Australia’s podcasting charts are looking more female than ever if July’s Australian Podcast Ranker is anything to go by.
Mamamia continues to be one of the loudest voices in the room with four shows in the top 30. Mamamia Out Loud climbed to #3 overall with 537,250 monthly listeners and 1.6 million downloads. That success isn’t a one-off. Across the network, True Crime Conversations jumped eight spots to #22, The Quicky cracked the Top 30 with nearly 820,000 downloads, and No Filter still held steady at #29.
It’s not just the big networks cashing in; Shameless Media proved it can go toe-to-toe with the big names. Shameless held tight at #6 with 419,205 monthly listeners, while Everybody Has a Secret landed at #48, and Style-ish leapt 31 places to #75.
The momentum is undeniable. Female-fronted shows like Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki (#14) and It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield (#18) are pulling huge audiences, proving that authenticity and personality are as powerful as legacy brands in driving listening habits.
Of course, the old guard still packs a punch. Hamish & Andy reclaimed their throne at #1 with 851,031 monthly listeners and 1.6 million downloads. Their comeback shows the enduring power of comedy and personality-led audio. But even with their win, a broader truth becomes clear: the Australian Podcast Ranker is being defined by trusted voices, and increasingly, those voices belong to women.
Grant Tothill, executive head LiSTNR operations and audience, said: “It’s great to see Hamish & Andy returning to the number one position in Triton Top 300 Podcast Ranker – alongside strong performances from Dan Does Footy, Happy Hour with Lucy & Nikki, The Imperfects, and It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield, all securing positions inside the Top 20. These results reflect the power of trusted voices and compelling storytelling. The Howie Games also delivered its greatest audience in more than 18 months, reinforcing audience appetite for high-quality, long-form content.
What It Means for Brands
Lizzie Young, CEO of CRA, put it plainly: “The Australian Podcast Ranker goes beyond audience numbers to reveal the highly engaged, trusted niche communities shaping consumer decisions. This data gives brands the clarity to invest smarter, connect deeper, and cultivate brand loyalty with the demographics that matter most to their brands.”
That rings especially true for women’s podcasts. These shows don’t just deliver listeners, they provide communities, and in the sweet-spot 25–54 demo, those communities translate directly to consumer power.
“With our world-class AdTech and ability to target our ‘known audience’, the LiSTNR sales team is driving podcast and radio instream monetisation through both programmatic and direct revenue channels,” said Grant Tothill, Executive Head of LiSTNR Operations and Audience.
“After recently announcing the launch of LiSTNR Precision+, a major step forward in real-time measurement, LiSTNR is further strengthening its global best-in-class AdTech capabilities. Combined with the LiSTNR Audience Network, which includes podcasts, radio in-stream, and music playlists reaching up to 10 million Australians each month, LiSTNR will continue to deliver both scale and effectiveness for advertisers.”
From Mamamia’s empire of daily downloads to Shameless Media’s indie grit, women are leading Australia’s podcast charge. And with audiences this big and this loyal, the message for advertisers is clear: if you’re not betting on women’s voices, you’re missing the biggest growth story in Australian audio.
