June 27, 2025 – To commemorate the 20th anniversary of iTunes’ integration with podcasts, Apple has unveiled a special webpage featuring a curated list of 20 beloved podcast channels. The tech giant has expressed its deep affection for the podcasting medium with the tagline, “At Apple Podcasts, our passion for podcasts runs deep.”
Apple has divided the podcasting journey into four distinct eras spanning five years each: 2005-2010, 2011-2015, 2016-2020, and 2021-2025. Since the launch of iTunes’ podcast support in 2005, the company has dedicated significant efforts and resources to enhancing users’ ability to discover new and engaging shows.
Among the 20 channels highlighted by Apple are popular picks such as “This American Life,” “Acquired,” and “The Daily.” These selections are intended to showcase the evolution of podcasting over the past two decades and hint at its promising future over the next 20 years.
The milestone was first marked when iTunes 4.9, released on June 28, 2005, introduced native support for podcasts, enabling users to easily find, listen to, and subscribe to their favorite shows.
In a press release at the time, Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder, emphasized the company’s role in bringing podcasting into the mainstream. “Apple is taking podcasting mainstream by integrating it directly into iTunes,” Jobs stated. “Podcasting is the next generation of radio, and users can now subscribe to over 3,000 free podcasts and have each new episode automatically delivered to their computers and iPods over the Internet.”
