For reported investigations and documentary storytelling, start with Bone Valley, Sea of Lies, or Embedded: Alternate Realities. For comedy and conversation, try Good Hang with Amy Poehler or IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson. This is a curated 2025 selection, not a universal ranking: it brings together platform editorial picks, critic recommendations, and notable formats across genres. Choose by subject and style, then check the show’s current feed and availability in your region.
How to choose from this 2025 list
“Best” depends on what you want from a listen: a carefully reported investigation, a personal story, a relaxed conversation, or a focused discussion of culture and sport. The selections below draw on Apple Podcasts’ 2025 editorial collection, Spotify’s July 2025 midyear editor picks, and The Atlantic’s critic-led recommendations. They are not all new shows, and none of those sources establishes a single authoritative ranking of 26 podcasts.
Platform charts answer a different question from editorial recommendations. Apple says its charts show popular shows and episodes in a particular market; its methodology considers listening, follows, and completion rate, while ratings, reviews, and shares are not direct ranking inputs. A chart position is therefore not an objective measure of artistic quality. Spotify describes its U.S. chart as a daily guide to popular podcasts on its platform, not a year-end editorial list.
Documentaries, investigations, and true crime
1. Bone Valley
Genre and mood: True crime and criminal-justice reporting; serious and absorbing. Apple included the show in its 2025 editorial selection, making it a natural starting point for listeners drawn to investigations rather than casual crime chat.
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2. Sea of Lies
Genre and mood: Investigative true crime; tense and story-driven. Spotify named it among its 2025 midyear new-show editor picks. Try it if you want a reported mystery rather than a rotating discussion of cases.
3. Embedded: Alternate Realities
Genre and mood: Documentary investigation; immersive and probing. This was another of Spotify’s midyear picks, suited to listeners interested in stories built around reporting and a deeper look at events.
4. Tortoise Investigates: Lucky Boy
Genre and mood: Investigative documentary; focused and suspenseful. Spotify’s 2025 midyear selection included this series, a fit for listeners who prefer a specific investigation to an ongoing host-led conversation.
5. The Telepathy Tapes
Genre and mood: Documentary and investigation; curiosity-driven. Spotify selected it in its midyear list. Approach it as a reported series to explore, not as a chart-certified verdict on the claims it covers.
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6. No Easy Fix
Genre and mood: Documentary and social issues; thoughtful and questioning. Apple’s 2025 editorial collection included the show. It offers a route into nonfiction programming beyond conventional crime stories.
7. Debt Heads
Genre and mood: Personal finance told through narrative investigation; illuminating and grounded. The Atlantic’s 2025 critic-led list describes it as a personal-finance narrative-investigative series, making it a strong choice for listeners who want reporting with a human story at its center.
Rank #2
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Personal stories and reflective listening
8. Heavyweight
Genre and mood: Narrative personal stories; intimate, reflective, and often funny. Apple included it in its 2025 editorial selection. The Atlantic also covered its revival as a narrative show hosted by Jonathan Goldstein, so it is a good pick for listeners who enjoy a host-guided story rather than a panel discussion.
9. Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story
Genre and mood: Personal journal and documentary storytelling; candid and introspective. Apple named it in its 2025 editorial collection. Consider it if first-person experience is more compelling to you than a conventional interview format.
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Genre and mood: Society and culture, with personal conversation; warm and reflective. It appeared among Australia’s most-listened-to shows in Apple’s 2025 Australian Top Shows list. That is a market-specific popularity signal, not an editorial quality ranking.
11. Conversations
Genre and mood: Long-form interviews and personal stories; calm and attentive. It was the top entry in Apple’s Australian Top Shows list for 2025, which reflects listenership in Australia rather than a global or all-time ranking.
12. No Filter
Genre and mood: Interview-led personal stories; candid and human-focused. Apple’s 2025 Australian Top Shows list included it among the market’s most-listened-to podcasts. It is a useful option if you prefer an individual story explored through conversation.
Comedy, interviews, and conversational shows
13. Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Genre and mood: Comedy and celebrity interviews; playful and easygoing. Apple’s 2025 editorial collection and Spotify’s midyear editor picks both included it. It is an inviting choice when you want entertaining conversation rather than an unfolding investigation.
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14. IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson
Genre and mood: Celebrity conversation and culture; friendly and personal. Spotify selected the show for its 2025 midyear list. The sibling-host format makes it a fit for listeners who enjoy familiar rapport alongside discussion.
15. Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce
Genre and mood: Comedy and conversation; informal and lively. Spotify’s midyear 2025 picks included the show. Choose it for personality-led listening rather than a tightly reported documentary narrative.
16. ReLiving Single
Genre and mood: Television and culture commentary; nostalgic and conversational. Spotify named it in its 2025 midyear editor selection. It suits listeners who like revisiting a familiar show through discussion.
17. Mamamia Out Loud
Genre and mood: News, culture, and conversation; lively and topical. It was among Apple’s most-listened-to shows in Australia in 2025. The ranking is specifically Australian and based on listenership, not a global assessment.
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18. The Joe Rogan Experience
Genre and mood: Long-form interviews and conversation; broad-ranging and personality-led. It appeared in Apple’s 2025 Australian Top Shows list. Its inclusion reflects that chart’s local popularity basis, not a recommendation that every episode suits every listener.
News, ideas, and personal development
19. The Mel Robbins Podcast
Genre and mood: Self-improvement and wellbeing; practical and motivational. Apple included it in both its 2025 editorial collection and Australia’s Top Shows list. The first is an editorial selection; the latter reflects Australian listenership.
Rank #4
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20. The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
Genre and mood: Interviews about work, life, and ideas; earnest and expansive. It appeared among Apple’s most-listened-to podcasts in Australia in 2025. Treat that as a country-specific chart result, not a universal measure of quality.
21. The Rest Is History
Genre and mood: History and conversation; informative with a conversational tone. Apple’s Australian Top Shows list included it in 2025, offering a history-focused alternative to the crime and celebrity-heavy choices.
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Genre and mood: True crime; restrained and investigative. It ranked among Apple’s Australian Top Shows in 2025. The chart evidence is specific to Australia and popularity, while the subject matter makes it a clear option for listeners seeking crime-focused storytelling.
23. The Case Of
Genre and mood: True crime; case-centered and investigative. Apple’s Australian Top Shows list included it in 2025. It is another local popularity-chart pick for a listener looking for crime rather than comedy or interviews.
24. The Zach Lowe Show
Genre and mood: Sports analysis and conversation; informed and energetic. Spotify’s 2025 midyear editor picks included the show. It broadens the list beyond general-interest interviews and documentary storytelling for listeners who want sport-focused discussion.
25. The Protocol
Genre and mood: Investigative or topical conversation; analytical. Spotify named it among its 2025 midyear new-show picks. Its inclusion gives listeners another option for a focused subject-led show; check the current feed to see whether its topic matches your interests.
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26. Good Hang with Amy Poehler alternative? Choose by mood
For a genuinely different final pick, turn to The Imperfects if you want reflective personal conversation, or Sea of Lies if you want a serialized investigation. The sources reviewed do not provide a separate twenty-sixth title beyond the selections above without repeating a show; the list therefore stays grounded in named, identifiable recommendations rather than inventing an entry.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Pick a podcast by the kind of listening you want
- For reported, serialized-feeling nonfiction: Start with Bone Valley, Sea of Lies, Embedded: Alternate Realities, or Tortoise Investigates: Lucky Boy.
- For personal stories: Try Heavyweight, Blink | Jake Haendel’s Story, or Conversations.
- For light conversation: Choose Good Hang with Amy Poehler, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, or Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce.
- For a subject-specific listen: Consider Debt Heads for personal finance, The Rest Is History for history, or The Zach Lowe Show for sport.
Episode lengths and release schedules are not established consistently across these selections, so check the current show feed before planning a short commute or a longer listening session. Catalogs and availability can also vary by country and platform.
What popularity data can—and cannot—tell you
Apple Podcasts for Creators says: “Apple Podcasts Charts reflect the most popular shows and episodes available in a given market and are designed to help people discover what to listen to next.” Apple’s chart methodology considers listening, follows, and completion rate; ratings, reviews, and shares are not direct ranking inputs. Those charts can help surface what is popular locally, but they are not a universal best-of list.
That distinction matters for the Australian examples above. Apple’s 2025 Australian Top Shows list is based on that market’s listenership; it is not the same thing as Apple’s editorial “Best of 2025” collection. Spotify’s July 2025 midyear editor picks are also a dated editorial selection, distinct from its changing U.S. popularity chart. Spotify Editorial and Audience Development Manager Rachel Selvin wrote of those picks: “But even with all the buzz around viral celebrity moments, the old rules of podcasting still hold true: A great investigation usually equals a great show.”
Where Australians listen and when podcasts fit
ACMA reported in 2026 that 52% of Australian adults used an online service to listen to podcasts or other non-music audio in a given week in 2025. Among Australian listeners to podcasts or other non-music audio, Spotify was used by 59%, YouTube Music by 26%, Apple Music by 13%, ABC Listen by 12%, and Amazon Music by 6%. These figures cover podcasts and other non-music audio, not podcast listening alone.
ACMA also relayed results from an industry survey about listening activities in 2025: relaxing (52%), driving (39%), household and yard chores (36%), exercising (36%), commuting (29%), hobbies (26%), and working (22%). The same survey, as relayed by ACMA, reported comedy and news/current affairs as popular genres (29% each), followed by crime (28%), health and wellbeing (27%), sport (26%), and society and culture (22%). These figures describe Australian survey respondents and should not be generalized to listeners elsewhere.
For hands-free listening during chores or a walk, wireless earbuds can be convenient, but they are optional; the listening figures do not establish that any particular product is necessary. Before pressing play, search for the show in your preferred app and confirm that its current episodes are available in your region.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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