Many popular TV talk shows have discovered that podcasting is a great way to attract and connect with more listeners.
Some talk show podcasts are re-runs of existing or former shows. For example, 'Oprah's Super Soul Sunday' is a selection of Oprah's past interviews with thought leaders about how to be your best self. In contrast 'Good Morning America' pops excerpts from its regular show into a daily podcast format.
Other talk show podcasts are recorded separately from the TV show, giving the hosts a chance to dig deeper, take a different angle, or discuss issues that wouldn't usually make the screen version.
Being on a podcast can be free publicity for authors, entertainers, politicians, entrepreneurs and anyone who needs to get the word out about their venture or cause. So, to get you started, we've found 12 top TV talk shows that have made it into the podcasting world.
Table of Contents
Best talk show podcasts to be a guest on
The Rich Eisen Show
Rich Eisen is an American sports commentator and a television and radio host. His daily podcast mixes interview and sports analysis with pop culture and humor.
Rephonic Insight:
Each Rephonic podcast data page begins with the basics, including the year it started, how many episodes have been recorded, and whether they drop daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Knowing whether the podcast is well-established or just getting started is helpful when researching podcasts to pitch as a guest. Understanding how long it's been going (in this case, nine years) puts the audience numbers and their associated 'listeners per episode graph' into context.
SmartLess with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes & Will Arnett
The Smartless podcast aims to unite people of all kinds through thoughtful, genuine discussion as the hosts chat about shared experiences with their guests.
Rephonic Insight:
Rephonic checks the growth in new listener reviews and ratings over 180 days and uses the data to calculate an engagement score and indicate how popular the podcast is with its audience.
'SmartLess' has an impressive engagement score of 95, putting this podcast in a perfect position to get its guests in front of an enthusiastic audience. Other audience data shows that the show has a predominantly female audience in the US.
The Man Enough Podcast
Best-selling author Justin Baldoni and Liz Plank, Jamey Heath and their guests discuss what it means to be a man today and how rigid gender roles affect everyone.
Rephonic Insight:
Rephonic gathers listener information from hundreds of publicly available data points, allowing us to estimate each podcast's audience size. We also note the podcast's listener trends over time and display them as a graph, which lets you see whether the audience numbers are trending up, down or remaining steady.
Our 'listeners per episode graph' reveals the audience numbers have steadily increased over the two years since this talk show podcast began.
TV I Say, with Ashley Ray
Ashley Ray is one of the internet's leading TV pop culture experts. Each week she keeps her fans up to date on the latest and greatest (like the new David Beckham doco), goes behind the scenes (e.g., TV's greatest feuds) and digs into classics (Beginners Guide to Survivor—after 44 seasons, where do you start?)
Rephonic Insight:
Social profiles and followers are one way to gauge how podcast fans engage with their host. Knowing the social media numbers has two advantages.
- Understanding where listeners hang out is helpful when looking for talk shows to be a guest on. If your audience isn't on the same social media platforms as the podcast host, chances are this audience isn't the one you're seeking.
- Social media can be an excellent way to connect with podcast hosts and introduce yourself before you start pitching.
Some podcasts have accounts across all the main social media platforms, but here you can see that Ashley seems to concentrate on X (Twitter.)
Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness
Hairstylist and TV personality Jonathan Van Ness (Queer Eye, Gay of Thrones) hosts three weekly 'Curious' podcasts. 'Pretty Curious' discusses all things hair and beauty. 'Curious Now' covers topics like elections, climate change and LGBTQIA+ rights.
Rephonic Insight:
Reading the reviews is another way to understand what die-hard fans (or the opposite) think about a podcast. Rephonic makes that easy to do by having all the numbers in one spot. Click the 'All Reviews' button to read the actual reviews.
How Did We Get Weird? with Vanessa & Jonah Bayer
Vanessa Bayer (actress & comedian) and her brother Jonah (musician & writer) get together with friends and guests to reminisce about mini golf, rolling down the hill in a barrel, game shows, fashion, food and much, much more.
Rephonic Insight:
Listen closely to a few podcast episodes before you decide to reach out with a guest request. Rephonic puts the Listen button right up top on a podcast info page. Tap the button to bring up a list of recent episodes ready to play.
Private Talk with Alexis Texas
Former adult movie star Alexis Texas and her guests discuss topics ranging from life, health and career to relationships, money and sex. This tv talk show and podcast is billed as an "alternative lifestyle interview talk show and podcast series...considered the “safest place to be yourself”."
Rephonic Insight:
When you're planning how to get on a talk show as a guest, it can help to know the categories it's listed under.
For example, what if the show focuses on relationships, but you're an expert chef? You could give a great interview about relationships within the restaurant industry and discuss 'how to handle a chef's caustic comments when you're new to the business.' Still, you probably wouldn't pitch that angle unless you knew the podcast categories first.
Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend
Conan O'Brien decided that one way to make friends with the people he interviews on his tv talk show would be to invite them on a podcast. As well as interviewing celebrity guests, Conan's keenly interested in talking to fans and calls those episodes 'Conan O'Brien needs a fan.'
Rephonic Insight:
When searching for talk shows looking for guests, it can be helpful to know what other podcasts their listeners enjoy. Rephonic's podcast info includes a Related section with links to similar podcasts.
Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist
This podcast has the unedited, deeper versions of Willie Geist's conversations with big-name guests on his top TV talk show 'Sunday Sitdowns.'
This podcast includes the unedited, deeper versions of Willie Geist's conversations with big-name guests on his top TV talk show 'Sunday Sitdowns.'
Rephonic Insight:
Sometimes, you like the sound of a podcast, but you're not sure you'll make it on some big-name TV talk shows or their podcasts.
That's when Rephonic's 3D visual representation of related podcasts comes in handy. You can use it to search for many other similar podcasts. Click any icon for basic information and links to its Rephonic page.
Let's Talk Off-Camera with Kelly Ripa
Kelly says, "This is the show that goes on in my head, when the cameras stop rolling. It's unfiltered and often unhinged but I get to ask the questions that I really want to know and talk to friends and experts about the topics I really want to discuss."
Rephonic Insight:
Rephonic shows where this podcast ranks on the Apple Podcasts charts by country and category. On the 'Let's Talk' Rephonic page, the blue words are clickable links that take you to the complete chart.
The Amber & Lacey Show, Lacey & Amber Show!
Late-night TV talk show host Amber Ruffin teams up with her sister, Lacey Lamar, for quizzes, games, fun and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry while chatting with their weekly guests.
Rephonic Insight:
Another way to connect with talk show podcasts is through advertising.
Rephonic's Sponsorship section shows our estimate of the CPM (cost per mille, i.e., per thousand listens) for an ad on this podcast.
Choice Words with Samantha Bee
Multi-talented television host Samantha Bee chats with people she admires about their life choices and what happened as a result.
Rephonic Insight:
While Apple Podcasts and Spotify don't disclose listener numbers, other podcast apps do. It can be helpful to know subscriber numbers across the board to help gauge how many people are listening and where.
How to be a guest on a talk show podcast
1. Search on Rephonic
The 3D graph I mentioned above is one of the best ways to search for talk show podcasts on Rephonic because you can jump from graph to graph.
How to change graphs:
- Choose a talk show and bring up its 3D graph.
- Explore the icons to find possible podcasts to research
- Select an icon to bring up its data.
- Click the 3D graph link to bring up the related podcasts graph for that show.
2. Check their stats
Don't make an instant assessment about a podcast. Do some research by checking listener numbers, learning more about the audience and listening to episodes to get a feel for whether you'd be a great guest for that podcast.
3. Pitch
Create a list of possible shows, get their contact details from Rephonic and reach out using one of our pitch templates.
(And get ready for when the producer calls by reading this article about preparing talking points and other pre-interview tips to help you sound natural and relaxed on air.)
Final thoughts
Whether you're looking for podcasts from national TV or a local TV show, there are tons of talk show podcasts around now.
Learn more about them all with your 7-day free trial on Rephonic.
