The 5th annual Ambie Awards, held Monday night at McCormick Place, celebrated the best in podcasting with a ceremony that balanced earnest calls for truth with plenty of self-aware laughs.
Presented by The Podcast Academy, the Ambies honored top talent across the podcasting landscape, with Hysterical taking home the coveted Podcast of the Year award. The Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios production, which investigates a mysterious illness that afflicted a group of high school girls in upstate New York, also won for Best Reporting.
A recurring theme throughout the night was the importance of facts in an increasingly noisy media landscape. “We’re in a war over facts, and we have to stand up for them,” said This American Life host Ira Glass, who accepted the Governors Award for his and the show’s enduring influence on the medium.
Ronan Farrow echoed the sentiment while presenting Best News Podcast—won by kid-focused show The Ten News—stating, “If we want to live in a reality-based world, and we want truth to survive, then supporting this kind of journalism and local media is essential.”
But it wasn’t all solemn. Host Tig Notaro brought her signature deadpan wit to the evening, poking fun at the podcast industry—and herself. “Despite hosting several podcasts, I wasn’t nominated for any awards,” she told the audience, who laughed knowingly. She also joked about the night’s sustainable approach to trophies, explaining that winners were handed a temporary award onstage while their engraved versions would be shipped later. “You’re all podcasters,” she said. “So you know what it’s like to ramble on and on into a microphone.”
The ceremony, streamed live on Twitch, included additional appearances from Jon Cryer, who confessed his podcast obsession. “You fill all my dog walks with joy,” he told the audience of hosts and producers.
Other big winners included Ronald Young Jr., named Best Host for Weight for It, a deeply personal podcast exploring body image and identity. Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang picked up Best Comedy Podcast, while The Wonder of Stevie—from Audible, Higher Ground, and Pineapple Street—was named Best Entertainment Podcast.
The Impact Award went to Sam Sanders, host of The Sam Sanders Show and co-host of Vibe Check, in recognition of his influence on the medium.
As the podcasting industry continues to evolve and expand its cultural footprint, the 2025 Ambies served as both a celebration of innovation and a reminder of the medium’s unique power to inform, entertain, and connect.
A complete list of winners is below:
Podcast of the Year: Hysterical
Best Business Podcast: How I Built This Podcast With Guy Raz
Best Comedy Podcast: Las Culturistas With Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Best DIY Podcast: Abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast
Best Documentary Podcast: Tested
Best Entertainment Podcast: The Wonder of Stevie
Best Fiction Podcast: Tales of Fists & Fireballs
Best History Podcast: Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Best Indie Podcast: What Happened in Skinner
Best Indie Podcast Host or Hosts: Dallas Taylor, Twenty Thousand Hertz
Best Interview Podcast: Thanks Dad With Ego Nwodim
Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast: 99% Invisible
Best News Podcast: The Ten News
Best Original Score and Music Supervision: Dan Leone, Ripple
Best Performance 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, Ayla Glass and Chris Goodwin, The Skies Are Watching
Best Personal Growth / Spirituality Podcast: 10% Happier with Dan Harris
Best Podcast for Kids: Wow in the World
Best Podcast Host or Hosts: Ronald Young Jr., Weight For It
Best Politics or Opinion Podcast: The NPR Politics Podcast
Best Production and Sound Design: Michelle Macklem, Girl v. Horse
Best Reporting: Dan Taberski, Hysterical
Best Scriptwriting, Fiction: Anderson Cook and Sidney Butler, Academy
Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction: Ashley Cleek, Al Letson and Brett Myers, Reveal
Best Society and Culture Podcast: Inheriting
Best Spanish Language Narrative Podcast: HUMO: Murder and Silence in El Salvador
Best Sports Podcast: Broomgate: A Curling Scandal
Best True Crime Podcast: Beyond All Repair
Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast: Therapy for Black Girls
Governors Award: Ira Glass
Impact Award: Sam Sanders
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