You might’ve missed it but the Golden Globes have officially dipped a toe into the podcast world. The 2026 Globes (the 83rd edition) will include a brand-new “Best Podcast” award. THIS IS HUGE! It’s the first time this film/TV institution is recognizing audio (and video) creators. “Look Ma- We made it"!”
Well, not yet. As with all things Hollywood-style: there’s more behind the curtain…..
First you had to be “Eligible.”
Who Made the Cut? The 25 Golden Globes “Eligible” Podcasts for 2026 are:
20/20 (ABC News)
48 Hours (CBS News)
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Call Her Daddy
Candace
Crime Junkie
Dateline NBC
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Morbid
MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories
Pardon My Take
Pod Save America
Rotten Mango
Shawn Ryan Show
SmartLess
Stuff You Should Know
The Ben Shapiro Show
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The Daily (The New York Times)
The Joe Rogan Experience
The Megyn Kelly Show
The Mel Robbins Podcast
The Tucker Carlson Show
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
Up First (NPR)
So what does “Eligible” actually mean? What are The Rules?
To qualify, a podcast must’ve released at least 6 episodes between January 1, 2025 and September 30, 2025, and each episode must be at least 30 minutes long.
Thats it?
Once “eligible”, the 25 creators must submit the podcast through the official submission site (the window was Oct 2–Oct 31, 2025). If you don’t submit, you’re out- even if you made the list.
Here’s where the “pay-to-play” comes in. The submissions aren’t free. According to the official rules, there’s a “$5,000 screening-platform access fee per title (plus added costs if you choose higher security, etc.)”
The six nominees for the inaugural best podcast award are
“Armchair Expert” with Dax Shepard
“Call Her Daddy” with Alex Cooper
“Good Hang” with Amy Poehler
“The Mel Robbins Podcast”
“Up First,” from NPR
“Smartless,” hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett
The following will be considered to determine the winner per the Globes.
the quality
creativity
audience engagement
“impact” of the podcast
What does this mean for us Podcasters -Indie / Boutique / Small Fish like us?
If you’re making podcasts because you care about voice, community, story- don’t let the $5k scare you off. Maybe this award system isn’t built for us … yet. But damn if it doesn’t remind us how powerful our medium is. Now more tha never! And if enough of us create smart and honest work- maybe we’ll reshape the system from the outside in.
Keep pushing record
XoXo
Your favorite Podcast Producer Britt
