Spotify Wrapped has returned for 2025, giving more than 700 million listeners a personalised snapshot of their year in audio — and offering rare insight into what the world has been streaming. This year’s data shows a podcast landscape that feels fully mature: established giants, creator-led breakthroughs and whole genres reshaping the charts.
Steven Bartlett ends Joe Rogan’s long UK winning streak
For the first time, The Diary of a CEO is the UK’s No.1 podcast, pushing The Joe Rogan Experience into second place. It marks a major milestone for a homegrown show — and for the self-improvement genre that has quietly become a global force.
Self-improvement becomes the UK’s dominant genre
More than a quarter of listens across the UK Top 50 came from self-improvement shows. Alongside Bartlett, the category’s big names include Mel Robbins, Jay Shetty, Davina McCall and Dr Rangan Chatterjee. Their success shows how mindset, motivation and practical life advice have become podcast comfort food for millions.
The Mel Robbins surge
Mel Robbins’ rise is one of the year’s biggest stories. After not appearing in the UK Top 25 last year, she lands at No.5 in the UK and No.3 globally — a remarkable leap driven by a mix of practical psychology and blockbuster guest episodes.
Meanwhile, Paul C. Brunson’s We Need To Talk enters the UK Top 10 at No.7.
Louis Theroux hits a career high on Spotify
Following standout interviews with Sean Penn, Florence Pugh, Ed Sheeran and Jade Thirlwall, The Louis Theroux Podcast climbs from No.6 to No.3 in the UK — one of the year’s strongest upward moves.
The ‘Rest Is…’ universe tightens its grip
Goalhanger’s collection of shows has now become a British podcast ecosystem of its own. Seven Rest Is… titles land in the UK Top 50, with four in the Top 10 — including politics, history, football and entertainment.
Creators stand shoulder-to-shoulder with legacy broadcasters
Independent and creator-led podcasts now make up almost a third of the UK Top 50 — a moment that shows just how blurred the line between broadcaster and creator has become. BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs sits in the same chart as digital-native favourites like Chris & Rosie Ramsey, Amelia Dimoldenberg and The Rest Is… network.
Football remains the UK’s podcast heartbeat
Whether it’s The Rest Is Football, The Overlap, Stick to Football, Fozcast or That Peter Crouch Podcast, football continues to dominate weekly sport listening in the UK. No other sport comes close.
