• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 8, 2024

If there is one secret to running a successful podcast, it is this: guests. 

Of the leading podcasts, 76% feature guests, at least occasionally, and 5% almost always do. Only 24% never have them, according to Most Top-Ranked Podcasts Bring On Guests, an analysis by Pew Research Center.  

Of course, this rule doesn’t apply equally to all types of programs. For instance, 89% of news-focused podcasts had guests in 2022, versus 74% of those that were not focused on news. 

However, only 15% of top-ranked podcasts concentrate on news. 

Other content categories stack up as follows: 

• Sports—100% 
• Self-help and relationships—86%
• Entertainment, pop culture and the arts—85%
• Politics and government—78% 
• True crime—56% 
• Other—79% 

In addition, 84% of podcasts with video content had guests, compared to 67% that lacked a video component. 

It is standard to have repeat guests—49% of top-ranked podcasts had at least one in 2022. And 23% had more than five during the year. 

That said, fewer than 1% of all guest appearances were repeats.  

Of those featured as guests, 78% appeared once. Only 12% were on multiple times. But these accounted for 28% of all guest appearances on top-ranked podcasts. 

The most frequently appearing guests included:

• Andrew Schultz--10 
• Ari Shaffir--9 
• Neil DeGrasse Tyson—8 
• Elon Musk--7
• Judd Apatow--7
• Maggie Haberman—7 
• Matt Walsh—7
• Bert Kreischer—6 
• Dave Rubin—6
• Anthony Fauci—6
• Jordan Peterson—6
• Josh Peck—6 
• Matt Taibbi—6 
• Susan Cain—6
• Yannis Pappis—6 
• James O’Keefe--6