Top 10 Best Podcasts of 2025

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.

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. 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. 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.

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 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.