Reach of podcasts stays steady: The Podcast Landscape 2026

• Sounds Profitable’s Podcast Landscape 2026 was released. Overall reach of podcasts remains steady at 74% of all Americans; but 34% of podcast consumers say they started consuming podcasts within the past year, up from 28% in 2025. As we heard at Podcast Movement a few weeks ago, in its first year carrying podcasts, Netflix was named by 21% of podcast consumers as a platform they had used in the past 12 months, placing it third behind YouTube (63%) and Spotify (33%), and ahead of Apple Podcasts (15%).

• The winners of the Black Podcasting Awards were announced. The special occasion celebrated 66 award wins across 57 categories, earned by 44 podcasts, spanning comedy, true crime, business, faith, and everything in between. The Legend Award was won by Kevin Y Brown; we’ve a full list of the winners.

• Oxford Road published the top performing shows for B2B advertising campaigns. It reminds us that listeners don’t just listen to business podcasts - and that you need to find them based on what they listen to, rather than merely the subject of the podcast.

• If you could change one thing about how we judge podcasts, what would it be? Fatima Zaidi asked a number of people for International Podcast Day.

• Disney+ and Hulu are to double the number of “podcasts” they have in their streaming service. Two new shows from Headgum - Best Friends and Perfect Person - will show a week before other platforms; and an ABC News “podcast” was debuted exclusively on the platform. (In our opinion, the latter is not a podcast, according to any well-adopted definition.)

• People do not want AI hosts, says Edison Research. 66% of weekly podcast listeners reacted negatively to the idea; most saying they’d feel “betrayed”.

• The Nigerian Podcast Index released its 2026 Industry Report. It says that the amount of podcasts coming out of the country has nearly doubled; but that the number of “podfaded” shows - shows that have stopped publishing - has also significantly increased.

Tips and tricks - with Audiencelift

• New laws are coming to California about ads being louder than the content it surrounds. We’ll cover these when we’ve understood who gets shouted at. However, it’s all about the LUFS, if you need to get started.

Podcast News - with Airwave

With Airwave: This Day in History from The HISTORY Channel has the top historical event for this day in past years. Today in 1908, Ford’s first Model T rolled off the line in Detroit, Michigan.

The daily podcast for daily inspiration to kick start your day in a positive way, The Daily Quote, hits episode 1,000 today. The show promises inspirational quotes from everyone from Winston Churchill to Seth Godin and Tony Robbins.

From the BBC, The Interface is back with a new co-host and refreshed editorial focus. This season, Jessica Maddox joins co-host and BBC technology columnist Thomas Germain. Every Wednesday, the hosts dissect the stories that matter to you– or soon will: consumer technology, internet culture, Silicon Valley power plays, digital controversies and, of course, the fallout from AI. Under every story lies a bigger question about human behavior, identity, and connection in a world where technology influences everything.

Your Daily Bible Verse launched a new series, Courage for the Journey, a 22-episode series through the Book of Joshua. Follow Joshua and the Israelites as they step into the unknown and discover what their journey can teach us about trusting God’s Word one step at a time.

Teaching through Emotions, the award-winning podcast hosted by teacher educator and psychotherapist Betsy Burris, PhD, releases its fourth season today. The show takes listeners inside real Teacher Support Groups (TSGs). Each episode centers on one teacher’s story: what’s bothering them, how the support group and Betsy reframe the issue, and the plan of action that follows.

Last week, You, Me and An Album reached two milestones in the same episode. Host Al Melchior’s conversation with Jorina Stamm—frontwoman for the Swiss indie pop band Soft Loft—was the show’s 250th episode. Stamm’s choice of album to discuss was Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend, and it was the first time a guest had picked a recently-released album to talk about. Today, the show embarks on its next chapter, as Ep 251 features virtuoso drummer Cindy Blackman Santana discussing Give the Drummer Some (2020) and other albums from her discography.

In today’s episode of Vintage Politics, Anthony Scaramucci admits he would be open to running for president in 2028 if there was real momentum. He also said that Trump’s hair looks like a rat. Previously he described it as a dead raccoon.

It’s time for Her Horrorween! From the multiple award-winning Ominous Thrill, Her Horrorween is a fifteen-episode women authored horror anthology season releasing throughout October. Through a series of sound-rich episodes, Her Horrorween reveals what horror can do when women are in power – as both its authors and its subject.