The Audible comedy series “Hot White Heist 2” tops the leaderboard for the Ambies, the awards administered by the Podcast Academy for podcasts and audio entertainment.
The scripted comedy spoof featuring Bowen Yang, Jane Lynch, Shannon Woodward, Cynthia Nixon, Ian McKellen grabbed four nominations, including a mention for podcast of the year. Four other titles grabbed three nominations apiece: “Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD,” “Fire Escape,” “Hysterical” and “Impact Winter Season.”
Tig Notaro is set to host the fifth annual Ambies ceremony, set for March 31 at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago. It will also be live streamed via Twitch.
Competing against “Hot White Heist 2” for podcast of the year honors are “99% Invisible: Not Built For This,” “Beyond All Repair,” “Cement City,” “Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance,” “Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD,” “Faraway,” “Fire Escape,” “Hysterical” and “Throughline.”
In the running for podcast host are Diallo Riddle and Blake ‘LUXXURY’ Robin for “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”); Ronald Young Jr. (“Weight For It”); Sam Sanders (“The Sam Sanders Show”); Wesley Morris (“The Wonder of Stevie.”).
Contenders for best news podcast are: “The Journal,” from the Wall Street Journal; “The Take,” from Al Jazeera”; “The Ten News,” aimed at kids; “Today, Explained,” from Vox; “What Next,” from Slate; and “World Report” from the CBC.
“As we celebrate the 5th Annual Awards for Excellence in Audio, we are excited to announce this year’s nominees, whose work continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and innovation in the audio space,” said Christy Mirabal, chairperson of The Podcast Academy. “This milestone year for the Podcast Academy is a reflection of the incredible growth and creativity within the podcasting community. Additionally, we are beyond thrilled to have Tig Notaro as our host of The Ambies — her wit, charm, and comedic brilliance will bring a fresh energy to this special night. Together, we honor the diverse voices that make audio such a powerful medium and look forward to an inspiring night of celebration.”
Here is a full list of Ambie nominations:
Podcast of The Year:
99% Invisible: Not Built For This
Beyond All Repair
Cement City
Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance
Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Faraway
Fire Escape
Hot White Heist 2
Hysterical
Throughline
Best Business Podcast:
Good Bad Billionaire
How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz
Lever Time with David Sirota
Money Stuff
NerdWallet’s Smart Money Podcast
Rapid Response
The Best Idea Yet
Best Comedy Podcast:
Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Hot White Heist 2
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Scam Goddess
SmartLess
We’re Here to Help
Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? Joanne McNally Investigates
Best DIY Podcast:
abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast
Black Is America
Books & Boba
Everyday Trans Activism
Mind the Force
The B* Word
The Integrated Schools Podcast
Best Documentary Podcast:
Extrasensory
Lost Patients
Silence in Sikeston
Snap Judgment
Tested
The Final War
Uganda’s Hidden Rainbow
Best Entertainment Podcast:
Infamous
Lemme Say This
Rattled & Shook
Scamfluencers
Split Screen: Kid Nation
The Road to Joni
The Wonder of Stevie
Best Fiction Podcast:
Dragon Age: Vows & Vengeance
Tales of Fists & Fireballs
The Coldest Case The Past Has a Long Memory
The Justice
The Last City
The Seneschal: A Rebel Moon Story
Tom Slick: Mystery Hunter
Best History Podcast:
American Experience Presents: Joseph McCarthy
Don’t Drink the Milk – The curious history of things
Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Hollywood Exiles
Into America: Uncounted Millions
Tested
Throughline
Best Indie Podcast:
Sightings
The Insurgence: Sheriffs
The Man Who Calculated Death
The Nightingale of Iran
The People’s Recorder
The TMI Project Story Hour
What Happened in Skinner
Best Indie Podcast Host or Hosts:
Dallas Taylor – Twenty Thousand Hertz
Deja Perkins and Purbita Saha – Bring Birds Back
Jill Jonassen – The Cost of Extremism
Kate McCoy and Kevin Corbett – Horrorwood: True Crime in Tinseltown
Lisa Phillips – From Now On
Lisa Woolfork – STITCH PLEASE
Susan Lambert Hatem and Sharon Johnson – 80s TV Ladies
Best Interview Podcast:
American Masters: Creative Spark
Apple News In Conversation
Overlooked: Women’s Health Can’t Wait
Thanks Dad with Ego Nwodim
The Assignment with Audie Cornish
The Integrated Schools Podcast
Tomorrow’s Cure
Best Knowledge, Science or Tech Podcast:
99% Invisible
Click Here
Climate Rising
Merging Into Life
Short Wave
The Wild with Chris Morgan
Unexplainable
Best News Podcast:
The Journal
The Take
The Ten News
Today, Explained
Trump’s Trials
What Next
World Report
Best Original Score and Music Supervision:
Dan Leone – Ripple
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 Performance in Audio Fiction (Sponsored by Audible):
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
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
Fredi Bernstein, Cody Wilkins and Dana Domenick – The Box
Mikki Hernandez, Toby Meuli, Geri-Nikol Love, Rachel Kylian – Ominous Thrill
Ruth Righi – Winnie Taylor’s 4th & Inches
Sanaa Lathan – The Justice
Tisha Campbell – Snoriezzz
Best Personal Growth / Spirituality Podcast:
10% Happier with Dan Harris
A Fine Mess
A Quiet Life in 7 Steps
A Slight Change of Plans
Anomalie
How God Works: The Science Behind Spirituality
The TMI Project Story Hour
Best Podcast for Kids:
Culture Kids
Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest
Historical Records
Mysteries About True Histories
PJ Library Presents: Beyond the Bookcase
Skylar & Bones – Funny Stories For Kids!
Wow in the World
Best Podcast Host or Hosts:
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
Ronald Young Jr. – Weight For It
Sam Sanders – The Sam Sanders Show
Wesley Morris – The Wonder of Stevie
Best Politics or Opinion Podcast:
Autocracy in America
Citizen Elon (by the Elon, Inc podcast)
Master Plan
The NPR Politics Podcast
Vibe Check
Vibes Only
What Could Go Right?
Best Production and Sound Design:
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
Michelle Macklem – Girl v. Horse
Realm – Narcosis
Sagafilm and Skybound Entertainment – Impact Winter Season 3
Ted Bonnitt – Hindsight: The Day Before
Best Reporting:
Chenjerai Kumanyika – Empire City: The Untold Origin Story of the NYPD
Dan Taberski – Hysterical
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
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:
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
Reveal – Ashley Cleek and Al Letson
Track Change – Liz Mak and James Boo
Best Society and Culture Podcast:
Hysterical
In Retrospect with Susie Banikarim and Jessica Bennett
Inheriting
Mind Your Own with Lupita Nyong’o
My Divo
Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)
Weight For It
Best Spanish Language Narrative Podcast:
¡No Vengan!
Greal: El Secreto de las Ocho Llaves
Hechos Reales
HUMO: Murder and Silence in El Salvador
No quieren que sepas
Pantallas & Mentiras [Screens & Lies]
Pétrea
Best Sports Podcast:
30 for 30 Podcasts
Broomgate
Good Game with Sarah Spain
Pablo Torre Finds Out
Shadowball: The Rise of the Black Athlete
The Raven
The Rich Eisen Show
Best True Crime Podcast:
Beyond All Repair
Fire Escape
Lords of Death
The Burden
The Official Jinx Podcast
Who Killed Jennifer Judd?
Wrongful Conviction
Best Wellness or Relationships Podcast:
An Arm and a Leg
Overlooked: Women’s Health Can’t Wait
Silence in Sikeston
The Midlife Truth Project
Therapy for Black Girls
Untold: The Retreat
Why Won’t You Date Me? with Nicole Byer
(Pictured: Tig Notaro)
