Anderson Cooper, Trixie and Katya, and Questlove lead 2024 Signal Award winners

It’s almost time for awards season to start in earnest, and podcasts are leading the pack. The third annual Signal Awards honors “the podcasts that define culture,” from actual culture pods like Bowen Yang’s and Matt Rogers’ Las Culturistas to news pods, food pods, and anything else you listen to. Signal hands out two primary honors—the Signal Awards, which are voted on by a panel of judges, and the Listener’s Choice Awards, which are voted on by the public. This year, over 170,000 votes were cast in under two weeks, which the company says was its largest voting pool ever.

If you’re looking to dig into something new on your commute or to make deep cleaning that much more bearable, a handful of pods earned the distinction of winning both honors. That esteemed group includes All There Is with Anderson Cooper (which won in the Interview Or Talk Show category), On with Kara Swisher (Best Host, Current Events), Questlove Supreme (Music), Unlocking Us with Brené Brown (Best Conversation Starter), Handsome with Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster and Mae Martin (Best Co-Host Team), The Sporkful (Food & Drink), Twenty Thousand Hertz (Creativity & Marketing), and more. 

Other winners of the Signal Awards’ Gold distinction (the honors are sorted into gold, silver, and bronze) include a range of podcasts hosted by recognizable figures like RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Trixie and Katya (The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie and Katya), Oprah (Oprah’s Super Soul), and Katie Couric (Next Question with Katie Couric), as well as fascinating deep dives and investigations like Backfired: The Vaping Wars, Dark History, The Nightingale Of Iran, and Who Killed JFK?.

Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang were also honored with a Special Achievement Award for changing the culture with Las Culturistas. The same went to Esther Perel for Where Should We Begin?

If none of the above strike your fancy, other notable winners include Slate’s Death, Sex, And Money, Netflix is a Daily Joke, Prosecuting Donald Trump, What Now? with Trevor Noah, and Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect. Happy listening!

2024 Winner Highlights

Interview or Talk Show
Slate’s Death, Sex & Money GOLD
Your Mama’s Kitchen GOLD
Apple News In Conversation GOLD
Podcrushed
New Lines Magazine Presents: The Lede
Time Sensitive
All There Is with Anderson Cooper GOLD, LISTENER’S CHOICE
Marc Summers Unwraps
On Being with Krista Tippett

Best Co-Host Team (Shows)
Handsome Podcast GOLD, LISTENER’S CHOICE
The Need to Know Podcast GOLD
Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway
A Field Guide To Gay Animals
Pretendians
Dead Writers
Nightcap
Culture Bites
And That’s Why We Drink
Varnamtown

Best Commute Podcast
Today, Explained GOLD
Netflix is a Daily Joke GOLD
And That’s Why We Drink GOLD LISTENER’S CHOICE
Where Does Florida Keep Its Memorabilia?
Hangin’ Out with the Old Fellas
The McKinsey Podcast
Very Special Episodes
TED Talks Daily

Best Co-Host Team (Pop Culture Podcasts)
The Bald and the Beautiful with Trixie and Katya GOLD
Crunchyroll Presents: The Anime Effect GOLD
KERMODE AND MAYO’S TAKE LISTENER’S CHOICE
Newcomers with Lauren Lapkus & Nicole Byer
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang

Best Host (Current Events)
On with Kara Swisher GOLD, LISTENER’S CHOICE
Next Question with Katie Couric GOLD
The Coffee Klatch With Robert Reich
Apple News Today
Conspiracy, She Wrote

Best Host
Oprah’s Super Soul GOLD
Apple News Today GOLD
Your Mama’s Kitchen GOLD
Dark History LISTENER’S CHOICE
How to Fail with Elizabeth Day
Reality with the King

Limited Series Documentary
Hysterical GOLD
The Youth Development Center GOLD
Backfired: The Vaping Wars GOLD
Grapevine GOLD
The Nightingale of Iran LISTENER’S CHOICE
The Good Thief
Long Shadow: In Guns We Trust
After Hotel Rwanda
In The Dark: The Runaway Princesses

Limited Series History
Pack One Bag GOLD
Inheriting
Road to Rickwood
The 99% Invisible Breakdown: The Power Broker
Who Killed JFK? LISTENER’S CHOICE
Unbiased History of Israel and Palestine

Limited Series & Specials News & Politics
In the Room with Peter Bergen GOLD
Big Take GOLD
The Political Scene GOLD
Talking Feds
Prosecuting Donald Trump LISTENER’S CHOICE
White Picket Fence
Pod Save America
Stay Tuned with Preet

Comedians Shaping Culture
What Now? with Trevor Noah GOLD, LISTENER’S CHOICE
Carefully Reckless with Jess Hilarious
Lovett or Leave It
Seek Treatment with Cat & Pat

Self-Improvement & Self-Help
The Mel Robbins Podcast GOLD
Everyday Better with Leah Smart GOLD
Big Lash Energy – Are You Faking Happy Too? LISTENER’S CHOICE
The Get Back To It Podcast
Whiskey, Jazz And Leadership
A Place of Yes
Real Men Feel
Therapy For Black Girls