Best Podcasts of 2026
Podcasting in 2026 is bigger than it has ever been. There are more shows, more formats and more standout episodes than any one person can keep up with — so the question is not "what is out there" but "what is actually worth your time this year." We pulled together the 25 best podcasts of 2026 by looking at the Edison Research Q1 2026 Top 50, the iHeartPodcast Awards, the Golden Globes' new podcast category, and the shows that keep appearing in chart data week after week. The result is a definitive cross-genre list: true crime, news, comedy, business, science, sport, history and narrative storytelling — all actively releasing new episodes right now.
Waking up with a podcast on iOS
Podcast Alarm is a fully featured podcast player and alarm. You can set up queues of your favourite episodes and listen to them whenever you like. Why not subscribe to your favourite podcast and have the latest episode wake you up every weekday morning. There are lots of screenshots and videos in our "How to set a podcast as an alarm on iphone?" blog post.
1. The Joe Rogan Experience
Joe Rogan has held the number one spot in the Edison Research US rankings for years, and 2026 is no different. Episodes regularly run three hours and pull in roughly 11 million listeners, with guests spanning comedians, scientists, athletes and politicians. Love it or not, it is the single most influential podcast in the world and the show that everything else gets measured against.
2. Crime Junkie
Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat sit at number two on the Edison US chart and have done for the entire year so far. Every Monday they release a tightly produced 30-45 minute case write-up — usually a missing person, a cold case or an under-covered investigation. If you only listen to one true crime show in 2026, this is it. For a wider tour of the genre, see our best true crime podcasts round-up.
3. The Daily
The New York Times' flagship news show is still the gold standard for daily news podcasts. Around 25 minutes long, hosted primarily by Michael Barbaro and Sabrina Tavernise, it picks a single story each weekday and goes deep enough that you actually understand it. It is the show that taught a generation how to read the news with their ears. Pair it with our other picks from best daily news podcasts.
4. Call Her Daddy
Alex Cooper's show won Best Comedy at the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards and sits at number four on the Edison Q1 2026 chart. The format mixes celebrity interviews with frank conversations about dating, relationships and modern womanhood. It is one of the few shows that genuinely breaks news through its guest bookings, which is how a comedy podcast keeps ending up in political coverage.
5. SmartLess
Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett invite a mystery guest onto each episode — none of the three other hosts knows who it is until the guest joins the call. The premise sounds gimmicky and somehow works every single week. 2026 has brought guests ranging from Andrew Huberman to genuine A-list movie stars, and the live arena tour keeps selling out.
6. Stuff You Should Know
Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant have been explaining how things work since 2008 and they sit at number six on the Edison Q1 2026 chart, with a back catalogue of well over 1,500 episodes. Want to understand how nuclear reactors, jet lag, witness protection or sourdough actually work? They have an episode on it. It is the podcast equivalent of a really good encyclopedia.
7. Dateline NBC
The TV institution turned audio juggernaut sits at number seven on the Edison US chart for 2026. Keith Morrison, Andrea Canning and Josh Mankiewicz narrate full-length cases with the polish of a network newsroom. The archive is enormous and the production quality is unmatched. A reliable, well-made true crime listen every week.
8. This Past Weekend with Theo Von
Theo Von's long-form interview show keeps climbing the charts on the back of viral clips and a guest list that ranges from comedians to former presidents. The interviews are loose, funny and surprisingly disarming — Theo's Louisiana storytelling style pulls genuine moments out of guests who normally only do press in talking points.
9. MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories
John Allen, better known as MrBallen, jumped eight spots in Q1 2026 to number nine on the Edison US chart — the biggest move in the top ten. Episodes are tightly told stories of disappearances, survival situations and unexplained events, usually around 30 minutes. Perfect if you want true crime without the procedural deep dive.
10. New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce
The Kelce brothers' show broke into the Edison US top ten in 2026 and shows no signs of leaving. The format is sports-adjacent but the appeal is wider — it is two famous brothers, both of them genuinely funny, talking about football, family and whoever the guest of the week happens to be. The Taylor Swift episode was one of the most-listened podcast episodes of the entire year.
11. Huberman Lab
Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman turns peer-reviewed research into long-format episodes about sleep, focus, stress, training and nutrition. The shows are long — often three hours — but the production is sharp and the depth is real. He passed six million YouTube subscribers in 2026 and launched a premium tier, but the main feed is still free.
12. Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler's interview show won the inaugural Golden Globe for Best Podcast in January 2026 and promptly surged from 38th to 13th on the Edison chart. The premise is simple — Amy hangs out with someone she actually likes — and it is the warmest, most relaxed hour of conversation you will hear this year.
13. The Rest Is History
British historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook have built one of the biggest history podcasts in the world, and 2026 is shaping up to be their best year yet. The hosts have a chemistry that turns Roman emperors, the French Revolution and the Cuban Missile Crisis into the kind of conversation you wish you could have with your most well-read friends. A favourite of US listeners too — see more in our best history podcasts list.
14. The Rest Is Politics
Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart — one from the Labour left, one from the Conservative centre — disagree agreeably about global politics twice a week. The transatlantic spin-off The Rest Is Politics: US, hosted by Anthony Scaramucci and Katty Kay, is now arguably bigger than the original. Easily the smartest mainstream politics listen going right now.
15. Acquired
Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal record four-hour deep dives on the history of single companies — Nvidia, LVMH, Costco, TSMC, Hermes — and somehow it is one of the most addictive listens in business podcasting. They read every book, every shareholder letter, every founder biography and then tell the story end to end. Pair it with our best business podcasts picks.
16. Radiolab
Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser carry the Radiolab torch in 2026, and the sound design is still the best in the medium. Episodes take a big scientific or philosophical question and turn it into immersive audio that does things no other podcast really attempts. Twenty-plus years in and it is still one of the most important shows in the format.
17. Freakonomics Radio
Stephen Dubner's long-running show takes the economics-of-everything approach from the original book and turns it into one of the smartest weekly listens around. Episodes dig into the hidden side of subjects most podcasts will not touch — kidney markets, school start times, why we tip — with academic guests who actually know the data. A reliable brain-stretch every week.
18. The Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss interviews world-class performers — investors, athletes, scientists, artists — and goes deep on their routines, decisions and frameworks. Episodes routinely run two to three hours and the back catalogue is one of the most useful libraries in podcasting. If you want a self-improvement listen with substance, this is it. More options in our best self-improvement podcasts list.
19. Hard Fork
Kevin Roose of the New York Times and Casey Newton of Platformer cover the AI and tech story of the week. In 2026, with model releases, antitrust cases and a new wave of consumer AI products landing constantly, Hard Fork has become essential listening for anyone trying to keep up. The interviews — with frontier-lab CEOs and policy makers — are consistently sharp.
20. The Diary of a CEO
Steven Bartlett's interview show has become a genuine global juggernaut, with guests ranging from neuroscientists to musicians to retired generals. The interviews are long — typically two hours — and the format leans into vulnerability and process rather than the usual founder mythology. One of the few business-adjacent shows that genuinely crosses over to a mainstream audience.
21. Pardon My Take
Barstool's flagship sports comedy podcast remains one of the most popular sports listens in the US in 2026. Big Cat and PFT Commenter cover the NFL, college football and whatever else is happening in the sports world with a chemistry built over thousands of episodes. Find more in our best sports podcasts round-up.
22. Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend
Conan, his assistant Sona Movsesian and producer Matt Gourley host one of the funniest interview podcasts going. The premise is that Conan is short on friends, the format is loose, and the celebrity guests — comics, actors, the occasional unexpected name — get more out of him than any late-night appearance ever did. A reliably funny weekly listen.
23. Lex Fridman Podcast
Lex Fridman's interview show keeps booking some of the most consequential guests in the world — heads of state, AI lab founders, Nobel laureates, controversial cultural figures. Episodes regularly run four or more hours. You will not agree with every editorial choice, but the access is unmatched and the conversations regularly produce news.
24. The Bill Simmons Podcast
The Ringer founder's flagship show is still a five-day-a-week NBA, NFL and pop culture institution. Simmons' chemistry with rotating co-hosts — Ryen Russillo, Joe House, Cousin Sal, Chris Ryan — and the depth of his sports knowledge make this a default listen if you care about American sports media. The basketball coverage in particular is genre-defining.
25. Serial Productions
The studio that invented the modern narrative podcast is still producing the best long-form audio in the medium. In 2026 they released "The Idiot" from Masha Gessen and "The Preventionist" — both proof that there is still room for a serialised, deeply reported documentary podcast in a market dominated by chat shows. For more storytelling in this vein, see our best documentary podcasts list.
How to listen to the best podcasts of 2026
Every show on this list is free to listen to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast and YouTube. The only differences are interface preference and whether you watch video versions — Joe Rogan, Huberman Lab, New Heights and Lex Fridman all have huge YouTube audiences and the video adds something. For the talk shows and narrative podcasts, audio is fine.
If you are new to podcasts, the easiest starting point is Apple Podcasts (or Spotify if you already have a subscription) — search the show name, hit follow, and the latest episodes will download automatically. From there it is worth picking one daily news show, one true crime or narrative show, and one long-format interview show. That mix covers most listening contexts: commute, walk, gym, washing up.
Waking up with a podcast on iOS
Podcast Alarm is a fully featured podcast player and alarm. You can set up queues of your favourite episodes and listen to them whenever you like. Why not subscribe to your favourite podcast and have the latest episode wake you up every weekday morning. There are lots of screenshots and videos in our "How to set a podcast as an alarm on iphone?" blog post.
