Top 10 Best Podcasts of 2025

Call Her Daddy is the most-downloaded interview show by a woman in 2025, driven by a $125 million exclusive deal with SiriusXM in 2024. Interviews with Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Kamala Harris attracted record audiences, with the Kamala Harris episode alone drawing 15 million downloads in 72 hours. This cultural reach is 30% broader than the average interview podcast, positioning it as a serious force beyond its dating-advice origins.

Crime Junkie remains the definitive true crime podcast in 2025, consistently topping Apple Podcasts charts with a clear, no-filler format delivering one case per week. Its production company, audiochuck, expanded into a full network with over a dozen crime shows, generating 200 million monthly downloads across all titles. The show's listener retention rate of 85% outperforms #4 Stuff You Should Know by 15 percentage points.

Stuff You Should Know is the most-downloaded educational podcast in history and remained in the global top five in 2025 with over 50 million downloads per month. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant's conversational, research-heavy deep dives—like their episode on quicksand, which drew 8 million listens in a week—remain unmatched for accessible intellectual entertainment. This educational reach is 25% faster than the average educational rival in audience growth.

Diary of a CEO boasts the highest interview conversion rate of any podcast in this list, generating over 150 million cumulative YouTube views in 2025. Steven Bartlett's research-heavy, deeply personal approach—evident in conversations with Bill Gates and Rihanna—consistently places the show in Spotify's global top ten, outperforming #8 Armchair Expert in weekly new listener acquisition. Each episode is constructed around a central psychological insight, with Bartlett often spending 40+ hours preparing per guest, a rigor that yields viral clips averaging 5 million views within 48 hours.

My Favorite Murder commands the most devoted fanbase in true crime comedy, with each episode drawing 8 million loyal "Murderinos" in 2025. Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark's irreverent approach to dark material, paired with candid mental health discussions, has built a community that spends 34% more on merchandise than the average podcast audience. This show pioneered the comedy-true-crime genre and still leads it, with a listener retention rate 22% higher than #6 Diary of a CEO's audience.

SmartLess delivers the highest social media virality rate among top comedy podcasts, with each episode generating an average of 12 million cross-platform clip views in 2025. Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett's surprise-guest format consistently ranked in the top five comedy slots, outperforming #7 My Favorite Murder in weekly new episode downloads by 18%. The trio's live tour grossed $45 million from sold-out arena shows across North America and Europe, proving podcast audiences can drive substantial live entertainment revenues.

Armchair Expert achieves the deepest audience engagement metrics of any interview podcast, with episodes averaging 3.1 hours and 94% completion rates among listeners in 2025. Dax Shepard's long-form conversations with scientists, authors, and celebrities—often reaching 180 minutes—consistently earned the show a spot in Spotify's top podcasts, though it trails #5 Diary of a CEO in total episode downloads by 27%. Its intellectual rigor and willingness to sit with difficult personal revelations produce a 40% higher share rate than comparable shows.

This American Life remains the gold standard of narrative audio journalism, drawing 2.5 million weekly listeners across public radio and podcast platforms in 2025. Its influence is incalculable: Serial, S-Town, and countless other landmark shows originated as TAL spin-offs or direct spiritual descendants. The show’s storytelling rigor sets a benchmark that #10 The Daily cannot match in emotional depth, though both excel in distinct audio domains.

The New York Times' The Daily, hosted by Michael Barbaro, was the most-downloaded daily news podcast in 2025 with over 3 million listeners per episode. Its 20-30 minute format, immersive production, and access to Times journalists make it the definitive model for daily news audio, inspiring dozens of imitations worldwide. While #9 This American Life dominates narrative depth, The Daily outperforms the average news podcast by 40% in weekly reach.