Last year, a survey from the Pew Research Center estimated that 82% of Americans over the age of 12 had listened to a podcast in the past month. This number is shocking because in 2006 barely one-fifth of Americans even knew what a “podcast” was. The term had only been coined two years earlier, in a piece for the Guardian by journalist Ben Hammersley, who combined the words broadcast and iPod.
This rapid growth of podcasts is often attributed to their accessibility and variety, but no doubt a new class of celebrity podcasters and addicting shows have played a huge role. But what podcasts are the most popular here in the Lone Star State?
Using data from ThePodcasting.org and Google Trends, BetTexas.com decided to break from Texas sports betting updates to find out. First, we located ThePodcasting.org’s “Most Popular Podcasts in the U.S.” list. Then we used Google Trends to measure the search volume in Texas over the past 12 months for each of the top pods.
Below you’ll find the top five podcasts in the Lone Star State, ranked by their share of search engine traffic within Texas state lines. This is information you wouldn't find on Texas betting apps, but you'll see which podcast would be obvious to bet on for the most popular.
And the winner is… “The Joe Rogan Experience!” Debuting in late 2009, the podcast has run for over 2,000 episodes at this point. “The Joe Rogan Experience,” is hosted by actor, comedian, and former “Fear Factor” host Joe Rogan, who cemented his status as the most successful podcaster of all time in 2020, when he signed a $200 million dollar exclusive distribution agreement with Spotify. In the midst of the deal, Rogan moved his operation from California to Texas. JRE is now produced out of Austin.
The true crime pod “Crime Junkie” is the second most popular podcast in Texas — but for what it’s worth, it happens to be more popular than Rogan in Amarillo. This meticulously researched series is devoted to telling mysterious stories about murder victims, serial killers, and people who have gone missing. It also may have played a big role in exposing the wrongful conviction of a man charged with killing a Texas priest. In 2021, hosts Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat spotlighted the murder of Father Patrick Ryan 40 years ago. James Reyos was found guilty of the crime. On a recent episode of “Crime Junkie,” Flowers and Prawat returned to the case to explain how their podcast had helped uncover previously untested evidence that exonerated Reyos.
“Call Her Daddy” is the third most popular podcast in Texas, but in both El Paso and Laredo it’s actually more popular than “Rogan” and “Crime Junkie.” A modern take on sex, dating, and feminism, the pod was initially co-hosted by Alex Cooper and Sofia Franklyn and was produced by the Barstool Sports digital media brand. However, a dispute between Cooper and Franklyn sprung up during a 2020 renegotiation of the pair’s contract with Barstool, and Franklyn left the show. Cooper continued on as the show’s sole host, with Spotify snatching the exclusive rights to the show in 2021.
Checking in as the number four and five most popular podcasts in Texas are “My Favorite Murder” and “The Ben Shapiro Show,” respectively.
Hosted by comedians Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, “My Favorite Murder” re-tells both modern and historical true crime cases in an irreverent way, with one of Kilgariff or Hardstark explaining the details of the case in a light-hearted and conversational way.
For its part, “The Ben Shapiro Show” offers up right-wing politico Shapiro’s take on the news of the moment. With daily episodes Monday through Friday, along with another on Sunday, “The Ben Shapiro Show” has racked up over 1,800 episodes since its debut in 2015.
Author
Jeff Parker is an entertainment writer for BetTexas.com. A writer for film, television and the internet, Jeff is a life long movie buff, with a Masters Degree in Popular Culture. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he works full time as documentary filmmaker and producer.
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