Making Noise About Inequality in Podcasting

The inaugural Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Podcast were announced in December 2025 as the medium continues its growing popularity across the entertainment landscape. As podcasts audiences have grown, a new study asks just who is behind the mic on the most popular programs.

The report, titled Inequality in Popular Podcasts, was authored by Stacy L. Smith and the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, based on podcast data from Spotify and additional podcast industry reports. The first-of-its-kind study examines the top 100 podcasts of 2024 and a total of 592 popular podcasts. The gender and race/ethnicity of hosts is assessed. For the top 100 podcasts, the study also evaluates the gender of guests appearing in 2024.

I led the end-to-end design for a microsite that summarized the findings through data storytelling.