The Ambies (or the Awards for Excellence in Audio) are awards for artistic and technical merit in the podcast industry. They are awarded by The Podcast Academy in two overall categories: Show Recognition and Talent Recognition. The winners, who receive a gold statue holding a microphone and wearing headphones, are selected by a vote from Podcast Academy members. The awards and the Podcast Academy were established in 2020 with the inaugural ceremony held on May 16, 2021, hosted by Cameron Esposito.[1]
In February 2020, Hernan Lopez at Wondery announced that he and 10 peers had established a new non-profit group called the Podcast Academy. The Podcast Academy is a member-based professional organization for podcasters. It was modeled after other similar institutions in the entertainment industry with the intention of establishing an independent industry award for podcasting, initially called the Golden Mics.[2]
When the Podcast Academy announced plans to hold the first award ceremony amidst the awards season of other entertainment areas, the name was changed to the Awards for Excellence in Audio, nicknamed the Ambies, and award was revealed to be a gold statue holding a microphone and wearing headphones.[3] The term Ambies was derived from ambient sound, which is frequently used in audio recordings, and it has a similar sound to other awards such as the Emmys and Grammys.[4]
Nominations are first recommended for consideration within a submission window, and then narrowed down to an official list of nominees for voting.[3] A minimum of three episodes published in the award year are required to be eligible for consideration. From those recommendations, a panel of Podcast Academy members listen to podcasts for a period of time before selecting the nominees for voting in each category.[4] Members of the Podcast Academy are organized into peer groups in order to vote on the winners from the selected nominees, which are announced at the live ceremony.[3][4]
The Ambie statuette is an art deco gold figurine wearing headphones and holding a microphone atop a black base. Its minimalist design is inspired by the Academy Award, in keeping with the Podcast Academy's vision of establishing the Ambies as the "Oscars of podcasting." The statuette is designed and produced by Cristaux International.[5][6]
The first annual Ambies occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, and were conducted virtually.[7] The ceremony was livestreamed on May 16, 2021, and was hosted by Cameron Esposito. [5]
The second annual Ambies were held at the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles on May 22, 2022, and hosted by Ross Matthews and Nikki Boyer. The category "Best Indie Podcast" was also introduced, to recognize shows that were not commissioned by a major network or studio.[8][9]
Storytime with Seth Rogen – Seth Rogen, Richard Parks III, Frida Perez
Throughline – Rund Abdelfatah, Ramtin Arablouei, Julie Caine, Laine Kaplan-Levenson
Best Production and Sound Design
Billie Was a Black Woman – (winner)
Can He Do That?
Pod Save the World
Post Reports
Skullduggery
Stay Tuned With Preet
The Messenger
Best Original Score and Music Supervision
9/12 – (winner)
Have You Heard George’s Podcast?
The Duolingo French Podcast
Operation Midnight Climax
Carcerem
Great Grief
Gravity
Best Performer in Audio Fiction
Edith! – Rosamund Pike – (winner)
Aftershock – David Harbour
Date With Daddy – Marisa Grant
Melon’s House Party – Parvesh Cheena & Jessica McKenna
Passenger List – Kelly Marie Tran
Radio Rental – Rainn Wilson
We Stay Looking – Full Cast Including: Terri J. Vaughn, Karrueche Tran, Marsai Martin, Kandi Burruss, Amin Joseph, Desi Banks, Kyla Pratt, Jason Weaver, Kev On Stage, Kway, Karlous Miller, Tristen Winger, Max Greenfield and more.
The fifth annual Ambies were held in Chicago on March 31, 2025, and hosted by Tig Notaro.[12] The Podcast Academy also introduced the new category of "Best Spanish Language Narrative Podcast".[13]
Diallo Riddle and Blake ‘LUXXURY’ Robin – One Song
Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach and Amanda Doyle – We Can Do Hard Things
Jon Stewart – The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Rainn Wilson – Radio Rental
Sam Sanders – The Sam Sanders Show
Wesley Morris – The Wonder of Stevie
Best Reporting
Dan Taberski – Hysterical – (winner)
Chenjerai Kumanyika – Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Ken Bensinger and Jessica Garrison – Chameleon: The Michigan Plot
Leon Neyfakh and Arielle Pardes – Backfired: Attention Deficit
Madeleine Baran, Samara Freemark, Parker Yesko, Natalie Jablonski, Rehman Tungekar, and Namak Khoshnaw – In the Dark Season 3: The Killings in Haditha
Nicky Woolf – Fur & Loathing
Sarah Holder, Caleb Melby and Polly Mosendz – Big Take
Best Scriptwriting, Fiction
Academy – Myha’la – (winner)
Don’t Listen To This – Anthony Del Col
Faraway – Matthew Castellanos and Brett Melnick
Give Me Away – Mac Rogers
Incoming – David Singer and CK Pahlow
Money Gone – Ed Sellek
The Best Man’s Ghostwriter – Matthew Starr
Best Scriptwriting, Nonfiction
Reveal – Ashley Cleek and Al Letson – (winner)
Cement City – Erin Anderson, Jeanne Marie Laskas, and Michael Benoist
Fire Escape – Anna Sussman
Killer Psyche – Mary Celenza, Jayda Williams, Julie Berke, Ann Lew, Lisa Ammerman and Candice DeLong
Noble – Johnny Kaufman and Shaun Raviv
Radio Atlantic: Scripts – Ethan Brooks
Track Change – Liz Mak and James Boo
Best Production and Sound Design
Michelle Macklem – Girl v. Horse – (winner)
Casandra Tinajero and Andrés Bahena – Nocturno: Tales From The Shadows
Jeremy S. Bloom – Hot White Heist 2
Kenny Kusiak and George Drabing Hicks – The Confessions of Anthony Raimondi
Realm – Narcosis
Sagafilm and Skybound Entertainment – Impact Winter Season 3
Ted Bonnitt – Hindsight: The Day Before
Best Original Score and Music Supervision
Dan Leone – Ripple – (winner)
Daniel Lloyd-Evans, Louis Nanke-Mannell and Toby Matimong – Extrasensory
Deron Johnson – Dungeon Masters
Jonathan Pfarr, Carson Graham and Bobby Mota – Celebrity Pets
Peter Nashel, Ross Hopman, Gio Lobato, Dana Hom, Brad Fischer, Jordan Lieb, Lucas Villemur and Lindsay Dievert – Hammerless: A True Crime Podcast in a Fantasy World
Skyler Gerdeman, Martin Lynabel, Nicholas Alexander, Max O’Brien and Caroline Thornham – Kill List
Stro Elliot and Eric Gersen – Historical Records
Best Performer in Audio Fiction
Caitlin Stasey, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, David Yow, Caroline Morahan, Guinevere Turner, Elizabeth Halpern, Travis Harmon, Brad Griffith, James Bacon, Jameson Cush, Jonathan Shockley and Ayla Glass – The Skies Are Watching – (winner)
Bowen Yang, Cynthia Nixon, Shannon Woodward, Jane Lynch, Jesse James Keitel, Sarah Steele, Ian McKellen, Raul Esparza, Sara Ramírez, Joel Kim Booster, Bianca Del Rio, Cheyenne Jackson, Abbi Jacobson, Stephanie Beatriz, Katya Zamolodchikova, Trixie Mattel, Yvie Oddly, Jane Krakowski, Sandra Oh, and Tony Kushner – Hot White Heist 2
Fredi Bernstein, Cody Wilkins and Dana Domenick – The Box
