The State of Podcasting 2026

How long are society and culture podcasts?

The typical top-charting society and culture podcast runs 54 minutes an episode: that is the median of 94 shows' own medians, from 6,879 episodes released in the 12 months to 2 October 2026. Longer than the all-chart figure of 50 minutes, it ranks 5th longest of 11 categories. Most episodes (47%) run 30 to 60 minutes.

By the Slice research teamUpdated How we did it

Get this page’s dataThe State of Podcasting 2026
  • 54 mintypical show’s median episode
  • 40%of episodes run over an hour
  • 5.0episodes a month, median show
  • 5th of 11categories, longest first

How long is the typical society and culture episode?

Across all 6,879 society and culture episodes, the median is 54.1 minutes and the middle half run 41 to 75 minutes. The longest tenth go past 120 minutes.

Show
90th percentile119.975th percentile75.1Median episode54.1Median of show medians54.125th percentile41.410th percentile24.7
Full episodes released in the 12 months to 2 October 2026, in minutes.
10th percentile24.710.1
25th percentile41.422.8
Median episode54.141.8
75th percentile75.161.7
90th percentile119.992.7
Median of show medians54.149.9
Under 30 minutes13%30 to 60 minutes47.4%Over an hour39.6%

Are society and culture podcasts longer than other categories?

It sits in the middle: 5th of 11, between technology (54 min) and health and fitness (53 min).

Comedy66 minTV & Film62 minSports57 minTechnology54 minSociety & Culture54 minThis pageHealth & Fitness53 minArts47 minTrue 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 society and culture podcasts publish?

The median society and culture show publishes 5.0 episodes a month (all chart shows: 7.2). 30% are weekly and 4% daily. The most common schedule among the 96 charting society and culture shows is weekly (29).

Daily (5+ a week)4 shows (4%)3–4 a week14 shows (15%)Twice a week14 shows (15%)Weekly29 shows (30%)Less than weekly14 shows (15%)Irregular10 shows (10%)Fewer than 3 in six months4 shows (4%)New (under four weeks old)7 shows (7%)

Schedule over the last 182 days of each feed.

How long are the top society and culture podcasts?

The ten highest on Apple's US Society & Culture chart, with each show's median episode. Across all 94 charting society and culture shows the range runs from TED Talks Daily (16 min) to The Shawn Ryan Show (181 min).

Show
1181 min374 min562 min656 min1154 min950 min446 min240 min737 min1026 min
Apple Podcasts US Society & Culture chart, 2 October 2026.
1The Shawn Ryan Show181 min9.2
2Notes from the Edge40 min34.1
3The Ezra Klein Show74 min0.5
4Stuff You Should Know46 min21.2
5This American Life62 min1.8
6the Girls56 minn/a
7Happy Hour with Ina Garten37 minn/a
9Khloé in Wonder Land50 min1.5
10Dream Life Club26 min2.5
11The Oprah Podcast54 min6.4

How many society and culture podcasts are there?

The Podcast Index lists 749,962 shows filed under Society & Culture, 17.1% of all podcasts. 50,624 of them published in the 90 days to 26 September 2026: 6.8% of the category, a lower survival rate than the 9.4% for all podcasts.

Questions

How long should a society and culture podcast be?

There is no rule, but the top-charting society and culture shows have a median episode of 54 minutes, and half of their episodes run between 41 and 75 minutes.

How many episodes a month do society and culture podcasts release?

The median charting society and culture show released 5.0 episodes a month over the last six months; 4% published daily and 30% weekly.

What share of society and culture podcast episodes are over an hour?

39.6% of the 6,879 society and culture episodes released in the past year ran over 60 minutes, and 13% 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 = 94 society and culture shows and 6,879 episodes. Last updated 2 October 2026.

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