2024 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards: Full List of Nominees Unveiled (Exclusive)

Caitlin Huston
·4-min read

SmartLess, Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, On Purpose with Jay Shetty and Normal Gossip are among the titles in contention for the 2024 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards.

The category, which will be voted on by fans from Feb. 5 through Feb. 18, also includes popular podcasts Crime Junkie, The Daily, My Favorite Murder, New Heights, The Retrievals and Scamanda. Las Culturistas, hosted by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, took home the top prize last year.

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Other competitive awards span 29 categories, including comedy, crime, news, tv and film, sports, food and business.

In the Icon Awards categories, which honor those who have made groundbreaking contributions to the industry, Wrongful Conviction hosts Maggie Freleng and Jason Flom will both be honored with the 2024 Social Impact Icon Award. Jonathan Goldstein, host of the Heavyweight podcast, will be honored with the 2024 Pioneer Icon Award.

The podcast Rotten Mango will receive the Innovator Award presented by YouTube, which celebrates the breaking new creative ground in podcasting.

“As the podcast industry continues to rapidly grow, this past year has clearly proven that podcasters are always innovating in the audio space and finding new ways to reach and engage new audiences,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia’s Digital Audio Group. “The nominees for the 2024 iHeartPodcast Awards reflect the results of honing that creativity and we’re thrilled to celebrate and once again empower these creators and elevate the podcast industry together live in person at SXSW.”

After a virtual ceremony last year, this year’s awards will be live and in-person on March 11 at 8 p.m. CT the Fairmont Hotel in Austin, Tex, in partnership with South by Southwest Conference and Festivals. The ceremony will also be broadcast on select iHeartMedia radio stations, through the iHeartRadio app and on video on the Youtube iHeartRadio Channel.

The full 2024 category nominees are:

Podcast of the Year presented by The Hartford:

  • Crime Junkie

  • The Daily

  • My Favorite Murder

  • New Heights

  • Normal Gossip

  • On Purpose with Jay Shetty

  • The Retrievals

  • Scamanda

  • SmartLess

  • Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Best Business & Finance:

  • Direct Deposit

  • How I Built This

  • MoneyWatch with Jill Schlesinger

  • Networth & Chill with Your Rich BFF

  • Planet Money

Best Comedy:

  • Baby, This is Keke Palmer

  • Handsome

  • SmartLess

  • This Is Important

  • Why Won’t You Date Me

Best Crime:

  • Crime Junkie

  • The Girlfriends

  • The Retrievals

  • Scamanda

  • Something Was Wrong

Best Pop Culture:

  • Las Culturistas

  • I’ve Had It

  • Just B with Bethenny Frankel

  • Search Engine

  • Watch What Crappens

Best Food Podcast Award Presented by Planet Oat:

  • Cereal Killers

  • Hungry for History

  • Recipe Club

  • The Splendid Table

  • Sporkful

Best Wellness & Fitness:

  • Huberman Lab

  • Maintenance Phase

  • The Mel Robbins Podcast

  • On Purpose with Jay Shetty

  • Therapy For Black Girls

Best History:

  • Mobituaries with Mo Rocca

  • Revisionist History

  • Slow Burn

  • Throughline

  • You’re Wrong About

Best Kids & Family:

  • Good Inside with Dr. Becky

  • Kids Short Stories with Mr. Jim

  • Sound Detectives

  • Story Pirates

  • The Suga

Best Music:

  • Disgraceland

  • Million Dollaz Worth of Game

  • Popcast

  • Questlove Supreme

  • Song Exploder

Best News:

  • The Daily

  • Pivot

  • Pod Save America

  • Today Explained

  • Up First

Best Fiction:

  • Ad Lucem

  • Full Body Chills

  • The Mantawauk Caves

  • Radio Rental

  • The Space Within

Best Sports:

  • Around The NFL

  • Club Shay Shay

  • The Dan Le Batard Show

  • New Heights

  • Pardon My Take

Best Science:

  • Hidden Brain

  • Inner Cosmos

  • Ologies

  • Radio Lab

  • StarTalk

Best Technology:

  • All-In

  • Hard Fork

  • Lex Fridman Podcast

  • TED Radio Hour

  • Vergecast

Best Ad Read:

  • Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

  • Heavyweight

  • How Did This Get Made?

  • Say More with Dr. Sheila

  • SmartLess

Best Overall Host:

  • Joe Budden (The Joe Budden Podcast)

  • Jonathan Goldstein (Heavyweight)

  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Wiser Than Me)

  • Laci Mosley (Scam Goddess)

  • Nicole Byer (Why Won’t You Date Me?)

Best Overall Ensemble:

  • The 85 South Show

  • Handsome

  • New Heights

  • SmartLess

  • Today, Explained

Best Political:

  • The Ben Shapiro Show

  • CNN Inside Politics

  • Countdown with Keith Olbermann

  • NPR Politics Podcast

  • Pod Save America

Best TV & Film:

  • Drama Queens

  • Films to be Buried With

  • Give Them Lala w/ Lala Kent

  • How Did This Get Made?

  • Pop Culture Happy Hour

Best Spanish Language:

  • La Brega

  • Cassettes

  • Duolingo Spanish

  • Leyendas Legendarias

  • Transportista: Who Murdered Captain Coral? (Spanish version)

Best Advice / Inspirational:

  • Getting Curious

  • Dear Chelsea

  • Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast

  • This Keeps Happening with Vienna Pharaon

  • We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle

Best Beauty & Fashion:

  • Add to Cart with Kulap Vilaysack & SuChin Pak

  • Articles of Interest

  • Fool Coverage with Manny MUA and Laura Lee

  • The Goop Pursuit: Healing in a Sick Society

  • Lipstick On The Rim

Best Travel Podcast Award:

  • As Told By Nomads

  • Atlas Obscura

  • The Travel Hacking Mom Show

  • Travel With Rick Steves

  • Women Who Travel

Best Green:

  • Climate of Change

  • Discarded

  • Living on Earth

  • TED Climate

  • Sea Change

Best Spirituality & Religion:

  • The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz

  • The Bible Recap

  • Elevation with Steve Furtick

  • On Being with Krista Tippett

  • Woman Evolve with Sarah Jakes Roberts

Best Branded Podcast: 

  • Crimson Hearts Collide (Hallmark Media)

  • Love In Gravity (ViiV Healthcare)

  • Mind the Business (Intuit Quickbooks)

  • Symptomatic (Novartis)

  • Townsizing (HGTV)

Best Emerging:

  • Classy

  • Handsome

  • How to Destroy Everything

  • I’ve Had It

  • The Really Good Podcast with Bobbi Althoff

Best International:

  • CTV Question Period with Vassy Kapelos (Canada)

  • Dichosa Sexualidad (Mexico)

  • The Fold (New Zealand)

  • The Imperfects (Australia)

  • Rocio Cordova (Mexico)

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