Apple Spotlights the Year's Unmissable Podcasts and Books: 2023 in Review

As the digital sphere prepares for the conclusion of 2023, Apple spotlights the impactful media moments that have captivated audiences throughout the year. Here is a comprehensive breakdown of the most popular podcasts and books across various global markets:

Top Podcasts of 2023

Apple Podcasts unveiled the most popular podcasts of 2023, offering localized year-end charts for listeners in nearly 100 countries and regions. The 2023 charts are available in the Browse tab through the end of the year, featuring top podcasts overall, new show debuts, most followed and shared shows and episodes, as well as free and subscriber channels. Notably, the Show of the Year will be announced on Tuesday, December 5.

In the United States, the top shows included,

• Top Shows
• Crime Junkie
• The Daily
• Dateline NBC
• SmartLess
• This American Life
• Morbid
• Up First
• Huberman Lab
• Hidden Brain
• Stuff You Should Know

The top new shows featured,

• Scamanda
• The Retrievals
• The Deck Investigates
• Murder & Magnolias
• Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• The Girl in the Blue Mustang
• The Coldest Case in Laramie
• Murder in Apartment 12
• The Girlfriends
• Undetermined

The most followed shows included,

• Huberman Lab
• SmartLess
• New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce
• Scamanda
• The Mel Robbins Podcast
• Crime Junkie
• The Retrievals
• The Deck Investigates
• Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus
• On Purpose with Jay Shetty

The most shared shows and episodes encompassed a variety of captivating content, including,

• Scamanda
• Sold a Story
• The Retrievals
• Huberman Lab
• SmartLess
• The Witch Trials of J.K Rowling
• Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra
• Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis Dreyfus
• The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
• True Sunlight

And the most shared episodes,

• Huberman Lab: “What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health”
• Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus: “Julia Gets Wise with Jane Fonda”
• The Daily: “The Fight Over Phonics”
• Hidden Brain: “The Paradox of Pleasure”
• Sold a Story: “The Problem”
• The Mel Robbins Podcast: “The ‘Let Them Theory’: A Life Changing Mindset Hack That 15 Million People Can’t Stop Talking About”
• The Retrievals: “The Patients”
• We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle: “Why We Love the Way We Love: Attachment Styles with Dr. Becky Kennedy”
• Just B with Bethenny Frankel: “Reality Reckoning: Rachel Leviss (Part One)”
• Serial: “The Alibi”

Top Free Channels

• iHeartPodcasts
• audiochuck
• The New York Times
• Dear Media
• Serial Productions
• Barstool Sports
• ABC News
• The Daily Wire
• Scicomm Media
• Cumulus Podcast Network

Top Subscriber Channels

• Wondery
• Dateline NBC
• Pushkin
• iHeart True Crime
• Lemonada
• Tenderfoot TV
• TED Audio Collective
• Freakonomics Radio
• Radiolab
• BBC Podcasts

On the other hand, the most popular free and subscriber channels reflected a diverse range of sources, with top subscriber channels featuring Wondery, Dateline NBC, Pushkin, and BBC Podcasts.

Apple Books Year in Review

Apple Books introduced a novel experience known as the Year in Review, allowing users to gain personalized insights into their reading habits and preferences in 2023. This feature serves as a retrospective celebration of the titles, authors, and genres that defined their year, presenting details such as total time spent reading, longest book or audiobook read, completed series, most-read author and genre, as well as their highest-rated book. The engaging visuals associated with Year in Review also facilitate easy sharing.

To enrich the reading experience, Year in Review categorizes readers into six types based on anonymized reader insights:

1. The Contemporary: Trendy title readers

2. The Completist: Devoted to series

3. The Seeker: Engaged with nonfiction

4. The Wanderer: Embracing multigenre consumption

5. The Deep Diver: Focused on single-genre exploration

6. The Free Spirit: Delving into diverse book genres

Top Nonfiction Books of 2023

• Spare by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
• The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia and Bill Gifford
• Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

Top Fiction Books of 2023

• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
• Happy Place by Emily Henry
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

Top Nonfiction Audiobooks of 2023

• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
• Spare by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex
• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia and Bill Gifford
• The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
• Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

Top Fiction Audiobooks of 2023

• Only the Dead by Jack Carr
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
• Happy Place by Emily Henry
• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

The nonfiction and fiction categories each highlighted five top books and audiobooks, showcasing an impressive array of literature that captured the attention of readers throughout the year.