The Best of 2025
THE Best in
Podcasts & Audio
Celebrating audio creators who captivate audiences through compelling storytelling, insightful discussions, and production excellence.
2025 Edition
The Best Podcasts & Audio of the Year — 2025 Edition
Audio creators who captivate audiences through compelling storytelling, insightful discussions, and production excellence.
| Podcast/Creator |
|---|
| Ashley Flowers (Crime Junkie) United States Signal Awards 2025 Audio Icon Award, Audiochuck founder, radically shaped true crime genre |
| Hasan Minhaj (Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know) United States Signal Awards 2025 Cultural Impact Award, significant impact since 2024 launch |
| iHeartPodcasts United States Podcast Company of the Year 2025 at Signal Awards, most awards earned in 2025 |
| The Joe Rogan Experience United States Most popular podcast globally, Spotify exclusive, 14M+ listeners per episode, cultural phenomenon |
| Call Her Daddy (Alex Cooper) United States Golden Globes 2026 Best Podcast nominee, redefining podcasting for Gen Z, SiriusXM $60M+ deal |
| The Mel Robbins Podcast United States Signal Award winner 2025, Golden Globes 2026 nominee, self-help and motivation leader |
| SmartLess (Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, Will Arnett) United States Golden Globes 2026 Best Podcast nominee, celebrity interview format, Amazon exclusive |
| Armchair Expert (Dax Shepard) United States Golden Globes 2026 nominee, long-form celebrity conversations, Monica Padman co-host |
| Good Hang with Amy Poehler United States Golden Globes 2026 nominee, Parks and Rec icon in podcasting |
| Up First (NPR) United States Golden Globes 2026 nominee, morning news briefing, NPR's flagship podcast |
| Michelle Obama (The Michelle Obama Podcast) United States Signal Award winner 2025, former First Lady's conversations on relationships and health |
| Craig Robinson & Katie Couric United States Signal Award winner 2025, sibling conversations and legendary journalism |
| Jon Stewart United States Signal Award winner 2025, The Problem with Jon Stewart, political commentary return |
| Sue Bird United States Signal Award winner 2025, basketball legend in podcasting, A Touch More |
| Today, Explained United States Signal Award winner 2025, Vox Media daily news explainer |
| The Sam Sanders Show United States Signal Award winner 2025, culture and conversation podcast |
| Serial United States Podcast revolution pioneer, investigative journalism, The New York Times |
| This American Life United States Long-running public radio institution, Ira Glass, storytelling gold standard |
| Radiolab United States WNYC's science and philosophy podcast, sound design innovation |
| The Daily (The New York Times) United States NYT's daily news podcast, Michael Barbaro, journalism standard |
| Planet Money United States NPR economics podcast, making finance accessible and entertaining |
| Freakonomics Radio United States Economics meets everyday life, Stephen Dubner |
| 99% Invisible United States Design and architecture podcast, Roman Mars, hidden design stories |
| Reply All United States Internet culture podcast, Gimlet Media, tech stories (legacy recognition) |
| Hardcore History United States Dan Carlin's deep-dive history, multi-hour episodes, passionate storytelling |
| The Tim Ferriss Show United States Self-improvement and business, world-class performers interviews, 900M+ downloads |
| My Favorite Murder United States True crime comedy, Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark, fan cult |
| Pod Save America United States Political commentary, former Obama staffers, Crooked Media |
| WTF with Marc Maron United States Comedian interviews, garage conversations, podcast pioneer since 2009 |
| Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend United States Late night legend in podcasting, celebrity conversations |
| The Rewatchables United States Film discussion podcast, The Ringer, Bill Simmons production |
| Office Ladies United States The Office rewatch, Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey |
| You're Wrong About United States Reexamining misunderstood events, cultural deep dives |
| Hidden Brain United States NPR's psychology and neuroscience podcast, Shankar Vedantam |
| How I Built This United States NPR's entrepreneur stories, Guy Raz, startup narratives |
| TED Radio Hour United States NPR's TED Talk expansion, curated idea exploration |
| The History of Rome United States Mike Duncan's comprehensive Roman history (legacy recognition) |
| Philosophize This! United States Philosophy made accessible, Stephen West |
| The Adventure Zone United States D&D actual play comedy, McElroy family |
| Welcome to Night Vale United States Fiction podcast pioneer, desert town mysteries |
| S-Town United States Serial Productions, 7-chapter mystery, cultural phenomenon |
| Stuff You Should Know United States Educational explainer podcast, iHeartRadio, Josh & Chuck |
| No Such Thing As A Fish United Kingdom QI researchers share weekly facts, British comedy |
| The Rest Is History United Kingdom Goalhanger Podcasts, historians discussing everything |
| The Diary of a CEO United Kingdom Steven Bartlett's business and life podcast, UK's biggest podcast |
| Stuff You Missed in History Class United States iHeartRadio history podcast, overlooked historical events |
| The Dollop United States American history comedy, Dave Anthony & Gareth Reynolds |
| Lore United States Aaron Mahnke's dark historical tales, Amazon adaptation |
| Swindled United States True crime white-collar, corporate wrongdoing stories |
| Casefile True Crime Australia Anonymous Australian host, detailed true crime cases |
Selection Standards
Excellence Criteria
Our industry-specific criteria ensure that only the most deserving receive THE Best distinction in Podcasts & Audio.
01
Content quality
02
Production value
03
Audience growth
04
Engagement
05