The Top 50 Podcasts in the US for Q2 2026

Press Release · Glen Mills PA, United States · via Edison Research at SSRS ·

Edison Research at SSRS announces the Top 50 Podcasts in the U.S. from Edison Podcast Metrics™ based on reach for the second quarter of 2026 among weekly podcast consumers ages 13+.

The Joe Rogan Experience, Crime Junkie, and The Daily top the list, as they did in Q1 2026. The full Top 50 rankings appear below.

Notable Moves

  • Huberman Lab jumps to 22nd. No such thing as bad publicity? In April, Andrew Huberman was linked to a 2024 smear campaign targeting his ex-girlfriend, following her involvement in a critical New York Magazine exposé of Huberman in Q1 2024, the only quarter in which Huberman Lab ranked higher (21st).
  • The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett reaches a record high, breaking into the top 20 for the first time. Two of Bartlett’s high-profile guests in Q2 include JD Vance and Ivanka Trump.
  • The Bill Simmons Podcast surges 17 positions to break into the top 25 for the first time. The title has been available on Netflix since January
  • Bubbling under: Ologies with Alie Ward, a science podcast that claims to “ask smart people stupid questions," has climbed the charts over the years. In 55th place, the podcast just misses the top 50.

In the Top 50 Podcasts for the First Time

  • The Rest is History enters the top 50 for the first time. The show dedicated a series to the U.S. founding fathers in time for America’s 250th anniversary.
  • The Why Files breaks into the top 50. The podcast covered the release of unsealed UFO documents in quarter 2. The Artemis II flyby in April coincided with the show’s recurring theme of moon landing conspiracy theories.
  • The Bulwark, a political podcast founded by two anti-MAGA Republicans, also debuts in the top 50.

Notable Decline

Of the top 50 shows in Q2, The Megyn Kelly Show sees the biggest drop in weekly audience size. The show dropped 25 rankings since last quarter, from 19 to 44.

OPML icon The above list of podcasts is available as an OPML file for your podcast player

About Edison Research at SSRS

Edison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients worldwide, having conducted research in 66 countries. Edison Research’s The Infinite Dial® series has been the survey of record for digital audio, social media, podcasting, smart speakers, and other media-related technologies since 1998. The company’s Share of Ear® survey is the only single-source measure of all audio in the U.S. Edison Research is the leading podcast research company in the world, producing the only survey-based data on podcast listening in the U.S, Edison Podcast Metrics, and has conducted research for many companies in the space.  On October 15, 2025, Edison Research announced the company’s acquisition by the full-service market research firm SSRS.

From the Podnews directory

This is a press release which we link to from Podnews, our daily newsletter about podcasting and on-demand. We may make small edits for editorial reasons.

The latest...

Get a global view on podcasting and on-demand with our daily news briefing

Subscribe to our daily newsletter by email, free