One of the longest-running and most listened-to shows at iHeartPodcasts is celebrating a milestone. The curiosity show Stuff You Should Know has just reached three billion downloads – the first in the iHeart portfolio to do so. Launched in 2008, the Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant-hosted show was launched by Stuff Media – which iHeartMedia acquired in 2018 – and it has consistently been in the top 25 of overall podcast listening charts with episodes that have covered a wide range of topics, including science, history, pop culture, and even conspiracy theories.
“Chuck and I started this series with a passion for curiosity and had no expectation of ever being a leading podcast,” Clark said. “It’s incredible to reflect on the last 14 years and see how much we’ve grown as creators alongside our listeners. We’re immensely grateful to our fans and iHeartMedia in helping us reach this incredible milestone, and it’s energizing and motivating to think about the show's future success.”
With more than 1,500 episodes now under its belt, Stuff You Should Know hit the two billion mark in 2019. It has also spawned a best-selling book, has done live shows, developed a Trivial Pursuit: Stuff You Should Know Edition and has even been a Jeopardy category.
During a 2021 interview about the show, Clark said he views their series as a “respite” from the news of the day. During a presentation to ad buyers last week, he said they aim to keep their content apolitical to appeal to a wide base of listeners.
“If something needs to be called out, like voter suppression, we’ll do an episode on that,” said Clark. “But we go to the trouble of explaining why it’s not both sides, or how both sides do it. We drill down into the facts behind it and that’s how we stay ahead of being political.”
The show’s mission may be to explain everything. To help listeners sort through the hundreds and hundreds of topics, iHeart has created the Best of Stuff podcast playlist, which compiles content from episodes.
The show was conceived in 2008 as a podcast version of the articles that were appearing on the HowStuffWorks.com website. “It was a side gig. It was not something that we could fail at in this weird new medium that no one understood,” remembered Bryant.
Stuff You Should Know was part of the portfolio of podcasts that iHeartMedia acquired when it bought Stuff Media in 2018. “It’s been an honor to watch Josh and Chuck lead Stuff You Should Know to such incredible success,” said Will Pearson, President iHeartPodcasts. “Podcasting is a unique medium in that creators have deep, intimate relationships forming a dedicated community of listeners all over the world. There was no doubt that with Josh and Chuck’s connection with their listeners that Stuff You Should Know would be the first iHeartPodcast to hit the three billion downloads mark.”
Bryant said he has not been surprised to see listeners reacting to such an intimate medium that often beams directly into their ears. “It’s the most intimate medium that you can have. It’s like talk radio and podcasts,” he said. “It’s conversational, and we decided to leave in all the stumbles and make it a real conversation and people connect with these voices. It’s really neat how podcasts have grown to include scripted and interview shows, and comedy shows. But at the heart of the industry, it’s always been about a few people having a conversation that other people are eavesdropping on.”
Clark thinks podcasting’s success is tied to the sense of friendship that listeners have with the hosts. “People still write-in to us on a weekly basis,” he said. “When we meet our listeners, they approach us like friends, not like fans.”
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