How Aaron Parnas built a massive Gen Z news audience | The Excerpt
USA TODAY
TikTok news creator Aaron Parnas discusses his rise online, reaching Gen Z audiences and how social media is reshaping political news.
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.
Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here
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?
Trump pushes countries to help secure the Strait of Hormuz amid rising Middle East tensions and stalled international commitments.
The U.S. Postal Service faces massive losses and may run out of money next year, prompting a congressional hearing and debate over its priorities.
Illinois voters go to polls on March 17.
The Israeli military said the brother of the man who attacked a Michigan synagogue was a Hezbollah commander and was recently killed in an airstrike.
President Donald Trump encouraged TSA agents to \
As the war against Iran enters its third week, the White House says ground troops are 'not part of the plan.' Seasoned Kurdish fighters disagree.
Videos on social media showed a large fire and people throwing rocks through the windows of a building as voices shouted \
A law passed in 2025 making it tougher to claim Italian citizenship was upheld by the country's Constitutional Court.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr said news broadcasters coverage of Iran war could impact their license renewal.
The design was finalized in 2024, before Trump took office. The artist and U.S. Mint say it symbolizes the early U.S. quest for freedom from Britain.
The overnight strikes did not impact the islands oil infrastructure, U.S. and Iranian officials said.
Trump's recent executive order to increase the production of glyphosate might derail MAHA voters' support for the GOP, the movement’s leaders say.