Fox News and NPR remained major players in Podtrac’s June podcast rankings. Ben Shapiro, Dan Bongino, and Shawn Ryan also held strong positions despite shifts.
What We Know: Podtrac’s June 2026 U.S. Unique Monthly Audience rankings featured a new No. 1 podcast, with Crime Junkie replacing The Daily atop the chart. Even so, The Daily remained the highest-ranked news podcast at No. 2. NPR continued its strong showing as NPR News Now ranked third and Up First from NPR followed in fourth. Meanwhile, Fox News Hourly Update landed sixth, reinforcing Fox News’ continued reach in the short-form news category. Political programming also maintained a strong presence as Pod Save America finished seventh, The Ben Shapiro Show ranked ninth, and The Dan Bongino Show came in 14th.
What the Numbers Show: Several of the featured programs slipped one or more positions from May. The Daily, NPR News Now, Up First from NPR, Fox News Hourly Update, and Pod Save America each fell one spot. The Ben Shapiro Show dropped two places to ninth, while Morning Wire declined four positions to 19th. Elsewhere, The Shawn Ryan Show also lost two spots, settling at No. 15. However, not every news podcast moved backward. Today, Explained climbed two places to 18th, making it one of the month’s strongest gainers among news-focused programs.
What Remains Unclear: Podtrac’s rankings measure unique monthly audience rather than downloads or listening time. As a result, the data doesn’t reveal whether rank changes resulted from audience growth, stronger competition, or seasonal listening habits. The report also doesn’t disclose audience totals for individual shows.
What It Means: News podcasts continue to command significant attention despite increased competition from true crime and entertainment programming. NPR placed two shows inside the top four, while Fox News maintained a top-10 presence with its hourly news product. Additionally, conservative personalities Ben Shapiro and Dan Bongino remained among the nation’s most-listened-to podcast hosts, even after modest monthly declines. Although several political and news programs slipped in June, their continued presence near the top suggests audience demand for timely news and commentary remains strong.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.