Ambies
In-game article clicks load inline without leaving the challenge.
The Ambies (or the Awards for Excellence in Audio) are awards for artistic and technical merit in the podcast industry. They are awarded by The Podcast Academy in two overall categories: Show Recognition and Talent Recognition. The winners, who receive a gold statue holding a microphone and wearing headphones, are selected by a vote from Podcast Academy members. The awards and the Podcast Academy were established in 2020 with the inaugural ceremony held on May 16, 2021, hosted by Cameron Esposito.
History
In February 2020, Hernan Lopez at Wondery announced that he and 10 peers had established a new non-profit group called the Podcast Academy. The Podcast Academy is a member-based professional organization for podcasters. It was modeled after other similar institutions in the entertainment industry with the intention of establishing an independent industry award for podcasting, initially called the Golden Mics.
When the Podcast Academy announced plans to hold the first award ceremony amidst the awards season of other entertainment areas, the name was changed to the Awards for Excellence in Audio, nicknamed the Ambies, and award was revealed to be a gold statue holding a microphone and wearing headphones. The term Ambies was derived from ambient sound, which is frequently used in audio recordings, and it has a similar sound to other awards such as the Emmys and Grammys.
Selection process
Nominations are first recommended for consideration within a submission window, and then narrowed down to an official list of nominees for voting. A minimum of three episodes published in the award year are required to be eligible for consideration. From those recommendations, a panel of Podcast Academy members listen to podcasts for a period of time before selecting the nominees for voting in each category. Members of the Podcast Academy are organized into peer groups in order to vote on the winners from the selected nominees, which are announced at the live ceremony.
Statuette
The Ambie statuette is an art deco gold figurine wearing headphones and holding a microphone atop a black base. Its minimalist design is inspired by the Academy Award, in keeping with the Podcast Academy's vision of establishing the Ambies as the "Oscars of podcasting." The statuette is designed and produced by Cristaux International.
2021 Awards
The first annual Ambies occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, and were conducted virtually. The ceremony was livestreamed on May 16, 2021, and was hosted by Cameron Esposito.
Podcasts
| Podcast of the Year Dying for Sex – (winner) Blockbuster: The Story of James Cameron Bunga Bunga Chasing Cosby Detours Dirty Diana For Life: The Podcast Forgotten: Women of Juarez Say Their Name The Happiness Lab | Best Documentary Podcast I'm Not A Monster – (winner) California City Conviction Season 2: American Panic For Life: The Podcast Louder Than a Riot Painkiller: America's Fentanyl Crisis The Edge: Houston Astros |
| Best Interview Podcast Death, Sex & Money – (winner) A Winning Mindset: Lessons From The Paralympics Asian Enough Back from Broken More With Anna Maria Tremonti The Frontline Dispatch Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller | Best Comedy Podcast Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend – (winner) Culture Kings Don't Ask Tig Groceries How Did This Get Made? The Breakfast Club Threedom |
| Best News Podcast Today, Explained – (winner) Do No Harm Post Reports Suspicious Activity: Inside the FinCEN Files The Journal Vice News Reports What Next | Best Sports Podcast Whistleblower – (winner) 17 Weeks Drafted Sports Uncovered The Cam Chronicles The Edge: Houston Astros The Lead |
| Best True Crime Podcast Dr. Death Season 2: Dr. Fata – (winner) Brainwashed/Uncover Chasing Cosby I'm Not A Monster Somebody Supernatural with Ashley Flowers The Messenger | Best Business Podcast The Heist – (winner) An Arm and a Leg Brought to You by... Go For Broke Masters of Scale Teamistry Women at Work |
| Best Fiction Podcast Blood Ties – Season 2 – (winner) Asking For It Dem Times Dirty Diana Frozen Frights: Aurora Borealis “Vacant” The Left Right Game The Two Princes | Best History Podcast Driving the Green Book – (winner) American History Tellers American Scandal Detours Slow Burn Unfinished: Deep South Very Presidential with Ashley Flowers |
| Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast Short Wave – (winner) American Innovations Brave New Planet How to Save a Planet In Machines We Trust Tai Asks Why Unlocking Bryson's Brain | Best Society and Culture Podcast Code Switch – (winner) Ear Hustle Heavyweight Into America Latino USA Resistance You and Me Both with Hillary Clinton |
| Best Politics or Opinion Podcast Gaining Ground: The New Georgia – (winner) Burn the Boats Our Nation of Immigrants Politically Re-Active The Dan Bongino Show The NPR Politics Podcast Winning Wisconsin | Best Entertainment Podcast Even the Rich – (winner) Dissect For Life: The Podcast Office Ladies Prime Video Presents The First One The Plot Thickens |
| Best Personal Growth/Spirituality Podcast On Being with Krista Tippett – (winner) Borne the Battle Dare to Lead with Brené Brown Dear Therapists Hey Spirit! Meditative Story Stay Calm with Bob Roth | Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast Therapy for Black Girls – (winner) Adult ISH Dying for Sex Last Day Season 2 The Happiness Lab We Got You Where Should We Begin? |
Podcasters and Talent
| Best Podcast Host Wind of Change – Patrick Radden Keefe – (winner) Amicus Presents: The Class of RBG – Dahlia Lithwick Back Issue – Josh Gwynn, Tracy Clayton Bunga Bunga – Whitney Cummings Mobituaries: Anna May Wong (Death of a Trailblazer) – Mo Rocca Revisionist History – Malcolm Gladwell Science Vs – Wendy Zukerman | Best Reporting Wind of Change – Patrick Radden Keefe – (winner) Fiasco: Iran-Contra – Leon Neyfakh I'm Not A Monster – Josh Baker Planet Money – Sarah Gonzalez, Kenny Malone, Jacob Goldstein, Robert Smith, Amanda Aroncyzk, Karen Duffin, Mary Childs Reveal – Shoshana Walter, Laura Starecheski, Ike Srikandarajah The Take – Malika Bilal, Stefanie Dekker, Safwat al-Kahlout Unfinished: Short Creek – Sarah Ventre, Ash Sanders |
| Best Scriptwriting, Fiction Dirty Diana – Shana Feste, Jen Besser – (winner) Appearances – Sharon Mashihi Dem Times – Rhys Reed-Johnson, Jacob Roberts-Mensah Looking For Latoya – Amy Aniobi, Chris Sanford, Kindsey Young Make It Up As We Go – David Hudgins, Brooks Hudgins National Geographic Kids Greeking Out – Kenny Curtis, Jillian Hughes, Emily Everhart The Left Right Game – Jack Anderson | Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction Wind of Change – Patrick Radden Keefe – (winner) And Nothing Less – Robin Linn Heavyweight – Jonathan Goldstein, Kalila Holt, Stevie Lane Masters of Scale – WaitWhat Team, Adam Skuse, Katie Clark Gray Resistance – Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr. Suspicious Activity: Inside the FinCEN Files – Jonathan Menjivar, Jenelle Pifer, Joel Lovell Whistleblower – Tim Livingston |
| Best Production and Sound Design The Left Right Game – Ryan Walsh, Matt Yocum, Will Files, Ryan Sullivan – (winner) Canary: The Washington Post Investigates – Bishop Sand Conviction: American Panic – Matthew Boll Dirty Diana – Millie Iatrou, Ryan Walsh, Katie Halliday, Justin Davey, Matt Yocum & Ben Michev, Neely Oeftering Unfinished: Short Creek – John DeLore Where is George Gibney? – Ger McDonnell Wind of Change – Henry Molofsky | Best Original Score and Music Supervision Jacked: Rise of New Jack Sound – Marcelino Villalpando – (winner) Bunga Bunga – Scott Velasquez, Jeff Schmidt Dead and Gone – Makeup And Vanity Set Revisionist History – Luis Guerra Throughline – Ramtin Arablouei, Drop Electric, Hania Rani Treasure Island 2020 – Chris Tarry, Jennifer Rowekamp The Two Princes – Score: Greg Laswell; Theme and additional scoring by Bobby Lord; Music Supervision: Jonathon Roberts |
| Best Performer in Audio Fiction The Left Right Game – Tessa Thompson – (winner) Dust, Season 3: Chrysalis – Corey Hawkins Hank the Cowdog – Matthew McConaughey Light House – Aly Trasher National Geographic Kids Greeking Out – Kenny Curtis, Tori Kerr The Two Princes – Noah Galvin, Ari'el Stachel, Samira Wiley, Gideon Glick, Wesley Taylor, Alfredo Narciso, Mandi Masden, CJ Wilson, Michelle Gomez We Are Not Alone – Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg | Governors Award WTF with Marc Maron – Marc Maron, Brendan McDonald |
2022 Awards
The second annual Ambies were held at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles on May 22, 2022, and hosted by Ross Matthews and Nikki Boyer. The category "Best Indie Podcast" was also introduced, to recognize shows that were not commissioned by a major network or studio.
Podcasts
| Podcast of the Year 9/12 – (winner) A Slight Change of Plans Alligator Candy Believe Her Bill Simmons Podcast Earth Eclipsed False Idol Have You Heard George's Podcast? Hooked The Imperfection | Best Documentary Podcast Stay Away From Matthew MaGill – (winner) AMERICAN VETERAN: Unforgettable Stories CBC Podcasts: Life Jolt Embedded Fiasco: Benghazi On Our Watch Post Reports |
| Best Interview Podcast 70 over 70 – (winner) Billie Was a Black Woman I WEIGH Jemele Hill is Unbothered Profoundly Pointless The Problem With Jon Stewart Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller | Best Comedy Podcast How Did This Get Made? – (winner) Best Friends Nosy Neighbors The Daily Show With Trevor Noah: Ears Edition The Sarah Silverman Podcast Wait Wait Don't Tell Me Why Won't You Date Me With Nicole Byer |
| Best News Podcast Up First – (winner) 60 Minutes Consider This Post Reports Start Here The Journal The Times | Best Sports Podcast Up First – (winner) 60 Minutes Consider This Post Reports Start Here The Journal The Times |
| Best True Crime Podcast Suspect – (winner) Believe Her Confronting: Columbine Criminal Do You Know Mordechai? Firebug Over My Dead Body: Fox Lake | Best Business Podcast Business Wars – (winner) An Arm and a Leg Masters of Scale Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin Planet Money The Indicator from Planet Money The McKinsey Podcast |
| Best Fiction Podcast Tejana – (winner) Black Box Orphan Black: The Next Chapter Princess of South Beach The Miseducation of John Mark The Zip Code Plays: Los Angeles Treat | Best History Podcast Slow Burn: The L.A. Riots – (winner) Black Cowboys Human Resources Making Gay History — The Podcast | Season 9: “Coming of Age During the AIDS Crisis” Mogul Telling Our Twisted Histories Throughline |
| Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast Overheard at National Geographic – (winner) Dope Labs Music Blocks Road to Resilience Ted Radio Hour The Extortion Economy Twenty Thousand Hertz | Best Society and Culture Podcast Billie Was a Black Woman – (winner) Cheat! Ear Hustle Heavyweight Higher Learning With Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay Into America Storytime With Seth Rogen |
| Best Politics or Opinion Podcast Billie Was a Black Woman – (winner) Can He Do That? Pod Save the World Post Reports Skullduggery Stay Tuned With Preet The Messenger | Best Entertainment Podcast Back Issue – (winner) Even the Rich New Rory & MAL Song Exploder The Boys: The Official Podcast The Friendship Onion The Plot Thickens |
| Best Personal Growth/Spirituality Podcast Life Kit – (winner) Great Grief Making Space With Hoda Kotb Meditative Story Money Moves With Toni Tone SOL Affirmations With Karega and Felicia The Happiness Lab | Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast On Purpose With Jay Shetty – (winner) Call Your Grandmother Lovers and Friends With Shan Boodram Making Space With Hoda Kotb My Body, My Podcast Really Good Shares We Can Do Hard Things |
| Best Podcast for Kids Music Blocks – (winner) African Folktales With Miss Jo Jo Imagine This Nice to Meet You Operation Ouch! The Podcast of Everything The Big Fib The Vivo Songbook | Best Indie Podcast An Arm and a Leg – (winner) AFTERSHOCK Because I Said So! Earth Eclipsed FOR BLOOD OR JUSTICE Walzon Prime What Happened in Skinner |
Podcasters and Talent
| Best Podcast Host It's Been a Minute With Sam Sanders – Sam Sanders – (winner) Crime Show – Emma Courtland Human Resources – Moya Lothian-McLean Jemele Hill Is Unbothered – Jemele Hill King of The World: An American Muslim Story – Shahjehan Khan Revisionist History – Malcolm Gladwell Why Won't You Date Me With Nicole Byer – Nicole Byer | Best Reporting 9/12 – (winner) Stolen: The Search for Jermain Un(re)solved The Turning: The Sisters Who Left 544 Days Believe Her Post Reports |
| Best Scriptwriting, Fiction Soft Voice – James Bloor – (winner) Edith! – Gonzalo Cordova, Travis Helwig Hit Job – Broadway Video The Burned Photo – Nicole Exposito, Jeremy Novick, Kwynn Perry The Imperfection – Alexander Kemp The Lamb – Tad Safran We Stay Looking – Kindsey Young, Chris Sanford, Phylicia Mpasi | Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction Have You Heard George's Podcast? – George the Poet – (winner) Death at the Wing – Brian Steele, Adam Mckay, Raghu Manavalan, Jody Avigan HiberNation – Mallika Rao Radiotopia Presents: S***hole Country – Afia Kaakyire Southlake – Antonia Hylton, Mike Hixenbaugh, Frannie Kelley, Reid Cherlin, Julie Shapiro, Michelle Garcia Storytime with Seth Rogen – Seth Rogen, Richard Parks III, Frida Perez Throughline – Rund Abdelfatah, Ramtin Arablouei, Julie Caine, Laine Kaplan-Levenson |
| Best Production and Sound Design Billie Was a Black Woman – (winner) Can He Do That? Pod Save the World Post Reports Skullduggery Stay Tuned With Preet The Messenger | Best Original Score and Music Supervision 9/12 – (winner) Have You Heard George's Podcast? The Duolingo French Podcast Operation Midnight Climax Carcerem Great Grief Gravity |
| Best Performer in Audio Fiction Edith! – Rosamund Pike – (winner) Aftershock – David Harbour Date With Daddy – Marisa Grant Melon's House Party – Parvesh Cheena & Jessica McKenna Passenger List – Kelly Marie Tran Radio Rental – Rainn Wilson We Stay Looking – Full Cast Including: Terri J. Vaughn, Karrueche Tran, Marsai Martin, Kandi Burruss, Amin Joseph, Desi Banks, Kyla Pratt, Jason Weaver, Kev On Stage, Kway, Karlous Miller, Tristen Winger, Max Greenfield and more. | Governors Award Serial |
2023 Awards
The third annual Ambies were held at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort on March 7, 2023, and hosted by Larry Wilmore.
Podcasts
| Podcast of the Year Chameleon: Wild Boys – (winner) Design Matters With Debbie Millman Direct Deposit Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis Gay Pride & Prejudice Moriarty Pink Card Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley The Outlaw Ocean Podcast The Prince | Best Documentary Podcast Bone Valley – (winner) Collapse: Disaster in Surfside Finding Tamika I Will Not Grow Old Here Imperfect Paradise: The Forgotten Revolutionary The Greatest Menace: Inside the Gay Prison Experiment We Were Three |
| Best Interview Podcast The Assignment With Audie Cornish – (winner) 9 to 5ish With theSkimm Design Matters With Debbie Millman Direct Deposit Rethinking The Lede Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast | Best Comedy Podcast Why Won't You Date Me? With Nicole Byer – (winner) Funny Cuz It's True I Love a Lifetime Movie Scam Goddess Summer In Argyle The Fckry With Leslie Jones and Lenny Marcus Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! |
| Best News Podcast What Next – (winner) Collapse: Disaster in Surfside Foundering: The Amazon Story Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff Post Reports Ukrainecast Vice News Reports | Best Sports Podcast The Lead – (winner) Choosing Sides: F1 Deep Left Field With Mike Wilner Pink Card Sports History This Week The Longest Game Torched |
| Best True Crime Podcast Up and Vanished- The Trial of Ryan Duke – (winner) Conviction: The Disappearance of Nuseiba Hasan Dateline: Missing in America Death of an Artist Queen of the Con The Paddlefish Caviar Heist Wrongful Conviction | Best Business Podcast Business Wars – (winner) An Arm and a Leg Lead Balloon – Public Relations, Marketing and Strategic Communications Stories The Heist Season 2: The Wealth Vortex The New Way We Work, featuring 4-part Ambition Diaries miniseries What's Your Problem? With Jacob Goldstein Work Check |
| Best Fiction Podcast Last Known Position – (winner) Birds of Empire Bone, Marry, Bury Jane Anonymous Moriarty Newts! The Big Lie | Best History Podcast Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade – (winner) Against the Odds Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis History Daily One Year: 1986 Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley Snafu With Ed Helms |
| Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast TED Radio Hour – (winner) Climate of Change In Machines We Trust IRL: Online Life Is Real Life Threshold Unexplainable Why It Matters | Best Society and Culture Podcast Ídolo: The Ballad of Chalino Sánchez – (winner) Fiasco: The AIDS Crisis In Those Genes Into America Love Right Now The Sum of Us Truth Be Told |
| Best Politics or Opinion Podcast Strict Scrutiny – (winner) Crossing the Line It's Political With Althia Raj Post Reports Teaching Texas The Prince The State of: Women | Best Entertainment Podcast Scamfluencers – (winner) Even the Rich MUBI Podcast Object of Sound Pop Paranormal Queue Points Reality With The King |
| Best Personal Growth/Spirituality Podcast A Slight Change of Plans – (winner) Allyship Is a Verb Back From Broken How God Works How to Be a Better Human In the Arena With Leah Smart The Mel Robbins Podcast | Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast Come as You Are – (winner) Are You Sleeping? Back From Broken Chiquis and Chill Dear Headspace Navigating Narcissism Room 5 |
| Best DIY Podcast Queer News – (winner) Allyship Is a Verb Poetry for All Proud Stutter Stitch Please Teddy Goes to the USSR They Knew Which Way to Run | Best Indie Podcast Blind Landing – (winner) Ghosthoney's Dream Machine Imaginary Worlds In Those Genes Inner West Icons SOL Affirmations With Karega & Felicia The Nocturnists |
| Best Podcast for Kids Tai Asks Why – (winner) A Kids Book About: The Podcast Forever Ago Million Bazillion Pinkalicious & Peterrific Smash Boom Best The Arthur Podcast |
Podcasters and Talent
| Best Podcast Host Leah Wright Rigueur – Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till-Mobley – (winner) Anderson Cooper – All There Is With Anderson Cooper Casey Wilson – Fed Up Chad Sanders – Direct Deposit Gilbert King, Kelsey Decker – Bone Valley Heather McGhee – The Sum of Us JB Smoove – Funny My Way | Best Reporting Bone Valley – Gilbert King, Kelsey Decker – (winner) Chameleon: Scam Likely – Yudhijit Bhattacharjee Conviction: The Disappearance of Nuseiba Hasan – Habiba Nosheen Taking on Putin – John Sweeney The Greatest Menace: Inside the Gay Prison Experiment – Patrick Abboud The Outlaw Ocean Podcast – Ian Urbina Who Killed Daphne? – Stephen Grey |
| Best Scriptwriting, Fiction I Hear Fear – Jenny Deiker Restivo, Nathalie Chicha – (winner) American Hostage – C.D. Carpenter Impact Winter – Travis Beacham Last Known Position – Luke Passmore Power Trip – Mary Hamilton, Cara Horner The End Up – Will Weggel, Danny Luber Story Pirates – Minhdzuy Khorami, Mike Cabellon, Meghan O’Neill, Peter McNerney, Lee Overtree, Rachel Wenitsky, Ned Risele | Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction Ídolo: The Ballad of Chalino Sánchez – Erick Galindo, Alejandro Mendoza – (winner) 12 Years That Shook the World – Erin Harper Chameleon: Wild Boys – Sam Mullins Death of an Artist – Helen Molesworth Into America – Trymaine Lee, Aisha Turner, Isabel Angell, Max Jacobs, Josh Sirotiak MUBI Podcast – Rico Gagliano We Were Three – Nancy Updike |
| Best Production and Sound Design Twenty Thousand Hertz – Jai Berger – (winner) Batman: The Audio Adventures – Chris Gibney, Julie Larson Birds of Empire – Randy Torres, Ben Milchev, Ryan Walsh, David Tatasciore, Gabe Burch Cupid – Randy Torres, Ben Milchev, Ryan Walsh, David Tatasciore, Sarah Ma Maejor Frequency – Richard Riegel Marvel's Wastelanders: Doom – Mark Henry Phillips The Big Burn – E. Scott Kelly | Best Original Score and Music Supervision Disgraceland – Jake Brennan, Matt Beaudoin, Ryan Spraker, Bryce Kanzer – (winner) Culpable Podcast – Dirt Poor Robins, Dayton Cole Fed Up – Scott Velasquez Gay Pride & Prejudice – Chris Ryan, Jonathon Roberts, Liz Fulton Kabul Falling – Arson Fahim Last Known Position – Deron Johnson, David Levita Spark & Fire – Ryan Holladay, Hil Jaeger |
| Best Performer in Audio Fiction Borrasca (Season 2) – Cole Sprouse, Sarah Yarkin – (winner) #Matter – Amin Joseph Dark Sanctum – Bethany Joy Lenz, Clive Standen, Michael O’Neill Moriarty – Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Phil LaMarr, Lindsay Whisler Outliers – Rory Culkin The Madness of Chartrulean – Aud Andrews Story Pirates – Cecily Strong, Eric Austin | Governors Award Stuff You Should Know – Chuck Bryant, Josh Clark |
2024 Awards
The fourth annual Ambies were held in Los Angeles on March 26, 2024, and hosted by Trixie Mattel.
Podcasts
| Podcast of the Year Slow Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas from Slate – (winner) 50 Years of Hip-Hop from KEXP Can You Dig It?: A Hip-Hop Origin Story Ghost Story Embedded: Taking Cover from NPR Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University from Wondery Ghost Story from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios Next Year in Moscow from The Economist Questlove Supreme from iHeartPodcasts The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop from the Washington Post The Very Worst THing That Could Possibly Happen from Wolf At The Door | Best Documentary Podcast Ghost Story – (winner) Borrowed and Banned Embedded: Taking Cover Fever: The Hunt for Covid's Origin Free From Desire: Asexual in the City of Love King Slime: The Prosecution of Young Thug and YSL Show Burn: Becoming Justice Thomas |
| Best Interview Podcast Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus – (winner) Alexi Lalas' State of the Union Podcast Apple News In Conversation On Purpose with Jay Shetty Questlove Supreme The Skinny Confidential: Him & Her Podcast Your Mama's Kitchen | Best Comedy Podcast How Did This Get Made? – (winner) Bad Dates Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend Let's Make a Rom-Com Lovett or Leave It The Big Flop Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! |
| Best News Podcast Today, Explained – (winner) Odd Lots Queer News Start Here The Decibel Tug of War: Israel-Hamas War Up First | Best Sports Podcast New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce – (winner) All the Smoke Four Years of Heat Heart of the Game Reclaimed: The Forgotten League The Lead The Playcallers |
| Best True Crime Podcast The Girlfriends – (winner) Disappeared: The Bradley Sisters Heinous – An Asian True Crime Podcast Smoke Screen: Just Say You're Sorry The Girl in the Blue Mustang The Vanishing Point Who Killed JFK? | Best Business Podcast Spellcaster: The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried – (winner) Behind the Money Good Bad Billionaire How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz Lever Time with David Sirota Money Stuff NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast |
| Best Fiction Podcast PREVIA: A Tech Heist – (winner) Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance Midnight Burger People Who Knew Me Possession Supreme: The Battle for Roe The Foxes of Hydesville | Best History Podcast Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children – (winner) Hindsight History's Secret Heroes Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal The Africas vs. America This is History: A Dynasty to Die For Untextbooked |
| Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast Darknet Diaries – (winner) Decoder with Nilay Patel In Machines We Trust IRL: Online Life Is Real Life Threshold Unexplainable Why It Matters | Best Society and Culture Podcast Weight For It – (winner) Can You Dig It?: A Hip-Hop Origin Story with Chuck D Dear Alana, Dynamite Doug Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University ROS Presents: Roughhousing The Story Exchange |
| Best Politics or Opinion Podcast The NPR Politics Podcast – (winner) Bad Watchdog National Emergency Next Year in Moscow Post Reports Those Who Can't Teach Anymore We DOn't Talk About Leonard | Best Entertainment Podcast 50 Years of Hip-Hop – (winner) Creative Control Films to Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein HBO's The Last of Us Podcast Movies vs. Capitalism MUBI Podcast Women of Marvel |
| Best Personal Growth/Spirituality Podcast Dear Alana, – (winner) Allyship Is a Verb Back From Broken How God Works How to Be a Better Human In the Arena With Leah Smart The Mel Robbins Podcast | Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast Embodied – (winner) Big Lash Energy Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta It Can't Just Be Me Jillian on Love Life Kit Love Letters |
| Best DIY Podcast STITCH PLEASE – (winner) Allyship Is a Verb Poetry for All Proud Stutter Stitch Please Teddy Goes to the USSR They Knew Which Way to Run | Best Indie Podcast Weight For It – (winner) Abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast BEEF with Bridget Todd Dragoncast Expectant Surfing Corporate The Nocturnists |
| Best Podcast for Kids The Cat In The Hat Cast – (winner) A Kids Book About: The Podcast Forever Ago Million Bazillion Pinkalicious & Peterrific Smash Boom Best The Arthur Podcast |
Podcasters and Talent
| Best Podcast Host or Hosts Martine Powers - The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop (winner) Anderson Cooper – All There is with Anderson Cooper Rachel Maddow and Isaac-Davy Aronson – Rachel Maddow Presents: Deja News Malcom Gladwell – Revisionist History Rose Reid and Nando Vila – Shoot the Messenger Kerry Godliman – Stolen Hearts David Rind – Tug of War: Israel-Hamas War | Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction B.A Parker – Code Switch (winner) Jonathan Menjivar - Classy with Jonathan Menjivar Simon Kent Fung and Laurie Polisky - Dear Alana Laura Beil - Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University Jamie Tarabay and Shawn Wen - Foundering: The John McAfee Story James Peak - The Banksy Story David Hoffman - Who Killed JFK? |
| Best Scriptwriting, Fiction PREVIA: A Tech Heist – (winner) Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance Possession Supreme: The Battle for Roe The Foxes of Hydesville The Hollow | Best Production and Sound Design Ramtin Arablouei, Rund Abdelfatah, Lawrence Wu, and Julie Caine – Throughline (winner) Garrett Tiedemann - Chameleon: Dr. Dante Sarah Ma, Neely Oeftering, Geoffrey Cannock, Jose Varon, Ben Milchev, David Tatasciore - Evergreen Ryan Sweikert and Campside Media - Long Shadow: Rise of the American Far Right Martin Schulz - People Who Knew Me Alex Kemp and Beau Milkis - The Very Worst Thing that Could Possibly Happen Undertow: The Sister |
| Best Reporting Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children – (winner) Embedded: Taking Cover Exposed: Cover-Up at Columbia University Fever: The Hunt for Covid's Origin Smoke Screen: Just Say You're Sorry Spellcaster: The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried The 13th Step | Best Indie Production Weight For It – (winner) Abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast Allyship Is a Verb Dragoncast Expectant Surfing Corporate The Nocturnists |
Special awards
- Governor's Award: **This American Life**
- Podcast Pioneer Award: **Kara Swisher**
2025 Awards
The fifth annual Ambies were held in Chicago on March 31, 2025, and hosted by Tig Notaro. The Podcast Academy also introduced the new category of "Best Spanish Language Narrative Podcast".
Podcasts
| Podcast of the Year Hysterical – (winner) 99% Invisible: Not Built For This Beyond All Repair Cement City Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD Faraway Fire Escape Hot White Heist 2 Throughline | Best Documentary Podcast Tested – (winner) Extrasensory Lost Patients Silence in Sikeston Snap Judgment The Final War Uganda's Hidden Rainbow |
| Best Interview Podcast Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim – (winner) American Masters: Creative Spark Apple News In Conversation Overlooked: Women's Health Can't Wait The Assignment with Audie Cornish The Integrated Schools Podcast Tomorrow's Cure | Best Comedy Podcast Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang – (winner) Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend Hot White Heist 2 Scam Goddess SmartLess We’re Here to Help Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? Joanne McNally Investigates |
| Best News Podcast The Ten News – (winner) The Journal The Take Today, Explained Trump's Trials What Next World Report | Best Sports Podcast Broomgate – (winner) 30 for 30 Podcasts Good Game with Sarah Spain Pablo Torre Finds Out Shadowball: The Rise of the Black Athlete The Raven The Rich Eisen Show |
| Best True Crime Podcast Beyond All Repair – (winner) Fire Escape Lords of Death The Burden The Official Jinx Podcast Who Killed Jennifer Judd? Wrongful Conviction | Best Business Podcast How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz – (winner) Good Bad Billionaire Lever Time with David Sirota Money Stuff NerdWallet's Smart Money Podcast Rapid Response The Best Idea Yet |
| Best Fiction Podcast Tales of Fists & Fireballs – (winner) Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance The Coldest Case The Past Has a Long Memory The Justice The Last City The Seneschal: A Rebel Moon Story Tom Slick: Mystery Hunter | Best History Podcast Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD – (winner) American Experience Presents: Joseph McCarthy Don't Drink the Milk – The curious history of things Hollywood Exiles Into America: Uncounted Millions Tested Throughline |
| Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast 99% Invisible – (winner) Click Here Climate Rising Merging Into Life Short Wave The Wild with Chris Morgan Unexplainable | Best Society and Culture Podcast Inheriting – (winner) Hysterical In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett Mind Your Own with Lupita Nyong’o My Divo Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) Weight For It |
| Best Politics or Opinion Podcast The NPR Politics Podcast – (winner) Autocracy in America Citizen Elon (by the Elon, Inc podcast) Master Plan Vibe Check Vibes Only What Could Go Right? | Best Entertainment Podcast The Wonder of Stevie – (winner) Infamous Lemme Say This Rattled & Shook Scamfluencers Split Screen: Kid Nation The Road to Joni |
| Best Personal Growth/Spirituality Podcast 10% Happier with Dan Harris – (winner) A Fine Mess A Quiet Life in 7 Steps A Slight Change of Plans Anomalie How God Works: The Science Behind Spirituality The TMI Project Story Hour | Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast Therapy for Black Girls – (winner) An Arm and a Leg Overlooked: Women's Health Can't Wait Silence in Sikeston The Midlife Truth Project Untold: The Retreat Why Won't You Date Me? with Nicole Byer |
| Best DIY Podcast abandoned: the All-American Ruins Podcast – (winner) Black Is America Books & Boba Everyday Trans Activism Mind the Force The B* Word The Integrated Schools Podcast | Best Indie Podcast What Happened in Skinner – (winner) Sightings The Insurgence: Sheriffs The Man Who Calculated Death The Nightingale of Iran The People's Recorder The TMI Project Story Hour |
| Best Podcast for Kids Wow in the World – (winner) Culture Kids Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest Historical Records Mysteries About True Histories PJ Library Presents: Beyond the Bookcase Skylar & Bones – Funny Stories For Kids | Best Spanish Language Narrative Podcast HUMO: Murder and Silence in El Salvador – (winner) ¡No Vengan! Greal: El Secreto de las Ocho Llaves Hechos Reales No quieren que sepas Pantallas & Mentiras [Screens & Lies] Pétrea |
Podcasters and Talent
| Best Podcast Host Ronald Young Jr. – Weight For It – (winner) Diallo Riddle and Blake ‘LUXXURY’ Robin – One Song Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach and Amanda Doyle – We Can Do Hard Things Jon Stewart – The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart Rainn Wilson – Radio Rental Sam Sanders – The Sam Sanders Show Wesley Morris – The Wonder of Stevie | Best Reporting Dan Taberski – Hysterical – (winner) Chenjerai Kumanyika – Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD Ken Bensinger and Jessica Garrison – Chameleon: The Michigan Plot Leon Neyfakh and Arielle Pardes – Backfired: Attention Deficit Madeleine Baran, Samara Freemark, Parker Yesko, Natalie Jablonski, Rehman Tungekar, and Namak Khoshnaw – In the Dark Season 3: The Killings in Haditha Nicky Woolf – Fur & Loathing Sarah Holder, Caleb Melby and Polly Mosendz – Big Take | |
| Best Scriptwriting, Fiction Academy – Myha’la – (winner) Don't Listen To This – Anthony Del Col Faraway – Matthew Castellanos and Brett Melnick Give Me Away – Mac Rogers Incoming – David Singer and CK Pahlow Money Gone – Ed Sellek The Best Man's Ghostwriter – Matthew Starr | Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction Reveal – Ashley Cleek and Al Letson – (winner) Cement City – Erin Anderson, Jeanne Marie Laskas, and Michael Benoist Fire Escape – Anna Sussman Killer Psyche – Mary Celenza, Jayda Williams, Julie Berke, Ann Lew, Lisa Ammerman and Candice DeLong Noble – Johnny Kaufman and Shaun Raviv Radio Atlantic: Scripts – Ethan Brooks Track Change – Liz Mak and James Boo | |
| Best Production and Sound Design Michelle Macklem – Girl v. Horse – (winner) Casandra Tinajero and Andrés Bahena – Nocturno: Tales From The Shadows Jeremy S. Bloom – Hot White Heist 2 Kenny Kusiak and George Drabing Hicks – The Confessions of Anthony Raimondi Realm – Narcosis Sagafilm and Skybound Entertainment – Impact Winter Season 3 Ted Bonnitt – Hindsight: The Day Before | Best Original Score and Music Supervision Dan Leone – Ripple – (winner) Daniel Lloyd-Evans, Louis Nanke-Mannell and Toby Matimong – Extrasensory Deron Johnson – Dungeon Masters Jonathan Pfarr, Carson Graham and Bobby Mota – Celebrity Pets Peter Nashel, Ross Hopman, Gio Lobato, Dana Hom, Brad Fischer, Jordan Lieb, Lucas Villemur and Lindsay Dievert – Hammerless: A True Crime Podcast in a Fantasy World Skyler Gerdeman, Martin Lynabel, Nicholas Alexander, Max O’Brien and Caroline Thornham – Kill List Stro Elliot and Eric Gersen – Historical Records | |
| Best Performer in Audio Fiction Caitlin Stasey, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, David Yow, Caroline Morahan, Guinevere Turner, Elizabeth Halpern, Travis Harmon, Brad Griffith, James Bacon, Jameson Cush, Jonathan Shockley and Ayla Glass – The Skies Are Watching – (winner) Bowen Yang, Cynthia Nixon, Shannon Woodward, Jane Lynch, Jesse James Keitel, Sarah Steele, Ian McKellen, Raúl Esparza, Sara Ramírez, Joel Kim Booster, Bianca Del Rio, Cheyenne Jackson, Abbi Jacobson, Stephanie Beatriz, Katya Zamolodchikova, Trixie Mattel, Yvie Oddly, Jane Krakowski, Sandra Oh, and Tony Kushner – Hot White Heist 2 Fredi Bernstein, Cody Wilkins and Dana Domenick – The Box Mikki Hernandez, Toby Meuli, Geri-Nikol Love, Rachel Kylian – Ominous Thrill Ruth Righi – Winnie Taylor's 4th & Inches Sanaa Lathan – The Justice Tisha Campbell – Snoriezzz | Governors Award Ira Glass | |
| Best Indie Podcast Host or Hosts Dallas Taylor – Twenty Thousand Hertz – (winner) Deja Perkins and Purbita Saha – Bring Birds Back Jill Jonassen – The Cost of Extremism Kate McCoy and Kevin Corbett – Horrorwood: True Crime in Tinseltown Lisa Phillips – From Now On Lisa Woolfork – STITCH PLEASE Susan Lambert Hatem and Sharon Johnson – 80s TV Ladies | Impact Award Sam Sanders |