Fifth annual honors spotlight podcasting’s risk-takers; Listener’s Choice voting opens today at vote.signalaward.com through Oct. 15.
NEW YORK – Sept. 29, 2026 – The Signal Awards, which recognize the podcasts that define culture, today revealed the Finalists for its fifth annual honors. Each year, the award champions a diverse range of storytellers, from underground originals to front-page icons. This year focuses on recognizing the risk-takers, with members of the invitation-only Signal Awards Judging Academy encouraged to celebrate the spirit of experimentation by honoring creators who lead with authenticity and lower their inhibitions in order to raise the bar.
Among the celebrated voices in this year’s Finalists are Amy Poehler, Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, Jon Stewart, Anderson Cooper, Monica Lewinsky, Oprah Winfrey, Rachel Martin, Sam Fragoso, Scott Galloway, Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, Hank Green and Tamsen Fadal.
The podcasts and production companies spotlighted in this year’s awards include Funny You Ask with Ike Barinholtz (Fixated), Good Hang with Amy Poehler (Spotify’s The Ringer), Hard Lessons (Morgan Stanley), The Oprah Podcast (Harpo Entertainment), Operation Night Cat (New Hampshire Public Radio), The Prof G Pod (Prof G Media), Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky (the fwd. network), The Sam Sanders Show (KCRW), Smart Talks with IBM (Ruby by iHeart Media), The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart (Paramount), Wild Card with Rachel Martin (NPR) and more.
The Signal Awards also recognize independent creators and emerging voices. Among this year’s standouts are Being Jewish with Jonah Platt, Bucket Podcast, Flightless Bird, More Muslim and Zero to Well-Read.
“Podcasting has become more culturally influential than ever before,” said Jemma Rose Brown, General Manager of the Signal Awards. “This year’s Finalists are a true testament to the medium’s growth in both breadth and depth.”
Now in its fifth year, the Signal Awards saw submissions once again surge 30% for a second straight season, underscoring the continued and rapid momentum of the audio industry.
All Finalists are now competing for the Listener’s Choice Awards, which are voted on by podcast fans around the globe. Fans worldwide are invited to help crown winners in the Listener’s Choice Awards, which saw record participation in 2025, with more than 385,000 votes tallied. Voting is open now through October 15 at vote.signalaward.com.
“Winning a Signal Award has taken Trapped History to another level. Sharing stories of people we weren’t taught about in school, this season our small indie show has [been] featured in Forbes and The Guardian, pulled in 45K extra downloads and hit 50K Instagram followers.” said Oswin Baker, Founder and Co-Host, Trapped History Podcast and 2025 Signal Award Winner
Winners of this year’s Listener’s Choice Awards will be announced on October 20th, 2026. At that time, the Signal Awards Judging Academy will also announce the winners of bronze, silver, and gold across each category.
The annual Winner’s Party will take place in Brooklyn, NY on November 9, 2026.
About The Signal Awards
The Signal Awards is mission-focused on uplifting the podcast medium by recognizing the most potent, meaningful and unprecedented audio projects being made today. Now in its fifth year, entrants to The Signal Awards are reviewed by The Signal Awards Judging Academy, an esteemed collective made up of the architects, instigators and trailblazers of the medium. The Signal Awards set a standard for editorial excellence by honoring the organizations, artists, mavericks, brands and storytellers who are shaping the podcast industry. 2026 Signal Award Winners will be announced October 20th, 2026.
Media Enquiries:
Molly DeMellier
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Email: molly@soundsprofitable.com
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Find The Signal Awards Online
Website: signalaward.com
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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/signal-awards
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2026 Finalist Highlights
Finalists for Best Video Podcast Host:
Wild Card with Rachel Martin, NPR
Better Future with Michael Mezz, Whalar Group
The Oprah Podcast, Harpo
Seen on the Screen with Jacqueline Coley, We Are Social
Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, the fwd. Network
Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso, Higher Ground
On the Road with Jonathan Martin, POLITICO
At the Brink with Erica Brinker, At The Brink Media
The Why Files
The Wisdom Channel, The Happy Channel LLC
Dying to Ask with Deirdre Fitzpatrick, KCRA TV
All There Is with Anderson Cooper, CNN
Finalists for Best Comedy Podcast:
Straightiolab, iHeart Media
Take Your Shoes Off, TYSO Productions
Where There’s a Will There’s a Wake, Sony Music Entertainment
Only Bombs! Comedy Podcast
Erazno y La Chokolata, Total Market Podcast
The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi, Shark Party Media, LLC
Big Age, Audible
Finalists for Best New Podcast:
Zero to Well-Read, Riot New Media Group
Paper Trail, ProPublica
The Dan Buettner Podcast, Intuitive Content
Raising Us, A Kids Co.
SOUNDCHECK with Brandon Anthony, Now Influencing
Two Brothers, One Prostate
unPaused Podcast
Drug Story with Thomas Goetz
Are We Doomed?, Nuance Tales
Finalists for Limited Series: Documentary:
Operation Night Cat, New Hampshire Public Radio
Where the River Took Us, Texas Monthly
Birth of a Parent, Van Leer Foundation
The People’s Republic of Astoria
Scene on Radio: The News, Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University
Untold: Opus Dei, Financial Times
A Whole Other Country, Marfa Public Radio
Scandales Financiers – Norbourg, 20 ans apres (Financial Scandals – Norbourg, 20 Years Later), Radio Canada
The Palisades Fire: A Sandcastles Special, Wave Maker Media
The Obit Project, University of Montana School of Journalism
First America, First America & Pushkin Industries
Finalists for Best Arts and Culture Podcast:
The Late Set, WRTI
Flightless Bird
In Proximity, Higher Ground
Afrobeats Intelligence, Areya Media
We Disrupt This Broadcast, Peabody Awards
Antiques Roadshow Detours, GBH
Zero to Well-Read, Riot New Media Group
American Masters: Creative Spark
Talking Pictures, Warner Bros. Discovery
In Tune with Tradition, Session Etiquette
Finalists for Best True Crime Podcast:
CrimeLess, iHeart Productions
Dateline: True Crime Weekly, NBC News
True Crime with Kendall Rae, Mile Higher Media
Parallel Justice Podcast, National Center for Victims of Crime
Weird Little Guys, Cool Zone Media
Watching You, Sony Music Entertainment
Finalists for Best Podcast in News and Politics:
Start Here: How Trump Pushed a Ceasefire Over the Line, ABC News
The Fifth Column, Osprey Studios
The Daily Beans, MSW Media, Inc.
Question Everything: Inside ICE’s Push to Go Viral, KCRW/Placement Theory
None of the Above, Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group
America, Actually with Astead Herndon, Vox Media Podcast Network
Louis Blouin aux Etats-Unis de Trump, Radio-Canada
Apple News in Conversation, Apple News
The Anti-Trans Hate Machine, TransLash Media
White Picket Fence, Acast
Rania Khalek Dispatches, Breakthrough News
The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, Paramount
Finalists for Best Indie Podcast:
Morning in the Garden, Fioli
Blank Check with Griffin & David, Blank Check Productions
Everybody Knows But Me, Companion
Crows Feet Podcast
On the Pass with Gabriel Ornelas
Flightless Bird
Bucket Podcast
True Weird Stuff, Now Media LLC
Trapped History
Dead Pets, Wild Media Industries, LLC
Swindled
Finalists for Best Scripted Podcast:
Going Reno, In Like Quinn Productions
Lightcatchers
Redacted, Hush Studios
Hidden Island 2, Gen-Z Media
Sorry About the Murder, TA2 Sound + Music
The Chronicles of Astrimos, Echoverse
Two Thousand and Late, Atypical Artists
Welcome to Hope Springs, Augustine Institute
The Reality Shaper: A Musical Podcast, They & Them LLC
Last Resort, Nerve Tank Media
Finalists for Best LGBTQ+ Podcast:
Everything and Anything…and a bit gay Podcast, ZachRE, LLC
In the Den with Mama Dragons
Bad Queers Podcast
The Anti-Trans Hate Machine, TransLash Media
Dem Bois Podcast
Finalists for Best Business Podcast:
The Factory Next Door
Leap Forward
The Capital Flex, GCWC Media LLC
Decoder with Nilay Patel, The Verge
What’s it Like to Be…with Dan Heath
Morning Brew Daily
The Business Development Podcast, Capital Business Development
Becoming Self Made, Codeword
