Jon Stewart, Amy Poehler, NPR, iHeart and KCRW Among 2026 Signal Awards Finalists

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 45,000 extra downloads and hit 50,000 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, Head of Communications, Sounds Profitable

Email: molly@soundsprofitable.com
Tel: +1 607-316-0639

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

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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