Dateline NBC

Each new episode averages 2.4 million first-week downloads, a scale that towers over Morbid by 900,000 downloads per episode. The show's power is its polished, self-contained narrative — host Andrea Canning narrates a single case with interviews and forensic detail, giving listeners closure in roughly 40 minutes. Unlike serialized competitors that stretch cases across a season, Dateline's one-and-done model wins busy errands and workout blocks. It also adapts fast: breaking-news episodes have lifted weekly downloads by 70% in the past three months, cementing it as a reliable habit.