A Profile of the Top-Ranked Podcasts in the U.S.
True crime is the most common topic; 15% of the top podcasts focus on news
This study takes a close look at key characteristics of top-ranked podcasts. It is a continuation of work that Pew Research Center has done analyzing 
A new Pew Research Center study of 451 of the top-ranked podcasts in the United States shows this diversity of subjects: No single topic is the main focus of more than a quarter of these podcasts.
True crime is the most common topic, making up 24% of these top-ranked podcasts – perhaps reflecting the early 
To assess the presence of news in the podcast universe, researchers also looked at how many of the top-ranked podcasts are focused primarily on news and current events, finding that 15% of the podcasts studied fit this description.
News-focused podcasts can be about any topic, though most are about politics and government (49%) or sports (29%). Many have their roots in talk radio, and some, like The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, are directly connected to radio shows.
Across topics, the most common format among news-focused podcasts is commentary (49%), while smaller shares – 22% each – are centered around deep reporting (podcasts that do in-depth examinations or analyses of a topic or story) or interviews. Just 6% are news summaries. Commentary is especially dominant among sports podcasts (82%).
News organizations have been 
Some of these podcasts also experiment with other ways to engage their audiences. About half of top podcasts (51%) produce a video to accompany most episodes. Many of these videos show the podcast being recorded, providing a more engaging experience for viewers. And 8% have a discussion forum or Discord server, to directly engage with their fans or allow fans to connect with each other.
We studied 451 podcasts that had the highest average daily ranking on Apple and Spotify from April 1 to Sept. 30, 2022. This new report builds on the Center's recent survey of U.S. podcast listeners to give context around what podcast audiences are listening to.
Other key findings from this analysis include:
The rise of podcasts
Podcast listenership in the U.S. has increased steadily since 2013. In 2014, the popular true crime podcast Serial was released, becoming the fastest podcast to reach 5 million downloads on iTunes. Years later, this was followed by investments in podcasts by platforms like Spotify, which paid at least $200 million for an exclusive deal with The Joe Rogan Experience in 2020.
In a recent survey, Pew Research Center found that 49% of U.S. adults have listened to a podcast in the past year. However, as podcast audiences continue to grow, some podcast hosts have been accused of spreading unsubstantiated false claims, and others have drawn backlash for offensive content.
This report is the latest from the Center's ongoing research into podcasts. Previous reports covered how Americans engage with podcasts, which podcasts they listen to most, and the differences in engagement with podcasts depending on factors like age and race.
- Top-ranked podcasts use a variety of formats: 38% feature deep reporting or explain a topic, roughly a quarter (23%) are interview shows, and 16% are based around commentary.
- True crime podcasts tend to feature deep reporting, while other topics use a more diverse set of formats. The vast majority of top true crime podcasts (95%) use deep reporting. In contrast, politics and government podcasts are roughly evenly split among interview (33%), deep reporting (28%) and commentary (28%) formats, while an additional 9% are news summaries.
- Most top-ranked podcasts have a single host. A majority of top podcasts (58%) feature a single host, while roughly four-in-ten (37%) have multiple hosts.
- Top-ranked podcasts tend to be less than an hour long. For six-in-ten top podcasts, the average episode length in 2022 was less than 50 minutes.
- Many top-ranked podcasts turn to their audiences for financial support. Around half of top podcasts (47%) ask for audience support through options such as subscriptions, donations or merchandise for sale. The Center's recent survey of U.S. podcast listeners found that 13% have paid for a podcast subscription and 12% have bought merchandise.
