Editor’s Note: Find all of The Atlantic’s “Best of 2022” coverage here. span[class*=”EditorsNote_label__”] {
display: none;
}
div[class*=”EditorsNote_content__”]:before {
content: “”;
background-image: url(“https://cdn.theatlantic.com/media/files/best-of-2022_1.
Editor’s Note: Find all of The Atlantic’s “Best of 2021” coverage here. We take podcast ranking seriously. Our process starts with a search. We seek shows anywhere we can find them—sometimes hearing about them directly from producers, other times from a friend of a friend’s mother’s uncle, or sometimes through our own secret methods of rooting out gems. Then we dig in.
This year’s 50 Best came together a little differently than before. Just five years ago we could address a fledgling podcastsphere with the 50 best episodes of the year—not shows. Now, something like 1.5 million podcasts exist. Even if only half of those were active in 2020 we still couldn’t possibly hear them all, no matter how pathological our dedication to listening.
This year’s 50 Best came together a little differently than before. Just five years ago we could address a fledgling podcastsphere with the 50 best episodes of the year—not shows. Now, something like 1.5 million podcasts exist. Even if only half of those were active in 2020 we still couldn’t possibly hear them all, no matter how pathological our dedication to listening.