New Apple Podcasts Spotlight Feature Highlights Rising Podcast Creators

Apple today announced the launch of Apple Podcasts Spotlight, a new monthly editorial feature that's designed to celebrate rising podcast creators.

podcasts spotlight
The first Podcasts Spotlight creator is Chelsea Devantez, who hosts Celebrity Book Club. In the weekly podcast, Chelsea is joined by co-hosts like Gabourey Sidibe, Ashley Nicole Black, and Lydia Popovic to discuss the memoirs of celebrities like Mariah Carey, Jessica Simpson, and Jennifer Lopez, to provide listeners with new insights into celebrities they thought they knew.

"Apple Podcasts Spotlight helps listeners find some of the world's best shows by shining a light on creators with singular voices," said Ben Cave, Global Head of Business for Apple Podcasts. "Chelsea Devantez has created a fun, vibrant space with Celebrity Book Club for listeners to gain new perspectives on the celebrities we thought we knew. We are delighted to recognize Chelsea and Celebrity Book Club as our first Spotlight selection and look forward to introducing creators like Chelsea to listeners each month."

Apple plans to announce new Spotlight creators on a monthly basis going forward, and the feature will represent a wide range of podcast genres, formats, and locations, with a focus on independent voices. Highlighted podcasts are featured in the "Browse" section of the Podcasts app and are shared by Apple on social media throughout the month.


Apple's Podcasts Spotlight comes following news that Apple is working to develop its own podcast subscription service, which has the potential to lure creators away from competitors with the promise of more money and give Apple more original podcast content.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
john ternus on stage

Gurman: Major Apple Leadership Shakeup Impending With John Ternus as Next CEO

Monday October 6, 2025 6:21 am PDT by
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

Apple Highlights Five Perks for iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage

Monday October 6, 2025 6:29 am PDT by
After launching new iPhones last month, Apple is promoting iCloud+ with a prominent banner on its home page, in a bid to boost its services revenue. In addition to more storage, all iCloud+ plans include five perks for iPhone users. As a refresher, iCloud includes 5GB of storage for free. If you want extra storage, you need to subscribe to an iCloud+ plan. In the United States, prices range...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

Apple Fixes Alarms in iOS 26.1

Monday October 6, 2025 11:56 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26.1, Apple updated the design of alarms set on the iPhone, making them harder to dismiss than before. Stopping an alarm in iOS 26.1 beta 2 requires a new Slide to Stop gesture rather than a simple tap. You can continue to tap to snooze an alarm, but if you want to turn it off entirely, you need to use a swipe. Transitioning from a tap to a slide gesture to...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

iPad Mini 8 on the Way: Expected Features and Release Timeline

Monday October 6, 2025 5:05 am PDT by
A new iPad mini is "absolutely" on the way, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released a year ago? Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to information found in code that Apple mistakenly shared in...

Top Rated Comments

satchmo Avatar
62 months ago
They blew the budget and couldn’t pay someone for a proper logo?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnyb098 Avatar
62 months ago
Now if they could only make a better podcasts app. Still blows my mind that Apple pretty much pioneered podcasts 20 years ago and still has the most mediocre app around.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaSal Avatar
62 months ago
What is Apple’s obsession with (dated and uninteresting) celebrities, honestly?

Nobody listens to podcasts because they wanna listen to J. Lo.

Couldn’t they get creative, interesting and fresh voices that specialize in podcasting for this? You know: like Spotify does.

if this is a preview of their paid podcasting service I’m not interested
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SirChristopher Avatar
62 months ago

They blew the budget and couldn’t pay someone for a proper logo?
I was thinking the exact same thing! What is that scribbled "o" supposed to be? I really don't love Apple's integration "handwritten" text in their marketing materials since the introduction of the Apple Pencil...looks cheap.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hooptyuber Avatar
62 months ago
Think different...and we'll delete you.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applicious84 Avatar
62 months ago

Apple's Podcasts Spotlight comes following news that Apple is working to develop its own podcast subscription service ('https://www.macrumors.com/2021/01/15/apple-podcast-subscription-service/'), which has the potential to lure creators away from competitors with the promise of more money and give Apple more original podcast content.
Ugh, because that's more of what the podcast world needs. Maybe there are better ways to pay creators than subscriptions to cable tv and to network video channels and to music services and to newspapers and to podcasts, etc. I mean when the bills are coming from trillion dollar companies, it's all the more frustrating
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)