The State of Podcasting 2026

How long are arts podcasts?

The typical top-charting arts podcast runs 47 minutes an episode: that is the median of 49 shows' own medians, from 5,052 episodes released in the 12 months to 2 October 2026. Shorter than the all-chart figure of 50 minutes, it ranks 7th longest of 11 categories. Most episodes (53%) run 30 to 60 minutes.

By the Slice research teamUpdated How we did it

Get this page’s dataThe State of Podcasting 2026
  • 47 mintypical show’s median episode
  • 11%of episodes run over an hour
  • 4.5episodes a month, median show
  • 7th of 11categories, longest first

How long is the typical arts episode?

Across all 5,052 arts episodes, the median is 34.6 minutes and the middle half run 29 to 47 minutes. Only a tenth run past 62 minutes.

Show
90th percentile61.575th percentile47.2Median of show medians46.7Median episode34.625th percentile28.810th percentile19.0
Full episodes released in the 12 months to 2 October 2026, in minutes.
10th percentile19.010.1
25th percentile28.822.8
Median episode34.641.8
75th percentile47.261.7
90th percentile61.592.7
Median of show medians46.749.9
Under 30 minutes35.6%30 to 60 minutes52.9%Over an hour11.4%

Are arts podcasts longer than other categories?

It sits in the middle: 7th of 11, between health and fitness (53 min) and true crime (44 min).

Comedy66 minTV & Film62 minSports57 minTechnology54 minSociety & Culture54 minHealth & Fitness53 minArts47 minThis pageTrue Crime44 minBusiness40 minEducation37 minNews35 min

Median of each show's own median length. Categories with at least 40 charting shows.

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How often do arts podcasts publish?

Weekly is the rhythm here: 48% of these shows publish once a week, and only 12% daily. The most common schedule among the 52 charting arts shows is weekly (25).

Daily (5+ a week)6 shows (12%)3–4 a week2 shows (4%)Twice a week5 shows (10%)Weekly25 shows (48%)Less than weekly6 shows (12%)Irregular3 shows (6%)Fewer than 3 in six months3 shows (6%)New (under four weeks old)2 shows (4%)

Schedule over the last 182 days of each feed.

How long are the top arts podcasts?

The ten highest on Apple's US Arts chart, with each show's median episode. Across all 49 charting arts shows the range runs from The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast (5 min) to Fantasy Fangirls (115 min).

Show
385 min475 min559 min249 min146 min745 min636 min1034 min926 min85 min
Apple Podcasts US Arts chart, 2 October 2026.
1Fresh Air46 min26.1
2The Moth49 min8.7
3Jeselnik Book Club85 minn/a
4The MOOD Podcast75 min4.0
5The iDesign Lab Podcast | Where Design, Business, and Culture Shape How We Live and Build59 min4.3
699% Invisible36 min4.0
7Walk-In Talk Podcast45 min4.3
8The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast5 min16.4
9I Want Her Shoes Podcast26 min3.7
10Spooked34 min4.8

How many arts podcasts are there?

The Podcast Index lists 379,038 shows filed under Arts, 8.6% of all podcasts. 26,398 of them published in the 90 days to 26 September 2026: 7% of the category, a lower survival rate than the 9.4% for all podcasts.

Questions

How long should a arts podcast be?

There is no rule, but the top-charting arts shows have a median episode of 47 minutes, and half of their episodes run between 29 and 47 minutes.

How many episodes a month do arts podcasts release?

The median charting arts show released 4.5 episodes a month over the last six months; 12% published daily and 48% weekly.

What share of arts podcast episodes are over an hour?

11.4% of the 5,052 arts episodes released in the past year ran over 60 minutes, and 35.6% were under 30.

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Where do these numbers come from?

Slice, The State of Podcasting 2026: the RSS feed of every show on Apple Podcasts' top charts in six countries and eleven US genre charts, read on 2 October 2026. Category counts from the Podcast Census 2026 (Podcast Index database of 26 September 2026).

n = 49 arts shows and 5,052 episodes. Last updated 2 October 2026.

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