New data appears to show evidence that UK audiences are enjoying historical content in their podcast choices, reflecting an interesting pattern in listening preferences.
This data was researched by the team at AI note-taking tool Notta.ai, who used Google Keyword Planner to analyse the Google search volume of the most popular podcasts on Spotify.
The methodology involved ranking top Spotify podcasts based on their associated search volumes, with results normalised per 100,000 internet users in each geographical area to ensure fair comparison across regions with different population densities.
The analysis excluded podcasts that showed insufficient data in Google Keyword Planner or registered only minimal search activity (zero or single-digit searches).
This filtering process ensured that only podcasts with meaningful engagement levels were included in the final rankings, providing a full representation of genuine listener interest across the British podcast landscape.
Key Findings:
- “The Rest Is History” dominates the UK podcast landscape with 114,400 monthly searches (nearly 200 searches per 100,000 population), making it the nation’s most sought-after audio show.
- Despite American podcasts’ global dominance, “The Joe Rogan Experience” ranks third in the UK with 53,200 monthly searches, demonstrating strong cross-Atlantic appeal.
- British listeners prefer homegrown content, with eight of the top 10 podcasts being UK-produced shows spanning history, politics, comedy, and business genres.
While podcast trends have steadily climbed over the years, it seems that history-focused podcasts have captured the British imagination, rising above celebrity news, politics, and parenting genres to claim the top spots in listener’s preferences, according to this research.
Top 10 Most Popular Podcasts in the UK
| Rank | Podcast | Total Google Search Volume | Google Search Volume per 100k | Trend Interest Score |
| 1 | The Rest Is History | 114400 | 199.84 | 100.00 |
| 2 | The Rest Is Entertainment | 61200 | 106.91 | 53.46 |
| 3 | The Joe Rogan Experience | 53200 | 92.93 | 46.46 |
| 4 | The Rest Is Politics | 16900 | 29.52 | 14.70 |
| 5 | Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe | 16250 | 28.39 | 14.13 |
| 6 | Call Her Daddy | 14400 | 25.15 | 12.51 |
| 7 | The Ricky Gervais Show | 9600 | 16.77 | 8.31 |
| 8 | Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster | 9050 | 15.81 | 7.83 |
| 9 | The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett | 8050 | 14.06 | 6.96 |
| 10 | Garys Economics | 7950 | 13.89 | 6.87 |
“The Rest Is History” has notably higher search numbers over both global giants and political shows. Also, the success of three “The Rest Is…” shows in the top five spots may highlight British audiences’ liking for thoughtful, context-rich content from trusted voices that go beyond mere entertainment.
Ryan Zhang, CEO and Founder of Notta.ai, comments: “The popularity of history podcasts reveals something quite profound about British listening preferences. ‘The Rest is History,’ hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, centres on providing its listeners with interesting perspectives on how past events continue to shape our world today.
“This historical focus extends to political content as well, with ‘The Rest is Politics’ securing the fourth spot in the rankings. This suggests that British listeners aren’t avoiding politics entirely but rather prefer it contextualized with a broader historical understanding.
“The success of both shows reveals how UK audiences value content that connects past patterns with present realities.
“This preference for historically informed content reflects a distinctly British cultural appreciation for intellectual depth, nuanced storytelling, and the longer view of human experience.”
