Apple Celebrates Best Podcasts of 2021 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Celebrates Best Podcasts of 2021

Apple has today shared a press release celebrating the best and most popular podcasts of 2021, as curated by the Apple Podcasts editorial team.

Apple Best of Podcasts 2021
Apple named "A Slight Change of Plans" with Maya Shankar as "Best Show of the Year." The show combines storytelling with cognitive and behavioral science to help listeners navigate change in their lives, including real-world stories about change when navigating the foster care system and undergoing medical treatments. A Slight Change of Plans features conversations with Riz Ahmed, Kacey Musgraves, Tommy Caldwell, and more.

"Anything for Selena" with Maria Garcia has been awarded "Newcomer of the Year." The show explores Latino fatherhood, belonging, identity, and language through storytelling and cultural analysis.

In addition to Best Show of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, Apple recognized a large number of shows and episodes that have "defined and reflected" 2021:

Shows

  • "A Kids Book About: The Podcast" with Matthew Winner
  • "Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain"
  • "Good Inside with Dr. Becky"
  • "Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang"
  • "Pantsuit Politics" with Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers
  • "Teenager Therapy" with Gael Aitor, Kayla Suarez, Mark Hugo, and Thomas Pham
  • "The Experiment" with Julia Longoria
  • "The Midnight Miracle" with Talib Kweli, yasiin bey, and Dave Chappelle
  • "This Land" with Rebecca Nagle
  • "U Up?" with Jordana Abraham and Jared Fried

Episodes

  • "A Friendly Ghost Story" from "Invisibilia" with Yowei Shaw and Kia Miakka Natisse
  • "Bubba Wallace" from "Club Shay Shay" with Shannon Sharpe and Bubba Wallace
  • "Glorious Basterds" from "Storytime with Seth Rogen"
  • "How Do I Love Someone?" from "WILD" with Megan Tan
  • "My Parents, Ellen and Tom" from "Forever is a Long Time" with Ian Coss
  • "The Body Mass Index" from "Maintenance Phase" with Michael Hobbes
  • "The People in the Neighborhood" from "Still Processing" with Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris
  • "The Symphony" from "The Midnight Miracle" with Talib Kweli, yasiin bey, and Dave Chappelle
  • "The Unwritten Rules of Black TV" from "The Experiment" with Hannah Giorgis
  • "This Strange Story" from "9/12" with Dan Taberski

For more information about Apple's nominations and the top new shows, free channels, and subscriptions in ‌Apple Podcasts‌, see the full press release.

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...
iOS 27 Icon iPhone

iOS 27 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday September 14, 2026 9:00 am PDT by
Update — 10 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has released iOS 27. During its iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo event last week, Apple announced that iOS 27 will be released widely on Monday, September 14. iOS 27 should be available around 10 a.m. Pacific Time / 1 p.m. Eastern Time today via the Settings app, under General → Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight new features and...
Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....

Top Rated Comments

DMG35 Avatar
63 months ago
Ironically Apple also was celebrated for having the worst podcast app.

Congrats to Apple!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
63 months ago
Some good podcasts are available but the podcasts app could do with an update.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
8CoreWhore Avatar
63 months ago
No Louis Rossmann?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Herrpod Avatar
63 months ago

What is wrong with the Podcasts app?

In my experience, it's fluid, reliable, and syncs beautifully across all my Apple devices. It is everything I could possibly desire in a podcasting application.
I’m assuming you don’t use other apps, so you don’t realize how ridiculously god awful Apples is.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
63 months ago

It's a very American focused list.
It's also handcrafted ad not really based on statistics as the award and article would lead you to believe.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H3LL5P4WN Avatar
63 months ago
No A Hotdog Is A Sandwich?

This list is worthless.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)