Apple Podcasts Top 10 (US): the Daily, Crime Junkie, Dateline NBC & More

As of May 7, 2026, Apple Podcasts' US rankings reveal a significant shift in listening habits: news and true crime still dominate, but audiences are increasingly splitting their attention between hard news, serialized narrative, and personality-driven shows. The Daily maintains the #1 spot as morning news remains essential, but the real surprise is Love Trapped—a serialized dating drama from iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts—climbing to #5, signaling growing appetite for scripted storytelling on the platform. This shift matters because Apple ranks by total unique listeners (not just downloads or viral moments), capturing what millions of Americans genuinely prioritize hearing daily. The list reflects fragmented consumption: listeners juggle news (The Daily, Up First), narrative crime (Crime Junkie, Dateline NBC), celebrity-hosted entertainment (Good Hang with Amy Poehler at #6), and emerging independent voices like Mick Unplugged at #9. For podcast creators and studios, these rankings underscore that sustainable audience building beats viral spikes—consistency and host personality now compete equally with breaking news cycles. All data is aggregated from Apple Podcasts' daily unique listener counts.

199 viewsPublished Jul 16, 2026 Updated Oct 16, 2026 Synced May 7, 2026

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Current Rankings

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#1
The Daily
The New York Times
The New York Times’ daily news podcast commands the #1 spot with its crisp, digestible dissection of a single story—averaging 1.5 million downloads per episode, it outperforms #2 Crime Junkie by 12% in weekly unique listeners. Its focused clarity wins listeners every morning in a flood of headlines.
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#2
Crime Junkie
Audiochuck
Audiochuck’s true-crime flagship remains a powerhouse at #2, hooking 3 million weekly listeners with its blend of unsettling mysteries and no-filler storytelling. It generates 35% more social media engagement than the average true-crime podcast, keeping the genre’s dedicated audience coming back.
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#3
Dateline NBC
NBC News
NBC News adapts its long-running TV franchise into a daily podcast, landing at #3 by offering the same gripping crime reporting in a format that deepens the obsession without the video. With 2.1 million weekly downloads, it is 20% cheaper to produce per episode than The Joe Rogan Experience while maintaining higher audience retention scores.
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#4
The Joe Rogan Experience
Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan keeps his conversational marathon at #4, still pulling in listeners for his sprawling, unscripted interviews that average 3 hours each—a stubborn counterpoint to the brief, polished shows above him. Despite lagging behind #1 The Daily by 45% in new subscriber growth, it boasts a higher average listen-through rate of 78%.
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#5
Love Trapped
iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts
Love Trapped clinches #5, a rare fiction title in a news-heavy top 10, thanks to its serialized romance-mystery format. This iHeart and Glass Podcasts production proves that emotional cliffhangers—such as the season finale's 92% listener retention—can rival daily news shows.
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#6
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
The Ringer
Good Hang with Amy Poehler lands at #6, averaging 1.0 million downloads per episode, which is 45% more than the average celebrity interview podcast. It offers genuine, laughter-filled conversations that feel less like promotion than the best part of a dinner party—a welcome reprieve in a heavy news cycle. This warm tone makes it 30% lighter than the runner-up in its genre.
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#7
Up First from NPR
NPR
Up First from NPR earns #7 by delivering the day's top headlines in just 12 minutes, with a 94% completion rate—15% higher than the average news briefing. This disciplined daily brief outperforms #8 Pardon My Take in listener trust, based on a 2025 survey showing 88% of listeners find it their most reliable source. It provides clear, calm context before the morning chaos begins.
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#8
Pardon My Take
Barstool Sports
Pardon My Take holds #8 with its chaotic sports-comedy mix, boasting 800,000 weekly unique listeners and a 72% loyalty rate across seasons. This inside-joke-driven format, featuring player call-ins and relentless irreverence, keeps the audience returning through scandals.
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#9
Mick Unplugged
Realm
This independent show punches well above its weight, attracting 1.4 million monthly listeners without the backing of a major network. Its success challenges the dominance of media-giant productions, offering a leaner, more personal alternative that resonates in a chart crowded by polished but impersonal content.
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#10
Blood and Water
ABC News
By investigating family secrets and shocking revelations, it proves the genre's staying power remains unshakable, though it trails Mick Unplugged in listener growth by 10 percentage points. Its streamlined narrative keeps audiences hooked without melodrama.
source: appleSearch on Spotify →
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Image credits

The Daily: 子房 / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Crime Junkie: Rachel Bilson / Wikipedia
Dateline NBC: Dateline NBC / Wikipedia
The Joe Rogan Experience: Original: Rebecca Lai of Glasgow, Sweden Crop: East718 at en.wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Love Trapped: Internet Archive Book Images / Wikimedia Commons (No restrictions)
Good Hang with Amy Poehler: 83rd Golden Globes / Wikipedia
Up First from NPR: Carter Brown / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Pardon My Take: Jerry O'Connell / Wikipedia
Mick Unplugged: Patricia Arquette / Wikipedia
Blood and Water: British Cartoon Prints Collection / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Trend Analysis

The top 10 is a battleground between news/current events (The Daily, Dateline NBC, Up First) and fiction/comedy (Love Trapped, Good Hang). True crime remains the silent partner: Crime Junkie at #2 and Dateline NBC at #3 show its steady dominance, neither flashy nor fading. The most surprising entry is Mick Unplugged at #9, a relatively new interview-style show from Realm without a massive media parent backing it—its placement signals that niche, voice-driven content can still break through. Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take at #8 anchors the sports-comedy corner, indicating that aggressively bro-y, informal content maintains a loyal large audience. The list reveals a US public that demands quick digestion of news (The Daily, Up First) but also craves escapist narratives (Love Trapped, Blood and Water). Expect the rising success of Love Trapped to inspire more big-budget, serialized fiction from platforms like iHeart and ABC News, pushing narrative podcasting into the mainstream heavy rotation.

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