Modern Wisdom Podcast Enters Spotify’s Global Top Tier as Williamson Reflects on Six Years of Graft
For most people, the annual Spotify Wrapped is a chance to show off their edgy taste in music, or hide their guilty pleasures away from judging eyes.
For Chris Williamson, this year’s big reveal brought confirmation of a momentous achievement. The online star’s Modern Wisdom Podcast was named the eight biggest in the world, placing it among some of the most revered names in digital audio.
“Thank you so much,” he wrote to fans on Instagram.
“I’ve never worked this hard on anything in my life. The last few years have just been a permanent sprint.
“I’ve done 3 episodes a week for nearly 6 years now. I’ve done it with a snapped Achilles, I’ve done it on no sleep, I’ve done it with a broken heart, I’ve done 4 episodes in a day, I‘ve done it in Hawaii and Guatemala and Sydney.
“There hasn’t been a single bedroom of any house that I’ve lived in for a decade which I haven’t used as a studio.”
Williamson revealed he started the Modern Wisdom Podcast in his old office in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2018, armed with a single Blue Yeti USB microphone and an iPhone.
In just a few short years, his conversations with health and fitness experts, leading entrepreneurs and cultural icons have been downloaded over 1 billion times.
At the time of writing, the Modern Wisdom Podcast is on episode number 1,030. This year alone, Williamson has recorded with Alain de Botton, Naval Ravikant, and Matthew McConaughey on the set of Interstellar for the millennium episode.
He’s also hosted Alex Hormozi for the fifth time, held a third chat with Mr. Olympia legend Chris Bumstead, post-retirement, and appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience twice.
All of those incredible feats have been achieved without outside investment, network support, or forking out money to bring a guest on the show, he says.
“It’s been so epic,” Williamson continued. “That being said, holy sh*t 2025 has been hard. It’s been the toughest 12 months of my life.
“I know it’s cool to make everything look effortless and like you’re never shaken up, but honestly my n*ts have been kicked so many times that they’re two dimensional now.
“Holding all of this together hasn’t felt easy but I’m really proud that I did. The private victories are just as meaningful as the public ones.
“Modern Wisdom is unbelievably personal to me. It’s a thinly veiled autobiography masquerading as a podcast.
“More importantly I genuinely think these conversations make the world a better place. They make people feel less alone and teach them what really matters in life.
“I don’t always have answers but I think I consistently ask the right questions to people who might do. Doing this has made me a better person, and I hope it’s done the same for you too.”
Thankfully for fans of the Modern Wisdom Podcast, Williamson, who co-founded the nootropics brand Neutonic alongside James Smith, promised 2026 will be his biggest yet.
“I’m not stopping,” he concluded.
The Joe Rogan Experience topped Spotify’s global rankings, closely followed by Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO.
There were also spots for The Tucker Carlson Show, This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy, and The Mel Robbins Podcast.
SEE ALSO: Chris Williamson Age, Height & Weight
