The winners for this year’s Ambies awards have been announced following the third-annual ceremony, held on Tuesday at the International Theater in Las Vegas.
The Podcast Academy Awards, colloquially known as the Ambies, is an annual event that recognises and celebrates excellence and talent within the podcasting industry for creators both in front of the mic and behind the scenes. This year’s ceremony was hosted by Emmy-award winning producer and host of The Ringer’s interview podcast series Black On The Air, Larry Wilmore.
Campside Media’s hit true-crime podcast Chameleon: Wild Boys, hosted by award-winning comedian and journalist Sam Mullins, won the headlining award of the evening for Podcast of The Year. The podcast uncovered the true story behind the Bush Boys, two half-brothers that claimed they were raised in the wilderness and were taken in by a Canadian community, 20 years after the incident took place.
“I had nothing happening in my career. I had two young kids, I was working in a taco restaurant, and I had never made a podcast before,” said Mullins in his acceptance speech. “And Campside deserves so much credit because I cold-emailed these guys, and they just believed in the story, and they believed in me, and they changed my life, and I’ll never forget it.”
Chuck Bryant and Josh Clark, co-hosts of iHeartPodcasts’ Stuff You Should Know, as well as the show’s producer Jeri Rowland, were honoured at this year’s Ambies with the Governor's Award, given to an individual or network for making an impact in the podcasting industry with their work. Previous winners of this category included true-crime network Serial’s Sarah Koenig and Julie Snyder in 2022, as well as WTF with Marc Maron the year prior.
Other notable wins from Tuesday’s event include Leah Wright Riguer who won Best Podcast Host for Reclaimed: The Story of Mamie Till Mobley, Defacto Sound’s Twenty Thousand Hertz for Best Production and Sound Design, and true-crime podcast Bone Valley’s Gilbert King and Kelsey Decker for Best Reporting. In total this year, the judges had to pick winners from over 180 nominees across 26 podcast titles.
The Ambies is one of a growing number of ceremonies recognising podcasting achievement, including coveted honours such as the British Podcast Awards. Entries for the British Podcast Awards remain open until 18 May, with early-bird pricing until 27 April.
