![15 Most Popular Center-Leaning Podcasts [2024]](https://www.biasly.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Untitled-design-19.png)
Center-leaning or moderate podcasts are simply podcasts with a centrist/moderate tilt instead of leaning either left or right. They are more right than a leftist and more left than a right-wing person, marking them down the middle. They are usually either independent or nonpartisan or podcasts that feature both leftist and right-leaning views, values, and principles. They can be a bit harder to find than your regular liberal or conservative podcast since the latter either state that they are liberal or conservative-leaning, or they get labeled as that by others. Eventually, the top 10 most center-leaning media sources will be listed, ranked by the number of monthly views.
Different Types of Centrism
To go further into what defines a center-leaning person or centrist, one of the ways can be to see what ideological spectrum those views, values, and principles fall on. The level of Centrism can be seen as a mixture where the podcast host supports some leftist and some right-wing views such as supporting LGBTQ and fiscally conservative views. However, it’s important to note that such a podcast to be considered Centrist does not go too extreme in either direction. Another type of Centrism can be seen in the podcast that does not take sides as much on major positions like the economy, environment, abortion, etc., or takes positions that would be considered to be in the middle.
Centrists oftentimes are not huge political consumers, much less so than liberals or conservatives, so they are less likely to watch specific center-leaning podcasts than other people and more likely to consume trusted news sources from national and local sources. That could potentially be one reason why these ratings seem down from liberal or conservative podcasts, especially at the end.
Most Popular Center-Leaning Podcasts
| Rank | Moderate Podcast | Listeners | Subscribers | Ratings | Social Media |
| 1 | The Daily | 2,000,000 | 2,107,800 | 116,100 | 278,700 |
| 2 | Let’s Find Common Ground | 2,000,000 | 268,100 | 2,700 | 80,500 |
| 3 | BBC Global News Podcast | 894,600 | 2,131,200 | 17,500 | 1,157,000 |
| 4 | Up First | 809,900 | 881,500 | 53,100 | 439,000 |
| 5 | FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast | 505,800 | 182,000 | 22,900 | 1,700,000 |
| 6 | The NPR Politics Podcast | 325,400 | 542,100 | 26,500 | 3,500,000 |
| 7 | Consider This | 85,000 | 56,900 | 5,200 | 451,600 |
| 8 | The Wall Street Journal: The Journal | 56,800 | 50,100 | 5,400 | 30,800 |
| 9 | The Lincoln Project | 32,200 | 21,600 | 7,800 | 2,100,000 |
| 10 | The Dispatch Podcast | 26,600 | 9,600 | 2,800 | 95,300 |
| 11 | Slightly Offensive with Elijah Schaffer | 11,500 | 7,100 | 5,300 | 913,300 |
| 12 | WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch | 11,200 | 27,500 | 2,600 | 30,800 |
| 13 | All American Savage Show | 10,000 | 1,740 | 1,000 | 27,200 |
| 14 | The Bulwark Podcast | 8,100 | 21,300 | 7,300 | 232,300 |
| 15 | The Radical Middle | 4,000 | 125 | 105 | 4,800 |
Note: This list is ranked by number of listeners. Listeners show the # of listeners for the last episode. Subscribers show the amount of people subscribed to them on various podcast platforms. The number of Apple and Spotify ratings shows how many people listened and left a rating on the podcast. Lastly, social media measures how popular they are on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This data was compiled from November 8-13, 2023.
List of the Top 15 Moderate Podcasts
1) The Daily
Hosts: Michael Barbaro, Sabrina Tavernise
Sample Guests: Donald Trump (45th US President), James Comey (former FBI director)
Listeners: 2,000,000
Description: Hosted by the New York Times, this popular podcast functions as a daily news podcast that runs at 6 am in the morning for 20-30 minutes. It’s hosted mainly on weekdays (so Monday to Friday) with interviews from journalists from the New York Times but can include notable interviews with powerful people like Trump and Comey. It’s free to listen and paid for by advertising money. Tavernise became the second host after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Barbaro was a reporter for 14 years before becoming a podcast host in 2016, while Tavernise was a war and demographics correspondent before becoming a host in 2022.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily
2) Let’s Find Common Ground
Hosts: Richard Davies, Ashley Milne-Tyte
Sample Guests: Steve Hobbs (WA Dem SoS), Michael Adams (KY GOP SoS)
Listeners: 2,000,000
Description: Common Ground is a popular podcast that tries to be moderate in a world that’s increasingly partisan and divisive. They speak to leaders in public policy, finance, academia, and more to see if there’s any mutual understanding and agreement. There are two weeks between every episode, and they’re usually about 30 minutes in length. Both Davies and Milne-Tyte were former journalists.
Link: https://commongroundcommittee.org/podcasts/
3) BBC Global News Podcast
Hosts: Andrew Peach, Charles Haviland, Valerie Sanderson, Jackie Leonard, Joe Lymam
Sample Guests: none stated
Listeners: 894,600
Description: This popular global podcast covers the top news stories of the day on an international scale, so currently it would be the war between Israel and Hamas focusing on the Gaza Strip. They air twice a day on weekdays and once on weekends and on special occasions, covering reports and analyses from around the world.
Link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02nq0gn
4) Up First
Hosts: Leila Fadel, George Martinez, Steve Inskeep, Michael Martin
Sample Guests: none listed
Listeners: 809,900
Description: NPR’s most popular podcast, Up First, is a relatively moderate podcast that airs on weekdays on 6 AM ET, with a longer version on Sunday at 8 AM ET with Ayesha Rascoe and Scott Simon. An additional Sunday episode hosted by Rachel Martin provides additional news content. On the weekdays, it gives a brief overview for each news story while on Sunday, it goes in depth. All of the current hosts are former journalists and podcast hosts for other podcasts.
Link: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510318/up-first
5) FiveThirtyEight Politics
Hosts: Nate Silver, Galen Druke
Sample Guests: Various
Listeners: 505,800
Description: The official podcast of the poll aggregator, 538, the 538 podcast covers the latest in politics, issues, elections, and “game-changers” once or twice per week. They cover notable elections and primaries in the United States, most recently the off-year 2023 general elections and the 2024 Republican primary debates. Due to their focus on elections and data, they will probably eventually focus on the 2024 elections, including the presidential, Senate, House, gubernatorial, and other relevant races.
Link: https://fivethirtyeight.com/tag/politics-podcast/
6) NPR Politics
Hosts: Tamara Keith, Scott Detrow
Sample Guests: Kamala Harris (49th Dem VP from CA), Bernie Sanders (Ind. Sen from VT)
Listeners: 325,400
Description: One of NPR’s main podcasts, NPR Politics is a popular podcast that airs every day except on Sundays in the afternoon. Using the best of the best of NPR in terms of reporters, they deliver the latest news domestically and on the campaign trail and why these things matter. Keith and Detrow are former journalists.
Link: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510310/npr-politics-podcast
7) Consider This
Hosts: Kelly McEvers
Sample Guests: none stated
Listeners: 85,000
Description: One of NPR’s main podcasts, Consider This (also called All Things Considered) airs from Sunday to Friday for 15 minutes delivering the news of the day and why it’s relevant to the person watching. It airs in the afternoon at around 5 PM ET. Aside from McEvers, other hosts include Ailsa Chang, Mary Kelly, Ari Shapiro, and Juana Summers on weekdays and other various correspondents on Sundays.
Link: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510355/considerthis
8) WSJ: The Journal
Hosts: Kate Linebaugh, Ryan Knutson
Sample Guests: Emily Deeley (model)
Listeners: 56,800
Description: A relatively moderate podcast from the Wall Street Journal, this podcast focuses mainly on money, business, and power, with some politics mixed in. It airs on weekdays, Monday to Friday, with the weekends off.
Link: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510355/considerthis
9) The Lincoln Project
Hosts: Reed Galen, Rick Wilson
Sample Guests: Michael Steele (former RNC chairman and former GOP Lt. Governor of MD), Will Bunch (Philadelphia opinion columnist)
Listeners: 32,200
Description: The Lincoln Project is an anti-Trump podcast that dedicates itself to countering Trump’s influence. While it’s liberal in that regard, there are also moderate Republicans and independents who were also former McCain and Romney supporters, making it moderate due to a mix of both liberalism and conservatism. The podcast is regularly joined by political experts to discuss issues with both political parties and threats to democracy. It also discusses political challenges and their visions for the future. It airs every 2-5 days.
Link: https://lincolnproject.us/podcasts/
10) The Dispatch Podcast
Hosts: Sarah Isgur
Sample Guests: ND GOP Gov. Doug Burgum, CO-4 GOP Rep. Ken Buck
Listeners: 26,600
Description: A relatively moderate podcast from the Dispatch, the Dispatch Podcast is hosted by Sarah Isgur with occasional additional hosts in Jonah Goldberg and Steve Hayes, providing political, policy, and cultural commentary. The show airs every 2-3 days, sometimes featuring notable guests like Burgum and Buck.
Link: https://thedispatch.com/podcast/dispatch-podcast/
11) Slightly Offensive with Elijah Schaffer
Hosts: Elijah Schaffer
Sample Guests: random various guests
Listeners: 11,500
Description: Elijah Schaffer’s moderate podcast has been described as hilarious and thought-provoking. He provides unfiltered commentary on controversial and relevant stories in America and around the world. The show airs once or twice per week for an hour.
Link: https://www.audacy.com/podcasts/slightly-offensive-with-elijah-schaffer-45431
12) WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch
Hosts: Paul Gigot, Kim Strassel, Bill McGurn, Kyle Peterson
Sample Guests: random various guests
Listeners: 11,200
Description: The hosts get together to discuss the latest news to come out of Washington such as what went on in the 2023 off-year elections, the Supreme Court, and the Republican primary. They are relatively centrist despite the Wall Street Journal’s center-right lean at times. They air on the weekdays for 30 minutes.
Link: https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/opinion-potomac-watch
13) All American Savage Show
Hosts: John, Josh
Sample Guests: none stated
Listeners: 10,000
Description: The hosts, a gay couple, have a centrist podcast that airs on the weekdays. John notably is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. In a lighthearted tone, they try to navigate through today’s world of rampant misinformation and propaganda.
Link: https://allamericansavageshow.com/pages/podcast
14) The Bulwark Podcast
Hosts: Charlie Sykes
Sample Guests: Adam Kinzinger (former IL GOP representative)
Listeners: 8,100
Description: Charlie Sykes and various hosts and guests get together to discuss the latest news from both inside Washington and internationally, with the guarantee of no grandstanding, shouting, or sloganeering. Sykes notably is an anti-Trump conservative, where he is promoting conservative but moderate overall in this day and age, putting his more moderate-leaning principles over politics.
Link: https://www.thebulwark.com/podcast/the-bulwark-podcast/
15) The Radical Middle
Hosts: Tommy and Fredy
Sample Guests: none stated
Listeners: 4,000
Description: The Radical Middle podcast has a slightly different tone to it, focusing on religion (Christianity) and politics and discussing them in a centrist tone, where they believe the most productive conversation is unlike left-wing Jews or right-wing evangelical Christians. It airs once every two weeks for 30-60 minutes.
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-radical-middle/id1679999277