What to know:
- You can bet on who will be the top podcast on Spotify this year.
- The Joe Rogan Experience has claimed the top spot since 2020.
- Can Call Her Daddy or any other podcast knock Rogan off his throne in 2025?
True crime, comedy, science, self-help – you can find all of these genres in the top global podcasts on Spotify. Podcasts have skyrocketed in popularity in the last 15 years.
According to the Pew Research Center, podcast listenership of Americans aged 12 and older has risen substantially. In 2013, 7% of this population listened to podcasts in the past week. This year, the percentage has risen to 31%.
While the increase is not as steep in more recent years, there is still plenty of interest in podcasts. Just take a look at the many multi-million dollar podcast deals that were made just in 2024 – NFL’s Travis and Jason Kelce’s $100 million deal with Amazon’s Wondery and SmartLess podcast’s $100 million deal with SiriusXM, to name a couple.
In December, Spotify announced its Top Global Podcasts of 2024. Unsurprisingly, top prediction markets also let their users bet on who makes it to the peak of the leaderboard.
Kalshi bettors are already betting on which podcast will be the most popular podcast of 2025 on Spotify. So far, the market includes the top eight podcasts from the top ten last year. Here’s what you need to know about these before placing your bets.
| Position | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
| #1 | The Joe Rogan Experience | The Joe Rogan Experience | The Joe Rogan Experience | The Joe Rogan Experience | The Joe Rogan Experience |
| #2 | Call Her Daddy | Call Her Daddy | Call Her Daddy | Call Her Daddy | TED Talks Daily |
| #3 | Huberman Lab | Huberman Lab | Anything Goes With Emma Chamberlain | Crime Junkie | The Daily |
| #4 | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von | Anything Goes With Emma Chamberlain | Caso 63/Case 63 | TED Talks Daily | The Michelle Obama Podcast |
| #5 | The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett | On Purpose With Jay Shetty | Crime Junkie | The Daily | Call Her Daddy |
| #6 | Serial Killers | Crime Junkie | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| #7 | Relatos de la Noche | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| #8 | Crime Junkie | Serial Killers | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| #9 | Café Com Deus Pai | Podcast oficial | The Diary of a CEO With Steven Bartlett | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| #10 | El Podcast de Marian Rojas Estapé | TED Talks Daily | N/A | N/A | N/A |
The Joe Rogan Experience
Host: Joe Rogan
Spotify Rating: 4.7 from 882 thousand reviews
Genre: Comedy | Culture | Society
# of Episodes: 2,245
About:
The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is a long-form conversation hosted by comedian Joe Rogan with friends and guests that have included comedians, actors, musicians, MMA fighters, authors, artists, and beyond.”
Some form of this massively popular podcast has existed since 2009. In 2020, Spotify announced an exclusive podcast streaming deal with Joe Rogan. According to the New York Times, Spotify paid $200 million for the podcast to be exclusive to the platform for three and a half years.
The podcast has been controversial over the past few years with many controversial guests and topics discussed. At the beginning of 2022, a coalition of 270 healthcare professionals signed an open letter asking Spotify to censor misinformation included in a recent Rogan episode discussing vaccines. Musician Neil Young also asked Spotify to remove the podcast or he will remove his music from the platform – Spotify refused.
In Feb. 2024, Spotify signed a new distribution and ad-sales deal with Rogan worth up to $250 million. However, the deal is no longer exclusive with the episodes now being released on other platforms including the full video interviews on YouTube.
In October, Rogan posted a new interview with the then-presidential nominee Donald Trump. The episode went viral with 26 million views in the first 24 hours.
All of these controversies over the years and a huge audience have helped Rogan’s podcast stay at the top. Since 2020, The Joe Rogan Experience has been the No. 1 podcast on Spotify globally.
Call Her Daddy
Host: Alexandra Cooper
Spotify Rating: 4 from 114 thousand reviews
Genre: Comedy | Sex | Relationships
# of Episodes: 436
About:
Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy has been creating conversation since 2018. Cooper cuts through the BS with topics and guests - asking the burning questions you want the answers to. There will be laughter, there will be tears. There will be everything in between.
Call Her Daddy was launched back in 2018 with two co-hosts, Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn. After a dispute with their former owner and distributor Barstool Sports, Franklyn left the show and Cooper remained on as the only host.
In 2021, Cooper left Barstool Sports and joined Spotify under an exclusive deal worth more than $60 million. Once the three-year deal ended, the podcast arrived on all platforms.
In Sept. 2023, Cooper launched her own podcast network, The Unwell Network. The company started rolling out shows featuring popular internet personalities like Alix Earle and Harry Jowsey.
About a year later, in Aug. 2024, Cooper signed a $125 million multi-year deal with SiriusXM. The deal included exclusive content starting in 2025, as well as handling global ad sales for her shows.
Call Her Daddy is the number-one podcast for women on Spotify, and its impact has led to Copper receiving plenty of recognition like Rolling Stones calling her the “Gen-Z’s Barbara Walters.”
This podcast has consistently ranked at the No. 2 spot globally on Spotify since 2021 and was in the No. 5 spot in 2020.
Huberman Lab
Host: Andrew Huberman, Ph.D
Spotify Rating: 4.9 from 120 thousand reviews
Genre: Health | Science
# of Episodes: 263
About:
Dr. Huberman will discuss neuroscience: how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. He will also discuss tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works.
Huberman Lab is led by Andrew Huberman Ph.D., and is the highest-ranking health/science podcast. Huberman is a neuroscientist and a professor at Stanford School of Medicine. His research revolves around the brain’s function, neural plasticity, and our nervous system’s ability to adapt.
While he has a doctorate in neuroscience, his podcast is frequently criticized for providing a platform for pseudoscience. In a Slate article by immunologist and microbiologist Andrea Love, she claims Huberman “often makes claims that appear scientific but lack evidence, plausibility, and validity.”
Huberman’s podcast also has vitamin supplements as sponsors for his podcast. He is often criticized for encouraging people to use supplements, which have limited research supporting their effectiveness.
Regardless of these claims, Huberman’s podcast continues to attract millions of listeners. In addition to ranking No. 3 in this year’s most popular podcasts globally, Huberman Lab was also in the same spot the previous year.
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
Host: Theo Von
Spotify Rating: 4.8 from 56 thousand reviews
Genre: Comedy
# of Episodes: 663
About:
What happened this past weekend. And sometimes what happened on other days.
Theo Von is a comedian and podcast host who started in reality television on MTV back in the 2000s. In 2016, he launched his podcast This Past Weekend.
In Mar. 2023, Von’s podcast left Kast Media and joined Rooster Teeth’s podcast network. That September, Von released a YouTube video titled, “This Man Defrauded Our Podcast,” where he accused Kast Media of owing Von and other creators $4 million in ad sales.
The following year, Rooster Teeth’s podcast network was acquired by talent management company, Night, which manages big names like Mr. Beast.
In 2023, a clip from Von’s interview with Roseanne Barr went viral. However, the podcast episode was removed by YouTube for violating their hate speech policy. In 2024, Von also interviewed politicians Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and JD Vance.
After appearing at the No. 7 spot last year, the No. 4 spot is a new peak for the podcast.
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Host: Steven Bartlett
Spotify Rating: 4.8 from 56 thousand reviews
Genre: Business | Education | Health
# of Episodes: 626
About:
I was a broke, university dropout, at 18 I built an industry leading social media marketing company, and at 27 I resigned as CEO. At 28 I co-founded Flight Story – a marketing and communications company, and thirdweb - a software platform, making it easy to build web3 applications. I then launched private equity fund, Flight Fund, to accelerate the next generation of European unicorns. During this time I decided to launch 'The Diary Of A CEO' podcast with the simple mission of providing an unfiltered journey into the remarkable stories and untold dimensions of the world’s most influential people, experts and thinkers. Thank you for listening.
The Diary of a CEO was launched back in 2017 and is hosted by businessman/entrepreneur Steven Bartlett. The podcast is mostly a series of interviews with notable people in a variety of spaces including entertainment, tech, and health.
In 2024, BBC World Service ran an investigation into the podcast finding his episodes share health misinformation. And unfortunately, there were two other health scandals previously.
In 2021, Bartlett’s fame had skyrocketed thanks to the success of the podcast and he joined Dragons’ Den as one of the dragons (British version of Shark Tank). As a “dragon,” Bartlett made an investment in the company Acu Seeds, a company that falsely claimed to be able to cure myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
Later in the year, Bartlett was featured in Facebook ads for two companies, Huel and Zoe. He had business interests in both but the ad could be perceived as an independent review. As a result, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned both ads.
In regards to the podcast, the investigation took a look at 23 health-related episodes and found that 15 of them contained health misinformation.
Despite all the controversies this year, The Diary of a CEO achieved its spot at No. 5, a new peak from last year’s No. 9 spot.
No. 5 to No. 8 Top Spotify Podcast in 2024
Here’s a closer look at the podcasts that claimed the No. 5 to No. 8 spots.
Serial Killers
Host: Greg Polcyn & Vanessa Richardson
Spotify Rating: 4.8 from 46 thousand reviews
Genre: True Crime | History
# of Episodes: 1155
About:
Get a rare glimpse into the minds and methods of sadistic murderers. From notorious names like Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy to lesser-known killers like “Death House Landlady” Dorothea Puente, what turns a regular person into a predator? Serial Killers is a Spotify Original. New episodes Mondays.
Relatos de la Noche
Host: Uriel Reyes
Spotify Rating: 4.9 from 133 thousand reviews
Genre: N/A
# of Episodes: 485
About:
In the tradition of radio classics, the stories, tales and legends that inhabit the streets of Mexico and Latin America are told here. [Translated via Google Translate]
Crime Junkie
Host: Ashley Flowers & Brit Prawat
Spotify Rating: 4.8 from 104 thousand reviews
Genre: True Crime
# of Episodes: 477
About:
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday.
All three of these podcasts have been massively successful. The Mexican podcast Relatos de la Noche is the only one of the top eight podcasts to be a non-English podcast. Serial Killers and Crime Junkie are both part of the larger true crime trend. True crime podcasts are so popular that an entire show was created about these kinds of podcasts – Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.
Of these three podcasts, only Crime Junkie appeared in the top five global podcasts in 2022. Crime Junkie was the fifth most listened-to podcast. The following year, it fell to the sixth spot with Serial Killers at the eighth spot and Relatos de la Noche at the eleventh spot.
Clearly, the top podcast list can change significantly from year to year with popular staples dropping off the list and new ones rising. However, one thing that remains constant is who remains at the top. Whether you like the controversial podcast or not, The Joe Rogan Experience is likely to stay at the top.
