Top Podcasts in the United States for the Week of October 26, 2026

October 26 snapshot: the U.S. Top 10

For the week beginning October 26, 2026, this roundup uses the U.S. Apple Podcasts Top Shows chart checked on Monday, October 26. Apple’s page is a live ranking rather than a dated weekly edition: the company says Top Shows are refreshed throughout the day. The list below is therefore a snapshot from that date, not a seven-day average or a combined ranking across podcast apps.

Apple’s current U.S. chart places The Daily, Crime Junkie, and Pod Save America in the same first, second, and third positions as the October 19 snapshot. The order changes at No. 4: Dateline NBC moves up one place, while The Joe Rogan Experience moves down one. Mick Unplugged holds at No. 9, and REAL AF with Andy Frisella slips four places, from No. 6 to No. 10.

Love Trapped, The Builders, and This American Life are the three additions to this week’s top ten when compared with the previous dated top-ten capture. That wording matters: Apple’s live list does not show whether any of these programs are new to the full chart, only that they appear in the top ten in the October 26 snapshot. The earlier names have not all disappeared from the chart. Good Hang with Amy Poehler, which was No. 7 on October 19, is No. 19 now; Morbid moves from No. 8 to No. 15; and The Dylan Gemelli Podcast moves from No. 10 to No. 11. These are rank changes between two dated snapshots, not a measure of how many listeners a show gained or lost.

What Apple’s podcast chart measures

Apple describes its charts as a view of popular shows and episodes in a selected market, intended to help listeners discover what to play next. The U.S. Top Shows page covers shows available in that market across categories. Apple says ranking signals include listening activity, follows, and episode completion rate. It does not disclose the exact formula, so there is no public way to translate a one-place move into a specific number of extra plays, new followers, or completed episodes.

Ratings, reviews, and shares are not direct inputs to the Top Shows ranking, according to Apple’s creator guidance. Automatic downloads are excluded, and Apple says chart positions cannot be purchased. The chart is also not a census of every podcast listener in the United States and is not a ranking of each show’s lifetime audience. A title outside this top ten may still have a substantial audience on Apple or on other platforms.

These limits help explain why two legitimate charts can look different. A platform chart reports activity according to that service’s own signals and market; a survey-based reach ranking or a download-based list answers a different question. For this article, the comparison stays within Apple’s U.S. Top Shows chart and uses the October 19 and October 26 captures. It does not combine Spotify, YouTube, or third-party rankings into an invented “overall” order.

How to use this week’s list

Start with the format you actually want, then use the chart as a discovery shortlist. The first three shows have held their positions across the two weekly snapshots, while the next five places include several changes. If you already follow a show, its position can be a quick prompt to check a recent episode; if you are new to podcasts, open a listing and read its description before subscribing. Rank alone does not tell you a show’s tone, typical episode length, or whether its latest subject will interest you.

For week-to-week comparisons, keep the country, platform, chart type, and check date attached to every rank. Apple refreshes the list during the day, so a later visit on October 26 may show a different order from the one captured here. A useful comparison also needs two dated snapshots: if the earlier list is missing, do not label a show a climber, faller, or debut based on memory or a different platform’s chart.

Chart checked: October 26, 2026. The previous comparison is the October 19 U.S. Apple chart capture. Consult the official live list for the latest order and Apple’s chart guidance for the published methodology.

• Apple Podcasts: U.S. Top Shows chart
• Apple Podcasts for Creators: how Top Shows charts work
• October 19 U.S. chart snapshot used for comparison