PRX Shares “Best of 2023” Podcast Highlights

Shows received praise from VOGUE, Vulture, The New York Times, The New Yorker, TimeOut, The Atlantic, The Economist, Mashable, TIME, Apple, and more

Photo by Ritupon Baishya on Unsplash

In 2023, we deepened partnerships with audio producers across the U.S — from community-driven public media stations to exceptional independents — to help bring illuminating storytelling to listeners. We hope to help enlighten and enhance the way individuals hear, see, and experience their world.

As we enter a new year, we’re taking a moment to take stock. Below is a representation of “best of 2023” praise of podcasts, storytelling, and journalism from across PRX. Congratulations to every audio creator behind each title:

Articles of Interest (Avery Trufelman and Radiotopia from PRX)

• The New Yorker — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• PBS NewsHour — “Critics Weigh in on the Best and Most Surprising Podcasts of 2023”
• Town & Country — “The Best Podcasts to Listen to Now”
• Glamour — “38 Best Podcasts of 2023”
• Lifehacker — “The Best Podcast Episodes of 2023”
• SELF Magazine — “12 Chill but Entertaining Podcasts to Put On”
• Audible — “26 creators on the listens they loved most in 2023”
• Tink Media — “Audio Delicacies: Podcast Treats from 2023”

‎Articles of Interest on Apple Podcasts

Grown (The Moth and PRX)

• Mashable — “The best podcasts of 2023”
• Amazon Music — “Best New Podcasts”
• Apple Podcasts — “More Great Listens from 2023”

‎Grown, a podcast from The Moth on Apple Podcasts

Hang Up (Caitlin Pierce and Radiotopia from PRX)

• VOGUE — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• CBC — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• Vulture — “The Best Podcasts of 2023, According to People Who Make Podcasts”
• Tink Media — “Audio Delicacies: Podcast Treats from 2023”
• WNYC “All of It” — “Best Podcasts for Your Holiday Downtime and Travel”
• Apple Podcasts — “More Great Listens from 2023”

‎Hang Up on Apple Podcasts

Keyshawn Solves It (GBH Kids, PBS KIDS, and PRX)

• Common Sense Media — “The Best Kids’ Everything from 2023”

‎Keyshawn Solves It on Apple Podcasts

Normal Gossip (Defector Media and Radiotopia from PRX)

• The New Yorker — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• VOGUE — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• The Economist — “Favorite podcasts of 2023”
• TimeOut — “50 Best Podcasts to Listen to in 2024”
• Cosmopolitan — “The Best Podcasts of 2023 if You’re in the Market for a New Listen”
• PBS NewsHour — “Critics Weigh in on the Best and Most Surprising Podcasts of 2023”
• Town & Country — “The Best Podcasts to Listen to Now”
• SELF Magazine — “12 Chill but Entertaining Podcasts to Put On”
• Good Housekeeping — “The Best Podcasts You Need to Listen to Now”
• Great Pods — “The Best 11 Podcasts Master List of 2023”
• Pocket Casts — “Top 100 of 2023”
• Spotify — “2023 in Podcasts”

‎Normal Gossip on Apple Podcasts

ParentData with Emily Oster (Emily Oster and PRX)

• TIME — “The 10 Best Podcasts of 2023”

‎ParentData with Emily Oster on Apple Podcasts

Radio Diaries’ “The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island” (Radiotopia from PRX)

• Lifehacker — “The Best Podcast Episodes of 2023”
• Tink Media — “Audio Delicacies: Podcast Treats from 2023”

‎Radio Diaries on Apple Podcasts

Song Exploder (Hrishikesh Hriway and Radiotopia from PRX)

• WPLN (Nashville Public Radio) — “Hear this year’s favorite podcast episodes”
• Tink Media — “Audio Delicacies: Podcast Treats from 2023”

‎Song Exploder on Apple Podcasts

The Big Dig (GBH and PRX)

• Town & Country — “The Best Podcasts to Listen to Now”
• The New Yorker — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• Vulture — “The Very Best Podcasts of 2023” (honorable mention)
• Vulture — “The Best Podcasts of 2023, According to People Who Make Podcasts”
• WBUR — “2023’s Best Podcasts”
• Apple Podcasts — “More Great Listens from 2023”
• Spotify — “Binge-worthy history podcasts”

‎The Big Dig on Apple Podcasts

The Closer: Deals Change the World (Brazen and PRX)

• The New York Times DealBook — “What to Read And Listen to During Your Holiday Break”

‎The Closer: Deals Change the World on Apple Podcasts

The Heart (Mermaid Palace and Radiotopia from PRX)

• The Atlantic — “The 25 Best Podcasts of 2023”
• The Financial Times — “Best podcasts of 2023”
• The Week — “The best podcasts of 2023”
• VOGUE — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• Tink Media — “Audio Delicacies: Podcast Treats from 2023”

‎The Heart on Apple Podcasts

The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome (Brazen, Goat Rodeo, and PRX)

• The New York Times — “Best Podcasts of 2023”

‎The Sound: Mystery of Havana Syndrome on Apple Podcasts

Weight for It (Ronald Young, Jr. and Radiotopia from PRX)

• The New York Times — “Best Podcasts of 2023”
• VOGUE — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• Vulture — “The Best Podcasts of 2023, According to People Who Make Podcasts”
• PASTE Magazine — “The Best Podcasts of 2023”
• Lifehacker — “My 25 Favorite New Podcasts of 2023”
• Bingeworthy — “Top 23 Shows for 2023”
• Sounds Like Impact — “Best of Impactful Podcasts 2023”
• Great Pods — “The Best 11 Podcasts Master List of 2023”
• Apple Podcasts — “Shows We Love 2023”

‎Weight For It on Apple Podcasts

Also in 2023:

• One of the world’s top podcast publishers, we continued to forge new podcast partnerships, including with KQED and Snap Judgment Studios (Spooked), GBH News (The Big Dig), legendary literary magazine The Paris Review (The Paris Review Podcast), Carnegie Hall (Great Music Teaching), the Chicago Public Library (Library for the People), PBS KIDS (Jamming on the Job) and more, including expanded partnerships with TED and the Smithsonian.
• As a leading public radio distributor, PRX’s broadcast portfolio continued to expand. While distributor of radio programs including This American Life, Latino USA, The Moth Radio Hour, and Reveal, we also joined arms with WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio on Embodied hosted by Anita Rao, The Ezra Klein Show from The New York Times, Left, Right & Center from KCRW, and No Small Endeavor from Tokens Media. In addition, the daily global news show The World now airs on a record number of stations across North America (376), reaching more than 2 million listeners weekly.

• Radiotopia from PRX — the acclaimed network for independent creators — enthusiastically welcomed Ronald Young, Jr. who launched Weight for It — Normal Gossip from Defector Media, and the new reality dating show Hang Up. Shows from across Radiotopia also brought listeners new series and seasons, ranging from a new Radio Diaries series on individuals buried anonymously in America’s largest public cemetery to Everything is Alive imagining the inner lives of animals to Ear Hustle’s first episode from an international prison. Ear Hustle producer Rahsaan Thomas was also released from San Quentin prison after he was granted a commutation.
• At the very beginning of the year, Radiotopia unveiled a refreshed visual and brand identity — audio with vision — reflecting the network’s bold authenticity, boundless creativity, and commitment to empowering creators:

• PRX celebrated 20 years as an independent nonprofit public media organization, incubated meaning-searching podcasts in the PRX Big Questions Project with support from the John Templeton Foundation, helped develop series and strategies in the PRX Journalism Podcast Accelerator, and with support from the Mellon Foundation, the team at PRX Productions alongside producers across America created Monumental, a podcast exploring the changing nature of monuments and historical remembrance.
• Producers across PRX and Radiotopia were recognized by the Edward R. Murrow Awards, National Magazine Awards, The Peabody Awards, Tribeca Festival, Webby Awards, the Society of Professional Journalists, National Native Media Awards, the Adweek Audio Awards, and more.

The above represents only a few highlights. We invite you to explore our newsroom for the latest.