The Podcast Academy, the professional podcast organization, has announced the nominees for its fifth annual Awards for Excellence in Audio (The Ambies). Hosted by comedian Tig Notaro, the Ambies will take place on Monday, March 31 at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago. The ceremony will be livestreamed by Twitch from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. CT.
The ceremony will highlight 199 nominees across 28 categories with winners to be selected by voting members of The Podcast Academy — in addition to a Governors Award. Eligible new members will be able to vote to determine this year’s winners if applications are submitted by Feb. 20. Go to: www.thepodcastacademy.com/join-the-community.
Jon Stewart, Rainn Wilson and Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Wesley Morris are among the nominees for best podcast host or hosts. Bowen Yang, Jane Lynch and Tisha Campbell are among the nominees for best performance in audio fiction.
“As we celebrate the fifth Annual Awards for Excellence in Audio, we are excited to announce this year’s nominees, whose work continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and innovation in the audio space,” Christy Mirabal, chairperson of The Podcast Academy, said in a statement. “This milestone year for the Podcast Academy is a reflection of the incredible growth and creativity within the podcasting community.”
“I’m so excited to host The Podcast Academy’s fifth Annual Awards for Excellence in Audio,” exclaimed Notaro. “It’s like being at the Oscars, only it’s celebrating those of us who are good at talking into a microphone while wearing sweatpants in our closets with pillows on our windows. Take that Meryl. And Meryl, while I have your attention, would you be a guest on my podcast?”
Here are the nominees for The 2025 Ambies in categories most relevant to the music and entertainment industry.
Podcast of the year
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
Hysterical
Throughline
Best podcast host or hosts
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
Ronald Young Jr. – Weight for It
Sam Sanders – The Sam Sanders Show
Wesley Morris – The Wonder of Stevie
Best original score and music supervision
Dan Leone – Ripple
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 production and sound design
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
Michelle Macklem – Girl v. Horse
Realm – Narcosis
Sagafilm and Skybound Entertainment – Impact Winter Season 3
Ted Bonnitt – Hindsight: The Day Before
Best entertainment podcast
Infamous
Lemme Say This
Rattled & Shook
Scamfluencers
Split Screen: Kid Nation
The Road to Joni
The Wonder of Stevie
Best society and culture podcast
Hysterical
In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett
Inheriting
Mind Your Own with Lupita Nyong’o
My Divo
Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)
Weight For It
Best podcast for kids
Culture Kids
Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest
Historical Records
Mysteries About True Histories
PJ Library Presents: Beyond the Bookcase
Skylar & Bones – Funny Stories for Kids!
Wow in the World
Best Spanish language narrative podcast
¡No Vengan!
Greal: El Secreto de las Ocho Llaves
Hechos Reales
HUMO: Murder and Silence in El Salvador
No quieren que sepas
Pantallas & Mentiras [Screens & Lies]
Pétrea
Best sports podcast
30 for 30 Podcasts
Broomgate
Good Game with Sarah Spain
Pablo Torre Finds Out
Shadowball: The Rise of the Black Athlete
The Raven
The Rich Eisen Show
Best comedy podcast
Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Hot White Heist 2
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Scam Goddess
SmartLess
We’re Here to Help
Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? Joanne McNally Investigates
Best indie podcast
Sightings
The Insurgence: Sheriffs
The Man Who Calculated Death
The Nightingale of Iran
The People’s Recorder
The TMI Project Story Hour
What Happened in Skinner
Best indie podcast host or hosts
Dallas Taylor – Twenty Thousand Hertz
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
Best interview podcast
American Masters: Creative Spark
Apple News in Conversation
Overlooked: Women’s Health Can’t Wait
Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim
The Assignment with Audie Cornish
The Integrated Schools Podcast
Tomorrow’s Cure
Best performance in audio fiction
Bowen Yang, Cynthia Nixon, Shannon Woodward, Jane Lynch, Jesse James Keitel, Sarah Steele, Ian McKellen, Raul 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
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
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