Topping the charts currently is “The Joe Rogan Experience,” hosted on Spotify, reigning as the number-one podcast globally.
If you’re venturing into the expansive universe of podcasting, the sheer volume of choices might seem overwhelming. Whether you’re a seasoned podcast enthusiast or a newcomer keen to explore, there’s a perfect podcast waiting to captivate your ears.
With millions of podcasts spanning topics from true crime to comedy, sports to politics, and everything in between, the realm of podcasting is a treasure trove of auditory delights. Before you dive into this ocean of content, it’s worth starting at the pinnacle of podcast popularity.
So stay tuned as we delve into the crème de la crème of podcasts, ensuring you a smooth entry or further immersion into this booming medium. Whether your preference leans towards solving mysteries, enjoying a hearty laugh, engaging in athletic discussions, or dissecting political dialogues, we’ve got something to pique your interest in the vibrant world of podcasting.
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1. The Joe Rogan Experience
Joe Rogan is the juggernaut of the podcasting world, the man basically popularized the genre and has well over 1,500 episodes available. The Joe Rogan Experience began in 2009 and is currently the most popular podcast in the world.
The podcast has a new guest every episode and has covered well anything that you think of at this point. Some of the topics that he touches on frequently are, the UFC which makes sense as he is a pundit for the mixed martial art.
He has also had many discussions about politics with people from all spectrums of the political wheel. There are many conspiracy episodes, one of the best is when he interviewed a former Area 51 worker.
He also had many comedian guests, and being into stand up comedy himself, these episodes always tend to be a fun break from the political debates and world-ending conspiracy episodes.
Joe himself is a fairly controversial figure he has been in the news a lot for some of the guests that he has platformed and his early takes on the Corona Virus and the following vaccine.
Rogan is accused by many of being too open-minded with the people he allows to speak on his huge platform perhaps the best example of this is the multiple episodes with Alex Jones as a guest a man famed for claiming the Sandy Hook Massacre was faked.
Despite all of the negatives he also gives much-needed spotlights to people who are combating global warming and he has incredible guests such as Dr. Niel DeGrasse Tyson, Steven Pinker, Professor Brian Cox, and Sir Roger Penrose.
These episodes are standouts as we just get to listen to these incredible minds tell us about things we have never even believed possible.
The massive range of guests shows how good of a present Joe is no matter what guest he has on he is able to captivate the listener so going from listening to Rogan leading the conversation surrounding the latest UFC fight card to sitting back and letting the guest speak about space and science.
Typically the podcast averages around 11 million listeners per month and is always in and around the top spot for most popular podcasts.
More Joe Rogan Articles
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- Best Joe Rogan Podcast Episodes
Sources:
As you can see from the below sources, Joe Rogans podcast The Joe Rogan Experience has been confirmed to be the most popular by many of the top publishers and hosting platforms.
- https://podcastcharts.byspotify.com/
- https://chartable.com/charts
- https://www.forbes.com/
- https://riverside.fm/blog/most-popular-podcasts
- https://castos.com/the-most-popular-podcasts/
The Daily
So now that we have covered the most popular podcast available let’s also talk about some other popular podcasts just in case Joe Rogan is not for you.
The Daily is a news podcast that will keep you up to date with the latest and most relevant news stories, as of writing this is the second most popular podcast behind the Joe Rogan Experience that we covered in detail earlier.
You should consider The Daily to be your new New York Times just in a podcast format instead of a newspaper. Each episode is hosted by Michael Barbaro and is around 25-30 minutes in length.
The show, which is a consistent mainstay in the Apple Podcasts charts, has many different interviews with New York Times journalists who will come on the show to discuss the day’s news.
The show is beyond any other ‘news’ podcasts due to the high quality and attention to detail, for example when discussing certain stories is they will play audio clips that are paired with the story and as well as the great music played throughout.
This is definitely the podcast for you if you want to be kept up to date with the daily goings on.
It’s a newer podcast having only started in 2017 but it’s second to none when it comes to covering international and domestic politics along with major news events. In 2020 they crossed an incredible threshold of two million downloads per episode.
Stuff You Should Know
Next up we have a podcast that informs you on stuff you should know about. The podcast has well over 1400 episodes and the titles of the episodes are there to inform you about the content you will be learning about.
Titles like ‘How Diamonds Work’, ‘What is facism?’ and ‘How Money Laundering Works’, captivate you instantly because you think immediately yes how does that work?
The show is very heavy on the science and truth of the topics, the aim of the podcast is to make a show that eventually will explain everything.
The episodes are an hour long and the hosts are constantly cracking jokes and you can tell they are friends, it really emerges you and makes you believe you are sitting in on a conversation between two friends.
Serial
Serial is one of the most popular true crime podcasts of all time (also see, ‘Best True Crime Podcasts‘).
This true crime podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig and debuted in 2014, quickly becoming a sensation among podcast fans.
While there are a lot of other true crime shows, such as other equally entertaining true crime comedy podcast formats, the Serial format sets it apart.
This weekly podcast follows one story over multiple episodes, often exploring complex cases that have gone unsolved or were closed but had lingering questions.
Serial has tackled a wide range of topics from murder to espionage to corruption and more, captivating listeners with its unique storytelling style and thorough investigations.
Podcast fans can listen to Serial on Pandora, Apple Podcasts, and Google podcast network.
While some may consider a true crime podcast morbid, Serial has become a phenomenon thanks to its exceptional storytelling and investigative journalism. With over 175 million downloads, it’s one of the most listened to podcast of all time.
- SiriusXM subsidiary Pandora
- Personalized music and podcasts
- Leading audio advertising platform
The Ben Shapiro Show
The Ben Shapiro Show is a popular talk show hosted by Ben Shapiro. The show debuted in 2015 and has since become one of the most-watched programs on conservative radio.
It covers a wide range of topics including politics, current events, American life, mental health, and culture (also see, ‘Podcasts About Mental Health‘).
The Ben Shapiro Show has been has provided listeners with an array of unique perspectives on current issues such as immigration, gun control, and racism.
The show also provides insight into the latest news stories and covers politics and the economy from all sides of the aisle. Shapiro’s interviews with political pundits and celebrities have been especially popular among viewers, as they bring a new level of understanding to current events.
The Ben Shapiro Show is also renowned for its strong guest lineup. Guests have included politicians, journalists, and celebrities such as Boris Johnson, Ann Coulter, Jonathan Chait, and Bill O’Reilly.
These interviews offer unique insights into the perspectives of influential people on current events and politics.
Fun fact – The first podcast ever released was by Christopher Lydon.
Final Thoughts
So there we have it, the most popular shows that dominated the podcast charts in the world. The Joe Rogan Experience is unquestionably the biggest and best around purely for the diversity of topics and consistent new guests every episode.
That is not to take away from other popular podcasts as they are all incredible podcasts but just do not have the impact that Joe Rogan provides every episode.
This should not take away from them though and if you are searching for a podcast that will keep you up to date with the news then The Daily is a fantastic choice as is ‘SYSK’ if you just want a podcasting to relax to and learn while doing it.
