The Diary Of A CEO

The Diary Of A CEO (DOAC) is a long-form interview podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett, a British entrepreneur and investor born in 1992 in Botswana. Launched in 2017, the show has grown into Europe's largest podcast, holding the number one position in the United Kingdom for three consecutive years and reaching number two on Spotify Wrapped 2025 globally. DOAC reports 50 million monthly listeners, over one billion total streams, and 12.1 million YouTube subscribers with 850 million views across its video catalog. The show has released 814 episodes.

Host background

Bartlett became the youngest investor on the BBC television series Dragon's Den. He previously founded Social Chain, a social media marketing company, and later established Flight Story (media) and Flight Fund (investment). On the show, he positions himself as a learner asking questions of experts rather than as a subject-matter authority, a framing device that shapes the interview dynamic.

Format and production

Episodes are video-forward, produced primarily for YouTube with simultaneous audio distribution via RSS (Flightcast). Production values are high, with controlled lighting, branded set design, and episode packaging that emphasizes guest credentials ("No.1 expert," "top advisor," "CEO of"). The visual-first approach aligns DOAC with the broader interview format dominance trend and distinguishes it from audio-only shows like The Daily.

Topics

The show covers business and entrepreneurship, self-improvement, science and longevity, and geopolitics. Guest selection reflects this range: founders and CEOs sit alongside therapists, neuroscientists, intelligence analysts, and political figures. The self-improvement content overlaps thematically with The Mel Robbins Podcast, while the geopolitics and security episodes share territory with The Shawn Ryan Show.

Notable guests and viral episodes

Guests have included Tim Ferriss, Daniel Priestley, the CEO of Uber, and Jessie Inchauspe (known as Glucose Goddess). In November 2024, Bartlett released a personal diary episode recorded in the wake of Liam Payne's death, which became one of the show's most-viewed installments. See DOAC: Steven's Personal Diary (Nov 2024).

The show won the iHeartRadio Best International Podcast award in 2025.

Audience and reach

DOAC draws a younger demographic than many comparable interview shows. Its YouTube-native distribution and clip strategy on short-form platforms contribute to discoverability among listeners under 35, a pattern consistent with the younger audience shift trend observed across several top-10 shows.

Guest overlap and connections

DOAC shares a significant guest overlap network with The Joe Rogan Experience, particularly in the domains of health, science, and technology. Both shows compete for the same tier of public intellectuals and founders, though DOAC's framing tends toward aspiration and authority while JRE favors open-ended exploration. Connections also exist with The Shawn Ryan Show on security and military content, and with The Mel Robbins Podcast on self-improvement. Bartlett's trajectory from podcast host to media company founder illustrates the podcast-to-media-empire trend.

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