Crime Junkie, iHeart Lead October Podtrac Rankings

RADIO ONLINE | Monday, November 9, 2026 | 2:34pm CT

Podtrac

AudioChuck's "Crime Junkie" held the top spot in Podtrac's October 2026 U.S. podcast rankings, while iHeart Audience Network led the U.S. publisher and network chart with 64.3 million unique audience members and 294.7 million downloads and plays.

The top five podcasts were unchanged from September. The New York Times' "The Daily" ranked second, followed by "NPR News Now," "Up First from NPR" and "Dateline NBC."

"Pod Save America" climbed two spots to No. 6, and "Stuff You Should Know" rose one spot to No. 10. "The Ezra Klein Show" made the biggest gain in the top 20, moving up four places to No. 12.

On the U.S. publisher and network chart, iHeartPodcasts ranked second with 35.3 million unique audience members and 173.0 million downloads and plays. NPR Sales Network placed third with an audience of 19.7 million, followed by Vox Media at 7.6 million and The Walt Disney Company at 7.4 million.

Podtrac said most ranked publishers and networks grew month over month on both its U.S. and global charts. DailyWire led the reported U.S. audience gains at 20%, followed by PRX at 19%. The Volume and ReVolver Podcasts each gained 14%, while Vox Media rose 13%. iHeart Audience Network's U.S. audience grew 12%, and iHeartPodcasts gained 10%.

Fox Audio Network posted the largest U.S. increase in downloads and plays among the gains highlighted by Podtrac, up 18%. On the separate Global Multi-Channel ranking, Fox Audio Network and PRX each recorded an 18% increase in combined downloads, views and plays, followed by The Volume at 13% and DailyWire at 11%.

Podtrac ranks individual shows by unique U.S. monthly audience and includes only shows that participate in its measurement for the full month.