Winners of the 2024 Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards

Ear Worthy – the influential podcast online publication – has announced the Winners of the 2024 Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards.

There are many podcasts—hundreds of thousands of them—and a sizable majority are independent podcasts. Podcasting has also found itself awash in awards: The Ambies, iHeart Podcast Awards, People’s Choice Podcast Awards, The Webbys, The Signal Awards, British Podcast Awards, and others.
Yet, with few exceptions, these awards either don’t recognize independent podcasts or have them do battle against their well-financed, network-supported brethren. 

“Many bootstrapped indie podcasts have paper-thin budgets and are led by overworked and underappreciated podcasters,” says Frank Racioppi, executive editor of Ear Worthy and owner of Willow Grove Communications LLC. “Indie podcasters wear more hats than any network-supported podcaster. They are creator, writer, producer, sound engineer, I.T. troubleshooter, researcher, host, distribution pro, marketing guru, public relations professional, and, most important of all, financial backer for the podcast.”

The Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards are sponsored by lenny.fm. This new service works like this: Listeners contribute US$4 a month, which is split between the top 4 podcasts they chose. While not exclusively for independent podcasts, lenny.fm offers indie podcasters a monetization option that was not previously available. Courtney Carthy of lenny.fm says: “We want to help podcasters to be rewarded for their work by people who value it and help drive an overall increase in listeners supporting podcasters.”

The Award Winners are:

Trailer Best Overall Podcast of the Year – The Life Shift

Society & Culture
From: Matt Gilhooly
Hosted by: Captivate

Best Interview Podcast – Preconceived

Philosophy
From: Snack Labs
Hosted by: Acast

Trailer Best Life Lessons Podcast – Multispective

Society & Culture
From: Jennica Sadhwani | Not Today Media
Hosted by: Buzzsprout

Best Health Podcast – Salad With A Side Of Fries

Health & Fitness
From: Jenn Trepeck
Hosted by: Simplecast

Trailer Best Workplace Podcast – Surfing Corporate

Business
From: Surfing Corporate
Hosted by: Megaphone

Best Young Adult Podcast – Seraphina Speaks

Kids & Family and Society & Culture
From: Seraphina Malina-Derben
Hosted by: Libsyn

Trailer Best Business Advice Podcast – Bippity Boppity Business

Business
From: Rita Richa
Hosted by: Simplecast

Best Podcasting Success Podcast – Leverage Your Podcast

Business
From: Lyndsay Phillips
 

Best Movie Podcast – Verbal Diorama

TV & Film
From: Verbal Diorama
Hosted by: Captivate

Trailer Best Film History Podcast – Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever

TV & Film
From: Ayesha Khan
Hosted by: Buzzsprout

Best Music Podcast – Watching The Covers Flow

Music
From: Ray Padgett
Hosted by: Castos

Trailer Best LGBTQIA+ Podcast – Because The Boss Belongs To Us

Music and Society & Culture
From: iHeartPodcasts
Hosted by: Omny Studio

Best Politics Podcast – Ken Rudin’s Political Junkie

News
From: Ken Rudin
Hosted by: Blubrry

Best History Podcast – Music History Monday

Commentary
From: Robert Greenberg
 

Trailer Best True-Crime Podcast – The Murder Sheet

True Crime
From: MurderSheet
Hosted by: ART19

Best Society / Education Podcast – Impostrix

Business News
From: Whitney Knox Lee
 

Trailer Best Short-Form Podcast – Daily Tips That May or May Not Help You with Arielle and Ned

Education
From: Play+1
Hosted by: RedCircle

Trailer Best Celebrity Accountability Podcast (1) – Trashy Divorces

History and Comedy
From: Hemlock Creatives
Hosted by: Megaphone

Best Celebrity Accountability Podcast (2) – What A Creep

True Crime
From: Margo Donohue
Hosted by: Spreaker

Trailer Best Audio Fiction Podcast – Hobo Code

Fiction
From: Hammer Canyon Productions
Hosted by: Libsyn

Trailer Best Entrepreneurial Podcast – Nerdpreneur

Business and Leisure
From: Professor Epic Productions
Hosted by: Libsyn
• Best Food / Restaurant Podcast – Fine Dining
• Best TV Podcast – Double Take

Trailer Best Career Podcast – Who Made You The Boss?

Business
From: Lindsey Epperly
Hosted by: Spotify for Creators
• Best Arts & Culture Podcast – The Art Career Podcast

Trailer Best Business Processes Podcast – Streamlined Solopreneur

Entrepreneurship
From: Joe Casabona — Systems Coach
Hosted by: Transistor

Trailer Best Podcast Tips Podcast – One Minute Podcast Tips

Marketing
From: Danny Brown
Hosted by: Captivate

Trailer Best Americana Podcast – Vanishing Postcards

Society & Culture
From: Evan Stern
Hosted by: Spotify for Creators

Winners will receive a digital award, an article in Ear Worthy about each winner, and a public announcement of their outstanding achievements as independent podcasters.

ABOUT

Ear Worthy is an online publication that specializes in podcast reviews, recommendations, and interpreting industry trends. You can read Ear Worthy via Blogger, Medium, Substack, Tumblr, Vocal, ManyStories, and other online publications.

For more information, go to Ear Worthy, where you can find podcast reviews, information about the best indie and network podcasts, the latest in podcast industry trends, and some trash-talking.

The above list of podcasts is available as an OPML file for your podcast player