Playback 2025
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Playback 2025 highlights the stories, creators, and listening patterns that shaped podcasts in 2025. Dive into the data, then check out your personal year in review.
01
The Year In Numb3rs
This year, Pocket Casts listeners played millions of episodes, discovered thousands of creators, and used tools like Smart Folders, Ratings, and Bookmarks to organize their favorites. Here’s the breakdown.
332,933,949
Episodes played
That’s a lot of listening, right? Add yours to the count!
410,157
Smart Folders created
Listeners are organizing their shows into custom collections, where they sort out their favorites by category. Try it yourself!
02
The 5 Most Listened Shows
These are the podcasts everyone kept coming back to.
#1
Most Listened
113,531 listens
The Daily
#2
Most Listened
73,764 listens
The Rest Is History
#3
Most Listened
71,535 listens
This American Life
#4
Most Listened
70,983 listens
The Ezra Klein Show
#5
Most Listened
65,310 listens
Stuff You Should Know
03
Top 5 Shows Launched This Year
Brand new shows that hit hard from day one.
Meet the breakout podcasts of the year.
#1
Most Listened
41,161 listens
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
#2
Most Listened
18,336 listens
The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott
#3
Most Listened
11,813 listens
The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall
#4
Most Listened
10,433 listens
The Zach Lowe Show
#5
Most Listened
9,929 listens
The Rest Is Science
04
Most Listened Categories
Discover the categories that defined the year.
#1 Top Category
3,137,612 listens
News
#2 Top Category
2,739,378 listens
Society & Culture
#3 Top Category
2,086,687 listens
Comedy
#4 Top Category
1,249,465 listens
Business
#5 Top Category
1,236,712 listens
Sports
05
Top 5 Shows Per Category
From daily news to deep storytelling, these are the podcast categories that stood out.
#1
Most Listened
News
113,531 listens
The Daily
News
#2
Most Listened
News
53,271 listens
Pod Save America
News
#3
Most Listened
News
47,322 listens
Up First from NPR
News
#4
Most Listened
News
40,189 listens
The Rest is Politics
News
#5
Most Listened
News
35,356 listens
Today Explained
News
#1
Most Listened
Society & Culture
71,535 listens
This American Life
Society & Culture
#2
Most Listened
Society & Culture
70,983 listens
The Ezra Klein Show
Society & Culture
#3
Most Listened
Society & Culture
65,310 listens
Stuff You Should Know
Society & Culture
#4
Most Listened
Society & Culture
61,607 listens
Freakonomics Radio
Society & Culture
#5
Most Listened
Society & Culture
46,145 listens
Behind the Bastards
Society & Culture
#1
Most Listened
Comedy
54,566 listens
The Joe Rogan Experience
Comedy
#2
Most Listened
Comedy
54,383 listens
Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
Comedy
#3
Most Listened
Comedy
45,448 listens
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Comedy
#4
Most Listened
Comedy
43,409 listens
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Comedy
#5
Most Listened
Comedy
41,722 listens
SmartLess
Comedy
#1
Most Listened
Business
62,640 listens
Planet Money
Business
#2
Most Listened
Business
38,312 listens
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Business
#3
Most Listened
Business
25,552 listens
The Indicator from Planet Money
Business
#4
Most Listened
Business
19,331 listens
The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
Business
#5
Most Listened
Business
19,262 listens
Decoder with Nilay Patel
Business
#1
Most Listened
Sports
20,323 listens
The Bill Simmons Podcast
Sports
#2
Most Listened
Sports
12,301 listens
Football Weekly
Sports
#3
Most Listened
Sports
11,202 listens
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Sports
#4
Most Listened
Sports
10,699 listens
The Zach Lowe Show
Sports
#5
Most Listened
Sports
10,244 listens
The Rest Is Football
Sports
06
Top Lists
The most popular podcasts of 2025, all in one place. See what everyone’s been listening to.
#1
Guest List
Dr. Claire Aubin
Dr. Claire Aubin is a historian at Yale and the host of This Guy Sucked, a podcast that pulls back the curtain on some of the world’s most consequential historical figures and proves that it’s never too late to have haters.
This Guy Sucked
Multitude
Pale Blue Pod
Multitude
Overthink
Ellie Anderson
This Podcast Will Kill You
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
Tides of History
Wondery
Lingthusiasm
Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne
#1
Network Highlight
WBUR Highlight
Your destination for all of WBUR’s best podcasts and on-demand audio. WBUR is Boston’s NPR station producing award-winning local, regional, and national programming on air, online, and on-demand.
On Point
WBUR
Circle Round
WBUR
Endless Thread
WBUR
Beyond All Repair
WBUR
Last Seen
WBUR
Dear Sugars
WBUR
#1
Curated List
Indie Fiction
A gripping mix of indie narrative storytelling, this playlist blends mystery, tech intrigue, and high-stakes drama. From noir investigations to unsettling audio fiction, it serves up tense twists, rich worlds, and addictive plots in every episode.
The Program audio series
Ivan Mirko S.
Metropolis
Lux Radium
The Greatest Matter
HeadStuff Podcasts
The Dial-Up
The Dial-Up
Violet’s Shadow: A Murder Mystery
Great Craig
Last Dance
Blackabbey Productions
