THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR APPLE PODCASTS IN 2024

Find below the top 10 most popular Apple podcasts in 2024. The top 10 most listened Apple podcasts of the year – ranking list 2024.

By Mau, a Senior Podcast Marketing Specialist at eDigital.

THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR APPLE PODCASTS IN 2024

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THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR APPLE PODCASTS IN 2024

This year’s top 10 Apple podcasts list has a lot of true crime, news and old podcast standbys.

According to a study by Cumulus and Signal Hill, Apple’s podcast listeners’ median age is 41 a bit older than Spotify’s 37 y.o.

The research was completed by some of our best virtual assistants.

10. Stuff You Should Know

The Stuff You Should Know podcast launched in 2008.

Since then it has released 1500+ episodes, toured North America, the UK and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and picked up a handful of awards along the way.

Stuff You Should Know also had a TV show that ran for one season on Science Channel (it was the most expensive pilot they’ve ever produced). 

If you’ve ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Stuff You Should Know hosts Josh and Chuck have you covered.

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9. Hidden Brain

The Hidden Brain podcast is hosted by Shankar Vedantam who uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behaviour, shape our choices and direct our relationships.

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8. Huberman Lab

In 2021, Dr. Huberman launched the Huberman Lab podcast. The podcast is frequently ranked in the top 10 of all podcasts globally and is often ranked #1 in the categories of Science, Education, and Health & Fitness.

Alongside hosting the Huberman Lab podcast, Andrew Huberman is the co-founder of Scicomm Media, and actively invests in and advises a handful of businesses.

The Huberman Lab podcast is also one of this year’s top 10 most popular Spotify podcasts. 

Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. He has made numerous significant contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills and cognitive functioning.

Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award in 2017, given to the scientist making the most significant discoveries in the study of vision. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on brain states such as fear and high attention focus and developing rapid and effective tools for mitigating stress and improving sleep and other physiological metrics.

Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford School of Medicine has been published in top journals including Nature, Science and Cell and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover and other top media outlets.

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7. Up First

NPR’s Up First podcast is the news you need to start your day. The three biggest stories of the day, with reporting and analysis from NPR News — in 10 minutes. Available weekdays by 6 a.m. ET, with hosts Leila Fadel, Steve Inskeep, Michel Martin and A Martinez. Also available on Saturdays by 8 a.m. ET, with Ayesha Rascoe and Scott Simon. On Sundays, hear a longer exploration behind the headlines with Ayesha Rascoe on “The Sunday Story,” available by 8 a.m. ET

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6. Morbid

Morbid podcast is a lighthearted nightmare in here, weirdos! Morbid is a true crime, creepy history and all things spooky podcast hosted by an autopsy technician and a hairstylist. Join us for a heavy dose of research with a dash of comedy thrown in for flavor

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5. This American Life

Podcast stalwarts like This American Life and Stuff You Should Know also do well on Apple, likely because the app’s users have been consuming podcasts for a while.

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4. SmartLess

“SmartLess” with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. A nice surprise: in each episode of SmartLess, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind.

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Are you into trends?

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3. Dateline NBC

True crime mysteries from The True Crime Original. Listen to current and classic episodes, plus original series told as only Dateline can.

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2. The Daily

The New York Times brings listeners The Daily, a podcast about reporting on what’s happening here and now. The Daily aims to provide matter-of-fact news that’s approachable and engaging. From breaking news reports to long explainers of developing stories, this podcast mixes topics and formats. No hard subject is off-limits for The Daily. Listeners can expect straightforward news alongside engaging storytelling. Michael Barbaro and Sabrina Tavernise host the podcast. Other reporters narrate their own segments. The result is a unique blend of perspectives from a diverse group of people.

The Daily’s claim to fame is dependability. Listeners can expect an episode of The Daily every weekday. And it’s always ready by 6 a.m. Episodes do not have consistent run times or set themes—it all depends on the news. Segments tend to run anywhere from 20 to 50 minutes. The Daily is not a chronological podcast. This means listeners can choose episodes randomly or listen from the start. The podcast has been in production since 2017, so listeners have a lot of episodes to choose from.

Audiences seeking a reliable listen for their morning commute will especially enjoy The Daily. But that’s not all. Anyone who seeks an approachable way to catch up on the latest news will be able to appreciate this podcast.

Twenty minutes a day, five days a week, ready by 6 a.m.

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1. Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie logo png

Crime Junkie logo png

The Crime Junkie podcast is also one of this year’s top 10 most popular Spotify podcasts. 

True crime is in large part driven by women listeners, which contributes to the high rankings of Crime Junkie, Dateline NBC, and Morbid. 

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There is still no list of the exact ranking of all podcasts across all platforms, but we have found Edison’s quarterly study (which is based on polling, rather than raw download data) to be the most consistent. In its third-quarter report, Edison confirmed that Spotify’s “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast is number one and, reinforcing Apple’s data, put the “Crime Junkie” podcast at number two.

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Despite the reach of conservative talk pods like “The Ben Shapiro Show” and “The Dan Bongino Show”, none of them appear on this list (although Cumulus Podcast Network, which distributes both, was in Apple’s top ten free channels). Perhaps, though, that listening is happening on YouTube or on Daily Wire’s app, which is ranked 11th in the news category in the App Store.

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CONCLUSION

Digital marketing strategies like Google Ads, SEO, social media marketing, email campaigns, and content promotion help Apple podcasters reach a wider audience. Well-crafted and well-executed digital marketing is essential for growing a listener base and increasing your Apple podcast visibility; enabling your Apple podcast to expand its reach, engage with your audience, build your podcast brand, and ultimately grow their podcast’s audience, monetise it and make it popular. 

Next > The top 10 most popular Spotify podcasts – ranking list

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THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR APPLE PODCASTS IN 2024

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