“Gradual Burn: Changing into Justice Thomas” earned respect for Podcast of the 12 Months on Tuesday night at the fourth annual The Ambies Awards, recognizing excellence in audio.
Awards were presented in 27 categories at a ceremony held Tuesday night at the JW Marriott LA Reside Los Angeles in downtown Los Angeles and broadcast live on The Podcast Academy’s YouTube channel. The ceremony was hosted by “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 3 winner Trixie Mattel.
“This is wonderful,” said Joel Anderson, host of the latest season of Slate’s “Gradual Burn” podcast. “Changing for Clarence Thomas” follows the life story of the Supreme Court justice and his journey from young radical to conservative icon.
“Weight For It,” hosted by Ronald Young Jr., scored the most wins with three Ambies including Best Indie Podcast, Best Indie Podcast Host/Host, and Best Society and Culture Podcast.
“I can’t even lie – that’s a good thing,” Younger said on his third trip to the speaker. “I am very grateful to be here. I’m grateful to do what I really enjoy, especially for a home.” The second season of “Weight For It,” in which Young explores the nature of body image and other weight-related issues, will be released on August 15, Young was quick to say.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus won an interview podcast for her series “Wiser Than Me”. The “Seinfeld” alum was unavailable, but her producer noted that the second season ends March 27.
Top business podcast honors went to Bloomberg’s “Spellcaster: The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried.” Host and producer Hannah Miller noted that the crypto prodigy will be sentenced on March 28. “We’d like to think we played a small part in seeing justice done,” Miller told the gang.
Troian Bellisario of “Fairly Little Liars” and Josh Shut were the winners of fiction script for the drama “Advert Lucem” for QCODE Media.
Winners in different categories include Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas, “How Did This Get Made?” (comedy), “Ghost Story” (documentary), “50 Years of Hip Hop” (leisure) and “PREVIA: A Technological Heist” (fiction). The winner in the best host or hosts category was Martine Powers for “The Empty Grave of Comrade Bishop,” an investigative podcast from The Washington Post that explores the missing remains of Grenadian revolutionary leader Maurice Bishop and seven others.
The ceremony highlighted 192 nominees across 27 classes, with winners chosen by each voting member of The Podcast Academy.
Additionally, Malcolm Gladwell was honored with the Governors Award, which recognizes a podcast or individual for the compelling impact they have had on the industry. Podcaster Ira Madison III received the Impression Award, which recognizes a person or podcast that has made a large, positive impact on its listeners.
See the full list of winners below.
12 Months Podcast:
Gradual Burn: Turning into Judge Thomas
The best business podcast:
Sorcerer: The Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried
Best comedy podcast:
How it was done?
Best DIY podcast:
POINT PLEASE
Best Documentary Podcast:
ghost story
Best Leisure Podcast:
50 years of hip-hop
Best Fiction Podcast:
PREVIA: a technological assault
Best Historical Past Podcast:
Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial College for Black Children
Best Indie Podcast:
Weight for this
Biggest Indie Podcast Presenters or Hosts:
Ronald Younger Jr. – Weight for this
Best Interview Podcast:
Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Best information, science or technology podcast:
Darknet Diaries
Best information podcast:
At this very moment, defined
Best exclusive rating and music supervision:
Lindsay Jones – Othello
Greater efficiency in audio fiction:
Sam Richardson, Technique Man, Langston Kerman, Punkie Johnson, Richard Variety, Laci Mosley, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Heidi Gardner, Tichina Arnold, Tim Meadows, Rachel Dratch and Chris Parnell – Sure We Hashish
Largest Private Development/Spirituality Podcast:
Dear Alana,
Best Podcast for Kids:
The Cat in the Solid Hat
Best Podcast Host or Hosts:
Martine Powers – The Empty Tomb of Comrade Bishop
Biggest politics or opinion podcast:
The NPR Politics Podcast
Best manufacturing and sound design:
Ramtin Arablouei, Rund Abdelfatah, Lawrence Wu and Julie Caine – Reference Line
Biggest story:
Lauren Chooljian – The Thirteenth Step
Best fiction screenplay:
Troian Bellisario and Josh Shut – Lucem Announcement
Best non-fiction screenplay:
BA Parker – Code change
Greatest Society and Tradition Podcast:
Weight for this
Best Sports Podcast:
New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce
The biggest true crime podcast:
The friends
Best Wellness or Relationship Podcast:
Embodied
