Raj Shamani sets 18-month goal to become the world’s No. 1 podcaster

New Delhi: When French President Emmanuel Macron sat down with Indian podcaster and entrepreneur Raj Shamani for a long-form conversation teased on February 19, it highlighted a wider shift in how high-profile personalities are choosing to reach audiences. 

Shamani has framed the Macron interview as a milestone moment and has publicly set an 18-month goal to become the world’s number one podcaster.

Shamani said, "We are heading towards becoming the world's No. 1 podcast. We are at No. 25 currently and I think in the next 18 months, we'll become No. 1."

He added, “There is no Indian, Asian or French podcaster in the world’s top 10. It’s all Americans. We are going to beat that."

Macron replied, “I love this mindset.”

If leaders and celebrity business figures want scale, speed and control over distribution, the odds are increasingly in favour of podcasts and creator-led interview shows. 

These formats travel faster on YouTube and social feeds, are easier to clip, and can be watched or heard outside appointment viewing. For guests, they also reduce the friction of a traditional newsroom cycle while still delivering mass reach.

Shamani’s own growth story fits the pattern. His show, ‘Figuring Out with Raj Shamani’, has become Spotify’s top podcast in India for 2025, with Shamani saying the show led the country’s year-end rankings ahead of global titles like Joe Rogan and ‘The Diary of a CEO’ within the Indian market. 

The attraction for big guests is not limited to India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-hour appearance on Lex Fridman’s podcast, released on March 16, 2025, was positioned for global consumption with multiple language options and wide YouTube distribution. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also did a long-form interview with Fridman, with the episode distributed on YouTube in multiple languages.

For Shamani, the Macron interview places him in a club that increasingly includes leaders and top-tier global names using podcasts as frontline media. 

For journalism, the shift raises a clear pressure point: how to preserve scrutiny and fact discipline in an ecosystem where the biggest guests can increasingly choose the room, the tone and the edit.