to provide adequate legal representation without being constantly overworked. So that's kind of a pipe dream of mine. I don't plan on doing the work that I'm doing now forever. I want to be back in a courtroom one day.
Jay Stahl:
You do?
Aaron Parnas:
I do. Yeah.
Jay Stahl:
I don't think you've ever told me that before.
Aaron Parnas:
Yeah. I mean, I think there's truly nothing more exhilarating than getting in front of a jury of a six or 12 or a judge and making arguments. I mean, it really is just exciting.
Jay Stahl:
Really? I try to stay out of courtroom, Aaron.
Aaron Parnas:
I think everyone tries to stay out of a courtroom unless they want to be up there arguing.
Jay Stahl:
Your dad is Lev Parnas who is involved in campaign finance crimes related to Rudy Giuliani, who he's a former associate of, and you were thrust into the public spotlight a few years ago. A lot of people our age don't really even know that. And so I wanted to ask you if it's affirming for you to be known versus yourself.
Aaron Parnas:
It is. But also, I mean, at this point, unfortunately, it's kind of par for the course of this job is to constantly have to define myself and redefine myself and have people judge me for me rather than the actions of others, including my family members. I think a real problem in our society is this kind of urge to judge. And yes, my father's sins are a lot larger and a lot more kind of public than the average person. But if you ask 100 Americans today whether or not they want to be judged by their parents, I guarantee you more than half would say no, they wouldn't because their parents may have been to jail, their parents may have committed infidelity. I mean, there's so many different things out there that you don't want to be judged for. And so it's a constant struggle to have to define myself as Aaron rather than Lev's son.
Jay Stahl:
My last question for you is, what's in the future? What do you see the next year being like with the midterms and looking ahead to 2028?
Aaron Parnas:
Yeah, I mean, it's just working my ass off. That's the future. And just continuing putting in the grind every single day through 2028, and we'll kind of see where it takes me. I kind of take every opportunity when they come, each day at a time. If you asked me 10 years ago, would I be here today? I would say, "You're crazy." And so as someone who grew up always planning out their lives of like, "At 20, I'm going to do this, at 30, I'm going to do this." For the first time ever, I'm able to just say, "I'm just going to have fun and I'm just going to do this work and enjoy it." And then once I stop enjoying it, I know that there'll be a time where my clock in this industry runs out. I'll know that, I'll recognize that and I'll move on to greater pastures.
So whether that's at the end of this year, whether that's at the end of 2028 or in 30 years from now, I don't know. So just kind of taking each day as it comes.
Jay Stahl:
Aaron, thank you so much. We really appreciate you taking the time.
Aaron Parnas:
This was great.
Jay Stahl:
Thanks to our senior producer, Kaely Monahan for her production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts@usatoday.com. Thanks for listening. I'm USA TODAY's senior reporter, Jay Stahl. We'll be back tomorrow with another episode of USA TODAY's The Excerpt.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: From law school to TikTok news star | The Excerpt
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