4th Annual Event Celebrating the Best in Podcasting Adds Two New Categories ‘Podcast to Watch’ and ‘Best International Podcast’

Podcast of the Year Nominees include “Code Switch,” “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Crime Junkie,” “Louder Than a Riot,” “Office Ladies,” “SmartLess,” “Stuff You Should Know,” “The Daily,” “The Midnight Miracle” and “You’re Wrong About”

NEW YORK – October 13, 2021 – iHeartMedia, the No. 1 podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, today announced the live return of the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards and the 2022 nominees. The Awards ceremony will take place on January 13, 2022 at the iHeartRadio Theater Los Angeles and will honor the very best in podcasting throughout 2021, celebrating the most innovative talent and content creators in the industry. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the podcast industry saw a record number of podcasts being created and listened to, continuing to push the industry forward with more than 160 million people having listened to a podcast this year alone.

Each year, podcast fans themselves decide the winner of the coveted Podcast of the Year award by socially voting on Twitter. This year’s nominees include “Code Switch,” “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Crime Junkie,” “Louder Than a Riot,” “Office Ladies,” “SmartLess,” “Stuff You Should Know,” “The Daily,” “The Midnight Miracle” and “You’re Wrong About.” Voting will begin December 13 and run through January 2, 2022. More information can be found at iHeart.com/podcast-awards.

Nominees in other categories include podcasts from all creators, distributors and platforms with a judging panel composed of blue-ribbon podcast industry leaders, creatives and visionaries who will determine the winners across categories including entertainment, comedy, crime, news, sports, food, business and more, including two new categories Podcasts to Watch and Best International Podcast.

“We are excited to be back live for year four of the iHeartRadio Podcast Awards to recognize all the amazing content and talent that the podcasting medium has produced this past year,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia’s Digital Audio Group. “Podcast listening has continued to soar across the U.S., seeing a nearly 60% increase in monthly listeners since our first awards show was announced in 2018, filling this industry with more diversity and innovation than ever before. We look forward to honoring these major advancements in-person during the 2022 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards this January.”

Since nominees were unable to attend the 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards in person given the limitations on live events during the pandemic, the third annual event went virtual and featured an array of celebrity presenters, guests and nominees recorded from multiple locations. Appearances included Will Ferrell, Hillary Clinton, Laverne Cox, Gwen Stefani, Aaron Mahnke, Questlove, Dan Patrick, Charlamagne Tha God, Roy Wood Jr., and many more, with comedic skits from the ladies of Obama’s Other Daughters, made up of Maame-Yaa Aforo, Ashley Holston, Shakira Ja'nai Paye and Yazmin Monet Watkins, hosts of “You Down?” as well as Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, hosts of “Las Culturistas.”

Several winners from last year’s iHeartRadio Podcast Awards have again gained nominations in their respective categories including “Office Ladies” for Podcast of the Year; “The Read” for Best Comedy Podcast; “Crime Junkie” for Best Crime Podcast; “Pod Save America” for Best News Podcast; “All The Smoke” for Best Sports Podcast; Conan O’Brien for Best Overall Host – Male; Nicole Byer for Best Overall Host – Female; “Pop Culture Happy Hour” for Best Pop Culture Podcast; “Therapy for Black Girls” for Best Wellness & Fitness Podcast; and more.

The full 2022 category nominees (in alphabetical order) are:

Podcast of the Year (Socially Voted Category)

• “Code Switch” (NPR)
• “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” (Team Coco)
• “Crime Junkie” (audiochuck)
• “Louder Than a Riot” (NPR)
• “Office Ladies” (Earwolf/Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey)
• “SmartLess” (Wondery/Amazon)
• “Stuff You Should Know” (iHeartRadio)
• “The Daily” (The New York Times)
• “The Midnight Miracle” (Luminary, Dave Chappelle, Talib Kweli, and Yasiin Bey)
• “You’re Wrong About” (Sarah Marshall/Michael Hobbes)

Best Comedy Podcast

• “Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast” (Earwolf/Scott Aukerman)
• “Las Culturistas” (Big Money Players)
• “My Brother, My Brother, and Me” (The McElroys)
• “SmartLess” (Wondery/Amazon)
• “The Read” (Loud Speakers Network)

Best Crime Podcast

• “Crime Junkie” (audiochuck)
• “Dr. Death” (Wondery)
• “Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad” (Exactly Right)
• “Scam Goddess” (Earwolf/Team Coco/ Laci Mosley)
• “To Live and Die in LA” (Tenderfoot TV/Cadence13)

Best Music Podcast

• “Broken Record” (Pushkin Industries)
• “Louder Than A Riot” (NPR)
• “Questlove Supreme” (iHeartRadio)
• “Song Exploder” (Hrishikesh Hirway)
• “Toxic: The Britney Spears Story” (Witness Docs)

Best News Podcast

• “Pod Save America” (Crooked Media)
• “The Daily” (The New York Times)
• “The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)
• “Today, Explained” (Vox)
• “Up First” (NPR)

Best Sports Podcast

• “All The Smoke” (The Black Effect)
• “Pardon My Take” (Barstool Sports)
• “Summer of Gold” (Dear Media)
• “The Bill Simmons Podcast” (The Ringer/Bill Simmons)
• “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” (iHeartRadio)

Best Overall Host – Male

• Conan O’Brien (Team Coco)
• Michael Hobbes (Independent)
• Sam Sanders (NPR)
• Sean Hayes (Amazon/Wondery)
• Wesley Morris (The New York Times)

Best Overall Host – Female

• Anna Sale (WNYC)
• Kara Swisher (The New York Times)
• Laverne Cox (Shondaland Audio)
• Nicole Byer (Team Coco)
• Sarah Marshall (Independent)

Best Business & Finance Podcast

• “Bloomberg Businessweek” (Bloomberg)
• “Brown Ambition” (Westwood One)
• “Business Wars” (Wondery)
• “Earn Your Leisure” (The Black Effect)
• “How I Built This with Guy Raz” (NPR)

Best Pop Culture Podcast

• “Keep It!” (Crooked Media)
• “Pop Culture Happy Hour” (NPR)
• “Still Processing” (The New York Times)
• “The Read” (Loud Speakers Network)
• “You’re Wrong About” (Sarah Marshall)

Best Food Podcast

• “Doughboys” (Headgum)
• “Bon Appétit Food People” (Bon Appétit)
• “Gastropod” (Independent)
• “Home Cooking” (Samin Nosrat/Hrishikesh Hirway)
• “The Splendid Table” (American Public Media)

Best Wellness & Fitness Podcast

• “Body Stuff with Dr. Jenn Gunter” (TED Audio Collective)
• “Maintenance Phase” (Aubrey Gorden/Michael Hobbes)
• “On Purpose with Jay Shetty” (Jay Shetty)
• “Poog with Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak” (Big Money Players)
• “Therapy for Black Girls” (Joy Harden Bradford/iHeartRadio)

Best History Podcast

• “Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History” (Dan Carlin)
• “Dark History” (Audioboom Studios)
• “Lore” (Aaron Mahnke/Grim & Mild)
• “Revolutions” (Mike Duncan)
• “Throughline” (NPR)

Best Kids & Family Podcast

• “Brains On! Science Podcast for Kids” (American Public Media)
• “Circle Round” (WBUR)
• “Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls” (Rebel Girls)
• “Story Pirates” (Gimlet)
• “Wow in the World” (Wondery Kids)

Best Fiction Podcast

• “Blackout” (QCODE/Endeavor Content)
• “Bridgewater” (iHeartRadio/Grim & Mild)
• “Edith!” (QCODE/Crooked Media)
• “In Strange Woods: A Musical Podcast” (Atypical Artists)
• “Welcome to Night Vale” (Night Vale Presents)

Best Science Podcast

• “Hidden Brain” (Hidden Brain Media)
• “Invisibilia” (NPR)
• “Ologies with Alie Ward” (Alie Ward)
• “StarTalk Radio” (Neil deGrasse Tyson)
• “Stuff To Blow Your Mind” (iHeartRadio)

Best Technology Podcast

• “Pivot” (New York Magazine)
• “Rabbit Hole” (The New York Times)
• “Reply All” (Gimlet)
• “Science Vs” (Gimlet)
• “There Are No Girls On The Internet” (iHeartRadio)

Best Ad Read

• “Chatty Broads with Bekah and Jess” (Independent)
• “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” (Team Coco)
• “Literally! With Rob Lowe” (Stitcher/Team Coco)
• “My Brother, My Brother And Me” (The McElroys)
• “SmartLess” (Wondery/Amazon)

Best Political Podcast

• “FiveThirtyEight Politics” (FiveThirtyEight/538/ABC News/Nate Silver)
• “Gaining Ground: The New Georgia” (Tenderfoot TV/Crooked Media)
• “Pod Save America” (Crooked Media)
• “The NPR Politics Podcast” (NPR)
• “The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)

Best TV & Film Podcast

• “Chatty Broads with Bekah and Jess” (Independent)
• “How Did This Get Made?” (Earwolf/Paul Scheer/June Diane Raphael/Jason Mantzoukas)
• “Office Ladies” (Earwolf/Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey)
• “Pop Culture Happy Hour” (NPR)
• “The Bechdel Cast” (iHeartRadio)

Best Spanish Language Podcast

• “Anything for Selena” (WBUR/Futuro Studios)
• “Cuentos Increíbles” (Sonoro)
• “Latinx Therapy” (Adriana Alejandre, LMFT)
• “Leyendas Legendarias” (Sonoro/All Things Comedy)
• “Radio Ambulante” (NPR)

Best Advice/Inspirational Podcast

• “Dare to Lead with Brené Brown” (Spotify/Parcast)
• “Don’t Ask Tig” (American Public Media)
• “Super Soul” (Oprah)
• “Unlocking Us with Brené Brown” (Parcast Network)
• “We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle” (Glennon Doyle/Cadence 13)

Best Beauty & Fashion Podcast

• “Add to Cart” (Lemonada Media)
• “Forever 35” (Kate Spencer/Doree Shafrir)
• “Gloss Angeles” (Kirbie Johnson/Sara Tan)
• “Natch Beaut” (Jackie Johnson)
• “The Business of Fashion” (Independent)

Best Travel Podcast

• “Armchair Explorer” (Aaron Millar)
• “JUMP with Traveling Jackie” (Independent)
• “Let’s Go Together” (Travel & Leisure)
• “Women Who Travel” (Condé Nast Traveler)
• “Zero to Travel” (Jason Moore)

Best Spirituality & Religion Podcast

• “Almost 30” (Independent)
• “May I Elaborate? Daily Wisdom From JB Smoove” (Team Coco)
• “On Being with Krista Tippett” (On Being Studios)
• “Tara Brach” (Tara Brach)
• “The One You Feed with Eric Zimmer” (Wondery)

The Best Green Podcast

• “EV News Daily – The E-Mobility Podcast” (Independent)
• “Factually! With Adam Conover” (Earwolf)
• “How To Save A Planet” (Gimlet)
• “Living on Earth” (PRX)
• “Science Rules! With Bill Nye” (Stitcher)

Best Branded Podcast

• “Camp Monsters” (REI Co-Op)
• “Humans Growing Stuff” (ScottsMiracle-Gro)
• “Inside Trader Joes” (Trader Joe’s)
• “Now, What’s Next?” (Morgan Stanley)
• “Your Attention Please” (Hulu)

NEW! Podcast To Watch

• “Films To Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein” (Independent)
• “Maintenance Phase” (Aubrey Gorden/Michael Hobbes)
• “Murder in Alliance” (Obsessed Network)
• “Revolutions” (Mike Duncan)
• “Rotten Mango” (Stephanie Soo/Audioboom)

NEW! Best International Podcast

• “Así como suena” (Así Como Suena)
• “CreepsMcPasta Creepypasta Radio” (Creeps McPasta)
• “Fuera de Series” (Fuera de Series)
• “Mamamia Out Loud” (Mamamia)
• “Morbidology” (Morbidology)

The 2022 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards is part of iHeartMedia’s roster of nationally recognized events including the iHeartRadio Music Awards, the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the nationwide iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Concert Tour, iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, iHeartCountry Festival, iHeartRadio ALTer Ego and iHeartRadio Wango Tango.

Executive producers for the 2022 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards are John Sykes, Tom Poleman and Conal Byrne for iHeartMedia, and Deviants Media Studio founder Ivan Dudynsky and show runner Jayson Belt. More information including guest hosts, celebrity appearances, Icon Awards, streaming details and more will be announced in the coming months.

Click HERE to download the official 2022 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards logo.