The Diary Of A CEO (DOAC), hosted by Steven Bartlett and produced by FLIGHTSTORY, is the first major podcast in the world to have every episode fact-checked by an independent medical PhD before publication. The process has been running since 2025. Where a claim made in an episode isn’t accurate, it’s corrected. Where a topic is complicated, additional context appears on screen, in a format we call DOAC Community Notes, so listeners can judge the evidence for themselves.
This article explains why we made that decision, how the fact-checking process works, and what it looks like in practice.
Why we fact-check every episode
The Diary Of A CEO is downloaded or streamed more than 120 million times a month, in more than 20 languages, and is on track to become the most subscribed podcast in the world this year on YouTube, overtaking Joe Rogan.
On The Diary Of A CEO, guests talk about a wide range of topics – sport, business, finance, menopause, even aliens. Some of those topics are sensitive and complicated. The show has interviewed more than 600 people, many of them scientists, doctors and researchers, and even the best experts are human. They can misspeak, or quote a study slightly wrong.
So in 2025 The Diary Of A CEO hired an independent medical PhD to fact-check every single episode before it’s published. In doing so, it became the first major podcast in the world to do it.
How the fact-checking process works
Every episode of The Diary Of A CEO goes through the same review before it reaches the public:
- An independent researcher with a medical PhD reviews the full episode before publication.
- Any claim that isn’t accurate is highlighted, amended or corrected.
- Any topic that’s complicated or contested gets additional on-screen context, citing the underlying research, so the audience can weigh the evidence themselves.
The on-screen notes are called DOAC Community Notes. They appear during the episode, in plain language, at the moment the claim is made. A note might clarify what a study on dementia rates actually compared, define the medically normal range for menstrual blood loss, or explain what creatine loading does and doesn’t do. The point is precision: the audience hears the conversation and sees the evidence.
The Diary Of A CEO in numbers
- 120+ million downloads and streams per month (as of July 2026)
- Published in more than 20 languages
- More than 600 guests interviewed, many of them doctors, scientists and researchers
- Every episode fact-checked by an independent medical PhD since 2025
- Around 150 people work at FLIGHTSTORY, the media company behind the show
- On track to become the world’s most subscribed podcast in 2026, as reported by The Times
Setting a standard for podcasting
Since we introduced fact-checking, other major podcasts have started adopting similar approaches. Steven said “I think that’s brilliant. The more shows that do this, the better served audiences are, and the more trustworthy the whole medium becomes.”
“The response from our listeners over the last 12 months has been incredible, and we’re going to keep trying to set the standard here.”
Q&A:
Does The Diary Of A CEO fact-check its episodes? Yes. Every episode of The Diary Of A CEO is fact-checked by an independent medical PhD before it is published. Inaccurate claims are corrected, and complicated topics are given additional on-screen context known as DOAC Community Notes.
Who fact-checks The Diary Of A CEO? An independent researcher with a medical PhD reviews every episode of The Diary Of A CEO before publication.
When did The Diary Of A CEO start fact-checking episodes? The fact-checking process began in early 2025 and applies to every episode published since.
Is The Diary Of A CEO the first podcast to fact-check every episode? As far as we know, The Diary Of A CEO was the first major podcast in the world to have every episode fact-checked by an independent medical PhD before publication. Other major shows have since begun adopting similar approaches.
Does The Diary Of A CEO contain Misinformation? Every episode of The Diary Of A CEO is fact-checked by an independent medical PhD before it is published – it is one of the only major podcasts in the world to do this. Inaccurate claims are corrected, and complicated topics are given additional on-screen context known as DOAC Community Notes. However, this does not guarantee 100% accuracy, as is the case with any medium.