Podcasts

Rising-star podcasts this week (2026-w38)

High signal you have not heard yet. Smaller audiences, top-tier substance.

By Daniel Singer, Editor, StartupHub.ai

2 min read

Rising-star podcasts this week (2026-w38)

In brief

  1. 1Gradient Dissent: density 64 at 156.8K views.
  2. 2Last Week in AI: density 61 at 8.6K views.
  3. 3Y Combinator: density 33 at 92.2K views.
  4. 4The Gradient Podcast: density 16 at 7.6K views.
  5. 5Machine Learning Street Talk: density 21 at 617.4K views.

Audience size is not the same as quality. These newer or smaller shows score at the top on measured substance, so they earn a spotlight regardless of view count.

Worth your ears

  1. Gradient Dissent: 156.8K views. density 64, specificity 66, attribution 41%. Listen
  2. Last Week in AI: 8.6K views. density 61, specificity 63, attribution 44%. Listen
  3. Y Combinator: 92.2K views. density 33, specificity 75, attribution 70%, track record 70% (4/5 calls). Listen
  4. The Gradient Podcast: 7.6K views. density 16, specificity 68, attribution 71%, track record 100% (3/3 calls). Listen
  5. Machine Learning Street Talk: 617.4K views. density 21, specificity 65, attribution 68%. Listen
  6. The TWIML AI Podcast: 813 views. density 21, specificity 65, attribution 67%. Listen
  7. The Cognitive Revolution: 28.9K views. density 34, specificity 60, attribution 43%. Listen
  8. Doom Debates: 399.5K views. density 34, specificity 57, attribution 47%, track record 33% (1/3 calls). Listen

How we score: every show is graded from its episode transcripts on information density (named companies, people, figures, and mechanisms per minute), specificity (concrete, checkable claims versus vague punditry), source attribution (how often a claim credits where it came from), and a prediction track record we resolve against what actually happened. The full, continuously updated board lives at the podcast rankings.

Sources

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Topicspodcastspodcast rankingsAI podcastsoriginalitymedia

Daniel Singer

Written by

Daniel Singer

Editor, StartupHub.ai

Daniel Singer is the editor of StartupHub.ai, a technology expert and thought leader on AI and its applications across sectors, from fintech and healthcare to developer tooling and consumer software. He writes and tests the tools covered here thoroughly and regularly, and built StartupHub.ai to give founders, operators and buyers a clearer read on what they are actually being sold.

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