Podcast listeners have doubled in the last five years! So far in 2024, 504 million people have listened to a podcast. The growth of podcasts over the last few years is due to three main aspects. Podcasts offer wide accessibility, a personal connection and a sense of community.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” is the number one podcast across all platforms this year. “The Joe Rogan Experience” is hosted by Joe Rogan who discusses current events, comedy and athletics with celebrity guests. Joe Rogan has been a comedian for over 30 years and has a passion for MMA. In early August Adam Sandler made a guest appearance on an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience”. They discussed their shared experience of becoming a standup comedian and Adam Sandler talked about the process of making a movie, specifically his new movie “Happy Gilmore 2”.
Other popular podcasts in 2024 include “New Heights”, “Crime Junkie” and “Smartless”. “New Heights” is hosted by brothers Jason and Travis Kelce. Both are NFL players; Jason, who is now retired, played for the Eagles, and Travis currently plays for the Chiefs. In the podcast they discuss updates and insight information on the NFL as well as other pop culture news with guest appearances. The most recent episode kicks off the third season of the podcast where Jason and Travis are joined by guest appearance Adam Sandler to talk about his new movie “Happy Gilmore 2”. Travis discusses the Chiefs training camp and Jason describes his time in Paris watching the 2024 Summer Olympics. Hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, “Crime Junkie” is a true-crime podcast covering new murders, missing people and serial killer cases. Ashley Flowers is the CEO of audiochuck and a number one New York Times Bestseller. Brit Prawat has experience working with a private investigator and the two of them team up to bring true-crime stories every Monday. In one episode in mid august Ashley and Brit discussed the stories of Ben McDaniel and Kenneth Plaisted. Ben McDaniel disappeared in an underwater cave in 2010 and Kenneth Plaisted disappeared outside of his daughter’s apartment in 1971. Ashley and Brit discuss the facts of these mysterious and unsolved disappearances. “Smartless”, hosted by comedic actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, is a comedy podcast with guest celebrity appearances every week. The three Hollywood stars are long-term friends. Earlier this year “Smartless” invited Selena Gomez to talk about her roles in the TV and music industries as well as her cosmetics brand Rare Beauty. The popular podcasts in 2024 offer a wide range of interest for everyone.
Podcasts are popular among all communities including the Pace community. Two Pace students discuss their favorite podcasts. “My favorite podcast is Therapuss with Jake Shane,” who is a comedian and actor, says sophomore Piper Guilbert. He interviews people about current trends and pop culture events.” Sophomore Ella Reagan Roth says “I really like the podcast dropouts with Zach Justice and Tara Yummy.” The Pace community among many others enjoy a wide variety of podcasts.
