The Wirecutter Show Announces Best New Pick Awards

 You have to give credit to The New York Times. While the Washington Post lies dormant like a beached whale in the Amazon, the Times swims seamlessly through shark-infested media journalism waters. 

I confess that I have a New York Times subscription. I use the publication every day. Yet, I have a confession to make. My first stop there is not to check out their excellent news coverage, investigative journalism, and vibrant opinions page. 

Instead, I start with Connections, Wordle, Spelling Bee, and The Wirecutter Show, which is my consumer advice bodyguard. If you don't know, The Wirecutter provides recommendations for a wide range of products that are both obsessively researched and simply presented. The podcast began in August 2024 and has released over 100 episodes since then. 

 The Wirecutter Show has just announced the launch of its first big awards franchise: the 2026 Best New Picks Awards. This new franchise spotlights 71 products that represent the “best of the best” among the many thousands of products tested by Wirecutter journalists over the past year. Wirecutter’s Best New Picks Awards are the culmination of the rigorous, thoughtful product testing that defines Wirecutter’s work.

Have you ever wondered what it takes for a product to earn the title of "best"?

Leta Shy, Editorial Director, NYT Wirecutter, notes: “To make this list, a product has to be truly outstanding—these are the products we’re constantly recommending to friends and family or buying ourselves. The 71 winners of our Best New Picks Awards are exceptionally useful, delightful, and here to make our readers’ lives a little bit better in many different ways.”

Over the past year, Wirecutter’s team of more than 170 expert journalists evaluated over 10,000 new products across categories including beauty, fashion, home improvement, and tech. More than 4,000 of those products were tested hands-on — from browning over 140 pounds of meat to determine the best gas grill, to lathering ourselves in 144 body washes, to trekking miles across Maui to test hiking umbrellas — to ensure they’re truly worth readers’ time and money.  

What I admire about The Wirecutter Show is the podcast's ability to be more than just a product recommendation device. The show connects our lifestyle choices, our life stages, and our current priorities to design episodes that link products and services to 

For example, the most recent episode -- Essential Tools To Stay Organized While Caring for Aging Parents -- pairs an all-too-common, often urgent familial situation with products and services that aid both the person(s) providing care and those receiving it. 

As the episode's show notes explain: "Caregiving can be one of the most meaningful roles you’ll ever take on—but it can also be overwhelming. Between managing appointments, medications, paperwork, and communication with family members or professional aides, there’s a lot to keep track of. In this episode, senior tech writer Rachel Cericola joins us to talk about the tools and systems that can help caregivers stay organized. From shared calendars to smart pill dispensers and even digital fax services, these gadgets and apps can lighten the mental load—whether you’re caring for an aging parent, a spouse in person, or coordinating from afar."

Indeed, the show's hosts add: "While this conversation focuses on supporting older adults aging in place, many of these tools can also help anyone to manage a busy household."

  In our current era, where deregulation fever has already dismantled key consumer protections, repealed statutes that keep our products and services safe to use, and facilitated the marketing of inferior products, we need the truth-tellers like Consumer Reports, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and The Wirecutter Show. 

Check out the 2026 Best New Picks Awards from The Wirecutter Show.