The Audible comedy series “Hot White Heist 2” tops the leaderboard for the Ambies, the awards administered by the Podcast Academy for podcasts and audio entertainment.
The scripted comedy spoof featuring Bowen Yang, Jane Lynch, Shannon Woodward, Cynthia Nixon, Ian McKellen grabbed four nominations, including a mention for podcast of the year. Four other titles grabbed three nominations apiece: “Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD,” “Fire Escape,” “Hysterical” and “Impact Winter Season.”
Tig Notaro is set to host the fifth annual Ambies ceremony, set for March 31 at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago. It will also be live streamed via Twitch.
Competing against “Hot White Heist 2” for podcast of the year honors are “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,” “Hysterical” and “Throughline.”
In the running for podcast host are Diallo Riddle and Blake ‘LUXXURY’ Robin for “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.”).
Contenders for best news podcast are: “The Journal,” from the Wall Street Journal; “The Take,” from Al Jazeera”; “The Ten News,” aimed at kids; “Today, Explained,” from Vox; “What Next,” from Slate; and “World Report” from the CBC.
“As we celebrate the 5th 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,” said Christy Mirabal, chairperson of The Podcast Academy. “This milestone year for the Podcast Academy is a reflection of the incredible growth and creativity within the podcasting community. Additionally, we are beyond thrilled to have Tig Notaro as our host of The Ambies — her wit, charm, and comedic brilliance will bring a fresh energy to this special night. Together, we honor the diverse voices that make audio such a powerful medium and look forward to an inspiring night of celebration.”
Here is a full list of Ambie nominations:
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 Business Podcast:
- Good Bad Billionaire
- How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz
- Lever Time with David Sirota
- Money Stuff
- NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast
- Rapid Response
- The Best Idea Yet
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 DIY Podcast:
- abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast
- Black Is America
- Books & Boba
- Everyday Trans Activism
- Mind the Force
- The B* Word
- The Integrated Schools Podcast
Best Documentary Podcast:
- Extrasensory
- Lost Patients
- Silence in Sikeston
- Snap Judgment
- Tested
- The Final War
- Uganda’s Hidden Rainbow
Best Entertainment Podcast:
- Infamous
- Lemme Say This
- Rattled & Shook
- Scamfluencers
- Split Screen: Kid Nation
- The Road to Joni
- The Wonder of Stevie
Best Fiction Podcast:
- Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance
- Tales of Fists & Fireballs
- 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:
- American Experience Presents: Joseph McCarthy
- Don’t Drink the Milk – The curious history of things
- Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
- Hollywood Exiles
- Into America: Uncounted Millions
- Tested
- Throughline
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 Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast:
- 99% Invisible
- Click Here
- Climate Rising
- Merging Into Life
- Short Wave
- The Wild with Chris Morgan
- Unexplainable
Best News Podcast:
- The Journal
- The Take
- The Ten News
- Today, Explained
- Trump’s Trials
- What Next
- World Report
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 Performance in Audio Fiction (Sponsored by Audible):
- 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
Best Personal Growth / Spirituality Podcast:
- 10% Happier with Dan Harris
- 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 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 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 Politics or Opinion Podcast:
- Autocracy in America
- Citizen Elon (by the Elon, Inc podcast)
- Master Plan
- The NPR Politics Podcast
- Vibe Check
- Vibes Only
- What Could Go Right?
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 Reporting:
- Chenjerai Kumanyika – Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
- Dan Taberski – Hysterical
- 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
- 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:
- 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
- Reveal – Ashley Cleek and Al Letson
- Track Change – Liz Mak and James Boo
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 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 True Crime Podcast:
- Beyond All Repair
- Fire Escape
- Lords of Death
- The Burden
- The Official Jinx Podcast
- Who Killed Jennifer Judd?
- Wrongful Conviction
Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast:
- An Arm and a Leg
- Overlooked: Women’s Health Can’t Wait
- Silence in Sikeston
- The Midlife Truth Project
- Therapy for Black Girls
- Untold: The Retreat
- Why Won’t You Date Me? with Nicole Byer
(Pictured: Tig Notaro)
