Steven Bartlett's podcast, "Diary Of A CEO," is approaching the popularity of Joe Rogan's long-dominant show, according to recent subscriber growth figures.
Between March and June, Bartlett's podcast added 2.8 million subscribers, bringing its total to 18.5 million. In the same period, Joe Rogan's podcast, which has an existing audience of 21 million, experienced minimal growth. Bartlett's production company has employed a strategy of rapidly translating episodes into multiple languages, with Spanish and Russian proving to be the most popular foreign markets.
Bartlett, known for his role as a judge on "Dragons' Den," launched "The Diary Of A CEO" in 2017. He co-founded the social media agency Social Chain in his early twenties and became the youngest investor on "Dragons' Den" in 2021 at the age of 28.
In August 2024, the Advertising Standards Authority banned two Facebook advertisements featuring Bartlett. The ads promoted the meal-replacement brand Huel and the health-testing company Zoe but were found to have omitted material information regarding Bartlett's financial ties to both companies.
Further scrutiny of the podcast came in December of the same year, when a BBC investigation reported that 15 health-related episodes contained an average of 14 claims that were either harmful or scientifically unsupported. More recently, Bartlett faced criticism for his interview with former Love Island contestant Chris Williamson, during which Williamson appeared to blame women's financial independence for declining birth rates without significant challenge from Bartlett.
Bartlett himself also drew ridicule after claiming that drinking three glasses of wine negatively impacted him for the following three days.