The Virtual Ceremony Will Honor the Very Best in Podcasting in 29 Categories; Kara Swisher, Dr. Laurie Santos, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford and Ashley Flowers Will Receive The 2023 Icon Awards

Podcast of the Year Nominees include “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Crime Junkie,” “Fly On The Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade,” “Las Culturistas,” “Love and Noraebang,” “Maintenance Phase,” “Morbid,” “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” “Scam Goddess” and “SmartLess”

NEW YORK – December 15, 2022 – iHeartMedia, the No. 1 podcast publisher globally according to Podtrac, today announced the return of 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards and nominees across all 29 categories. The awards, which will honor the very best in podcasting throughout 2022 and celebrate the most innovative talent and content creators in the industry, will video stream on Tuesday, March 14 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on iHeartRadio’s YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, as well as broadcast on select iHeartMedia radio stations across the country and everywhere listeners are via the iHeartRadio app. The show will also be available on demand following the initial stream.

Nominees across 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 in categories including entertainment, comedy, crime, news, sports, food, business and more, including a new category, Best Overall Ensemble.

Each year, podcast fans help decide the winner of the coveted Podcast of the Year award by socially voting on Twitter. This year’s nominees include “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” “Crime Junkie,” “Fly On The Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade,” “Las Culturistas,” “Love and Noraebang,” “Maintenance Phase,” “Morbid,” “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” “Scam Goddess” and “SmartLess.” Voting will begin today and run through the end of the year. More information can be found at iHeart.com/podcast-awards.

In addition, the 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards will present Icon Awards to pay tribute to the creators, organizations and podcasts that have made groundbreaking contributions to podcasting’s expanding role in today’s popular culture. Kara Swisher, widely acclaimed journalist, editor and podcast host, will be honored with the 2023 Pioneer Award; Dr. Laurie Santos, host of “The Happiness Lab” podcast and creator of the free “Psychology and the Good Life” curriculum for high school teachers which teaches students about wiser choices and how to live a happy and fulfilling life, and Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, host of the wildly popular mental health podcast, “Therapy for Black Girls,” whose work focuses on making mental health topics more relevant and accessible for Black women, will both be honored with a 2023 Social Impact Award; and Ashley Flowers, founder and CEO of audiochuck, the award-winning podcast production company, will be honored with the 2023 Innovator Award.

“We continue to see tremendous growth in the podcast industry, as this medium explodes with new creators and brand interest alike,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia’s Digital Audio Group. “To celebrate the most noteworthy, innovative storytellers in podcasting, we are proud to host the signature event to honor this creativity and empower new and emerging voices around the world.”

Last year, the 2022 iHeartPodcast Awards featured an array of celebrity presenters, guests and nominees recorded from multiple locations. Appearances included Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, Martha Stewart, Dua Lipa, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, Paris Hilton, Flame Monroe, Shonda Rhimes, Will Ferrell, Wilmer Valderrama and many more. Click HERE for more information on the 2022 iHeartPodcast Awards.

The full 2023 category nominees (in alphabetical order) are:

Podcast Of The Year:

• “Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend”
• “Crime Junkie”
• “Fly On The Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade”
• “Las Culturistas”
• “Love and Noraebang”
• “Maintenance Phase”
• “Morbid”
• “On Purpose with Jay Shetty”
• “Scam Goddess”
• “SmartLess”

New! Best Overall Ensemble:

• “Best Friends with Nicole Byer & Sasheer Zamata”
• “Conan O'Brian Needs a Friend”
• “Just Between Us”
• “Let's Make a Sci-Fi!”
• “SmartLess”

Best Business & Finance Podcast:

• “Earn Your Leisure”
• “How I Built This”
• “Odd Lots”
• “Planet Money”
• “The Indicator”

Best Comedy Podcast:

• ”Distractible”
• “Las Culturistas”
• “SmartLess”
• “The Read”
• “Why Won't You Date Me”

Best Crime Podcast:

• “Believe Her”
• “Crime Junkie”
• “Morbid”
• “Scam Goddess”
• “Sympathy Pains”

Best Pop Culture Podcast:

• “Decoder Ring”
• “Keep It”
• “The Video Archives with Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avery”
• “Vibe Check”
• “Watch What Crappens”

Best Food Podcast:

• “Naked Lunch”
• “Proof”
• “Recipe Club”
• “The Dave Chang Show”
• “The Sporkful”

Best Wellness & Fitness Podcast:

• “Huberman Lab”
• “HypochondriActor”
• “Maintenance Phase”
• “Ten Percent Happier”
• “Therapy For Black Girls”

Best History Podcast:

• “Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History”
• “History Daily”
• “Noble Blood”
• “You Must Remember This”
• “You're Wrong About”

Best Kids & Family Podcast:

• “Brains On!”
• “Good Inside with Dr. Becky”
• “Greeking Out from National Geographic Kids”
• “Story Pirates”
• “Wow In The World”

Best Music Podcast:

• “Broken Record”
• “Drink Champs”
• “Listening”
• “Questlove Supreme”
• “Song Exploder”

Best News Podcast:

• “Morning Wire”
• “Pod Save America”
• “The Daily”
• “Today Explained”
• “Up First”

Best Fiction Podcast:

• “Bloodthirsty Hearts”
• “Echo Park”
• “Love and Noraebang”
• “Princess of South Beach”
• “Welcome To Night Vale”

Best Sports Podcast:

• “All The Smoke”
• “The Bill Simmons Podcast”
• “The Draymond Green Show”
• “The Fantasy Footballers”
• “The Lowe Post”

Best Science Podcast:

• “Huberman Lab”
• “Invisibilia”
• “Ologies with Alie Ward”
• “Radiolab”
• “Science Vs”

Best Technology Podcast:

• “20000 Hertz”
• “Darknet Diaries”
• “On With Kara Swisher”
• “Pivot”
• “Reply All”

Best Ad Read Podcast:

• “Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend”
• “My Brother, My Brother, and Me”
• “Office Ladies”
• “Unlocking Us with Brene Brown”
• “Why Won't You Date Me with Nicole Byer”

Best Overall Host:

• Ashley Flowers
• Jay Shetty
• Kara Swisher
• Nicole Byer
• Sarah Marshall

Best Political Podcast:

• “Here's Where It Gets Interesting”
• “NPR Politics Podcast”
• “Pod Save America”
• “The Ben Shapiro Show”
• “The Daily Zeitgeist”

Best TV & Film Podcast:

• “Fake Doctors, Real Friends”
• “Films to be Buried With”
• “How Did This Get Made?”
• “Into It”
• “Watch What Crappens”

Best Spanish Language Podcast:

• “Ciudad Mágica”
• “Crónicas Obscuras”
• “Escuela Secreta”
• “Idolo”
• “Leyendas Legendarias”

Best Advice & Inspirational Podcast:

• “Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People”
• “Chiquis and Chill”
• “I Weigh with Jameela Jamil”
• “On Purpose with Jay Shetty”
• “We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle”

Best Beauty & Fashion Podcast:

• “Add to Cart”
• “Forever35”
• “Natch Beaut”
• “POOG”
• “Pretty Basic”

Best Travel Podcast:

• “Atlas Obscura”
• “Behind The Baller Podcast with Ben Baller”
• “Not Lost”
• “Travel with Rick Steves”
• “Women Who Travel”

Best Green Podcast:

• “Climate of Change with Cate Blanchett and Danny Kennedy”
• “Climate One”
• “Hot Take”
• “Living on Earth”
• “TED Climate”

Best Spirituality & Religion Podcast:

• “Awakened Underground”
• “Heart Wisdom with Jack Kornfield”
• “May I Elaborate? Daily Wisdom from JB Smoove”
• “On Being”
• “The Joel Osteen Podcast”

Best Branded Podcast:

• “Force Multiplier”
• “Hazlo Por La Chela”
• “Inside Trader Joes”
• “Now What's Next?”
• “Smart Talks with IBM”

Best Emerging Podcast:

• “MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories”
• “Significant Others”
• “Sounds Like A Cult”
• “The Video Archives Podcast”
• “TV, I Say with Ashley Ray”

Best International Podcast:

• “British Villains” (UK)
• “El Viaje” (Mexico)
• “Feu de Camp” (France)
• “La Mia Smemo” (Italy)
• “RedHanded” (UK)

The 2023 iHeartPodcast 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 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards are John Sykes, Tom Poleman, Conal Byrne and Bart Peters for iHeartMedia, and Deviants Media Studio founder Ivan Dudynsky and show runner Jayson Belt. More information including guest hosts, celebrity appearances and more will be announced in the coming months.

Click HERE to download the official 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards logo.