JULIA GAITHO’S ‘SO THIS IS LOVE’ PODCAST DOMINATES STREAMING CHARTS IN KENYA

Thanks to rising smartphone adoption and increasingly affordable connectivity, podcasts have seen significant growth in Kenya and are playing an increasingly important role in the lives of many people. Podcasts  have laid bare candid conversations and exposed fascinating stories and can be said to have changed the flavour of everyday life.

The passion for the podcasting medium exhibited by Kenyan creatives has also contributed to its success. This is the case not just in Kenya, but across Africa and the world in general where podcasts have become constant companions.

2023 has seen a massive growth in the popularity of Kenyan podcasts on Spotify. Here are just some of the trends that Spotify Wrapped year-end roundup reveals about the Kenyan listenership’s favorites.

Top of the streamed list is: So This Is Love which is a podcast about love, the loss of love, heartbreak and the meeting of self. Julia Gaitho invites different guests to share their experiences in past relationships, either anonymously or with their real identities. 

Kenya’s second most listened-to podcast is The Messy Inbetween, an  award winning podcast hosted by Murugi Munyi and Lydia K.M who say that theirs is a podcast about “life as it is. Messy. In love, work, money, relationships, friendships and everything in between.” 

It’s Related I Promise which is described as “a sonic escape into the world of three diverse Kenyan women” is the third most streamed podcast in Kenya, and also most exported. Julia Gaitho and Sharon Machira are young professionals, braving the urban landscape of Kenya’s capital city and growing their friendship along the way, and they have a rotating host. 

The Sandwich Podcast, hosted by four friends, are in the top ten most streamed podcasts in Kenya. Also in the most exported podcasts is  The Mics Are Open, a slightly skewed look at life through the lens of a group of radio presenters in Nairobi, also considered part of the Breakout Creators of 2023 by Spotify. 

The97sPodcast, just as the name suggests, are a three men army, who are 97s kid, and are the eighth most streamed podcast in Kenya. Trevor, Frank and Dante discuss their life experiences in a humorous way. 

Kenyan podcasters are not resting on their laurels, that’s why there are a lot more Breakout Creators of 2023 including Ben Cyco and Wanjiru Njiru’s The Joyride, Maxine Wabosha’s A Letter to My Younger Selfwhere she invites her guests to write letters to their younger selves, Mantalk by Eli Mwenda and Oscar Koome, Unspoken Podcast and Mic Cheque.