In May 2025, YouTube started sharing its public rankings of Weekly Podcast Shows on the Google-owned platform. NewsNation podcast “Reality Check with Ross Coulthart” is outpacing several major podcast stars and legacy media outlets.
YouTube says its new chart, which updates weekly and features 100 ranked positions, “celebrates top podcasters who are redefining the next era of entertainment with engaging, influential, culture-defining shows across a variety of genres like News, Sports, Comedy, and True Crime.”
In the first week, dated May 5 through May 11, Reality Check ranked No. 21. In the second week, dated May 12 through May 18, Reality Check moved up to No. 16.
That puts Ross Coulthart’s NewsNation podcast one spot behind “The Megyn Kelly Show” and one spot above “The Pat McAfee Show.” Legacy programs like “60 Minutes,” “NBC Nightly News,” and “A Closer Look – Late Night with Seth Meyers” follow NewsNation further down the list. So do many other popular podcast hosts and shows.
YouTube says its rankings are “updated with podcast shows ranked by watchtime.”
According to Mediaite, YouTube is following in the footsteps of platforms like Spotify and Apple by launching its own podcast ranking system.
ABOUT REALITY CHECK
“Reality Check with Ross Coulthart” dives into stories the media isn’t meant to tell, using a fact-based approach to explore everything from unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) to other mysteries often missing from mainstream headlines. The show started in March 2024. It followed Coulthart’s interview in summer 2023 with UFO whistleblower David Grusch.
Coulthart’s success in these first YouTube charts coincides with his most recent TV special, which featured an interview with a UFO whistleblower, former Border Patrol official Bob Thompson.
ABOUT ROSS COULTHART
Ross Coulthart currently serves as a special correspondent and investigative journalist for NewsNation.
During his three decades in journalism, he has worked at the top newspaper in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, the national public broadcaster’s flagship program in Australia, “Four Corners,” and Nine TV Network’s Sunday public affairs program, “60 Minutes.” Most recently, Mr. Coulthart served as an investigative reporter for “Spotlight,” broadcast on Australia’s most-watched TV network, The Seven Network. Prior to that, he was the chief investigative reporter for the popular news program “Sunday Night.”