Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Audible, Kit Harrington, Questlove, Ashley Johnson, Michael J Fox, Eva Longoria, Steven Yeun, Doja Cat, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Hart among Finalists for 2nd Annual Signal Awards.
Voting for Listener’s Choice Awards Kicks Off Today at vote.signalaward.com

NEW YORK, September 19th, 2023 – Signal Awards – celebrating the world’s best Podcasts – announced Finalists for its 2nd Annual honors today which include: KnuckleHeads, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, The Blog Era, HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast, Masters of Scale, Womanica, Netflix is a Daily Joke, Kym, Operation: Tradebom, Dykes to Watch Out For, Once Upon a Wasteland, The Read and Dispatches From Myrtle Beach as well as some of the world’s most influential, entertaining and informative voices including, Jon Stewart, Jill Scott, Tyler Perry, Eva Longoria, Hoda Kotb, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobe Nwigwe, June Cohen, Jimmy Iovine, LZ Granderson, Kevin Pang, Miranda Keeling, and John Legend and Rosario Dawson.

All Finalists are eligible to win a Signal Award, selected by the Signal Academy, and The Signal Listener’s Choice Award, voted on by the Podcast community around the world at. Voting for The Signal Listener’s Choice is open now until Thursday, October 5th, at 11:59 pm PT at Vote.Signalward.com

“Coming off the heels of an incredible inaugural year, I’m elated to have an even more successful  second season for the Signal Awards, due in large part to our incredible podcast community. Our continued commitment to discovering, honoring, and celebrating the great work being done in the podcast industry continues to be the foundation of everything we do.”

Signal Award Finalists were selected by the Signal Academy which included Founding Jurors Jody Avirgan (Host, This Day in Esoteric Behavior); Ray Chao (GM of Audio, Vox Media); Rachael King (CEO and Co-Founder, Pod People ; Maya Watson (Head of Global Marketing, Clubhouse); Michael Gluckstadt (Director of Podcasts, HBO & HBO MAX); Anna Hossnieh (Executive Producer, iHeartRadio Comedy); Jenny Kaplan (Co-Founder and CEO, Wonder Media Network); Deray McKesson (Host, Pod Save the People / Co-founder & Executive Chair, Campaign Zero); and newer members of the Academy including David Markowitz (Netflix – Podcasts Manager); Joshua Dudley (Forbes) ); Mary Assadullahi (Realm, Vice President);  Talib Jasir (Afros & Audio – CEO) ; Jazmin Aguilera (Head of Audio – Los Angeles Times) ); Kathleen Moroney (Executive Creator Director – Forever Audio)

Podcast submissions far exceeded organizers expectations with domestic entries coming in from twenty-five states and global entries from four different continents. With nearly 2000 entries received in only its second year, Signal Awards is already one of the largest honors for Podcasts in the world. Organizers also noted the diversity of companies creating and entering great Podcasts, including global media heavyweights like Warner Bros. Discovery, ABC News, Audible, SXM Media, WaitWhat, Apple, Netflix, Al Jazeera, iHeart Podcasts and Stitcher Studios to pioneering companies like Paramount Amazon, Vox Media Podcast Network, Tenderfoot TV, Lemonada, Crooked Media, and Realm.

Reflecting the medium’s reputation for being informal and authentic, five shows were selected as finalists for Best Indie Podcast including: Like You: Mindfulness For Kids, Fireside with Blair Hodges, Humans of Purpose, Undiscarded: Stories of New York, and Curios Matter Anthology .

Live recorded and video podcasts continue to be a popular tool of the Podcasting industry, with more and more notable voices taking to the medium every day. The Official Game of Thrones Podcast House of the Dragon, Questlove Supreme, Soul & Science Podcast | Shake Shack CMO Jay Livingston, and Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG with Stephen Asma – SO YOU THINK YOU’RE A STARSEED? were all recognized as Finalists for Shows in the Best Live Podcast Recording category.

Listener’s Choice voting for Signal Awards ends on October 5th, 11:59PM ET and Winners for the Inaugural Signal Awards will be announced on Tuesday, October 10, 2023.

To vote in the Signal Awards Listeners Choice, please visit vote.signalaward.com

About The Signal Awards

A new, comprehensive award initiative for podcasts, the inaugural Signal Awards will recognize the breadth of Podcast and Digital Audio work from around the globe by honoring the organizations, brands and professionals creating and shaping the industry. The hope is that by honoring and championing this work, The Signal Awards can help set a standard of excellence and play a significant role in supporting the future of the podcast industry.

Find The Signal Awards Online:

Website: signalaward.com

Facebook: facebook.com/signalawards

Twitter: twitter.com/signalawards

Instagram: instagram.com/signalawards

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/signal-awards

TikTok: tiktok.com/@signalawards

Inaugural Signal Awards Finalist Highlights

Best Guest – Individual Episode

  • The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon – Kit Harrington – Warner Bros. Discovery
  • The Light Podcast – Michelle Obama – AUDIBLE
  • HBO’s The Last of Us – Ashley Johnson – Warner Bros. Discovery
  • On Purpose with Jay Shetty – Tom Holland ON: How to Overcome Social Anxiety & Beneficial Life Lessons You Can
  • Learn From Family – iHeart Podcasts
  • Ouestlove Supreme – Ouestlove – The Oriel Co.

Arts & Culture – Individual Episode

  • Taiwan’s Unlikely Beef Noodle Soup – Clarissa Wei – America’s Test Kitchen
  • Origins – Tobe Nwigwe – Audible
  • Hungry for History with Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez-Rejón – iHeart Podcasts
  • The World’s Greatest Italian Beef – Kevin Pang – America’s Test Kitchen 

Best Conversation Starter – Individual Episode

  • Milk Drunk: The Podcast – Tan France on Taking the Stigma Out of Surrogacy – Bobbie
  • How to Wash Your Brain – Feet in 2 Worlds
  • Did Mac Dre Really Go to Prison Because of His Lyrics – KQED
  • Wild Ideas Worth Living – Puddle Creative
  • Are We Ever Black Enough – YR Media
  • Beyond 6 Seconds: Dissociative Identity Disorder with Amber Louise Ainsworth – Beyond 6 Seconds

Interview or Talk Show – Individual Episode

  • Wish I Knew: Peter Beck – Bessemer Venture Partners
  • Skip Intro – Steven Yeun -Netflix
  • American Masters: Creative Spark – John David Washington Explores his Past for his Broadway Debut – American Masters
  • What the Hack: Jill Schlesinger Hits the Reset Button – Loud Tree Media
  • Barely Famous Podcast x Kat Stickler – Podcast One
  • Milk Drunk: The Podcast – Meghan Trainor & Emily Oster: Redefining “Best” Parenting – Bobbie
  • Wiser Than Me – Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Lemonada

Best Writing – Individual Episode

  • The No Good, Terribly Kind, Wonderful Lives and Tragic Deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman – “Chapter Eight: Thin Lines” – Antica Productions
  • Ep. 126 The Barn – Ballen Studios
  • VR Gloves: Where air guitar meets a Nintendo flop, meets the future of remote surgery – Setapp
  • TChild abuse: When parents attack their own – Mediacorp Pte Ltd.

Best Editing – Limited Series & Specials

  • Culpable – Tenderfoot TV
  • Apple Music’s Hip-Hop DNA – Apple
  • Into America: Street Disciples – MSNBC
  • Long Shadow: Rise of the American Far Right – Long Lead
  • Heretic in the House – The Shalom Hartman Institute

Comedy – Shows

  • Latinos Out Loud – Latinos Out Loud, LLC
  • Lovett or Leave It – Crooked Media
  • Funny Cuz It’s True – Lemonada
  • Gold Mind with Kevin Hart – Hartbeat

Sports – Individual Episode

  • Small Town Dicks – Paperclip Ltd.
  • What the Hack: Shreya Datta’s Crush Creeps Off with $450,000 – Loud Tree Media
  • Vinfamous: Wine Crimes & Scandals – Murder in the Vineyard – Wine Enthushiast

Best Writing – Limited Series & Specials

  • Growing Up Powerful – Rebel Girls
  • CAN YOU DIG IT? – A HIP HOP ORIGIN STORY – PB & J Productions
  • SNAFU with Ed Helms – FilmNation Entertainment
  • Into America: Street Disciples – MSNBC Into America Podcast
  • High Strange – Tenderfoot TV 

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – Limited Series & Specials

  • Direct Deposit – AUDIBLE
  • The Idiom – SBS
  • Free From Desire: Asexual in the City of Love – Paradiso Media
  • Women of Europe – Deutsche Welle
  • Wading Between Two Titans – The Repair Lab

Best Original Score or Music – Limited Series & Specials

  • Lake Song – Make Believe Association
  • Deal Alana – Tenderfoot TV
  • White Hats – Texas Monthly
  • CAN YOU DIG IT? – A HIP HOP ORIGIN STORY – PB & J Productions
  • A Heart for a Heart – Packhowl Media

Best Hosts – Shows

  • Gold Minds with Kevin Hart – Hartbeat
  • Wiser Than Me – Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Lemonada
  • Beef with Bridgette Todd – Next Chapter Podcasts
  • Dark History host by Bailey Sarain – Audioboom
  • Mind of a Monster: Jeffrey Dahmer – Michelle Ward – Warner Bros. Discovery
  • Reality with King – Carlos King – QCODE
  • Design Matter with Debbie Millman – School of Visual Arts
  • Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris – Wondery

Best Conversation Starter – Shows

  • She’s a 10 Times 5 – She’s a 10 Times 5 Podcast
  • The Problem with Jon Stewart: The Official Podcast – Apple TV Podcast
  • The Sunday 7 Conversation Starter – Draft Doris
  • On Purpose with Jay Shetty – iHeart Podcasts
  • Do the Pot – How to Do the Pot
  • The Stoop Podcast – The Stoop