| The Diary of a CEO | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Talk |
| Format |
|
| Language | English |
| Cast and voices | |
| Hosted by | Steven Bartlett |
| Production | |
| Production | Steven Bartlett (2017–present) |
| Length | 1–2+ hours [1] |
| Technical specifications | |
| Video format | YouTube |
| Audio format | Podcast (via streaming or downloadable MP3) |
| Publication | |
| No. of episodes | 728 (as of September 3, 2025) [2] |
| Original release | September 29, 2017 |
| Provider | Flight Studio |
| Related | |
| Website | stevenbartlett |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Subscribers | 12.1 million |
| Views | 850 million |
| Last updated: July 19, 2025 | |
The Diary of a CEO is a podcast hosted and produced by British entrepreneur and investor Steven Bartlett. The first episode was released on September 29, 2017. The first interview for the podcast was with fellow CEO Mark Stringer, and Bartlett has since gone on to interview an array of guests. The Diary of a CEO is one of the world's most popular podcasts, regularly receiving millions of views per episode, and topping podcast charts, [3] ranking No. 5 in the Spotify list of most popular podcasts globally in 2024. [4]
The first episode of The Diary of a CEO was released in 2017 and was presented as the first chapter of Bartlett's diary in which he discussed what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Bartlett continued to discuss his own experience for the first five episodes. [5] The first episode in which Bartlett interviewed a guest was the sixth episode, with Mark Stringer, a CEO for a web and design based agency AHOY. Since then, episodes of the podcast commonly follow the format of interviews with celebrities, businessmen and businesswomen, entrepreneurs, actors and politicians.
The podcast is recorded for audio format but is also filmed and uploaded to YouTube. [6]
In August 2021, Steven Bartlett revealed that he made $1.2 million a year from The Diary of a CEO, and Bartlett stated at the time that his "three key sponsors and other sponsors pay varying fees depending". [7]
In 2024, Steven Bartlett became co-founder and Chairman of podcast media and technology company Flight Studio, and Flight Studio became the network for The Diary of a CEO. [8]
The Diary of a CEO started touring live shows in 2021, the first event was hosted in Manchester at the Albert Hall on July 28, 2021. [9]
In 2022, The Diary of a CEO reached over 10 million downloads in one month, for the first time, and its top three episodes that year all exceeded 3 million downloads. [10] According to Chartable, The Diary of a CEO was the UK's most downloaded podcast on all audio platforms in 2022. [10] According to Edison Podcast Metrics, The Diary of a CEO is the biggest podcast in the UK. [11] The podcast has become the first UK podcast to reach one billion views and listens (across Apple, Spotify and YouTube). [12] [13] The Diary of a CEO was included in the top 5 podcasts globally on Spotify in 2024. [4]
Sarah Manavis for the New Statesman has been critical of The Diary of a CEO, and writes, citing Bartlett's interview with influencer Molly-Mae Hague, that "he was more interested in sharing his own thoughts than listening to hers." [14] In a review for The British Psychological Society magazine The Psychologist in 2022, Imogen Keites is positive and says "Steven explores people's lives in a human way" and writes it is "a podcast about the human mind." [15] The Telegraph said it was "formulaic" but a "stone cold smash." [16]
The Telegraph awarded the show 2/5 stars when it was performed at the London Palladium in 2022 stating "Bartlett hands down well-worn wisdom – work-life balance is tough, relationships need good communication – with the portentousness of Moses unveiling the stone tablets." [17]
In an article for The Times in 2023, James Marriott gave the podcast 2/5 stars and said "The Diary of a CEO is probably best described as a self-help show; encouraging, motivational, vaguely businessy" and wrote "[...] there's also a lot of unearned self-seriousness, a surfeit of platitudes and banal introspection." [18] In a mixed review for The Guardian in 2022, Miranda Sawyer criticised Bartlett's hosting style saying his "manner is superior, as though he, and only he, understands the real truth" but also writing that "each interviewee is immensely happy to be there and willing to spill whatever beans are needed." [19] Sawyer later wrote in a 2023 review for The Guardian that The Diary of a CEO is "a high-class one, hosted by a superb interviewer – but the flimsy format means it's occasionally wobbly." [20]
Wired included The Diary of a CEO on their list of the best podcasts of 2025, describing it as initiating "sprawling discussions." [21] In June 2025, The Times reported that The Diary of a CEO is the fastest growing podcast in the world, adding 300,000 - 500,000 new subscribers per month. [22] [23]
The New Statesman gave a negative review of The Diary of a CEO with Clive Martin labelling Bartlett's style as "bland" and "pseudo-motivational" and said the podcast is a "fascinating exercise in bluff." [24]
The Diary of a CEO has been subject to criticism for sharing health misinformation. [25] [26] In 2024, the BBC World Service investigated these claims, citing an episode in which Bartlett interviewed Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist accused of spreading misinformation in opposition to COVID-19 vaccines and criticising Bartlett for not challenging Malhotra and for using clickbait titles related to health. [25]
It was also criticised when it hosted Chris Williamson in 2025 who directly criticised the TikTok influencer, 'The Girl With The List'. Williamson said: “I certainly think that there is a anti-family message that comes about, that there's a girl with the list on TikTok, which I think is this girl who wrote 350 reasons to not have kids.” [27] It was met with substantive coverage from publications which included the Cut [28] Newsweek [29] Fortune [30] and Yahoo News [31] .
In 2026, the podcast caused global outrage according to Grazia magazine [32] , when Steven interviewed the psychiatrist Alok Kanojia in 2025 and said: "“Why is, you know, in the short term, we're going to have a lot of men who are disillusioned that become incels, find themselves in pockets of the internet, are resentful, all those kinds of things. But should society intervene to course correct that? Should we put systems in place to make sure that those men meet partners?” [33] The clip resurfeced in 2026 which drew attenion across social media and was reported by the Times on Instagram. [34]
In response to the episode, Dr Ján Michalko, Research Fellow in the Gender Equality & Social Inclusion team at ODI Global think tank spoke to the Metro and said: "It is important that all influencers and content creators who have millions of followers consider carefully the material they put on social media. Platforming ideas that undermine women’s autonomy and rights, even if they come from the words of other people, does have an impact because they reach millions of people, including men who are looking for guidance about what it means to be a successful man in this day and age." [35]
The Diary of a CEO has been accused of platforming misleading claims about the possibility of dietary changes reversing polycystic ovarian syndrome and autism as well as labelling evidence-based medication as either toxic to some patients or downplaying the success of widely-accepted pharmaceutical treatments. [36] [37]
| Award | Date | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Podcast Award | 2021 | Best Business Podcast | The Diary of a CEO | silver | [38] |
| iHeart Podcast Awards | 2025 | Best International Podcast | The Diary of a CEO | Won | [39] |
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