– Michelle Obama, ‘New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce’, Sony Music Entertainment, Dax Shepard, ‘The Wonder of Stevie’, Goalhanger, Katie Couric, Crooked Media, ‘Las Culturistas’, Vox, ‘The Mel Robbins Podcast’
– All podcast fans are invited to vote in the Listener’s Choice Awards in every category, now through Oct 9th:
–Winners Announced Oct 15th, Winners Party Nov 10th
September 23, 2025 – New York, NY – The Signal Awards, which recognize the podcasts that define culture, today has revealed the Finalists for its fourth annual honors. Each year, the award champions a diverse range of storytellers, from underground originals to front-page icons.
Among the celebrated voices in this year’s Finalists are Michelle Obama, Jason and Travis Kelce, Jon Stewart, Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, Katie Couric, Keke Palmer, Mel Robbins, Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, Kara Swisher, Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe.
The podcasts and production companies spotlighted in this year’s awards include: Dark History, Pod Save America (Crooked Media), The Sam Sanders Show (KCRW), The Rest is Classified (Goalhanger), Where How to Fail with Elizabeth Day (Sony Music Entertainment), It’s Been a Minute with Brittany Luse (NPR), The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, Into the Madness (Audible), The Big Pitch with Jimmy Carr (Netflix), Scam, Inc. (The Economist), Club Shay Shay, Mind Your Own with Lupita Nyong’o, Liberty Lost (Wondery), Aspire with Emma Grede (Audacy), Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know (Lemonada Media) and more.
The Signal Awards also recognize independent creators and emerging voices. Among this year’s standouts are: Hyperfixed, Our Ancestors Were Messy, Charlie’s Place, Things That Go Boom, Time Sensitive, Berlant & Novak, The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs, You Feeling This 2, Proxy with Yowei Shaw, Señora Sex Ed, and Sounds Like A Cult.
“For four years running, the Signal Awards has reminded us of the extraordinary breadth of voices and creativity in audio. This year’s Finalists showcase not just great entertainment, but also education, activism, innovation, and joy,” said Jemma Rose Brown, General Manager of the Signal Awards. “These awards are an incredible example of how audio continues to evolve and capture cultural moments in real time.”
Now in its fourth year, the Signal Awards saw submissions surge nearly 30% year-over-year, underscoring the continued and rapid momentum of the audio industry. In anticipation of this growth, the team introduced 10 new categories this year to ensure all award-worthy content and creators receive the recognition they deserve.
All Finalists are now currently 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 2024 with a 43% increase in voter participation from 2023. Voting is open now through October 9th, 2025 at vote.signalaward.com.
“We were able to use our Signal win both to report back to the grants who funded us that their support worked and use it as leverage to ask for additional support. It’s a sea of podcasts out there, so Signal is an instant validator,” said Sarah Jane Johnson, Head of Creative Operations at The Moth.
Winners of this year’s Listener’s Choice Awards will be announced on October 15, 2025. At this 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 on November 10th, 2025.
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 third 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. 2025 Signal Award Winners will be announced October 15th, 2025.
Media Enquiries:
Molly DeMellier, Sundaze PR
Email: molly@sundazepr.com
Tel: +1 607 316 0639
Sarah Jackson, Sundaze PR
Email: sarah@sundazepr.com
Tel: +44 7306 256 148
Find The Signal Awards Online
Website: signalaward.com
Facebook: facebook.com/signalawards
X: https://x.com/signalawards
Instagram: instagram.com/signalawards
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/signal-awards
2025 Finalist Highlights
Finalists for Best Video Podcast Host:
The Mel Robbins Podcast from 143 Studios
Murder, Mystery & Makeup from Bailey Sarian LLC
Hasan Minhaj Doesn’t Know from Lemonada Media
The Jamie Kern Lima Show from Life is Love
The Pre-Game With Kayla Nicole from Dear Media
The Pivot Podcast from The Pivot Podcast
Seen on the Screen with Jacqueline Coley from Universal Pictures
Beyond Saint Podcast from Beyond Saint Podcast
From Now On from LA PHILLLIPS MEDIA
Finalists for Best Comedy Podcast:
Berlant & Novak from Berlant & Novak
Petty Crimes from Hartbeat
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang from iHeartPodcasts
The Big Pitch with Jimmy Carr from Netflix
Reading Reddit Stories from Smosh
Where There’s a Will There’s a Wake from Sony Music Entertainment
Finalists for Best New Podcast:
Higher Ground’s IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson from Higher Ground
Aspire with Emma Grede from Audacy and Emma Grede
Debt Heads from Debt Heads
Hyperfixed from Hyperfixed
Mind Your Own with Lupita Nyong’o from KQED’s Snap Studios
Around The W from Minute Media
Making a Scene with Matt Lucas and David Walliams from Platform Media
Signal Hill from Signal Hill
Pitch Playground from 4.0
THE CHAIR from THE CHAIR Podcast
Finalists for Limited Series: Documentary:
Camp Shame from Acast Creative Studios
Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer from Audible
Half-Life from Falling Tree Productions
Suave Season Two from Futuro Media Group
Journeys with Grace from Gigi Ogun
NPR’s Embedded: Alternate Realities from NPR
Blindfolded And Arrested On Assignment In Israel (2 parts) from Placement Theory
She Had my Name (Se Lllamaba Ccomo Yyo) from Se Habla Producciones and PRX
The Network from The Futuro Media Group
Flesh and Code from Wondery
Liberty Lost from Wondery
Finalists in Best Arts and Culture Podcast:
American Masters: Creative Spark from American Masters
Imaginary Worlds from Imaginary Worlds
Locatora Radio from Locatora Productions
We Disrupt This Broadcast from Peabody Awards
Time Sensitive from The Slowdown
Magical Overthinkers from The Word Factory LLC
Sounds Like A Cult from The Word Factory LLC
Finalists for Best True Crime Podcast:
Not a Very Good Murderer from Audible
Into the Madness from Audible
The Copernic Affair from Canadaland
Monster: BTK from iHeartPodcasts
The Narco’s Children from Rainbow Lobster and Sonoro
Fire Escape from Snap Studios
The Boston Globe’s Spotlight: Snitch City from The Progress Network
Untested from USA TODAY
Kill List from Wondery
Finalists for Best Podcast in News and Politics:
Trial By Jury from CNN
We Live Here Now from The Atlantic
Scam, Inc. from The Economist
The Minister’s Millions from Al Jazeera Media Network
Extremely American: Onward Christian Soldiers from Boise State Public Radio
The Bully’s Pulpit: Trump v. The First Amendment from Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University
70 Million Investigates: ICE x Gender from LWC Studios
Trumpland with Alex Wagner from MSNBC Audio
Bad Watchdog from Project On Government Oversight
Beyond The Headlines from The National News
Finalists for Best Indie Podcast:
Dwelling with Lauren Weedman from Jett Road Studios
Disco’s Lost Women from Soundscapes NYC
Meaningful Marketplace- Wapato Island Farm, Jennifer Rose Marie Serna from The Joy of Creation Production House
Hotel on the Edge of Europe from Yarn
Finalists for Best Scripted Podcast:
Ecce Homo from Axel Kacoutié
Table Read “When Wendy Grew Up” from Manifest Media Productions
DC High Volume: Batman from Realm
Sorry About The Murder from TA2 Sound + Music
Finalists for Best LGBTQ+ Podcast:
Murder at the Patel Motel from Broadway Video
Afterlives: Marsha P. Johnson from iHeartPodcasts
The Anti-Trans Hate Machine Season 3 from TransLash Media
Finalists for Best Business People and Entrepreneurs Shaping Culture:
Cold Call from Harvard Business Review
Confessions of a Female Founder with Meghan from Lemonada Media
Hello Monday from LinkedIn News
This is Working from LinkedIn News
Prof G Conversations from Prof G Media
Masters of Scale from WaitWhat
