The Idiot

The Idiot debuts at #3 as the highest new entry this week, a scripted thriller from Serial Productions and The New York Times that blends fiction with investigative pace. With 2.8 million downloads in its first seven days, it outperforms #2 Crime Junkie’s weekly average by 12% in audience engagement per episode. The series uses a 30-minute narrative arc, 25% tighter than the typical top-10 fiction podcast, and its premiere episode scored a 4.7/5 rating on Apple Podcasts—higher than the average for scripted debuts.