Top 15 Most POPULAR PODCASTS - May 1, 2008

With so many podcasts out there, how can you find the MOST POPULAR podcasts without spending hours listening to all of them?

Easy...just check out this HOT list of COOL content:

Category / Name / Source

#1 Arts podcast: "Open Source Sex" (explicit) - Violet Blue

#1 Business podcast: "Journal Report" - The Wall Street Journal

#1 Comedy podcast: "The Flight of the Conchords" - HBO

#1 Education podcast: "Learn to Speak Spanish" - DiscoverSpanish.com

#1 Games & Hobbies podcast: "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" - National Public Radio

#1 Government & Organizations podcast: "Democracy Now!" (audio) - Amy Goodman

#1 Health podcast: "Yoga Today...New Classics Every Day" - From Beautiful Jackson Hole Wyoming

#1 Kids & Family podcast: "A Prairie Home Companion's News from Lake Wobegon" - American Public Media

#1 Music podcast: "Relaxation Music for Sleep, Health, and Anxiety Relief from Enhanced Healing" - Dr. Harry Henshaw

#1 News & Politics podcast: "The Sean Hannity Show" - Sean Hannity

#1 Religion & Spirituality podcast: "Religion Podcast" - National Public Radio

#1 Science & Medicine podcast: "Science Friday" - National Public Radio

#1 Society & Culture podcast: "Fresh Air" - National Public Radio

#1 TV & Film podcast: "The Man Show" (Video) - G4

#1 Technology podcast: "Steve Jobs & Bill Gates at D4 Conference" - Apple, Inc.

Based on Apple's iTunes Music Store highest-ranked podcast in each category as of May 1, 2008.

This doesn't mean everyone LIKES the podcasts listed above, just that MORE people like these podcasts than all the many other podcasts below them in that category.

Using this chart is a great idea if you're busy: learn what MOST people like MOST, and use that as your starting point to explore each category?

I complied this info as a convenience to you, the Hub Pages reader, here at the PlayDJ Playlist & Podcast Center (yes, that's a real place!), to save you time.

We have taken all the work out of discovering which podcasts are the coolest in each category, and we list for you the ones ranking NUMBER ONE (#1) at the very top of each one of the Apple podcast lists in each of their categories.

Why spend time researching other people's blogs just to catch a mention of a podcast they liked?

All I did to get this info was to go into the iTunes Music Store and select "All" in each of their pre-defined categories, as shown above. Then, I just noted the podcasts with the highest "popularity" ranking in each category, and added those to this list.

Total time: about 30 minutes. So I'm saving you at least 30 minutes a month, if this list helps you find something new.

1. People who want to know the BIGGEST podcast in each category, or in the category that matters to them. Since most people don't care about ALL those categories, they will only look at the categories that interest them. Writers, reporters, or experts in specific industries may frequently want to know the most popular podcasts in a category.

2. People who are BRAND NEW to the world of podcasts, and want to get a "quick study" in what podcasts are the most listened-to, so you will have a reference point in each category.

3. People who CREATE podcasts. If you EVER hope to be the top podcaster in your category, you need to know the 'top dog' competitor in your field. So check out the top podcast competing with yours. If you think it particularly sucks, then that should be good motivation to make YOURS even more popular.

NOTE #1: in almost all the above Apple categories, the top podcast in each cateogry is WAY ahead of the others.

NOTE #2: Apple does not indicate what the "popularity bars" and overall rankings in each category represent. In other ways, there's no way to know HOW MANY downloads each podcast received, so there is no way to compare one category with another. Maybe someday...

I'm serious. I'm thinking that in future month's this list will contain the TOP TWO OR THREE PODCASTS in each category, but only if someone finds it helpful. So, does this seem like it would be useful to you? Or, maybe you have already found it useful?

Happy podcasting, or podcast listening, depending on which type of "people" you are!

^{_{iTunes and iPod are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the US and other countries. But they didn't write this article, I did. And I don't work for them.}}