Announcing The Nominees for The 2026 Ear Worthy Awards

 

Here are the nominees for the third annual Ear Worthy Awards. After our first and second annual nomination and awards processes in July 2024 and 2025, we’ve made a few process improvements.

First, we have changed the timing of the awards. For the first two years, we developed nominations in late June and early July, then held a 30-day judging process. Award winners were announced in late August.

We’ve decided to adjust the awards so they better fit the calendar. 

Second, we’ve included more voices in the initial nominating process. Last year, our board did. This year, nominations are based on input from our Board, select indie podcasters, podcast professionals, and our subscribed readers. We’ve also expanded our judging panel so every category has two judges.

Third, we’ve streamlined and adjusted some of the award categories, focusing on areas where indie podcasts are particularly strong. 

Lastly, we again decided to only include indie podcasts that Ear Worthy has reviewed. Fear not, that decision enabled us to still evaluate over 284 indie podcasts in 2026, with several thousand before that timeframe.

At Ear Worthy, we define independent “indie” podcasts as those produced by an individual without support from large podcast networks, such as Spotify, iHeart, Audible, SiriusXM, or major production studios like Sony or Warner Music. Indie podcasts can belong to a small podcast network, be developed by a non-profit organization, a museum, or a quasi-governmental agency.

The judges have all been chosen from the independent podcasting world. Judges will use ranked-choice voting. A GOLD will be given to the winner in each category, and a SILVER to the runner-up. Sorry, no participation trophies.

The Award Winners will be announced on Tuesday, January 19th, 2027. The winner of the Podcast Of The Year award will receive $100 U.S. dollars or equivalent in other currency via the TrueFans website/app. The winner will also receive one year of free podcast hosting on TrueFans.

As our sponsor, we encourage podcasters and podcast fans to check out TrueFans—its ease of use, robust functionality, and range of uses for all audiences are unparalleled in the industry. 

Judging is based on: Quality of Craft & Production: Technical excellence matters. Judges evaluate sound design, audio clarity, mixing, editing pacing, and overall production value. Content & Storytelling: The core narrative or conversation must be engaging, coherent, and thought-provoking. Judges look at whether the creator’s original idea and intent are clearly communicated and whether the content leaves a lasting impression. Creativity & Innovation: In a crowded market, awards reward shows that break new ground. This includes fresh takes on formats, unique question styles, new perspectives, or narrative approaches that push the medium forward.

Overall Listener Experience & Engagement: Judges assess the emotional impact, “stickiness” (whether a listener wants to share it immediately), and how well the show holds attention from start to finish. Alignment with Category Intent: Judges assess how well entries fit the specific category (e.g., true crime, branded content, independent spirit, or journalism), not just raw download numbers or marketing budgets.

This year, there are 27 categories. There are 156 podcasts nominated. 

Here are the 2026 nominees for the Ear Worthy Awards:

Best Audio Fiction Podcast

Liminal — Josie & Michael Herman / Acorn Arts And Entertainment
Promenade — Andy Gaffney
American Afterlife — Allyson Dwyer and River Donaghey, Scarlett Estevez, CEO of Aurora Productions, William Stuart
Visionaries — Richard Seneque
The Writer — Oliver Smuhar
Moonburn — Robbie Hyne
The Evenfall Hollow Board of Tourism — Ruu McKinney / Windborne Press

Best Books Podcast

Yellow Shelf — Johanna Fink
Book Imprint — Rebecca Thandi Norman
Shelf Life — Aaron Hicklin / Grand Podcasts
The Currently Reading Podcast—Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb
All The Books — Liberty Hardy / Book Riot
The Book Club Podcast — Sam Leith / The Spectator
Babes In Bookland Podcast — Alex Frnka

Best Business Podcast

Honey & Hustle — Angela Hollowell
The (Not Boring) Boring Small Business And Accounting Podcast — Paul Rodenbaum
Everybody Pulls The Tarp Podcast — Andrew Moses
The Grind Hotline — Harj Singh
Organized Money — Matt Stoller and David Dayen
Stories & Strategies — Doug Downs and Farzana Baduel

Best Community Service Podcast

The ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Podcast — Kate Moryoussef / Mercury
The Late Discovered Club — Catherine Asta
Zero Reject — Anya Kamenetz / Understood.Org
Butts No Lies — Mavi Rodriguez
Keep The Flame Alive — Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz
Everyone Gets a Juice Box — Jessica Shaw / Understood.Org
Beyond 6 Seconds — Carolyn Kiel

Best Cultural Podcast

Auntie Please — Zainab Wadood and Saema Tahir
The Masala Podcast — Sangeeta Pillai
Diaspora Diaries Podcast — Awa Sow
Desi Dreamers — Nikhita Nachiappan

Best Education Podcast

The Sound School Podcast — Rob Rosenthal, Transom.org
Twenty-First Century Disability Podcast — Hollis Peirce
Teaching Through The Emotions Podcast — Betsy Burris
Art Educators Save The World — Erica Rosenfeld Halverson
Creativity Found — Claire Waite Brown

Best Health & Wellness Podcast

Getting Personal With Plant Medicine — Diana Ashley-Krach
Salad With A Side Of Fries — Jenn Trepeck 
An Arm And A Leg — Dan Weissman
The Cancer Caregiver Podcast — Charlotte Bayala
Beyond The Brain — Texas Neurological Society, hosted by Dr. Eddie Patton
Let’s Talk About Your Breasts — The Rose in Houston
Everybody Loves Boobs — Christina Thomas

Best History Podcast

Distillate Podcast — Shawn Spitaleri
Trapped History —  Oswin Baker / Carla O’Shaughnessy
History For The Reckoning — Spencer Ford
The Beverage Chronicles — Gary Monterosso / Heritage Radio Network
Echoes In The First Person — Michael Brown Washington
Tracing The Path — Dan R. Morris
American History Remix — Will Schneider and Lyndsay Smith

Best Horror Podcast

Spanish Sundown — Samuel Mattern
 Spooky Story Time — Beth / Mercury
Lore — Aaron Mahnke
The Final Cut — Grace Cordell / REDRUM
Up All Night — Rhonda Shear / Bloodstream TV

Best Humor Podcast

“Fine” Dining — Michael Ornelas
Dead And Kind Of Famous — Courtney Blomquist & Marissa Rivera
Another F*cking Horror Show — Monique Sanchez & Amy Traydon
Austen After Dark — Dr. Alice Nagle / Podomedy
Friends Talking Shop — Dave, Josh, Omar
 Fetch the Smelling Salts — Dr. Alice Nagle and Kimberly Marsh / Podomedy

Best International Podcast

Lead With Your Voice — Regina Larko
Grave Matters — Anthony Levin & Nadine J. Cohen
Canadian History Ehx — Craig Baird
Review It Yourself — Sean & Sarah

Best Interview Podcast

5 Random Questions — Danny Brown
Relationscapes — Blair Hodges
CooperTalk — Steve Cooper
Conspiracy She Wrote — Cristen Conger
The Art of Kindness — Robert Peterpaul/ Broadway Network
The Buzz — NaVell Lee

Best Life Lessons Podcast

Walk And Roll Live — Doug Vincent & Addie Rich
Multispective — Jennica Sadhwani
The Life Shift — Matt Gilhooly
Root To Resilience — Anupa Devi
Grief And Light — Nina Rodriguez
Life With Grief — Tara Accardo

Best Lifestyle Podcast

Tails And Tassels — Gemma Smith
Sportly — Kavitha Davidson
Normal Curves — Regina Nuzzo & Kristin Cobb Sainani
Gastropod — Nicola Twilley and Cynthia Graber / Eater
High Notes — Melissa Thom / BRAVA
6 Degrees Of Cats — Amanda B.
Taste Toast Travel — Tara Accardo
The Perrysburg Podcast — Kim Newlove

Best LGBTQIA+ Podcast

Rigour & Flow — Tamanda Walker & Aiwan Obinyan
I’m Feeling Queer Today — The Future Perfect Project
The Gay Podcast for Everyone — Angela Briones
Queernecks — Beck and Dash
Our Black Gay Diaspora Podcast — Erick Woodby
Uncloseted — Spencer Macnaughton / Uncloseted Media

Best Limited Series Podcast

Shofar, So Good — Kate Mishkin
Uncovering Roots — Maxim Saakyan
The Final Service — Mateo Schimpf and Ray Suarez
Underfoot — Will Zweigart and Virginia Marshall / Flatbush Cats
Connie & Jack — Bo Belanger
Brains on Puberty — Molly Bloom / Brains On Universe
Abandoned — Blake Pfeil

Best Movie Podcast

Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever — Ayesha Khan
Verbal Diorama — Em McGowan
What Went Wrong — Lizzie Bassett & Chris Winterbauer
Spy Hards — Scott Hardy and Cam Smith / Podomedy
From Beneath The Hollywood Sign — Steve Cubine and Nan McNamara
Stars Of The Golden Age — Erin Carlson
Reel Beans — Ben Schneider

Best Music Podcast

History of Rock Music in 500 Songs — Andrew Hickey
Behind The Song — Janda Lane
Sticky Notes — Joshua Weilerstein
The Groove Radio Unplugged— Suzy Chase
One Song — Diallo Riddle and songwriter/producer Blake “LUXXURY” Robin

Best Nature Podcast

Oceanography — Clark Marchese
The Plant Connection Podcast — Lisa Cutshaw
Ask MIT Climate — Madison Goldberg/MIT
A Matter Of Degrees — Dr. Leah Stokes & Dr. Katharine Wilkinson
What If We Get It Right — Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Outside In — Nate Hegyi / New Hampshire Public Radio

Best Podcasting Podcast

Streamlined Solopreneur — Joe Casabona
Podnews Weekly Review — James Cridland & Sam Sethi
Your Mic — Freddy Cruz
PodBiz — John Kiernan and Norma Jean Belensky
In & Around Podcasting — Elsie Escobar and Rob Walch
Podcast Network Insights — Greg Wasserman
Creators By TrueFans — Claire Waite Brown and Sam Sethi

Best Politics Podcast

Open To Debate — John Donvan
Congressional Dish — Jennifer Briney
The Vintage Politics Podcast — Abbie Bennington
Left Right & Center — David Greene / KCRW
Raging Moderates — Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov / Prof G Media

Best Science Podcast

The Rest Is Science — Professor Hannah Fry, Michael Stevens/ Cancer Research UK
Nice Genes — Dr. Kaylee Byers / Genome British Columbia (BC)
Simmer Down — Kathleen Biggins / C-Change Conversations
Science Magazine Podcast — Sarah Crespi / The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Belief In The Future — DZ Kalman
Whimsical Wavelengths — Dr. Jeffrey Zurek

Best Short-Form Podcast

5-Minute Biographies — Anthony Davis
Kids Ask Dr. Friendtastic — Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD.
One Minute Podcast Tips — Danny Brown
The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast — Forrest Kelly

Best Society & Culture Podcast

Am I Doing It Wrong — Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson
The Middle Mix — Britney Alston
 Skyline Drive — Mangesh Hattikudur
Lies We Bought — Emily Rask
Ex Appeal — Miriam Katz
Call ’Em Like Museum — Eric Johnson

Best True-Crime Podcast

The Murder Sheet — Aine Cain & Kevin Greenlee
Seeing Red — Mark and Bethan / Mercury
Dark Stories — Rae Review / Mercury
Dead Famous — Mark Randell / Mercury
Killer Marketing — Emily Rask

Best Women’s Podcast

The Hairy Chin — Spencer Moore
I Shaved My Vag For This — Katie Thompson
What’s The Call? — Theodora Petalas and Andrea Jimenez
The Messy Parts — Maryam Banikarim
Women Under Pressure — Kristen Plake
Sweet And Savre — Danielle Savre

Best Indie Podcast of the Year

Lies We Bought — Emily Rask
Sweet And Savre — Danielle Savre
Ex Appeal — Miriam Katz
Open To Debate — John Donvan / Open To Debate.Org
Salad With A Side Of Fries — Jennifer Trepeck
Podnews Weekly Review — James Cridland and Sam Sethi

The Award Winners will be announced on Tuesday, January 19th, 2027.