In a world of popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Her Daddy and Theo Von, Black is on a mission to champion the things that are strange, new, weird, trailblazing and genre-defying – shows that will be remembered a decade from now.

The problem is unlike film, podcasting doesn’t have a canon. That’s why he’s created the Essential Listening Poll, a rundown of the Top 100 Greatest Podcasts of all time, curated by a cross-section of leading audio makers, journalists and academics that’s been unveiled at Podcast Movement, with the support of Amazon Music.

We welcome Alan Black back to Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about discoverability, the broken economics of podcasting, and why he believes there needs to be more tastemaking in the audio space.

Read more about the Essential Listening Poll, here.

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Announced at Podcast Movement in Dallas on Tuesday, with support from Amazon Music, the list was voted on by a wide-ranging group of podcasters, hosts, journalists, and academics, who shared their top five shows, reflecting the work that has most inspired, engaged and influenced them. Voters included Alex Blumberg (StartUp), Brendan McDonald (WTF with Marc Maron), Hrishikesh Hirway (Song Exploder), Latif Nasser and Lulu Miller (Radiolab), Alex Sujong Laughlin (Normal Gossip), and Leon Neyhfak (Slow Burn), among other prominent audio makers. 

The Top 3 podcasts on the list are no surprise, with This American Life taking the #1 spot, followed by Serial and New York Times podcast, The Daily. Rounding out the Top 10 are WNYC’s Radiolab, S-Town, Heavyweight, Reply All, WTF with Marc Maron, Gimlet’s StartUp Podcast, and Love and Radio.

Several Canadian podcasts also made the list, with CBC Podcasts well-represented, including Hunting Warhead, which came in at #32, Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo (#33), WireTap (#38), Stolen (#52), Sea of Lies (#97), and Terry O’Reilly’s IDEAS, which squeaked onto the list via an eight-way tie in 100th position, alongside the likes of The Joe Rogan Experience, Wiser Than me with Julia-Louis Dreyfuss, and The Diary of a CEO, among other titles.

Somewhat inspired by the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound poll, which has ranked the Top 100 “greatest films of all time” once a decade since 1952, Black believes the lack of a podcasting “canon” means a lot of shows that have been off the charts for five to seven years, get lost in the annals of podcasting’s discoverability problem.

“Podcasting has nothing like that,” Black told Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast. “You can go Google ‘best podcasts of all time’ and you’ll find kind of annual lists, people saying the best of the year or the best of the first six months of the year, but there was really nothing that gave you a definitive list of the really important, monumental shows that inspired the shows to come.”

He’s optimistic the poll will be “a jumping off point” for new listeners to explore the history of podcasts and find those shows that broke new ground. While the Top 10 to 20 are shows the public is familiar with, Black says the rest of the list is littered with podcasts most people have probably never heard of.

“It is quite fascinating. Shows like Call Her Daddy or Theo Von…a lot of the chat cast shows, those did not make the list,” said Black. “They are insanely popular, but I think probably…those are shows people enjoy, but when you think of the things that made you, those are less significant.”

“The list is dominated by shows that stick with you. Shows that aren’t simple – like press record, don’t do much editing, do a little sound mix and publish. The shows on the list – the Radiolabs and the S-Towns and the Love and Radios – these are shows that are about mood and tone and they tell stories that are fascinating, human stories that stick with you. And I think the list tells you a lot about the things that people think about 10 years after they’ve listened to them,” he continued.

Explore the full list, along with ballots from featured voters here. You can also listen to the top 100 Greatest Podcasts of all time in a special Amazon Music collection.

Alan Black joined Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about the Essential Listening Poll, discoverability, the broken economics of podcasting and more. Listen on your favourite podcasting app or here:

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David Corey has joined Marilyn Denis as the new co-host of The Marilyn Denis Show on Toronto’s CHUM 104.5. Corey began his career at KISS 108 (WXKS-FM) Boston as a teenager where he ascended to the role of Assistant Program Director and Music Director, before joining Bell Media as VP of Radio Programming and Program Director of CHUM 104.6 in 2006. He held that role for over a decade before leaving for Beasley Media Group as Country Brand Manager and PD of Boston’s WKLB in 2017. He went on to serve as Director of FM Programming for Cumulus Media. He returned to Bell last September as a Radio Programming Management Consultant. Read more here.

Jordana Katz has left her role as Senior Account Manager at Indie88 (CIND-FM) Toronto. She had been with the station for 11 years. Katz has accepted the position of Account Manager, Local/Direct Media Sales at Rogers Sports & Media in Toronto.

Paul Burton has joined MBC (My Broadcasting Corporation) as General Manager and General Sales Manager in Kingston. Burton formerly spent 22 years as Sales and Distribution Manager at Kingston This Week and another 12 as an account exec at Metroland Media. Most recently, he’d been serving as Senior Publisher at Toronto’s Annex Business Media.

Stephanie Henry has announced she’s departed Citytv’s Breakfast Television as the show moves in a new direction with its traffic coverage. She’d been with the station since 2019 and with Rogers Sports & Media since 2016 when she started as a traffic reporter on 680 News (CFTR-AM). Henry, who went back to school to become an automotive services tech, says she’s looking forward to expanding She Auto Know, her car clinic and blog helping women learn more about their cars.

Ana Almeida has announced she’s leaving CTV Atlantic to move back to Ontario to be closer to family. Almeida started contributing to CTV Halifax in 2011, hosting a weekly pop culture segment. She’s been with the station full-time since 2013, most recently as a co-host and producer on the Atlantic edition of CTV Morning Live. Her last day on the show is Friday, Sept. 20.

Abby O’Brien is leaving CTV Toronto’s digital desk for a new opportunity. O’Brien had been with CTV and CP24.com since 2021. Prior to that, she was a staff writer with Narcity Media.

Janet Brown has parted ways with 980 CKNW Vancouver and Global BC. A 2021 RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, prior to joining CKNW in 1989, Brown was a reporter at CKEG Nanaimo, CJNL Merritt, and CHNL Kamloops.

Olivia Bowden has announced she’s returning to freelancing full-time after reporting for CBC Toronto for the past year and a half. Prior to this stint at CBC, Bowden had a brief run as a national news writer and producer at CTV News.

Donnie Coulter has announced he’s leaving Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) Toronto for the second time in his career. Coulter had been a producer with the station since 2015.

Hana Mae Nasser has announced her departure from CityNews Vancouver after almost eight years. Nasser had been a web editor since 2021.

Sarah Scott has joined Golden West Broadcasting’s The Eagle 100.9 (CKUV-FM) Okotoks and Air 106.1 (CFIT-FM) Airdrie, AB in afternoon drive. Scott previously hosted mornings on Stingray’s New Country 95.9 (CKSA-FM) Lloydminster, up until this past spring.

Marina Barnes has joined the morning show, alongside John Kalil, on Harvard Media’s Play 103 (CFVR-FM) Fort McMurray. Barnes was previously heard in swing on Corus Entertainment’s Fresh Radio 93.1 (CHAY-FM) Barrie for the last six years, up until this past February. 

Alan Black, Chief Operating Officer at Canadaland, has announced his intention to leave the podcast network in the next few months, saying in a post to LinkedIn that “it’s time to move on and pursue some new projects.” Black joined the organization in 2022 after a decade as Director of Operations for the Hot Docs Festival and Managing Director of Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.

Mark Shopiro has been promoted to Head of Amazon Prime Video Canada, reporting to Magda Grace, Head of Prime Video for Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Shopiro has been at Amazon since 2019, most recently as Head of Engagement, Marketplace & Sports in Canada. Dan Slepak steps into the newly-created role of Head of Marketplace, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He’s been at Amazon since 2022, most recently in content acquisitions for Prime Video Channels & TVOD. They join Brent Hayes, Head of International Originals, Canada, Amazon MGM Studios; Shaun Alperin, Head of Content, Prime Video Canada, and Owen McCorquodale, Head of of Comms for Canada.

Carlyn Staudt has been promoted at Blue Ant Media to EVP, Global Channels and Streaming. After leading Love Nature as General Manager since 2021, her expanded role will now see her lead Blue Ant Media’s international channels, including Love Nature, Declassified, HauntTV, Total Crime, Homeful, Drag Race Universe, Love Pets and Love Drama. Her expanded scope will focus on the continued growth of Blue Ant Media’s channel footprint across all platforms including FAST, SVOD, AVOD and Pay-TV. Based out of Washington, she’ll continue to report to Jamie Schouela, President, Global Channels and Media, and now also reports to Michael MacMillan, co-founder and CEO, as a key member of the senior leadership team. 

Katharine Pavoni has been named to the newly-created role of Deputy Director, B.C. Film Commission at Creative BC, responsible for oversight and delivery of the film commission’s operations and services, specifically collaborative initiatives like Reel Green, Creative Pathways, and regional services promoting production across B.C. locations. Pavoni was most recently Director of Industry Programs and Services with Actsafe, the entertainment industry’s health and safety association, and previously served as Manager, Industry and Community Affairs at Creative BC.

Sean Cohan, President of Bell Media, has been elected Chair of the BANFF Foundation Board of Directors. Cohan succeeds Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate Television Group Chair & Chief Creative Officer, who served as Chair for three years. Beggs will continue to serve on the BANFF Board. Appointed President of Bell Media in 2023, Cohan previously spent 15 years with A+E Networks, ultimately in the role of President, International and Digital Media. More recently, he was Chief Growth Officer & President at Nielsen.

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