In the most anticipated movie opening week of the year, and in the battle for the box office, it may be Barbie that has the lead – but it’s Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer that’s being talked about more by podcast hosts and guests. Podchaser – the podcast industry’s intelligence engine – used its analytical tools across the podcasting industry to answer the hottest debate in entertainment of summer 2023.

Using Podchaser data, they found that Oppenheimer was mentioned 4,020 times in the week surrounding opening weekend (July 15th-22nd), compared to 3,021 mentions of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. Podchaser transcribed the top 5,000 English-language podcasts and tracked ALL podcast episodes that included ‘Barbie’ or ‘Oppenheimer’ in the episode title or description.

Dave Keine, Chief Product Officer at Podchaser, said: “Podcasts are a real barometer of the cultural zeitgeist. Everyone has seen the incredible marketing efforts of the Barbie team. Still, it’s Oppenheimer that seems to be getting podcasters talking. One reason for this may be that Oppenheimer – as a biopic and related to real-life events – can penetrate more genres of the podcast, from history to science and even technology alongside entertainment and culture podcasts.”

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