Meet the Nominees of the 2025 iHeartPodcast Awards

The iHeartPodcast Awards are poised to return on March 10, 2025, heralding a celebration of the most innovative and influential figures in podcasting. This year marks a significant event as it will be held live at the ACL Live at The Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, in partnership with the renowned South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. The ceremony will feature the dynamic duo Jack O’Brien and Miles Gray of The Daily Zeitgeist as hosts, ensuring an engaging and lively event. The awards will be broadcast across select iHeartMedia Radio Stations, streamed via the iHeartRadio app, and available on the iHeartRadio YouTube Channel.  You can also catch an encore presentation on AXS TV Tuesday, March 11th at 8:00pm Eastern Time.

Categories span a wide range of genres including comedy, true crime, news, pop culture, sports, and more. As in previous years, the outcome of various awards, especially the coveted Podcast of the Year title, will be influenced by fan votes, highlighting community engagement and audience participation. This year’s nominees for Podcast of the Year include Normal Gossip, Three, Giggly Squad, Call Her Daddy, Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, Hysterical, The Telepathy Tapes, Who Killed JFK?, Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD, and The Good Whale.

Notably, the awards will also present three Icon Awards: the Audible Audio Pioneer Award, the Social Impact Award, and the Innovator Award. Sarah Spain, an esteemed journalist and host of Good Game, will receive the Social Impact Award, spotlighting her contributions to promoting equity in sports coverage and advocating for equal pay and better investment in women’s sports infrastructure. Dan Taberski, known for his compelling storytelling and investigative journalism, is slated to receive the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Daniel Alarcón, celebrated for his work on The Good Whale, will be awarded the Innovator Award, recognizing his innovative approach to storytelling.

This year’s event promises to make waves with its all-inclusive approach, as highlighted by its partnership with SXSW, which has fostered an environment ripe for innovation and culture. Commenting on the event’s significance, Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia’s Digital Audio Group, emphasized that the annual awards now hold an even larger stage, reflecting the exponential growth in both the scale and influence of podcasting.

The event is expected to draw an impressive array of celebrity guests and presenters, further underscoring its prestige within the podcasting industry. Past iHeartPodcast Awards featured appearances from notable figures such as Charlamagne tha God, Will Ferrell, and Martha Stewart, among others. The ceremony serves as an integral part of iHeartMedia’s extensive roster of celebrated events, including its music festivals and other cultural gatherings.

Check Out the Full List of 2025 iHeartPodcast Awards Nominees Here:

Podcast of the Year 

Normal Gossip 

Three 

Giggly Squad 

Call Her Daddy 

Las Culturistas With Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang 

Hysterical 

The Telepathy Tapes 

Who Killed JFK? 

Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD 

The Good Whale 

 

Best Overall Host 

Alex Cooper (Call Her Daddy) 

Jamie Loftus (Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)) 

Sabrina Tavernise (The Daily) 

Mel Robbins (The Mel Robbins Podcast) 

Dan Taberski (Hysterical) 

 

Best Overall Ensemble 

We Can Do Hard Things 

My Favorite Murder With Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark 

Handsome 

Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard 

The Breakfast Club 

 

Best Music 

Song Exploder 

Questlove Supreme 

Popcast 

The Wonder of Stevie 

The Joe Budden Podcast 

Best TV & Film 

Films to Be Buried With With Brett Goldstein 

Two Ts in a Pod with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge 

How Did This Get Made? 

The Rewatchables 

Blank Check with Griffin & David 

 

Best Pop Culture 

Las Culturistas With Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang 

The World’s First Podcast With Erin & Sara Foster 

Still Processing 

Keep It! 

Pop Culture Happy Hour 

 

Best Sports 

New Heights With Jason & Travis Kelce 

The Herd With Colin Cowherd 

The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz 

The Bill Simmons Podcast 

All the Smoke 

 

Best Kids & Family 

Good Inside With Dr. Becky 

Koala Moon – Kids Bedtime Stories & Meditations 

Smash Boom Best: A Funny, Smart Debate Show for Kids and Family 

Story Pirates 

Wow in the World 

 

Best Comedy 

The Nikki Glaser Podcast 

Fly on the Wall With Dana Carvey and David Spade 

Normal Gossip 

The Joe Rogan Experience 

Call Her Daddy 

 

Best Spanish Language 

Radio Ambulante 

Duolingo Spanish Podcast 

Leyenda Legendarias 

Mija Podcast 

Escuela Secreta 

 

Best Business & Finance 

Planet Money 

How to Money 

Networth and Chill With Your Rich BFF 

Money Rehab With Nicole Lapin 

The Ramsey Show 

Best Crime 

Three 

Betrayal 

Up and Vanished 

CounterClock 

Something Was Wrong 

 

Best Food 

Gastropod 

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio 

Be My Guest With Ina Garten 

The Recipe With Kenji and Deb 

The Sporkful 

 

Best Wellness & Fitness 

Huberman Lab 

The Mel Robbins Podcast 

10% Happier With Dan Harris 

A Slight Change of Plans 

We Can Do Hard Things 

 

Best History 

The Rest Is History 

Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD 

Throughline 

American History Tellers 

You’re Wrong About 

 

Best News 

The Journal. 

The Daily 

Up First from NPR 

Pivot 

Today, Explained 

 

Best Fiction 

Hello From the Magic Tavern 

Welcome to Night Vale 

Impact Winter 

The Magnus Archives 

Midnight Burger 

 

Best Science 

Hidden Brain 

StarTalk Radio 

Stuff To Blow Your Mind 

Ologies With Alie Ward 

Science Vs 

 

Best Technology 

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg 

Hard Fork 

Better Offline 

Darknet Diaries 

Ted Radio Hour 

 

Best Ad Read 

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend 

Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes) 

My Brother, My Brother and Me 

SmartLess 

Office Ladies 

 

Best Political 

Native Land Pod 

The NPR Politics Podcast 

Pod Save America 

The Megyn Kelly Show 

Breaking Points With Krystal and Saagar 

 

Best Advice/Inspirational 

Wiser Than Me With Julia Louis-Dreyfus 

On Purpose With Jay Shetty 

The Mel Robbins Podcast 

Life Kit 

Savage Lovecast 

Best Beauty & Fashion 

Naked Beauty 

The goop Podcast 

Glowing Up 

Breaking Beauty Podcast 

Lipstick on the Rim 

 

Best Travel  

Travel With Rick Steves 

The Atlas Obscura Podcast 

Zero to Travel Podcast 

Women Who Travel 

JUMP With Traveling Jackie 

 

Best Green 

Unf–king the Future 

Environmental Insights: Conversations on Policy and Practice From the Harvard Environmental Economics Program 

Green Dreamer: Seeding Change Towards Collective Healing, Sustainability, Regeneration 

Threshold 

TED Climate 

 

Best Spirituality & Religion 

Elevation With Steven Furtick 

Oprah’s Super Soul 

WHOA That’s Good Podcast 

Bible in a Year With Jack Graham 

Transformation Church 

 

Best Branded Podcast 

Nerdwallet’s Smart Money Podcast 

Into the Mix (Ben and Jerry’s) 

Symptomatic: A Medical Mystery Podcast (Novartis) 

You Can’t Make This Up (Netflix) 

Mind the Business: Small Business Success Stories (Intuit Quickbooks) 

 

Best Emerging 

Not Gonna Lie With Kylie Kelce 

So True With Caleb Hearon 

Hysterical 

Wild Card With Rachel Martin 

Shell Game 

 

Best International 

The Business of Doing Business With Dwayne Kerrigan – Canada 

Mamamia Out Loud – Australia 

Between Two Beers Podcast – New Zealand 

The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett – United Kingdom 

Las Alucines – Mexico