TIME Magazine—iconic, influential, and sometimes confused by YouTube—recently dropped its list of “The 100 Best Podcasts of All Time.” A momentous, definitive, heavily researched list based on absolutely... no clear criteria whatsoever.
Oh sure, there’s a gentle, almost poetic editorial about everyday listening moments and parasocial friendships—pleasant to read, but when you search for clear criteria, it feels like chasing a mirage. No scorecards, no rubrics, no straightforward explanation for how these podcasts were selected. Just… vibes. Lots and lots of vibes.
🪞 “Best” According to... What, Exactly?
TIME's editor talks about “influence” and “legacy” and how sometimes a show is so charming you feel like the host is your imaginary friend. There’s mention of Serial, 2 Dope Queens, and WTF with Marc Maron. Obama is name-dropped (of course), and we’re reminded that podcasting used to be a magical land where anyone with a USB mic and a MailChimp ad could thrive.
As for how these 100 podcasts were chosen, the explanation reads less like a formal ranking and more like an editor’s personal favorites—wrapped in thoughtful storytelling but missing any clear checklist or criteria.
🚨 Missing: The Godfather of Podcasting
First up: Joe Rogan.
The man who practically invented podcasting by accident is nowhere to be found. The guy with billions of downloads, a $100 million Spotify deal, and a guest list that includes everyone from Elon Musk to mushroom shamans to epidemiologists with controversial charts? Excluded.
Which makes sense—if your ranking system is based entirely on vibes, facial expressions, and a refusal to acknowledge what most people are actually listening to.
🎙️ Also Missing: Everyone With an Audience
Let’s go ahead and list some other wildly popular, culturally relevant, long-running podcast powerhouses who somehow didn’t get invited to TIME’s imaginary awards ceremony:
- Lex Fridman – Interviews AI pioneers, philosophers, and former spies while dressed like he just left a Matrix cosplay event.
- Theo Von – A poetic storyteller disguised as a mullet-wearing Louisiana goblin. More emotionally moving than 90% of NPR.
- Shawn Ryan – Ex-Navy SEAL exposing hard truths from the shadows. Joe Rogan meets 60 Minutes.
- Danny Jones – Gets guests no one else will. Makes you feel like you're watching the most compelling documentary you've never heard of.
- Tim Dillon, Patrick Bet-David, Jordan Peterson, and anyone else not currently employed by The Atlantic or whose podcast has never sparked a Twitter debate or made your aunt uncomfortable at Thanksgiving.
🧩 The Real Selection Method:
A TIME Insider™ (me, pretending) reveals the actual checklist:
☐ Mentions climate change and therapy in same episode
☐ Has never been banned, demonetized, or criticized by any mainstream outlet
☐ Never interrupts the conversation with anything too controversial
☐ Fits perfectly in a playlist titled ‘Safe Conversations for Sensitive Souls’
☐ Makes the listener feel progressive, introspective, but never uncomfortable
🎧 Meanwhile, in the Real World…
The most downloaded podcasts across Spotify, Apple, YouTube, and everywhere else people listen include Rogan, Lex, Theo, and others who were totally ghosted by TIME’s list.
These are shows that shaped modern podcasting, drove cultural conversations, and amassed cult-like loyalty without institutional backing or New York Times op-eds.
You don’t have to agree with every guest or opinion they platform—but if you’re curating a list of the "best of all time" and leaving out the shows that people have literally built their listening habits around? That’s not curation—it’s ideological cosplay.
📻 Final Thought: Best ≠ Safe
So sure, go enjoy a podcast about journaling through climate anxiety while drinking oat milk in a yurt. That’s fine. There’s a time and place.
But don’t pretend that the real heavyweights—the ones who redefined the space, influenced a generation, and made podcasting what it is today—aren’t sitting in a soundproof room somewhere, laughing at this list.
They just didn’t qualify.
Because the only real criterion at TIME, it turns out, was “don’t make us feel weird.”