We're delighted to announce the shortlist for 2026's Publisher Podcast Awards!
The winners will be revealed at an in-person celebration at HUCKSTER, Paddington, on Wednesday 8th July at 6.30pm, following The Publisher Summit.
Content Awards
9
Best B2B Podcast
Whether your podcast is about a global or a niche industry, if it's for a B2B audience, this is the category celebrating your work.
ASHRAE Journal Podcast, ASHRAE Journal
Backlight, Lighthouse Reports
Energy Voice Out Loud (EVOL), D C Thomson
Learn on the Go: a podcast from Community Care, Community Care, Mark Allen Group
Private Equity Spotlight, PEI Group
The eVTOL Insights Podcast, eVTOL Insights
The GlobalCapital Podcast, GlobalCapital
The Social Work Community Podcast, Community Care, Mark Allen Group
When Charity Goes Wrong, Haymarket Media Group
6
Best Culture & Lifestyle Podcast
This category is for podcasts looking to help their readers live their best lives and expand their cultural horizons, through improving their finances, careers, relationships, skills, family life or more.
Jane Austen's Paper Trail, The Conversation
Love Scotland, Think Publishing
Pod Save the King, Reach plc
The Phoenix Conversations, Forbes Books UK
The Purpose Pioneers (The Positive News Podcast), Positive News
The Write Club, Writers Online
5
Best Daily Podcast
This category celebrates podcasts being published daily, for essential news briefings, sporting updates and more.
Bloomberg Daybreak Europe, Bloomberg Audio
Daily Politics, The New Statesman
Iran: The Latest, The Telegraph
The Daily T, The Telegraph
This Is Why, Sky News
10
Best Deep Dive Podcast
This award celebrates podcasts doing deep dives into specific topics, from expertly explaining the latest geopolitical event to expanding on new research.
Berlin Briefing, Deutsche Welle (DW)
Constructive Voices, Constructive Voices
Here's Why, Bloomberg Audio
Someone's Hunting Us, NJ.com
The eVTOL Insights Podcast, eVTOL Insights
The Making of an Autocrat, The Conversation Media Group
Trumponomics, Bloomberg
Ukraine: The Latest, The Telegraph
Westminster Insider, POLITICO
When Charity Goes Wrong, Haymarket Media Group
5
Best Entertainment Podcast
From cinema to TV, celebrities, culture, books, gaming and more, this category is for podcasts which bring the entertainment genre into their audience's ears.
Film Stories with Simon Brew, Film Stories
One Nightstand, Bustle
Second Act with Ateh Jewel, HELLO! magazine
The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, HBO / Warner Bros. Discovery
The Pitt Podcast, HBO / Warner Bros. Discovery
3
Best Food & Drink Podcast
Whether you're discussing making the perfect roast potatoes or bringing inspiration to bakers in lockdown, these podcasts will tickle our judge's tastebuds.
Good Food, immediate
Jersey's Best Podcast, NJ.com
Scran, The Scotsman
4
Best Health & Wellbeing Podcast
Health - both physical and mental - has never been more important. Whether you're fronting a fitness podcast or bringing mental wellbeing tips to your audience through audio, we want to recognise your efforts with this category.
Back from the Brink, Reach plc
In Conversation, Medical News Today/Healthline Media
Strange Health, The Conversation
The Women's Running Podcast, Anthem Publishing
9
Best Hobbies & Special Interest Podcast
This award celebrates podcasts that are targeted at specific interests and hobbies, from entertaining a niche audience with gardening tips to bringing a specialist topic like stargazing to a wider listenership.
Athletics Weekly Podcast, Iconic Media Group
Fighting High - Making Their Story Our History, Fighting High
HistoryExtra podcast, Immediate Media Company London Limited
Merryn Talks Money, Bloomberg
Poetry Off the Shelf, Poetry Foundation
Scotland Grows Show, Scotland Grows
The Plodcast, Our Media
The Write Club, Writers Online
Wake, Butterfly, Poetry Foundation
9
Best Investigative Podcast
This category recognises the depth of reporting and quality of storytelling publishers are presenting as part of deep-dive investigative podcasting. Whether it's for a short run of episodes or a full podcast series, enter your investigative podcasts here.
Deep Water, The Observer
Foundling, The Observer
Heat List, Wondery, Vespucci
Murder in the Masai Mara, The Telegraph
Pipeline: Left to Die, The Daily Mail
Someone's Hunting Us, NJ.com
The Poppy Day Bomb, The Times & Sunday Times
Untested, USA TODAY Co.
Who Took Misty Copsey?, ID / Warner Bros. Discovery
9
Best Limited Series
Whether you've produced a season dedicated to a specific topic or have written an outstanding fictional audio series, this category celebrates the best limited series produced by publishers.
Constructive Voices, Constructive Voices
Heat List, Wondery, Vespucci
Jane Austen's Paper Trail, The Conversation
MIMS Learning podcourse, Haymarket Media Group
Murder in the Masai Mara, The Telegraph
Someone's Hunting Us, NJ.com
The Poppy Day Bomb, The Times & Sunday Times
The Wargame, Sky News
When Charity Goes Wrong, Haymarket Media Group
5
Best Local & Community Podcast
Like publishers, podcasts have an important part to play in reaching and engaging local communities. Here are some of the industry's best local and community podcasts.
Jersey's Best Podcast, NJ.com
Love Scotland, Think Publishing
Testimony: The Story That Haunts Me, Reach plc, Manchester Evening News
The Steamie, The Scotsman
Turan Tales, Sharq Media
10
Best News and Analysis Podcast
For podcasts keeping audiences up-to-date with the latest news, whether that's breaking news updates or deep dive analysis of world events.
Berlin Briefing, Deutsche Welle (DW)
Here's Why, Bloomberg Audio
Iran: The Latest, The Telegraph
Talk Eastern Europe, New Eastern Europe
The Daily T, The Telegraph
The Rachman Review, Financial Times
The Slow Newscast, The Observer
The Trial, DMG Media
Trumponomics, Bloomberg
Ukraine: The Latest, The Telegraph
5
Best Partner Podcast
This category is for podcasts or episodes that are developed alongside a partner, either as part of a commercial relationship or for audience reach. This shortlist shows off some of the best podcast partnerships.
Constructive Voices, Constructive Voices
In The Mixer, Reach plc
Politics at Sam and Anne's, Sky News
Scran, The Scotsman
The Purpose Pioneers (The Positive News Podcast), Positive News
8
Best Political Podcast
For podcasts which cover the highs and lows of politics, whether that's global shifts or local elections.
Berlin Briefing, Deutsche Welle (DW)
Daily Politics, The New Statesman
Electoral Dysfunction, Sky News
Political Fix, Financial Times
The Daily T, The Telegraph
The Lede, New Lines Magazine
The Rundown by PoliticsHome, Total Politics Group
The Steamie, The Scotsman
7
Best Science & Medical Podcast
This category is for podcasts that deal with science and medicine. Everything from breaking down complex scientific concepts for a consumer audience, to deep dives for professionals are celebrated here.
Curiosity Weekly, Discovery / Warner Bros. Discovery
In Conversation, Medical News Today/Healthline Media
MIMS Learning's Clinical Update, Haymarket Media Group
Mongabay Newscast, Mongabay
Science in Parallel, Krell Institute
The Autism Curve, BBC Radio 4
The Swiss Connection, SWI swissinfo.ch
6
Best Sport Podcast
From Olympic coverage to local football results, this category celebrates publishers using audio to bring sports news and updates to their audience.
Athletics Weekly Podcast, Iconic Media Group
Back Ten, Reach plc
Blood Red Podcast, Liverpool ECHO
Royal Blue Podcast, Liverpool ECHO
The Everything is Black and White Podcast - A Newcastle United Show, Reach PLC
The Women's Running Podcast, Anthem Publishing
7
Best Technology Podcast
From deep dives into technical topics to consumer-focused tech trends, this is the category celebrating all technology-themed podcasts.
ASHRAE Journal Podcast, ASHRAE Journal
Go Doxx Yourself, Reach plc
Hot Air, ASHRAE Journal
Science in Parallel, Krell Institute
Tech Tonic: Artificial Intimacy, Financial Times
The eVTOL Insights Podcast, eVTOL Insights
The Quantum Kid, Tesseract Quantum
Strategic Awards
4
Best Podcast Launch
We love launches! Here are some of the best podcast launches from publishers over the past 12 months.
Brussels Playbook Podcast, POLITICO
The Mishal Husain Show, Bloomberg
Turan Tales, Sharq Media
Women and Wealth, Financial Times
1
Best Use of AI
AI is being used by publishers to transform workflows, speed up research and analysis, and reach new audiences through translation, marketing and more. Here's how leading publishers are harnessing AI in their podcasting work.
Ukraine: The Latest, The Telegraph
Shortlisted
How they used AI:
The Product and Tech team at The Telegraph had been working with AI, and there is growing organisational awareness around the role and impact of AI in journalism. They did some outreach around the newsroom, and pretty soon they were approached by Dom and Francis, hosts of Ukraine: The Latest, who had an intriguing question for them: could AI be used to translate Ukraine: The Latest, making our journalism accessible to those most impacted by the war - those who speak Ukrainian and Russian. Our follow-up question was could AI make these translated versions still sound like Dom and Francis? We wanted to retain the community and chemistry that they had built up over the last few years in this new product.
The Product and Tech team immediately got to work looking into possible options. They developed, alongside Eleven Labs, an AI-powered voice cloning and translation model to create a digital likeness of the presenters, maintaining the natural rhythm and nuances of their voices. This model was adapted in-house by our tech team before being refined by a native Ukrainian speaker fluent in Russian and English. The Telegraph ethos is that all our work with AI must support our journalism not supplant it, AI was the only way to achieve what we wanted to achieve.
Anything we’re translating has to be our IP and our original content. We employed two translators who work with us daily for a couple of hours, double-checking the translated audio. Trust is essential to any journalism brand and The Telegraph is the same, and so the tech team is very rigorous in making sure any use of AI is clearly marked that way.
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8
Best Video Podcast
Video podcasts are growing in importance as a way of broadening audiences and aiding discoverability. Whether you have a video podcast setup or have seen success with video podcasts on YouTube, we want to celebrate it.
Berlin Briefing, Deutsche Welle (DW)
It’s My Party with Catherine Bohart, Comic Relief & Amazon Music
Make Football Great Again, Reach plc
Table For Four, immediate
The Daily T, The Telegraph
The Mishal Husain Show, Bloomberg
The World, the Universe and Us, New Scientist
Ukraine: The Latest, The Telegraph
5
Publisher Podcast Hero of the Year 2026
Here are some of the industry's driving forces shaping publisher podcast strategies and inspiring others in podcasting.
Bethany Burgoyne, Come Curious
Shortlisted
About
Bethany is being nominated for Podcast Hero of the Year in recognition of her exceptional work as producer of Come Curious — a weekly podcast she has guided with skill, dedication, and unwavering purpose into its flourishing tenth year.
Since taking the helm as producer, Bethany has ensured that Come Curious remains true to its founding mission: to amplify voices from the global majority, bust persistent myths, and dismantle the stigma surrounding bodies and sex. Under her stewardship, the show has not only survived a decade in a competitive landscape — it has thrived.
What makes Bethany's achievement particularly remarkable is the logistical complexity she has navigated behind the scenes. During her tenure, the show's hosts have relocated across three continents, and one of them welcomed a new baby — all while Bethany kept production running seamlessly, ensuring listeners never missed a beat. Her ability to hold the show together across time zones, life events, and constant change speaks to both her professionalism and her genuine commitment to the podcast's mission.
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Daniel J. McLaughlin, Reach plc
Shortlisted
About
Daniel J. McLaughlin is the tireless enthusiast and advocate for podcast journalism at Reach plc. Whether he's trying to record an interview with the Chancellor on a train, or running from a wedding reception to set up a recording after a football manager has been sacked, his drive and determination to help our journalists find and tell stories across audio and video are boundless. He is a positive force at Reach and beyond, preaching about the virtues of audio whilst exploring new innovations within journalism. Over the past decade, he has transformed even the most ardent technophobes into strong audiovisual storytellers. From training the new generation of podcast journalists at the University of Salford to making the case for "punk podcasting", out of stuffy studios and into the heart of communities, Dan is passionate, tenacious, and conscientious about the power of voice and representation, taking the microphone and camera to all communities to hear their stories. He helps turn the microphone into a megaphone, and often stands on a soapbox for regional voices and untold stories.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation UK
Shortlisted
About
Gemma is a one-woman podcasting powerhouse. The only member of staff working on podcasts as her full-time job, she has produced an inordinate amount of brilliant global content in the past year. This not only includes her brilliant weekly podcast, The Conversation Weekly, but also a limited Jane Austen podcast series, a limited series on Britain's class system and a new weekly health show, Strange Health.
There was no podcast at The Conversation before Gemma began our efforts, entirely off her own back.Before her work on The Conversation Weekly, much of The Conversation’s audio focused on reading or adapting published articles. Under Ware’s leadership, the podcast format shifted toward original, produced storytelling. She has also encouraged a cross-edition approach to podcasting. Episodes often feature: editors and academics from different national editions (UK, Australia, France, etc.) and stories based on research happening worldwide.
Thanks to her efforts, podcasting at The Conversation is now seen as a distinct editorial format rather than just an add-on to written journalism.
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Ollie Guillou, New Scientist
Shortlisted
About
Ollie has been the absolute rock at the foundation of the success of New Scientist podcasting, and in particular the flagship show, The World, the Universe and Us. His experience and understanding of the world of podcasting, and how it is changing, have made him SUCH a valuable member of our team. Although "only" a contractor, New Scientist looks on Ollie as a hugely important team member, and consult him on various aspects of our multimedia output (e.g. audio ad recording and placement). His guidance and advice have really shaped what we do. And he is an absolute pleasure to work with, always finding time to finish, improve, edit work, with a smile on his face. An absolute professional.
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Rowan Hooper, New Scientist
Shortlisted
About
Rowan has been a fundamental driving force in pushing forward New Scientist's video podcast strategy. In the past few months, we've launched an off-shoot of the main New Scientist YouTube channel, just for the podcast. And Rowan has been tirelessly creating more content than ever before - often 3 episodes per week - to drive as much early interest to the new channel as possible. All the while he's been working behind the scenes on another new strand of the podcast, constantly striving to give New Scientist a bigger and better presence in the podcasting space. He was also the main person behind a big rebrand of the show, which saw an upgrade to the podcast name and artwork (From New Scientist Weekly to The World, The Universe and Us) - as well as a shift in how we tell stories.
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