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Best podcasts · Updated

The 20 best political podcasts in 2026.

As of Oct 28, 2026, Real Alpha’s ranking of 5 political podcasts puts TRIGGERnometry, The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, Pod Save America, Call Me Back with Dan Senor and Tangle at the top, by the minutes worth watching cut from each. We follow 84 long-form podcasts and cut those minutes from their episodes. These are the shows we follow on politics and the news, picked to balance the left, the center and the right, as our Politics & News desk cuts them. This list ranks the 5 we follow that fit it: the 3 we’ve cut 11 moments from, then 2 we haven’t cut yet. Then come 15 more we don’t follow, A to Z. It changes as we cut more.

How we rank: Each moment we’ve cut from a show earns a point, plus one when an AI builder is the one talking. Its episode’s points are multiplied by how many people watched it on YouTube: once at 100,000 views, half as much again for each tenfold more and half less for each tenfold fewer. A moment’s points halve every year after its episode came out. Each show is scored on its five best episodes by those points, so posting more often doesn’t lift it. Shows we follow but haven’t cut from yet come after, by the views their episodes usually get on YouTube.

The ranking

  1. No. 1. TRIGGERnometry

    TRIGGERnometry is a politics and news show, hosted by Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster, with a new episode a few times a week.

    Top guests: Tony Smith CBE, Dave Smith

    Start with:Why Tony Smith says arrivals need longer screening

  2. No. 2. The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

    The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart is a politics and news show, hosted by Jon Stewart, with a new episode every week.

    Top guests: Abdul El-Sayed

    Start with:Why El-Sayed says attack ads reshaped his primary

  3. No. 3. Pod Save America

    Pod Save America is a politics and news show, hosted by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor and Dan Pfeiffer, with a new episode a few times a week.

    Top guests: Keisha Lance Bottoms

    Start with:Why Pfeiffer thinks Trump's core coalition is weakening

  4. No. 4. Call Me Back with Dan Senor

    Call Me Back with Dan Senor is a politics and news show, hosted by Dan Senor, with a new episode about twice a week.

    Not cut yet. Its episodes usually get about 26,000 views on YouTube.

  5. No. 5. Tangle

    Tangle is a politics and news show, hosted by Isaac Saul, with a new episode every day.

    Not cut yet. Its episodes usually get about 6,900 views on YouTube.

15 more political podcasts we don’t follow

We don’t follow these, so they aren’t ranked. Here they are A to Z, each linking to where you can listen.

The same shows, by what they cover

Best liberal podcasts

  1. 02The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
  2. 03Pod Save America
  3. The Bulwark Daily
  4. The Daily
  5. Political Gabfest
  6. The Rachel Maddow Show
  7. The Rest Is Politics
  8. Up First from NPR

Best nonpartisan political podcasts

  1. 05Tangle
  2. Global News Podcast
  3. The Journal
  4. Left, Right & Center

Best news podcasts

  1. 05Tangle
  2. The Daily
  3. Global News Podcast
  4. The Journal
  5. Morning Wire
  6. Up First from NPR

Questions

What is the number one political podcast?

TRIGGERnometry is the number one political podcast in Real Alpha’s ranking of 5, as of Oct 28, 2026. It has 5 moments cut from 2 episodes, mostly on markets & the economy.

What is the best daily political podcast?

Tangle, No. 5 of 5 in Real Alpha’s ranking, is the best-ranked one with a new episode every day.

How does Real Alpha rank political podcasts?

Each moment we’ve cut from a show earns a point, plus one when an AI builder is the one talking. Its episode’s points are multiplied by how many people watched it on YouTube: once at 100,000 views, half as much again for each tenfold more and half less for each tenfold fewer. A moment’s points halve every year after its episode came out. Each show is scored on its five best episodes by those points, so posting more often doesn’t lift it. Shows we follow but haven’t cut from yet come after, by the views their episodes usually get on YouTube. Then come the shows we don’t follow, unranked, A to Z.

More lists, ranked the same way