The Ambies (or the Awards for Excellence in Audio) are awards for artistic and technical merit in the

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

industry. They are awarded by The Podcast Academy in two overall categories: Show Recognition and Talent Recognition. The winners, who receive a gold statue holding a microphone and wearing headphones, are selected by a vote from Podcast Academy members. The awards and the Podcast Academy were established in 2020 with the inaugural ceremony held on May 16, 2021, hosted by

Cameron Esposito Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito (born October 17, 1981) is an American actress, comedian, and podcaster known for her show '' Take My Wife'', as well as her stand-up comedy and her podcast, '' Queery''. Esposito substantially focuses on top ...

History

In February 2020, Hernan Lopez at

Wondery Wondery is an American podcast network and publisher of podcasts including ''American History Tellers'', ''Dr. Death (podcast), Dr. Death'' and ''The Shrink Next Door''. Wondery was founded in 2016 by entrepreneur and media executive Hernan Lopez ...

announced that he and 10 peers had established a new non-profit group called the Podcast Academy. The Podcast Academy is a member-based professional organization for podcasters. It was modeled after other similar institutions in the entertainment industry with the intention of establishing an independent industry award for podcasting, initially called the Golden Mics. When the Podcast Academy announced plans to hold the first award ceremony amidst the

awards season Film awards season is an annual time period between November and February every year, in the United States, where a majority of significant film award events take place. In October ballots are sent out to voters, to collect nominations for the firs ...

of other entertainment areas, the name was changed to the Awards for Excellence in Audio, nicknamed the Ambies, and award was revealed to be a gold statue holding a microphone and wearing headphones. The term Ambies was derived from ambient sound, which is frequently used in audio recordings, and it has a similar sound to other awards such as the Emmys and Grammys.

Selection process

Nominations are first recommended for consideration within a submission window, and then narrowed down to an official list of nominees for voting. A minimum of three episodes published in the award year are required to be eligible for consideration. From those recommendations, a panel of Podcast Academy members listen to podcasts for a period of time before selecting the nominees for voting in each category. Members of the Podcast Academy are organized into peer groups in order to vote on the winners from the selected nominees, which are announced at the live ceremony.

Statuette

The Ambie statuette is an

art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

gold figurine wearing headphones and holding a microphone atop a black base. Its minimalist design is inspired by the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

, in keeping with the Podcast Academy's vision of establishing the Ambies as the "Oscars of podcasting." The statuette is designed and produced by Cristaux International.

2021 Awards

The first annual Ambies occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, and were conducted virtually. The ceremony was livestreamed on May 16, 2021, and was hosted by Cameron Esposito.

Podcasts

Podcasters and Talent

2022 Awards

The second annual Ambies were held at the

Mayan Theater The Mayan Theater in Los Angeles, California, is a landmark former movie palace and current nightclub and music venue. History The Mayan Theater opened in August 1927 as a performance arts theater specializing in musical comedy. Leon Hefflin ...

in Los Angeles on May 22, 2022, and hosted by Ross Matthews and Nikki Boyer. The category "Best Indie Podcast" was also introduced, to recognize shows that were not commissioned by a major network or studio.

Podcasts

Podcasters and Talent

2023 Awards

The third annual Ambies were held at the

Westgate Las Vegas The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and was ...

Resort on March 7, 2023, and hosted by Larry Wilmore.

Podcasts

Podcasters and Talent

2024 Awards

The fourth annual Ambies were held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on March 26, 2024, and hosted by

Trixie Mattel Brian Michael Firkus (born August 23, 1989), better known by the stage name Trixie Mattel, is an American drag queen, television personality, makeup entrepreneur, DJ and singer-songwriter originally from Silver Cliff, Wisconsin, Silver Cliff, Ma ...

Podcasts

Podcasters and Talent

Special awards

* Governor’s Award:
**This American Life** * Podcast Pioneer Award:
**Kara Swisher**

2025 Awards

The fifth annual Ambies were held in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on March 31, 2025, and hosted by

Tig Notaro Tig Notaro (born Mathilde O'Callaghan Notaro, March 24, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, writer, radio contributor, and actress known for her deadpan comedy. Her acclaimed album ''Live'' was nominated in 2014 for the Grammy Award for Best ...

. The Podcast Academy also introduced the new category of "Best Spanish Language Narrative Podcast".

Podcasts

Podcasters and Talent

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.ambies.com/ Podcasting awards Awards established in 2020