Apple Podcasts Reveals The Most Played, Shared And Popular Shows Of 2025

If podcasts are the background music to modern life – soundtracking our commutes, workouts, skincare routines and late-night doomscrolling – then Apple Podcasts’ newly released Top Charts of 2025 offer a revealing cultural snapshot of what we collectively pressed play on this year.

Apple has unveiled its annual year-end rankings, spotlighting the shows, creators and episodes that dominated listening habits across the globe. Localised for audiences worldwide, the charts deliver both a big-picture view of podcasting in 2025 and a granular look at regional obsessions – proof that audio remains one of tech’s most intimate and influential mediums.

Available now via the New tab in the Apple Podcasts app, the 2025 charts break listening behaviour into multiple data-driven categories: Top Shows, Top New Shows, Most Followed, Most Shared, Top Channels, and more. It’s less a popularity contest, more a mirror held up to our collective curiosity.

The Power Players of Podcasting:

At the top of the U.S. Top Shows list sits The Joe Rogan Experience, followed closely by staples like The Daily, The Mel Robbins Podcast and Crime Junkie. The lineup reflects podcasting’s widening remit: political analysis, self-optimisation, investigative journalism and entertainment all competing for earspace – often within the same listener’s week.

What’s notable is how wellness and psychology-driven shows now sit comfortably alongside news and comedy. Podcasts are no longer niche; they’re infrastructure. Audio has become a trusted interface for navigating everything from mental health to geopolitics.

Breakout Hits and Fresh Voices:

Apple’s Top New Shows chart highlights 2025’s breakout debuts, including Good Hang with Amy Poehler and Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce. Celebrity-led formats continue to draw audiences, but what makes them stick is tone – intimacy over polish, conversation over performance.

Meanwhile, narrative storytelling remains a dominant force. True-crime and investigative series like Deadly Mirage, Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story and Murder in the Moonlight appear across multiple charts, reinforcing podcasting’s unique ability to deliver long-form, emotionally immersive storytelling in a way no other platform quite matches.

The Episodes Everyone Shared:

If shares are the ultimate signal of relevance, Apple’s Most Shared Episodes category reveals what sparked conversation beyond the headphones. Wellness, longevity and women’s health feature heavily, with episodes such as “The Body Reset: How Women Should Eat & Exercise for Health, Fat Loss, & Energy” from The Mel Robbins Podcast and “Women’s sexual health, menopause, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) | Rachel Rubin, M.D.” from The Peter Attia Drive resonating widely.

Followed, Subscribed and Devoted:

In the Most Followed Shows rankings, The Mel Robbins Podcast leads, followed by The Joe Rogan Experience and Good Hang with Amy Poehler. Following is a behavioural signal worth noting: it reflects intent, loyalty and trust in an era of infinite content.

Subscription-based listening also continues to rise. Apple’s Top Subscriber Shows include The Daily, The Ezra Klein Show and Unicorn Girl, underscoring a broader shift toward premium audio experiences – ad-free, exclusive and deeply engaged.

Channels, Ecosystems and Audio Empires:

Zooming out, Apple’s Top Channels chart reads like a who’s who of audio powerhouses, from Wondery and iHeartPodcasts to The New York Times and Vox Media Podcast Network. Podcasting is no longer just about individual creators – it’s about ecosystems, distribution and scale.

Apple Podcasts, positioned at the intersection of hardware, software and services, continues to play a central role in shaping how audio is discovered and monetised. Fully integrated across iPhone, Apple Watch, CarPlay and the web, the platform remains a cornerstone of the creator economy.

The Most Popular Apple Podcasts of 2025 In The US:

Top Shows:

1. The Joe Rogan Experience
2. The Daily
3. The Mel Robbins Podcast
4. Crime Junkie
5. Dateline NBC
6. SmartLess
7. Call Her Daddy
8. This American Life
9. Huberman Lab
10. The Ezra Klein Show

Top New Shows:

1. Good Hang with Amy Poehler
2. Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce
3. Deadly Mirage
4. Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story
5. Murder in the Moonlight
6. Devil in the Desert
7. What Happened to Holly Bobo?
8. Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska
9. Unicorn Girl
10. The Best People with Nicolle Wallace

Top Series:

1. The Telepathy Tapes
2. The Binge Cases
3. Deadly Mirage
4. Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story
5. Dateline Originals
6. Murder in the Moonlight
7. Serial
8. THREE
9. Devil in the Desert
10. CounterClock

Top Episodes:

1. The Telepathy Tapes: “Unveiling the Hidden World of Telepathic Communication in a Silenced Community”
2. Crime Junkie: “MURDERED: The Feeney Family”
3. New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce: “The Taylor Swift Episode”
4. The Joe Rogan Experience: “#2223 – Elon Musk”
5. The Daily: “Trump, Again”
6. Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story: “Blink”
7. Deadly Mirage: “Death in the High Desert”
8. SmartLess: “Amy Poehler”
9. Good Hang with Amy Poehler: “Tina Fey”
10. Murder in the Moonlight: “In Cold Blood”

Most Shared Shows:

1. The Telepathy Tapes
2. The Mel Robbins Podcast
3. Sold a Story
4. Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story
5. The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
6. The Daily
7. Huberman Lab
8. The Bible Recap
9. Scamanda
10. The Ezra Klein Show

Most Shared Episodes:

1. The Mel Robbins Podcast: “The Body Reset: How Women Should Eat & Exercise for Health, Fat Loss, & Energy”
2. The Telepathy Tapes: “Unveiling the Hidden World of Telepathic Communication in a Silenced Community”
3. The Ezra Klein Show: “Don’t Believe Him”
4. The Shawn Ryan Show: “#163 Gary Brecka – Biohacking Secrets to Longevity, Aging Myths and the Science of Nutrition”
5. The Peter Attia Drive: “Women’s sexual health, menopause, and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) | Rachel Rubin, M.D.”
6. The Joe Rogan Experience: “#2294 – Dr. Suzanne Humphries”
7. The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart: “Trump Won. What Now? with Heather Cox Richardson”
8. The Daily: “The Secret Power of Siblings”
9. On Purpose with Jay Shetty: “Mel Robbins: How to Use the ‘Let Them Theory’ (A Life Changing Mindset Hack That 15 Million People Can’t Stop Talking About)”
10. Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: “Mary Claire Haver (on menopause)”

Most Followed Shows:

1. The Mel Robbins Podcast
2. The Joe Rogan Experience
3. Good Hang with Amy Poehler
4. The Charlie Kirk Show
5. Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce
6. The Telepathy Tapes
7. The MeidasTouch Podcast
8. The Shawn Ryan Show
9. Call Her Daddy
10. The Daily

Top Subscriber Shows:

1. The Daily
2. Apple News+ Narrated
3. The Ezra Klein Show
4. Unicorn Girl
5. Morbid
6. Extrasensory
7. Dateline NBC
8. Scamtown
9. Big Time
10. The New York Times Narrated

Top Channels:

1. SiriusXM Podcasts
2. Wondery
3. iHeartPodcasts
4. The New York Times
5. audiochuck
6. Dateline NBC
7. Dear Media
8. Cumulus Podcast Network
9. Audacy
10. Vox Media Podcast Network

The Modems Verdict:

In a year defined by AI acceleration, digital fatigue and screen overload, podcasting’s rise feels quietly radical. It’s slower, more human, and deeply personal – proof that sometimes, the most powerful tech trend is simply being heard.