“Las Culturistas” hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers and “Saturday Night Live’s” Ego Nwodim were among the winners of the fifth annual Ambies, the kudos handed out by The Podcast Academy to recognize audio entertainment.
Wondery, Audible, iHeart Media, Audacy, NPR, the CBC, Pineapple Street Studios, Higher Ground Productions and Crooked Media led the platforms and production banners that were honored across 28 categories. The awards were presented Monday evening at Chicago’s McCormick Convention Center as part of the annual Podcast Movement conference.
Podcast of the year honors went to “Hysterical,” the investigative story of a mystery ailment that spread through teenage girls in LeRoy, N.Y., a small town about 30 miles east of Rochester. The seven-part series hails from Wondery, Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios. “Hysterical” also won the laurel for best reporting for the work of host and producer Dan Taberski. “Las Culturistas” (iHeart/Big Money Players) starring “SNL” trouper Yang and actor-comedian Rogers, was recognized for comedy podcast. Yang’s “SNL” castmate won the category of interview podcast for “Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim.”
Higher Ground, the banner headed by Barack and Michelle Obama, took the trophy for entertainment podcast for “The Wonder of Stevie,” examining the work of Stevie Wonder (Audible, Higher Ground, Pineapple Street Studios). Wondery and Crooked Media claimed the prize for history podcast for “Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD,” a deeply researched dive into the unvarnished history of the New York Police Department.
NPR’s “How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz” (Wondery, Built It Productions, NPR) got the nod for business podcast. NPR also won in the politics or opinion category for “The NPR Politics Podcast.”
Actor-comedian and podcaster Tig Notaro hosted the Ambies, which also bestowed honorary kudos on Ira Glass (Governors Award) and Sam Sanders (Impact Award).
Here is the full list of winners of the fifth annual Ambies:
Podcast of The Year
Hysterical
Wondery, Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios
Best Business Podcast
How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz
Wondery, Built It Productions and NPR
Best Comedy Podcast
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
iHeartPodcasts, Big Money Players
Best DIY Podcast
Abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast
All-American Ruins
Best Documentary Podcast
Tested
Bucket of Eels, CBC Podcasts and NPR’s Embedded
Best Entertainment Podcast
The Wonder of Stevie
Audible, Higher Ground, and Pineapple Street Studios
Best Fiction Podcast
Tales of Fists & Fireballs
ADHx2
Best History Podcast
Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Wondery, Crooked Media
Best Indie Podcast
What Happened in Skinner
Mazama Entertainment
Best Indie Podcast Host or Hosts
Dallas Taylor
for Twenty Thousand Hertz Defacto Sound
Best Interview Podcast
Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim
Headgum
Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast
99% Invisible
SiriusXM
Best News Podcast
The Ten News
Small But Mighty Media, Next Chapter Podcasts
Best Original Score and Music Supervision
Dan Leone
for Ripple
Western Sound, APM Studios
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 for The Skies Are Watching
Goldhawk Productions
Best Personal Growth / Spirituality Podcast
10% Happier with Dan Harris
10% Media
Best Podcast for Kids
Wow in the World
Wondery, Tinkercast
Best Podcast Host or Hosts
Ronald Young Jr.
for Weight For It ohitsBigRon studios LLC
Best Politics or Opinion Podcast
The NPR Politics Podcast
Best Production and Sound Design
Michelle Macklem
for Girl v. Horse
ESPN Podcasts, 30 for 30 Podcasts
Best Reporting
Dan Taberski
for Hysterical
Wondery, Audacy’s Pineapple Street Studios
Best Scriptwriting, Fiction
Anderson Cook and Sidney Butler for Academy
AT WILL MEDIA, Wondery
Best Scriptwriting, Non-Fiction
Ashley Cleek, Al Letson, Brett Myers for Reveal
Reveal, PRX
Best Society and Culture Podcast
Inheriting
LAist Studios
Best Spanish Language Narrative Podcast – Fiction or Nonfiction
HUMO: Murder and Silence in El Salvador
Sonoro
Best Sports Podcast
Broomgate: A Curling Scandal
Kelly&Kelly, CBC Podcasts, USG Audio, and Pacific Electric
Best True Crime Podcast
Beyond All Repair
WBUR, ZSP Media
Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast
Therapy for Black Girls
iHeartPodcasts
(Pictured: Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, hosts of “Las Culturistas”)