The biggest podcasts of the year were celebrated during the 2021iHeartRadio Podcast Awards, and the winners have been revealed!
This year's awards show may have looked a bit different, as the event was completely virtual, but many of podcasting's biggest stars and more celebrities appeared during the event, including Will Ferrell, Gwen Stefani, Questlove, Hillary Clinton and more. Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers of "Las Culturistas" and Obama's Other Daughters' Maame-Yaa Aforo, Ashley Holston,Shakira Ja'nai Payeand Yazmin Monet Watkins traded off on hosting duties throughout the night.
Taking home the title of Podcast of the Year, voted on by fans, was "Office Ladies," which is hosted by The Office's Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. This year's Podcast of the Year nominees included "Bunga Bunga,""Dolly Partonâs America,""Nice White Parents,""Office Ladies,""Reply All,""Stuff You Should Know,""The Breakfast Club,""The Daily,""The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos" and "Wind of Change,".
In their acceptance speech, Angela said of the win, "This is so awesome, we are so thrilled! Thank you for listening to the podcast. We've wanted to work together ever since The Office ended, and this is a dream come true for us." Jenna added, "We just absolutely love rewatching the show, and sharing our memories with you, and this award, it really, truly means a lot to us. We also wanna thank our team at Earwolf who helps us get the show off the ground each week, and thank you for voting for us!"
The 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards also presented three Icon Awards to pay tribute to the creators, organizations and podcasts that have made groundbreaking contributions to podcastingâs expanding role in todayâs popular culture; Baratunde Thurston was honored with the Social Impact Award, Serial Productionsâ Sarah Koenig, Julie Synder and Neil Drumming received the Audible Audio Pioneer Award and QCODE was honored with the Innovator Award.
In addition to the Icon Awards, the first-ever Seneca Women Podcast Award was presented to Amena Brown for helping to amplify women's voices via her podcast "Her with Amena Brown."
2020 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards Winners
Podcast of the Year: Socially Voted Category
âBunga Bungaâ (Wondery)
âDolly Partonâs Americaâ (WNYC Studios/OSM Audio)
âNice White Parentsâ (Serial/The New York Times)
âOffice Ladiesâ (Earwolf /Jenna Fischer/Angela Kinsey) - WINNER
âReply Allâ (Gimlet)
âStuff You Should Knowâ (iHeartRadio)
âThe Breakfast Clubâ (iHeartRadio)
âThe Dailyâ (The New York Times)
âThe Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santosâ (Pushkin Industries)
âWind of Changeâ (Crooked/Pineapple Street Media/Spotify)
Social Impact Award: Baratunde Thurston - WINNER
Audible Audio Pioneer Award: Serial Productions - WINNER
Innovator Award: QCODE - WINNER
Seneca Women Podcast Award in partnership with P&G: Amena Brown - WINNER
Best Business & Finance Podcast:
âBusiness Warsâ (Wondery)
âEarn Your Leisureâ (Independent)
âFreakonomicsâ (Freakonomics Radio & Stitcher)
âHow I Built Thisâ (NPR)
âPivotâ (New York Magazine) - WINNER
Best Comedy Podcast:
âConan OâBrien Needs A Friendâ (Team Coco/Earwolf)
âOffice Ladiesâ (Earwolf/Jenna Fischer/Angela Kinsey)
âThe Readâ (Loud Speakers Network) - WINNER
âSmartlessâ (Independent)
âFake Doctors, Real Friendsâ (iHeartRadio)
Best Crime Podcast:
âCrime Junkieâ (AudioChuck) - WINNER
âCriminalâ (PRX/Radiotopia)
âDeep Cover: The Drug Warsâ (Pushkin Industries)
âForgotten: Women of Juarezâ (iHeartRadio)
âMy Favorite Murderâ (Exactly Right)
Best Pop Culture Podcast:
âBitch Seshâ (Earwolf/Casey Wilson/Danielle Schneider)
âLas Culturistasâ (Big Money Players/iHeartRadio)
âPop Culture Happy Hourâ (NPR) - WINNER
âStill Processingâ (The New York Times)
âThe Readâ (Loud Speakers Network)
Best Food Podcast:
âBurnt Toastâ (Food52)
âGastropodâ (Independent)
âHome Cookingâ (Samin Nosrat/Hrishikesh Hirway) - WINNER
âSpilled Milkâ (Molly Wizenberg & Matthew Amster-Burton)
âThe Sporkfulâ (Dan Pashman/Stitcher)
Best Wellness & Fitness Podcast:
âHappier with Gretchen Rubinâ (Gretchen Rubin/The Onward Project)
âOn Purpose with Jay Shettyâ (Jay Shetty & Kast Media)
âSleep with Meâ (Dearest Scooter & Night Vale Presents)
âTen Percent Happierâ (ABC News)
âTherapy For Black Girlsâ (Joy Harden Bradford/iHeartRadio) - WINNER
Best History Podcast:
âDan Carlinâs Hardcore Historyâ (Dan Carlin)
âNoble Bloodâ (iHeartRadio)
âRevisionist Historyâ (Pushkin Industries) - WINNER
âSlow Burnâ (Slate)
âThroughlineâ (NPR)
Best Kids & Family Podcast:
âBut Why: A Podcast For Kidsâ (Vermont Public Radio)
âHank The Cowdogâ (QCODE & HTC Productions)
âSmash Boom Bestâ (APM)
âStory Piratesâ (Gimlet)
âWow In The Worldâ (NPR) - WINNER
Best Music Podcast:
âBobbycastâ (The Nashville Podcast Network)
âBroken Recordâ (Pushkin Industries)
âDisgracelandâ (Jake Brennan)
âDolly Partonâs Americaâ (WNYC & OSM Audio) - WINNER
âSong Exploderâ (Hrishikesh Hirway)
Best News Podcast:
âPod Save Americaâ (Crooked Media)Â - WINNER
âThe Dailyâ (The New York Times)
âThe Journal.â (The Wall Street Journal/Gimlet)Â
âToday, Explainedâ (Vox)
âUp Firstâ (NPR)
Best Fiction Podcast:
âBlood Tiesâ (Wondery) - WINNER
âBorrascaâ (QCODE)
âDirty Dianaâ (QCODE)
âThe Left Right Gameâ (QCODE)
âWelcome To Night Valeâ (Night Vale Presents)
Best Sports Podcast:
âAll The Smokeâ (The Black Effect) - WINNER
âFantasy Footballersâ (Fantasy Football)
âPardon My Takeâ (Barstool Sports)
âThe Bill Simmons Podcastâ (The Ringer/Bill Simmons)
âThe Herd with Colin Cowherdâ (iHeartRadio)
Best Science Podcast:
âHidden Brainâ (NPR)
âInvisibiliaâ (NPR)
âRadiolabâ (WNYC Studios) - WINNER
âScience Vs.â (Gimlet)
âStuff To Blow Your Mindâ (iHeartRadio)
Best Technology Podcast:
âRabbit Holeâ (The New York Times) - WINNER
âRecode by Voxâ (Recode)
âReply Allâ (Gimlet)
âTED Radio Hourâ (NPR)
âWaveformâ (Studio71)
Best Ad Read:
âComedy Bang Bangâ (Earwolf / Scott Aukerman)
âConan OâBrien Needs A Friendâ (Team Coco/Earwolf)
âHollywood Handbookâ (Earwolf)
âOffice Ladiesâ (Earwolf / Stitcher) - WINNER
âRevisionist Historyâ (Pushkin Industries)
Best Overall Host â Male:
Conan OâBrien (Team Coco/Earwolf) - WINNER
Dax Shepard (Armchair Umbrella)
Jonathan Van Ness (Earwolf/Stitcher)
Michael Barbaro (The New York Times)
Questlove (iHeartRadio)
Best Overall Host â Female:
Ashley Flowers (Parcast)
Brene Brown (Parcast)
Michelle Obama (Higher Ground/Spotify)
Nicole Byer (Headgum) - WINNER
Nora McInerny (APM)
Best Political Podcast:
âFiveThirtyEight Politicsâ (FiveThirtyEight/538/ABC News, Nate Silver)
âNPR Politicsâ (NPR) - WINNER
âPod Save Americaâ (Crooked Media)
âPolitical Gabfestâ (Slate)
âStay Tuned with Preetâ (Cafe)
Best TV & Film Podcast:
âFake Doctors, Real Friendsâ (iHeartRadio)
âHow Did This Get Made?â (Earwolf/Paul Scheer/June Diane Raphael/Jason Mantzoukas/Stitcher)
âOffice Ladiesâ (Earwolf/Jenna Fischer/Angela Kinsey)
âRewatchablesâ (The Ringer/Bill Simmons)
âYou Must Remember Thisâ (Karina Longworth) - WINNER
Best Spanish Language Podcast:
âDuolingo Spanish Podcastâ (Duolingo)
âLa Nota Rojaâ (Imperative Entertainment/Blue Guitar)
âLeyendas Legendariasâ (Sonoro/All Things Comedy) - WINNER
âRadio Ambulanteâ (NPR)Â
âSpanish Aqui Presentsâ (Earwolf /Spanish Aqui Presents)
Best Advice/Inspirational Podcast:
âDear Prudenceâ (Slate)
âDear Sugarsâ (WBUR/The New York Times)
âTerrible, Thanks For Askingâ (APM)
âUnlocking Us with Brene Brownâ (Parcast) - WINNER
âWhere Should We Begin with Esther Perelâ (Esther Perel Global Media/Gimlet)
Best Beauty & Fashion Podcast:
âArticles of Interestâ (Avery Trufelman/99% Invisible) - WINNER
âBeauty Needs Meâ (Independent)
âBlamo!â (Independent)
âDressed: The History of Fashionâ (iHeartRadio)
âForever 35â (Independent)
Best Travel Podcast:
âEscapeâ (WEBVID)
âExtra Pack of Peanutsâ (Independent)
âJUMP with Traveling Jackieâ (Independent)
âLetâs Go Togetherâ (Travel & Leisure)
âTravel with Rick Stevesâ (Rick Steves) - WINNER
Best Spirituality & Religion Podcast:
âCalm It Downâ (Independent)
âDoing Great with Vicky Voxâ (Earwolf & Vicky Vox)
âElevation with Steven Furtickâ (Independent) - WINNER
âOn Being with Krista Tippettâ (Independent)
âWhoa Thatâs Good Podcastâ (Independent)
Best Green Podcast:
âAmerica Adaptsâ (Independent)
âBroken Groundâ (Southern Environmental Law Center)
âCitizensâ Climate Lobbyâ (Citizensâ Climate Lobby)
âCosting The Earthâ (BBC Radio 4)
âHow To Save A Planetâ (Gimlet) - WINNER
Best Branded Podcast:
âBring Back Broncoâ (Ford)
âHackable?â (McAfee)
âHumans Growing Stuffâ (ScottsMiracle-Gro) - WINNER
âInside Trader Joeâsâ (Trader Joeâs)
âThe Only Way Is Throughâ (Under Armour)Â