The 20 Best Arts Podcasts of 2026: Ranked by Real Chart Data
Updated September 2026 · Based on CastFox data covering 25 Apple Podcasts chart snapshots in 78 countries (2026-02-24 to 2026-09-19) and 5M+ indexed podcasts
The 20 best arts podcasts of 2026 are led by 99% Invisible, Fresh Air, and The Moth, and the list below is built from 25 snapshots of the US Apple Podcasts Arts chart taken between February 24 and September 19, 2026. Every show here appeared in the top 100 of all 25 of those snapshots. Most lists of the best arts podcasts are editor picks; this one is what the chart actually did over seven months, scored for consistency, average rank, and how many of the 78 countries CastFox tracks each show reaches.
The first thing the data shows is that Apple's Arts category is not one category. It is at least six. There are design and material-culture shows that treat objects as arguments (99% Invisible, Articles of Interest). There are book shows, and there are three distinct kinds of them: the weekly literary news show (The Book Review), the historical-context show (The Book Club), and the reading-plus-conversation show (The New Yorker: Fiction). There is live storytelling, the format The Moth invented and Snap Judgment and Spooked extended. There is audio drama and myth, where The Magnus Archives and Myths and Legends hold positions that scripted fiction rarely holds on a general chart. There is the long-form interview with a maker, which covers everything from Fresh Air to Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin. And there is food, which Apple files under Arts and which accounts for a quarter of this list.
Each card below shows the real cover art, the host, what the show is, why it earned its place in 2026, and who it is best for, plus the chart record behind the ranking: how many of the 25 US snapshots the show appeared in, its average US rank, its best rank, and how many countries it was charting in on the latest scrape. Two shows on this list sit oddly in an arts category, and we have grouped them honestly rather than quietly dropping them. Click any show through to CastFox for the full profile, including chart history by country, audience estimates, and contact details.
The 20 best arts podcasts of 2026 at a glance
| # | Podcast | Hosted by | Avg US rank | Best rank | Countries charting | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99% Invisible | Roman Mars | 3.8 | #3 | 75 | 824 |
| 2 | Fresh Air | NPR | 1 | #1 | 62 | 300 |
| 3 | The Moth | The Moth | 2.1 | #2 | 63 | 195 |
| 4 | The Magnus Archives | Rusty Quill | 8.1 | #5 | 66 | 403 |
| 5 | The Book Club | Goalhanger | 11.2 | #2 | 67 | 32 |
| 6 | The Book Review | The New York Times | 17.1 | #11 | 54 | 600 |
| 7 | 岩中花述 | GIADA | 27.7 | #15 | 44 | 85 |
| 8 | Spooked | KQED and Snap Studios | 8.7 | #5 | 18 | 253 |
| 9 | The New Yorker: Fiction | The New Yorker | 28.4 | #18 | 35 | 235 |
| 10 | Articles of Interest | Avery Trufelman | 27.4 | #16 | 33 | 68 |
| 11 | The Jimmy Dore Show | Jimmy Dore | 17.8 | #5 | 19 | 100 |
| 12 | Daily Rosary Meditations | Catholic Prayers | Dr. Mike Scherschligt | 13.5 | #6 | 13 | 1,000 |
| 13 | Walk-In Talk Podcast | Carl Fiadini | 4.7 | #3 | 2 | 214 |
| 14 | Myths and Legends | Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser, Nextpod | 18.1 | #10 | 16 | 539 |
| 15 | Snap Judgment | Snap Judgment and PRX | 15.4 | #9 | 12 | 548 |
| 16 | Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin | Rick Rubin | 34 | #16 | 34 | 201 |
| 17 | The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast | Forrest Kelly | 8.1 | #4 | 1 | 195 |
| 18 | The Sporkful | Dan Pashman | 26.4 | #13 | 17 | 323 |
| 19 | Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio | Milk Street Radio | 21.3 | #15 | 10 | 567 |
| 20 | The Chef's Cut | Level Media | 16.9 | #7 | 4 | 65 |
Jump to a Show
- #1. 99% Invisible
- #2. Fresh Air
- #3. The Moth
- #4. The Magnus Archives
- #5. The Book Club
- #6. The Book Review
- #7. 岩中花述
- #8. Spooked
- #9. The New Yorker: Fiction
- #10. Articles of Interest
- #11. The Jimmy Dore Show
- #12. Daily Rosary Meditations | Catholic Prayers
- #13. Walk-In Talk Podcast
- #14. Myths and Legends
- #15. Snap Judgment
- #16. Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin
- #17. The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast
- #18. The Sporkful
- #19. Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
- #20. The Chef's Cut
Rising this month · How we ranked these · How to pick the right show · FAQ
The 20 Best Arts Podcasts to Listen To in 2026
Design, Fashion, and Material Culture
#1. 99% Invisible
Hosted by Roman Mars
About this show: Roman Mars's weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture, built on the premise that design is everywhere in our lives, most importantly in the places where we have stopped noticing it. Episodes blend reported storytelling, interviews, and sound design.
Why it made the list in 2026: The highest-scoring show in the category and the one most of the newer design shows are modeled on. It combines a top-five US average with the widest international footprint on this list. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 3.8, best #3, charting in 75 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Anyone curious about why the built world, and the objects in it, look the way they do.
#10. Articles of Interest
Hosted by Avery Trufelman
About this show: Avery Trufelman's show about what we wear, produced and hosted by her after years producing for 99% Invisible. Each season takes a garment, a movement, or an industry and follows it through history, commerce, and identity.
Why it made the list in 2026: The one show on this chart that treats fashion as a subject worth the full documentary treatment, and it holds a steady US position despite publishing in seasons rather than weekly. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 27.4, best #16, charting in 33 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want the history and the economics behind the clothes in their closet.
Books and Literature
#5. The Book Club
Hosted by Goalhanger
About this show: Dominic Sandbrook and Tabitha Syrett take one classic or contemporary title per week and rebuild the world it was written in, covering the author's life and the era's politics alongside the book itself. Produced by Goalhanger.
Why it made the list in 2026: The newest book show on this list and already the highest-ranked of the three, with a top-five US peak on a catalog of only a few dozen episodes. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 11.2, best #2, charting in 67 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Readers who want the context around a book more than a verdict on it.
#6. The Book Review
Hosted by The New York Times
About this show: The New York Times Book Review's weekly show, hosted by Gilbert Cruz with the paper's editors and critics, covering the week's notable books, what the staff is reading, and what is happening in the literary world.
Why it made the list in 2026: The steadiest literary-news show on the chart, with a catalog deep enough that almost any author you care about has been discussed on it. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 17.1, best #11, charting in 54 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Readers who want a reliable weekly briefing on what is worth reading next.
#9. The New Yorker: Fiction
Hosted by The New Yorker
About this show: A monthly reading and conversation hosted by the magazine's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman. A writer chooses a story from The New Yorker's archive, reads it, and then discusses it with Treisman.
Why it made the list in 2026: The quietest show on this list and one of the most durable, holding a top-100 US position in every snapshot on a monthly release schedule. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 28.4, best #18, charting in 35 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Short-story readers, and writers who want to hear working authors explain what a story is doing.
Live Storytelling and the Performing Arts
#3. The Moth
Hosted by The Moth
About this show: True stories told live, without notes, in front of an audience. The Moth has been staging them since 1997, and the podcast feed carries both the Peabody Award-winning Moth Radio Hour and original episodes on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Why it made the list in 2026: The show that defined live storytelling as a podcast format, and still the best-ranked spoken-word performance show on the US Arts chart. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 2.1, best #2, charting in 63 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: People who want a complete, self-contained story in a single sitting.
#8. Spooked
Hosted by KQED and Snap Studios
About this show: True-life supernatural stories told firsthand by the people they happened to, hosted by Glynn Washington and created by the team behind Snap Judgment in partnership with KQED. New episodes drop on Fridays.
Why it made the list in 2026: It takes the Snap Judgment production style and points it at a single subject, which has given it a stronger US chart position than its parent show. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 8.7, best #5, charting in 18 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want atmosphere and sound design with their storytelling, and do not need the story explained afterward.
#15. Snap Judgment
Hosted by Snap Judgment and PRX
About this show: Real stories set to music, produced with PRX. Snap Judgment's raw, musical brand of storytelling is built to make listeners see the world through someone else's eyes, with a score running under every episode.
Why it made the list in 2026: The show that turned narrative storytelling into something closer to a staged production, and a fixture in the US Arts top 100 all year. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 15.4, best #9, charting in 12 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want reported stories with the pacing and scoring of a film.
Audio Drama and Myth
#4. The Magnus Archives
Hosted by Rusty Quill
About this show: An award-winning weekly horror fiction audio drama from Rusty Quill, following Jonathan Sims as he works through the statement archives of the Magnus Institute, an organization dedicated to researching the esoteric. Full cast, serial plots, and standalone statements.
Why it made the list in 2026: The best-charting scripted fiction podcast in the Arts category, which is unusual on a chart dominated by public radio and interview shows. Its continuation, The Magnus Protocol, keeps the feed active. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 8.1, best #5, charting in 66 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Horror listeners who want a long serialized story with a full cast rather than a single narrator.
#14. Myths and Legends
Hosted by Jason Weiser, Carissa Weiser, Nextpod
About this show: Jason Weiser and Carissa Weiser retell myths, legends, and folktales from traditions around the world, explaining where each story came from and how it changed on the way to us. Published by Nextpod.
Why it made the list in 2026: One of the deepest catalogs on this list and a top-100 US position in every snapshot, sustained by a format that works equally well at episode one or episode five hundred. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 18.1, best #10, charting in 16 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who want stories with the scholarship left in, and parents looking for something older children can follow.
Conversations With Artists and Creatives
#2. Fresh Air
Hosted by NPR
About this show: WHYY's Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues, hosted by Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley. Long, prepared interviews with writers, directors, musicians, and actors, plus book and film criticism.
Why it made the list in 2026: The best average US rank of any show in the category, and the interview archive that most of American arts journalism now treats as a reference. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 1, best #1, charting in 62 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Anyone who wants the definitive long interview with the person behind the thing they just watched or read.
#7. 岩中花述
Hosted by GIADA
About this show: A Mandarin-language conversation show produced by the Italian fashion house GIADA, also titled Flower on the Rock. Guests talk about the themes that shaped their lives, framed by the show as a spiritual wardrobe for the intellect and the soul.
Why it made the list in 2026: A brand-produced show holding a top-100 US Arts position in every snapshot of 2026, and evidence of how large the Mandarin-language audience inside the US chart has become. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 27.7, best #15, charting in 44 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Mandarin speakers, and anyone interested in how a fashion house builds an editorial voice in audio.
#16. Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin
Hosted by Rick Rubin
About this show: In-depth interviews hosted by record producer Rick Rubin, who talks with musicians, artists, scientists, and builders about how they work and what they believe. Conversations run long and wander by design.
Why it made the list in 2026: The long-form maker interview in its purest form on this chart, and one of the few shows here whose audience follows the host rather than the subject. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 34, best #16, charting in 34 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: People who make things for a living and want to hear about process rather than results.
The Culinary Arts
#13. Walk-In Talk Podcast
Hosted by Carl Fiadini
About this show: A business-to-business restaurant, foodservice, and hospitality show hosted by Carl Fiadini, founder of Walk-In Talk Media. Guests are chefs, restaurateurs, operators, manufacturers, distributors, farmers, and suppliers, and the topics run from sourcing and food safety to equipment and the realities of running a kitchen.
Why it made the list in 2026: The best US average rank of any food show on this list, built almost entirely on a domestic trade audience rather than an international one. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 4.7, best #3, charting in 2 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Anyone who works in the food industry, or wants to understand the business behind a restaurant rather than the recipes.
#17. The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast
Hosted by Forrest Kelly
About this show: Forrest Kelly's weekly five-minute tour of wineries around the world, with conversation starters, travel destinations, and short interviews with the people making the wine.
Why it made the list in 2026: Proof that a tightly formatted short show can hold a top-ten US position in a category full of hour-long documentaries. It publishes more often than anything else on this list. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 8.1, best #4, charting in 1 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Wine drinkers who want one usable thing to say about a bottle before dinner.
#18. The Sporkful
Hosted by Dan Pashman
About this show: Dan Pashman's show about food and the people who eat it, summed up by its own line: it is not for foodies, it is for eaters. A three-time James Beard Award winner, and the show behind the pasta shape cascatelli.
Why it made the list in 2026: The most awarded food show in the category and a consistent US charter, with a reporting style closer to a features desk than a cooking segment. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 26.4, best #13, charting in 17 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Eaters who are more interested in why we eat the way we do than in what to cook tonight.
#19. Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
Hosted by Milk Street Radio
About this show: A weekly show that travels for food stories, from food-theft investigations to the inside of famous restaurant kitchens, with interviews with culinary figures including José Andrés, Padma Lakshmi, Jacques Pépin, and Marcus Samuelsson.
Why it made the list in 2026: The deepest catalog of the food shows here and a steady US position across every snapshot, sustained by a reported magazine format rather than recipes alone. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 21.3, best #15, charting in 10 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Cooks who want the story and the science behind a dish as much as the method.
#20. The Chef's Cut
Hosted by Level Media
About this show: Top Chef alums Adrienne Cheatham and Joe Flamm give behind-the-scenes kitchen access, share techniques, and talk with chef friends. New episodes on Tuesdays, from Level Media.
Why it made the list in 2026: The newest food show on this list by catalog size and already a top-ten US peak, which is a fast climb in a category this crowded. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 16.9, best #7, charting in 4 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Home cooks who want professional technique delivered as a conversation rather than a lesson.
Also Charting in Arts
#11. The Jimmy Dore Show
Hosted by Jimmy Dore
About this show: A comedy and political commentary show from stand-up comedian Jimmy Dore. Apple files it under Arts and Performing Arts as well as Comedy, which is why it appears on this chart. Its own listing quotes Patton Oswalt describing Dore as a profane, passionate voice for progressives and freethinkers.
Why it made the list in 2026: It held a top-100 US Arts position in every snapshot of 2026 with a top-five peak, which is why the data put it here. It is a commentary show rather than an arts show, and we have grouped it accordingly. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 17.8, best #5, charting in 19 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Listeners who already follow independent political commentary and want it in stand-up form.
#12. Daily Rosary Meditations | Catholic Prayers
Hosted by Dr. Mike Scherschligt
About this show: Dr. Mike Scherschligt leads a daily scripture reading, meditation, and Rosary in under 25 minutes, aimed at listeners who want to start praying and do not know how.
Why it made the list in 2026: A daily devotional show that held a top-100 US Arts position in every snapshot of 2026 with a top-ten peak, filed under Arts by Apple. It is on this list because the chart put it here, and we would rather say what it is than quietly drop it. Chart record: 25 of 25 US snapshots, average US rank 13.5, best #6, charting in 13 countries on the latest scrape.
Best fit for: Catholic listeners who want a guided daily prayer that fits inside a commute.
Rising This Month: Arts Podcasts Climbing the Charts (September 2026)
These are the arts shows moving up fastest in CastFox rankings. We compare each show's average US chart position across the 3 most recent snapshots (2026-09-04 to 2026-09-19) with the 3 snapshots before that. A show that was outside the top 100 in the prior window is marked as new to the top 100. This section is refreshed every month; the main list above changes more slowly because it rewards consistency.
Fell Into Food Podcast New to the top 100
Hosted by Jeff Fell. Fell Into Food Podcast new to the US top 100, now averaging #24, with a best US rank of #10 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 1 country on the latest snapshot. The Fell Into Food Podcast, where culinary craft meets the evolving world of kitchen innovation. Hosted by Chef Jeff Fell, each episode pulls back the curtain on the tools, technology, business strategies, and human...
Marlon and Jake Read Dead People New to the top 100
Hosted by Penguin Random House. Marlon and Jake Read Dead People new to the US top 100, now averaging #32.3, with a best US rank of #14 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 20 countries on the latest snapshot. Marlon and Jake Read Dead People is a podcast hosted by the Man Booker Prize-winning and internationally bestselling author Marlon James and his editor, Jake Morrissey, Executive Editor at Riverhead Books. In each...
Pop Syllabus New to the top 100
Hosted by Pop Syllabus with Christiana Mbakwe Medina. Pop Syllabus new to the US top 100, now averaging #44.5, with a best US rank of #40 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 4 countries on the latest snapshot. Pop Syllabus is a show where host Christiana Mbakwe Medina deconstructs the zeitgeist and answers the big cultural questions. How did we swing from body positivity to thin-being-in? Why do so many people trust wellness...
The Model Way Podcast New to the top 100
Hosted by Lenny Wheeler. The Model Way Podcast new to the US top 100, now averaging #54, with a best US rank of #42 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 1 country on the latest snapshot. The Model Way Podcast is your backstage pass to the modeling industry. Hosted by Lenny Wheeler, each episode empowers aspiring and professional models with the tools, strategies, and mindset shifts needed to stand out,...
Off the Cuff with Carson Kressley New to the top 100
Hosted by Carson Kressley. Off the Cuff with Carson Kressley new to the US top 100, now averaging #54, with a best US rank of #24 so far in 2026 and a top-100 position in 3 countries on the latest snapshot.
How We Ranked These: CastFox Methodology
CastFox scrapes the Apple Podcasts charts every day in 78 countries and stores every position in the top 200 of every genre. For this list we took the 25 2026 snapshots of the US Arts chart between 2026-02-24 and 2026-09-19, and scored every show that appeared in the top 100 of any of them.
- Consistency (50% of the score): the number of snapshots in which the show appeared in the US top 100. Every show on this list scored 25 out of 25, which is the filter that removes one-week spikes.
- Average US rank (30%): the mean of the show's US chart positions across those snapshots. Lower is better.
- Global reach (20%): the number of tracked countries in which the show was in the genre top 100 on the most recent snapshot. This is what separates a show with a large US following from a show with a global one.
There are no paid placements and no editorial overrides. A few shows on this list would not be our personal picks; they are here because the chart data put them here, and we would rather show you what people are actually listening to than what we think they should be. Chart position is not the same as audience size, so treat the ranking as a measure of sustained popularity rather than a download count. For a deeper look at what chart data can and cannot tell you, read how podcast audience demographics are calculated.
How to Pick the Right Arts Podcast for You
You want the best design podcasts 2026 has on the chart
99% Invisible is the first pick and the highest-scoring show on this list. It has been making the case for twenty-odd years that design is the invisible argument behind every object and every street, and it is the show most of the category's younger design shows are modeled on. Articles of Interest is the companion pick: Avery Trufelman produced for 99% Invisible before spinning out a show entirely about what we wear. Between them they cover architecture, urbanism, industrial design, and clothing.
You want the best fashion podcasts
Articles of Interest is the one to start with, and on this chart it is effectively the category by itself. Avery Trufelman treats a blazer or a pair of jeans the way a historian treats a primary source, and the show's seasons work as self-contained arcs rather than a weekly feed. If you want fashion inside a broader design conversation, 99% Invisible returns to clothing and textiles regularly. For anything more specific, the CastFox topic search will find individual episodes about a designer or a house across shows that are not filed under fashion at all.
You want the best podcasts about books and literature
Three shows on this list do three different jobs. The Book Review is the weekly literary-news show: what came out, what is worth reading, who is arguing about what. The Book Club, from Goalhanger, takes one classic or contemporary title per week and rebuilds the world it was written in. The New Yorker: Fiction is the quiet one, a monthly reading of a story from the magazine's archive followed by a conversation with fiction editor Deborah Treisman. Fresh Air belongs here too on the weeks its guest is an author.
You are looking for the best podcasts for artists and creatives
If you make things for a living, the useful shows here are the ones that talk to makers about process rather than about results. Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin is the clearest example: long interviews conducted by a producer who is mostly interested in how people work. Fresh Air is the other, with an interview archive that covers most of the last forty years of American arts. 99% Invisible and Articles of Interest are process shows about objects rather than people. The Moth is the one to study if the thing you are making is a story.
You want the best performing arts and theatre podcasts
The Moth is the anchor: true stories told live, without notes, in front of an audience, drawn from the Peabody-winning Moth Radio Hour and the original podcast feed. Snap Judgment scores its stories like film, which is the closest thing on this chart to a staged production. Spooked, from the same studio in partnership with KQED, applies that production style to firsthand supernatural accounts. For scripted performance rather than spoken word, The Magnus Archives is a full cast audio drama and the best-charting one in the category.
You are hunting for the best art history podcasts
This is the biggest gap in the Arts chart, and we would rather say so than pad the list. Across all 25 snapshots, no dedicated art history show held a top-100 US Arts position consistently enough to qualify. The closest matches are 99% Invisible for the history of design and architecture, Articles of Interest for the history of clothing, and The Book Club for the historical context around canonical writing. If you want art history specifically, search by subject rather than by category with PodcastGPT Podcast Finder, which indexes 5M+ shows including the museum and university feeds that never chart.
You want something short enough for a commute
The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast is exactly what its name says and publishes several times a week. Articles of Interest and The New Yorker: Fiction run longer but arrive on a slower schedule, so they do not build a backlog. If your commute is twenty minutes, Daily Rosary Meditations is built to fit inside one. The long-form end of this list, Tetragrammaton and Fresh Air interviews, is better suited to a walk or a kitchen.
Want the next 180 arts podcasts?
This list is the top 20. The CastFox Arts chart page shows the top 50 updated daily, and PodcastGPT can find shows on any specific topic across 5M+ podcasts.
See the daily top 50 → Search by topic →Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Arts Podcasts
What is the best arts podcast in 2026?
By CastFox's chart-consistency score, 99% Invisible is the best arts podcast of 2026. Roman Mars's design show appeared in all 25 US Arts chart snapshots between February and September 2026, held an average US rank of 3.8, and was charting in 75 of the 78 countries CastFox tracks on the latest scrape, the widest reach of any show in the category. Fresh Air and The Moth are second and third, both with better average US ranks but smaller global footprints.
How is this list ranked?
Each show's score combines three things from CastFox's daily Apple Podcasts chart data: how many of the 25 US Arts chart snapshots it appeared in the top 100 of (50% of the score), its average US rank across those appearances (30%), and how many of 78 tracked countries it was charting in on the latest scrape (20%). All 20 shows here scored 25 out of 25 on consistency, so the ordering comes down to rank and reach. There are no paid placements and no editorial overrides.
Why are food and cooking podcasts on a list of arts podcasts?
Because Apple Podcasts files Food under Arts, and this list is built from Apple's Arts chart. Five of the 20 shows here are food shows: Walk-In Talk Podcast, The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast, The Sporkful, Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Radio, and The Chef's Cut. That is a quarter of the category, and it is the single biggest reason a general arts list and a listener's idea of the arts do not match. If you want the food shows on their own, we have a separate ranking of the best food podcasts of 2026.
Why is a political comedy show and a prayer podcast on an arts chart?
The Jimmy Dore Show is filed by Apple under Arts and Performing Arts alongside Comedy, and Daily Rosary Meditations is filed under Arts. Both held top-100 US Arts positions in all 25 snapshots, so both qualified. We group them separately and describe them accurately rather than dropping them, because the point of this list is to report what the chart did, not to curate around it.
Are these arts podcasts free to listen to?
Yes. Every show on this list is free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and the other major apps. Several offer paid ad-free or bonus tiers, and a few of the public-media shows here, including Fresh Air and The Moth, are supported by listener memberships rather than by advertising.
I make things and want to be interviewed on these shows. Where do I start?
Most of the interview and storytelling shows on this list book outside guests, and the book shows book authors around publication dates. CastFox Guest Finder matches what you make to arts podcasts that are actively booking, with verified host contacts, and the AI Media List Builder turns the shortlist into a pitch list. You can monitor every show on this page in CastFox and watch its chart position before you pitch.