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The results are in — these are the best podcasts around.
Hosted by Saturday Night Live alum and "Thanks Dad" podcast host Ego Nwodim, the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards returned to SXSW live on Monday (March 16) at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, to celebrate the best in podcasting over the past year.
After your favorite creators showed off their style on the iHeartPodcast Awards Green Carpet, brought to you by Avocados from Mexico, viewers tuning into the show and listening in on select iHeartMedia Radio Stations and the free iHeartRadio app got to see which of their favorite podcasts came out on top in categories ranging from comedy and crime to history and news and everything in between.
The top award of the night was a battle for Podcast of the Year, a fan-voted award that included nominees "Good Hang with Amy Poehler," "The Breakfast Club," "The Mel Robbins Podcast," "Pablo Torre Finds Out," "The Daily," "The Rest Is History," "This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von," "Call Her Daddy," "Heavyweight" and "Giggly Squad."
Keep reading to see the winners and all of the nominees for the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards.
Podcast of the Year
"Good Hang with Amy Poehler"
"The Breakfast Club"
"The Mel Robbins Podcast"
"Pablo Torre Finds Out"
"The Daily"
"The Rest Is History"
"This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von"
"Call Her Daddy"
"Heavyweight"
"Giggly Squad" — WINNER
Best Business & Finance
"Earn Your Leisure"
"How I Built This"
"Acquired"
"Young and Profiting with Hala Taha"
"The Diary of a CEO" — WINNER
Best Comedy
"Good Hang with Amy Poehler" — WINNER
"The Toast"
"Distractible"
"Handsome"
"The Basement Yard"
Best Crime
"Crime Junkie"
"Rotten Mango"
"Anatomy of Murder"
"My Favorite Murder"
"Wisecrack" — WINNER
Best Pop Culture
"Las Culturistas"
"Call Her Daddy" — WINNER
"Therapuss with Jake Shane"
"Giggly Squad"
"The Viall Files"
Best Food
"Eating While Broke" — WINNER
"The Sporkful"
"Home Cooking"
"The Splendid Table"
"Dinners On Me"
Best Wellness & Fitness
"On Purpose with Jay Shetty"
"Huberman Lab"
"The Mel Robbins Podcast" — WINNER
"10% Happier"
"Maintenance Phase"
Best History
"The Rest Is History" — WINNER
"You’re Wrong About"
"Throughline"
"American History Tellers"
"SNAFU"
Best Kids & Family
"Story Pirates"
"Wow in the World"
"Circle Round" — WINNER
"The Big Fib"
"Brains On!"
Best Music
"The Bobby Bones Show"
"Song Exploder"
"Switched On Pop"
"All Songs Considered" — WINNER
"One Song"
Best News
"The Daily"
"The Megyn Kelly Show"
"Pivot"
"The MeidasTouch Podcast" — WINNER
"Up First from NPR"
Best Fiction
"The NoSleep Podcast"
"Havoc Town"
"Old Gods of Appalachia"
"Table Read"
"Murder at the Patel Motel" — WINNER
Best Sports
"New Heights"
"Pardon My Take" — WINNER
"The Zach Lowe Show"
"Club 520"
"The Ringer Fantasy Football Show"
Best Science
"Radiolab"
"Ologies"
"Hidden Brain" — WINNER
"StarTalk Radio"
"Shell Game"
Best Technology
"Hard Fork"
"Black Tech Green Money"
"Galaxy Brain"
"Acquired" — WINNER
"All In"
Best Ad Read
"Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend"
"Call Her Daddy"
"My Brother, My Brother and Me" — WINNER
"Dudes on Dudes"
"Distractible"
Best Host
"Amy Poehler"
"Pablo Torre"
"Alex Cooper"
"Emma Chamberlain"
"Caleb Hearon" — WINNER
Best Ensemble
"We Can Do Hard Things"
"SmartLess"
"The Basement Yard" — WINNER
"This Is Important"
"Get Played"
Best Political
"Pod Save America"
"The Bulwark Podcast"
"Breaking Points" — WINNER
"Hacks On Tap"
"The Ben Shapiro Show"
Best TV & Film
"The Big Picture"
"The Rewatchables"
"How Did This Get Made?"
"Watch What Crappens" — WINNER
"Girls Rewatch"
Best Spanish Language
"Gracias, Come Again."
"Radio Ambulante"
"Leyenda Legendarias"
"Chente Ydrach" — WINNER
"Relatos de la Noche"
Best Advice/Inspirational
"IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson"
"On Purpose with Jay Shetty"
"Thanks For Asking with Nora McInerny" — WINNER
"Just Heal with Dr. Jay"
"Self-Conscious with Chrissy Teigen"
Best Beauty & Fashion
"Nymphet Alumni"
"Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud"
"Articles of Interest"
"Lipstick on the Rim"
"Naked Beauty" — WINNER
Best Travel
"Women Who Travel" — WINNER
"Travel with Rick Steves"
"Zero To Travel"
"Points Talk"
"The Travel Diaries"
Best Religious & Spirituality
"Deeply Well with Devi Brown"
"Girls Gone Bible"
"Joel Osteen Podcast"
"WHOA That’s Good Podcast"
"Elevation with Steven Furtick" — WINNER
Best Branded Podcast
"This Is Not a Beauty Podcast (L’Oreal)"
"Crucible Moments (Sequoia Capital)"
"The Unshakeables (Chase for Business)" — WINNER
"ZOE Science & Nutrition (ZOE)"
"Smart Talks (IBM)"
Best Emerging
"Khloé in Wonder Land"
"Smart Girl Dumb Questions" — WINNER
"Try Hard"
"Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim"
"Upstairs Neighbors"
Best International
"ShxtsNGigs" (United Kingdom)
"Las Alucines" (Mexico)
"The Rest Is History" (United Kingdom)
"Shameless" (Australia) — WINNER
"Crime Beat" (Canada)