Tonight, the fifth annual iHeartPodcast Awards hosted by actor and comedian Brian Baumgartner brought together the most influential names in podcasting to honor the most entertaining and innovative podcasts of 2022, celebrating the incredible talent and wide variety of leaders across the podcasting industry. The virtual awards event was exclusively video streamed on iHeartRadio’s YouTube Channel and Facebook Page and broadcast across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on the iHeartRadio app.
The night featured a variety of appearances by award nominees, celebrity presenters and special guests including Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, Mayim Bialik, Alex Borstein, Zach Braff and Donald Faison, Nicole Byer, Charlamagne Tha God, Colin Cowherd, Bob Costas, Malcolm Gladwell, Draymond Green, Bethany Joy Lenz, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, Enrique Santos, Iliza Shlesinger, Questlove, Angela Yee and more.
The 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards event highlights include:
- Jason Alexander and Peter Tilden awarded “Las Culturistas” the most coveted award of the night, which is voted on by the fans themselves, Podcast of the Year presented by Autonomy, to Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang who thanked Marc Maron and Snookie for paving the way in podcasting.
- Host Brian Baumgartner kept one lucky audience member entertained throughout the night with hilarious comedic skits about chili, celery and bone breaking and of course, podcasting.
- Charlamagne Tha God presented Best Music Podcast of the Year Award to Questlove, host of “Questlove Supreme.”
- Zach Braff and Donald Faison award Nicole Byer host of “Why Won’t You Date Me” with Best Comedy Podcast of the Year.
- Will Arnett joined as special guest presenter to honor Sarah Marshall host of “You’re Wrong About” with the Best History Podcast of the Year Award.
- Mayim Bialik presented Best Crime Podcast award to “Believer Her” host Justine van der Leun and spoke about how true crime podcasts have helped to exonerate wrongly imprisoned people.
- Angela Yee presented the Audible Audio Pioneer Icon Award to technology journalist and podcaster Kara Swisher who shared the importance of changing and shifting with the times and venturing out into the great unknown.
- Colin Cowherd stopped in to give the Best Sports Podcast of the Year Award to host Draymond Green (“The Draymond Green Show”) who spoke about the importance of authenticity.
- Bethany Joy Lenz introduced the Innovator Icon Award, presented by Planet Oat Oatmilk, which was given to Ashley Flowers of “Crime Junkie.”
- Alex Borstein (Family Guy, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) presented Nicole Byer with her second iHeartPodcast Award of the night for Best Overall Host.
- Comedian Iliza Shlesinger awarded the new show category Best Overall Ensemble to Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett of “SmartLess.”
The full list of 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards winners are:
Social Impact Icon Award: Dr. Laurie Santos and Dr. Joy Harden Bradford
Audible Audio Pioneer Icon Award: Kara Swisher
Innovator Icon Award, presented by Planet Oat Oatmilk: Ashley Flowers
Podcast of the Year Award, presented by Autonomy
- “Las Culturistas”
New! Best Overall Ensemble:
- “SmartLess”
Best Business & Finance Podcast:
- “Planet Money”
Best Comedy Podcast:
- “Why Won't You Date Me”
Best Crime Podcast:
- “Believe Her”
Best Pop Culture Podcast:
- “Decoder Ring”
Best Food Podcast:
- “The Sporkful”
Best Wellness & Fitness Podcast:
- “Maintenance Phase”
Best History Podcast:
- “You're Wrong About”
Best Kids & Family Podcast:
- “Wow In The World”
Best Music Podcast:
- “Questlove Supreme”
Best News Podcast:
- “The Daily”
Best Fiction Podcast:
- “Welcome To Night Vale”
Best Sports Podcast:
- “The Draymond Green Show”
Best Science Podcast:
- “Radiolab”
Best Technology Podcast:
- “Pivot”
Best Ad Read Podcast:
- “Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend”
Best Overall Host:
- Nicole Byer
Best Political Podcast:
- “NPR Politics Podcast”
Best TV & Film Podcast:
- “Films to be Buried With”
Best Spanish Language Podcast:
- “Ciudad Mágica”
Best Advice & Inspirational Podcast:
- “Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People”
Best Beauty & Fashion Podcast:
- “Natch Beaut”
Best Travel Podcast:
- “Atlas Obscura”
Best Green Podcast:
- “TED Climate”
Best Spirituality & Religion Podcast:
- “On Being”
Best Branded Podcast:
- “Smart Talks with IBM”
Best Emerging Podcast:
- “Sounds Like A Cult”
Best International Podcast:
- “El Viaje” (Mexico)
The 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards is part of iHeartMedia’s roster of nationally recognized events including the iHeartRadio Music Awards, the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the nationwide iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Concert Tour, iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, iHeartCountry Festival, iHeartRadio ALTer Ego and iHeartRadio Wango Tango.
Executive producers for the 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards are John Sykes, Tom Poleman, Conal Byrne and Bart Peters for iHeartMedia, and Deviants Media Studio founder Ivan Dudynsky and show runner Jayson Belt. Proud sponsors of this year’s event include Audible, Autonomy, Planet Oat Oatmilk and Progressive Insurance. More information can be found at iHeartPodcastAwards.com.
Editor’s Note:
Access photos from the virtual event here.
PW: iHPodcast_23!
Click HERE to download the official 2023 iHeartPodcast Awards logo.
About iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc. [Nasdaq: IHRT] is the leading audio media company in America, reaching over 90% of Americans every month. iHeart’s broadcast radio assets alone have more consumer reach in the U.S. than any other media outlet; twice the reach of the next largest broadcast radio company; and over four times the ad-enabled reach of the largest digital only audio service. iHeart is the largest podcast publisher according to Podtrac, with more downloads than the next two podcast publishers combined and has the number one social footprint among audio players, with seven times more followers than the next audio media brand, and the only fully integrated audio ad tech solution across broadcast, streaming and podcasts. The company continues to leverage its strong audience connection and unparalleled consumer reach to build new platforms, products and services. Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230314006071/en/
