✦ NYC Podcast Awards 2026 ✦
Congratulations
Nominees
2 0 2 6
Entries for this year's NYC Podcast Awards have now closed. We are thrilled to announce our nominees — an extraordinary group of creators pushing the art of audio storytelling forward.
Submissions Closed · Awards Ceremony March 13, 2026
Production & Craft
17 nominations across 5 categories
Best Editing
Altered States
Footsteps of Faith — A Celtic Pilgrimage
Hold Fast!
Love Me
The Ultimate Human
Best Sound Design
Adrift
Dino Dome
The Laureate Project
The Murderer Killings — a True* Crime Podcast
Under the Shadow
Best Original Score
Cidiot
Extrasensory
LEAD: how this story ends is up to us
When We Were on Fire
Special Recognition: Show Artwork ★ Special
Hamlet
Host, Indie & Student
13 nominations across 3 categories
Best Host or Hosting Team
Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads
Gretchen Schoser & Charleen Deneen
TENDING: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA
Shirlette Ammons
The Advisor With Stacey Chillemi
Stacey Chillemi
The Wine Pair Podcast
Joe Mele & Carmela Mele
Young and Profiting with Hala Taha
Hala Taha
Best Indie Podcast
7 Days: The Audio Drama
Far From Home
rePROs Fight Back
The Secret Life of Books
The Secret Room
Best Student Podcast
Odd One In
P.S. Weekly
Fiction & Creative
29 nominations across 8 categories
Best Acting
Home for the Holidays
Liminal
Set Sail!
The Murderer Killings — a True* Crime Podcast
Visionaries Audio Drama
Best Fiction Podcast: Comedy
Minor Legends
StanLand
The Murderer Killings — a True* Crime Podcast
Best Fiction Podcast: Drama
Dirt — An Audio Drama
Hamlet
KIND: An LGBTQ+ Mythical Noir Audio Drama
Sucker
Best Fiction Podcast: Genre
Deepfake
Hearthbound: An Untelling of the Odyssey
Home for the Holidays
Liminal
The Tower
Best Writing — Fiction: Comedy
Minor Legends
StanLand
The Murderer Killings — a True* Crime Podcast
Best Writing — Fiction: Drama
Dirt — An Audio Drama
Sucker
Best Writing — Fiction: Genre
Home for the Holidays
Visionaries Audio Drama
Breaking Conventions — Most Innovative
abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast
Creatures of the Wind
Planet Possible
So We've Been Told with Sahaj Kaur Kohli
The Secret Life of TK Dutes
Nonfiction Storytelling
15 nominations across 3 categories
Best Documentary Podcast
Dancing with Shadows
Defiant
James Hemings: America's Culinary Founding Father
TENDING: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA
THE WILD with Chris Morgan
Best Interview Podcast
AW Confidential Podcast
Building Friendships
In Tune with Tradition
The Black Men Speak Podcast
The Lede
Best Scriptwriting — Nonfiction
Basket Case
Extrasensory
Odd One In
TENDING: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA
The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall
News, Politics & Public Service
8 nominations across 2 categories
Best News & Politics Podcast
Future Hindsight
Surviving Trump
Swamp Notes
Best Public Service Podcast
Orbit: Science for kids / Cráneo: Ciencia para niños
Multiple series
Future Hindsight
Science Vs
The Climate Story Project
The Tenant Law Podcast
Science, Education & Kids
15 nominations across 4 categories
Best Kids Podcast
Orbit / Cráneo
Multiple series
Imagine This
Orbit: Science for kids on the move!
TALES FROM THE CLOUD SEA
The Bedtime Scientist
Best Science Podcast
Altered States
Pick Your Poison
Planet Possible
Science Vs
The Ultimate Human
Best Education Podcast
Footsteps of Faith — A Celtic Pilgrimage
P.S. Weekly
The Film Festival Doctor Podcast
Best Tech Podcast
CLICK HERE
Tech Tonic
Culture & Entertainment
17 nominations across 6 categories
Best Entertainment & Pop Culture Podcast
The Downside With Gianmarco Soresi
Fandom Hybrid Podcast
In Tune with Tradition
What I really, really want
Best Comedy Podcast
The Downside With Gianmarco Soresi
Best History Podcast
Awakenings In Real Life
None Of The Above: '90s Rewind
The Butterfly King
The People's Recorder
Tracing The Path
Best Sports Podcast
Dancing with Shadows
Defiant
Best True Crime Podcast
Fifteen: Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders
Hell in Heaven
Trained to Kill
Unreliable Witness
Special Recognition: Music Podcast ★ Special
In Tune with Tradition — Perspectives on Session Etiquette in Irish Traditional Music
Special Recognition: Paranormal Podcast ★ Special
Extrasensory
Wellbeing & Society
19 nominations across 4 categories
Best Personal Growth & Spirituality Podcast
Footsteps of Faith — A Celtic Pilgrimage
So We've Been Told with Sahaj Kaur Kohli
The Cancer Caregiver
The Secret Life of TK Dutes
Wonderstruck
Best Relationships Podcast
Advice Unfiltered with Chris and Tony
So We've Been Told with Sahaj Kaur Kohli
Best Society & Culture Podcast
A People's Climate
Arts & Culture
Beyond 6 Seconds
Big Korean Energy
Eugène Ionesco's Theatre of the Absurd
In Tune with Tradition
Quintessential Poetry
Voices of Jackson Heights
Best Wellness Podcast
Get Lean and Lit with Lindy
Sh!t That Goes On In Our Heads
So We've Been Told with Sahaj Kaur Kohli
The Ultimate Human
Business & DIY
5 nominations across 2 categories
Best Business Podcast
Behind the Money
The Creator Spotlight Podcast
Young and Profiting with Hala Taha
Best DIY Podcast
Conjure
Creatures of the Wind
✦ Creator Excellence Awards ✦
These awards celebrate underrepresented voices and honor the outstanding contributions of individual creators to audio storytelling. Self-identification is voluntary and entries are free for this category.
The James Brown-Orleans Award for Black Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Adizah Eghan
Altered States
Patrice Escoto
Deepfake
Shirlette Ammons
TENDING: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA
The Kyles Sisters
Home for the Holidays
Tira Adams
Conjure
The Iara Lee Award for East Asian Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Angela Wong Carbone
Minor Legends
Jae-in Hwan
KIND: An LGBTQ+ Mythical Noir Audio Drama
Jo Chiang
Hearthbound: An Untelling of the Odyssey
Kristin Leong
Odd One In
Mindy Ramaker
A People's Climate
The Grace Lee Boggs Award for Female Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Josie Herman
Liminal
Mindy Ramaker
A People's Climate
Nicky Anderson
Defiant
Shirlette Ammons
TENDING: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA
Wendy Zukerman
Science Vs
The Tobin Low & Kathy Tu Award for LGB Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Amy Lee Lillard
The Art of Resistance
Eric Carter
Conjure
Jo Chiang
Hearthbound: An Untelling of the Odyssey
Kristin Leong
Odd One In
Shirlette Ammons
TENDING: Black Farmers Fight Against the USDA
The André Martinez Reed Award for Latino Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Andres Robledo
Conjure
Dennis Maxwell
A People's Climate
Karla Moran Vargas
Sucker
Kristie Soares
Soundscapes NYC: "Lost Women of Disco"
Levi Sharpe
Hearthbound: An Untelling of the Odyssey
The Wilma Mankiller Award for Native American Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Kaitlyn Swan
Q With Tom Power
The Marz Marcello Award for Non-binary Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Amber Devereux
The Tower
Jae-in Hwan
KIND: An LGBTQ+ Mythical Noir Audio Drama
Kit Conway & Sky Sherer
Minor Legends
The Noura Erakat Award for Palestinian Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Hala Taha
Young and Profiting with Hala Taha
The Hari Kondabolu Award for South Asian Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Haleema Shah
Altered States
Saadia Khan
Immigrantly
Sahaj Kaur Kohli
So We've Been Told with Sahaj Kaur Kohli
Shilpi Chhotray
A People's Climate
Vanessa Nigro
Q With Tom Power
The Debbie Millman Award for Student Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Katelyn Melville
P.S. Weekly
Kristin Leong
Odd One In
Mae Nagusky
Creatures of the Wind
The Joanna Fang Award for Trans Excellence in Audio Storytelling
Amber Devereux
The Tower
Jae-in Hwan
KIND: An LGBTQ+ Mythical Noir Audio Drama
Xander Adams
Love Me