Ambie-winning abandoned explores new models for independent audiomakers

abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, the Ambie Award-winning show from multidisciplinary artist Blake Pfeil, returns for its fourth season on April 30.

Part of the Airwave Media Network, the podcast blends immersive sound design, field recordings, archival tape, and personal journals to reinvent real-world explorations of abandoned spaces across the U.S. and beyond.

Season 4, “Fading Transmissions from a Republic of Ruins,” opens with a live-recorded episode developed with support from Green Box Arts in Colorado, using a performance-driven approach that moves beyond traditional live podcast experiences. The season also expands its structure with guest hosts: Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras, storyteller Stev Hull-Allen, and returning collaborator Isabel Wilder, a Signal Award winner for her Season 3 episode “Frozen in Time.”

The season was also produced with support from Radio Kingston’s community podcast program, part of the Hudson Valley station’s broader push to expand what community radio can be for independent audio makers and broadcasters. Across the season, abandoned continues its focus on the cultural, historical, and emotional landscapes of forgotten places, with episodes spanning Colorado, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, California, New York, Vermont, Minnesota, and Missouri. The show won the 2026 Podcast of the Year Grand Prize from the American Writing Awards and previously reached No. 1 on Apple Podcasts’ Travel & Places charts.

As live podcasting evolves beyond traditional stage recordings, abandoned reflects an experimental shift toward immersive, performance-driven formats. Developed through funded residencies like Green Box Arts and supported by hyper-local platforms like Radio Kingston, the show points to an emerging production model—one that combines community infrastructure and funding, live events (including the most recent edition of On Air Fest and the upcoming NYC Podcast Awards Live Listening Party on June 5), and boutique network distribution to create new creative and financial pathways for independent audio producers. Seasons 1–3 are available now on major podcast platforms.