There’s no podcaster on the planet that’s bigger than Joe Rogan.
The Joe Rogan Experience, which the UFC commentator started in 2009, has grown into one of the most popular media entities on the planet. Rogan’s podcast averages over 11 million listeners per episode, and the 58-year-old entered into an exclusive agreement with Spotify back in 2020 (renewed in 2024) that’s worth over a hundred million dollars.
In other words, Joe Rogan got in on the podcast game early, and now he’s reaping the benefits.
As far as listenership and reach goes, there’s not another podcast that can top Joe Rogan’s. That’s why people thought it was odd when, at the 2026 Golden Globes, there was a “Best Podcast” category, and The Joe Rogan Experience wasn’t even nominated in the category. Instead, these podcasts were the nominees:
-Good Hang with Amy Poehler
-Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
-Call Her Daddy
-The Mel Robbins Podcast
-SmartLess
-Up First (NPR)
And the award went to Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, which the comedic actress started in March of 2025:
The award going to Poehler’s relatively new show was met with questions. Mainly “Why wasn’t Joe Rogan wasn’t nominated in the Best Podcast category at the Golden Globes?” Well, we finally have the answer to that, and it’s pretty simple.
He didn’t submit it for nomination. Why? Because you had to pay for it.
Rogan revealed in a recent episode of his podcast that being nominated for the Golden Globes required submission, and a $500 payment (allegedly for paperwork), and he refused to comply:
“They asked me to submit to be nominated for the Golden Globes and you had to pay $500. And the $500 is like for paperwork or whatever. I said, ‘No.’ I just know that I didn’t submit. I don’t want to be a part of that. I don’t care. You’re just a group of people that just decide, all of a sudden, that you’re going to give an award out.”
That’s true… and that’s how a lot of people viewed the award, which was introduced this year for the very first time.
And the way Joe Rogan sees it, he’s the winner of “Best Podcast,” regardless of who the Golden Globes gave the award to. A quick look at the podcast charts, and the history of those charts, and it’s undeniable. The Joe Rogan Experience is the top podcast, and has been so for close to a decade.
That’s why a) he didn’t submit and b) he doesn’t care about the award:
“You can’t tell me I didn’t win. I’ve been number one for six years in a row. All of sudden, you’re going to have a contest in front of all these people wearing tuxedos and you’re going to say now I’m not number one? F*** off.
I don’t care that I’m number one, but I am, in fact, number one. So if all of the sudden you have a contest to see who is really number one amongst us… that’s amongst you. You are allowed to have your opinion. You like Amy Poehler better than me, that’s great. I don’t care.”
