Podtrac's Top New Podcasts of 2020

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Podtrac has published a year-end ranking of the Top 25 New Podcasts for 2020 based on average downloads per episode. The entire list can be found online at Podtrac.com along with their monthly Top Publisher and Top Podcast rand Top Shows by Category rankings. Here are the Top 10 new shows for 2020 based on average downloads per episode as measured by Podtrac. The shows included must have been published for the first time between December 1, 2019 and November 31.

1. Nice White Parents - The New York Times: If you want to understand what's wrong with our public schools, you have to look at what is arguably the most powerful force in shaping them: white parents. A five-part series from Serial Productions, a New York Times Company. Hosted by Chana Joffe-Walt.
2. Down The Hill: The Delphi Murders - WarnerMedia: Abby and Libby - 2 young girls murdered. Investigators are searching for the killer using their biggest clue: a recording of his voice from one of the victims' phones ordering the girls Down the Hill. Almost three years later, it's a mystery that still haunts the small town of Delphi, Indiana while police say the killer may walk among them
3. The Dating Game Killer - Wondery: In 1978, Rodney Alcala won a date on the popular TV show, The Dating Game. What no one knew was that he was a prolific serial killer in the middle of a cross-country murder spree. In this six-part series, co-hosts Tracy Pattin (Hollywood & Crime) and Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don't Breathe) take listeners on an unbelievable journey into Alcala's twisting secret life. He hid behind normal jobs as a typesetter at a prominent newspaper and a summer camp counselor. How did this predatory monster fool employers, prison psychiatrists, and parole boards - all while committing heinous crimes from coast to coast? And how did a one-time appearance as a game show contestant help lead to his capture?
4. Missing in Alaska - iHeartRadio: Alaska, 1972. Two congressmen vanish on a small plane. They're never found. In 1995, a mobster tells the F.B.I. the plane was bombed. What happened?
5. Motive for Murder - NBC News: Two murders, months apart, in Houston. The young victims knew each other, but did they also know their elusive killer? Dateline's Josh Mankiewicz takes you inside one of the most twisted and confounding cases he's ever covered. From the team who brought you the #1 podcast The Thing About Pam comes the chilling story of the race to find a killer by unmasking the motive.
6. Dr. Death Season 2: Dr. Fata - Wondery: If someone you love is diagnosed with cancer you want them to get the best treatment from the best doctors. In 2013, patients in Michigan thought Farid Fata was that doctor. Between his prestigious education, years of experience and pleasant bedside manner, Fata was everything you could want in a doctor. But he was not who he appeared to be. From Wondery, this is the story of hundreds of patients in Michigan, a doctor, and a poisonous secret.
7. Guru: The Dark Side of Enlightenment - Wondery: When we face challenges in life, we seek answers from people we believe can help us. When tragedy strikes an exclusive retreat with a self-help superstar, many people are left to wonder: how far is too far? James Arthur Ray was an Oprah-endorsed self-help teacher who achieved fame, fortune, and influence. But friends and family members of his followers questioned his unorthodox methods, and tried to stop him.
8. Monster: DC Sniper - iHeartRadio: From iHeartRadio and TenderfootTV, ‘Monster: DC Sniper' reinvestigates the beltway sniper attacks. This true crime podcast places the listener in Montgomery County, Maryland on October 2nd, 2002 when an unidentified sniper began randomly killing people going about their daily lives. Host Tony Harris traces what investigators, journalists and the public learned from the first shot until the last and ultimately asks the question: Does the person convicted of these crimes ever deserve a second chance?
9. The Piketon Massacre - iHeartRadio: On the night of April 21, 2016 in rural Piketon, Ohio - eight members of the Rhoden family were viciously murdered execution style in their homes. Two years later in 2018, their neighbors, the Wagners, were arrested and charged with committing the largest massacre in Ohio's history. Shocked by the arrests, this once close-knit and religious community remains divided and unable to cope. Was a respected and reputable Piketon family responsible for this unimaginable murder spree? Our team will examine the deep ties that connected both families. We'll examine the evidence and possible motives for the crimes. For the first time we'll speak with townspeople, psychological experts, respected investigators, friends and members of both families. Are the Wagners responsible for the murders, and if convicted, will they be executed? Or is it possible that there is still a murderer at large waiting to kill again?
10. Paper Ghosts - iHeartRadio: Four separate cases, four young girls. All of whom go missing in the early to mid-1970s, all within miles from one another in neighboring New England towns. And not one arrest has been made in over 50 years. In Paper Ghosts, investigative journalist and true crime author M. William Phelps' decade-long search for answers is reignited when a call reveals new information that sets the investigation in motion, uncovering never-made-public documents and bringing forth new witnesses and suspects.