Before we worry about any of that however, it’s time to look back and celebrate our favourite podcasts from 2023. As is our tradition, we ended the year with the Pod Bible Listener Polls, a month long open vote where we ask listeners to vote for their favourite podcasts of the year. All of the nominees featured in the Pod Bible Magazine, on the Pod Bible Podcast, on the website or newsletter over the last twelve months – except the final Independent Podcast category, which was open to all.

The polls were open for the whole of December and closed at midnight on the 31st of December. Thank you so much to everyone who voted, we received a record number of submissions, up 30% on our previous best which is huge! Our team have now counted and verified all submissions and we’re very happy to see a good mix of classic podcasts, indy shows and new productions as well as a bunch of brand new winners and an unprecedented tie for third place in one of the categories…

Pod disciples, we present to you your Pod Bible Listener Poll Winners for 2023!

COMEDY

WINNER: WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAKE

2nd – FRENCH AND SAUNDERS: TITTING ABOUT

3rd – OFF MENU

Congratulations to Kathy Burke and the amazing team at Sony Music and Somethin’ Else for creating a runaway hit last year. Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake has taken the most morbid of subjects and turned it into a deeply entertaining and thought provoking listen, with an incredible line up of guests. Everyone knew Kathy would make the perfect podcast host when the time was right and boy has she delivered.

Kathy’s long term British comedy peers French & Saunders come second with perennial winners Off Menu dropping down to third place in what’s been yet another huge year for the dream restaurant based show.

INTERVIEW & CONVERSATION

WINNER: THE ADAM BUXTON PODCAST

2nd – OFF AIR… WITH JANE & FI

3rd – CHANGES WITH ANNIE MACMANUS

What else can be said about The Adam Buxton Podcast and it’s place within the UK podcasting scene since it’s inception in 2015? The quintessential interview podcast for us and the listener votes have yet again backed us up. The fact that Adam can go on lengthy hiatus’s then reappear with no warning with another run of wonderous conversations makes it feel all the more special.

Legendary broadcasters (and fellow former Pod Bible cover stars) Jane Garvey and Fi Glover take second place with DJ Annie Macmanus making the podium in third.

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

WINNER: TALK ART

2nd – CLOSET CONFESSIONS

3rd – WHERE ARE YOU GOING? / POP OFF

We’re delighted to see Talk Art take the gold in this year’s Lifestyle & Culture category! Robert and Russell have been long term supporters of Pod Bible and it’s been a joy to witness their show going from strength to strength over recent years.

Pod Bible cover stars Closet Confessions take second and for the first time ever we have a tie for third place (quite the feat considering we had thousands of votes in this category!). Where Are You Going? and Pop Off share third place, two very different shows that are equally worth your time.

FILM & TV

WINNER: SHRINK THE BOX

2nd – THE DREAM FACTORY

3rd – STICKY BUN BOYS

Three brand new entries onto the Film & TV podium this year, which is no mean feat in a category with both Kermode & Mayo and Films To Be Buried With! Congratulations to Shrink The Box, the show where Ben Baily Smith and Sasha Bates take their favourite fictional characters and analyse why their behaviour causes them so much drama.

It’s wonderful to see that both second and third places are taken by two independent shows this year. User generated movie creation podcast The Dream Factory takes second with Great British Bake Off re-watch podcast Sticky Bun Boys in third.

MUSIC

WINNER: THAT’S NOT METAL

2nd – BEFORE THEY KNEW BETTER

3rd – ROCKONTEURS

Huge congratulations to That’s Not Metal, a truly independent and fan made podcast that has taken first place in this year’s music category! TNM brings you news, opinions and honest reviews from the world of Metal music every week and finished 2023 with their very own awards show.

DIY Magazine’s Before They Knew Better takes second with last year’s bronze medal winners Rockonteurs returning to third place again!

SPORT & LEISURE

WINNER: REMINDING YOU WHY YOU LOVE FOOTBALL

2nd – THE TENNIS PODCAST

3rd – FOOTBALL RAMBLE

Need a reminder as to why you love football? Look no further than this years winner in Sport & Leisure, Reminding You Why You Love Football! The perfect show for those who are not necesarily looking for up to the minute analysis on the latest round of fixtures. You can check out our chat with Seb and Owen from the show here!

The Tennis Podcast takes second place with stalwarts the Football Ramble in third.

NEWS & INVESTIGATION

WINNER: POD SAVE THE UK

2nd – THE NEWS AGENTS

3rd – A VERY BRITISH CULT

A wonderful debut year for Pod Save The UK is capped off by topping the polls for News & Investigation. Nish Kumar and Coco Khan’s weekly politics show is funny, informative and most importantly, accessible.

Similar in subject matter, The News Agents comes in at second with BBC Radio 4 investigative series A Very British Cult taking third place.

AUDIO DRAMA

WINNER: SHERLOCK & CO.

2nd – THE WITCH FARM

3rd – SPRINGLEAF

Sherlock & Co flew onto the scene in October last year and immediately topped the Audio Fiction charts with it’s superbly written scripts and hilarious performances. Our chat with Sherlock & Watson resulted in one of our favourite interviews of the year so we are delighted to see them pick up first place.

Second place goes to the BBC’s The Witch Farm with James Acaster’s Springleaf, only released in November, taking third.

OH. MY. POD.

INDEPENDENT PODCAST

WINNER: PICTURE THE SCENE

2nd – ECONOMICS IN TEN

3rd – 101 PART TIME JOBS

After finishing second last year, true crime podcast Picture The Scene have come back strong to take first place and let us tell you, they got a LOT of votes.

Ever present Economics in Ten take second place with new entrant 101 Part Time Jobs taking the bronze!

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Congratulations to all our winners, runners up and nominees and thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for their favourite shows. We’re sure 2024 will be another incredible year for podcasting and look forward to celebrating it with another set of Pod Bible Listener Polls at the end of the year!

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If there’s one thing football fans love, it’s sharing their opinions about ‘the beautiful game’, and with the season about to reach it’s climax more fans than ever are tuning into football podcasts to revel in their team’s success, wallow in it’s failures or simply keep up to date with all the drama. But alongside our favourite preview and reaction shows, there’s a whole host of other types of football podcasts just waiting to be listened to. Whether it’s in-depth tactical analysis, a good dose of nostalgia, or a sideways glance at the more humorous side of the game, there appears to be something for everyone. Here’s my selection of 15 of the best football podcasts to listen to in 2023.

Football Ramble

From a few mates sat around a kitchen table, to a professionally-produced daily show with a rotating cast of presenters, the Football Ramble has changed quite a bit since 2007. One thing that’s been a mainstay is the level of entertainment. The Ramble gang never take themselves too seriously and, while things can often get silly (in the best possible way) they consistently tackle each aspect of the game with a nuanced and thoughtful approach. Listen now >> 

Totally Football Show

After years at the helm of The Guardian Football Weekly, long-time fans were stunned when James Richardson abruptly left in 2017. Within days, the first episode of Totally Football Show was out, and the show has gone from strength to strength ever since. Expertly guided by the legendary former anchor of Football Italia on Channel 4, the pod features an eclectic mix of supporting talent from the world of football journalism, providing expert insight and analysis of the Premier League, European football and beyond. Listen now >> 

The Guardian Football Weekly

One of the longest-running football pods, first broadcast in 2006. Football Weekly set the bar with regular news, reviews and matchday previews. After host James Richardson left in 2017, long-time stand-in Max Rushden assumed the role, arguably taking the show to even greater heights with the help of regular co-host Barry Glendenning. While the main focus is English football, the Guardian’s long list of European-based journalists can always be relied on to give expert insight on events in La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and beyond. Listen now >> 

Wrighty’s House

Wrighty’s House features legendary ex footballer and popular pundit Ian Wright speaking with a rotating cast of co-hosts about both mens and woman’s football. Wrighty’s infectious enthusiasm and unapologetic honesty make this a must listen, but the way he elevates and learns from each of his co-hosts is also a joy to behold. Not only does he bring his own wealth of knowledge to the table, he’s always open to learning and taking on other opinions. A Pod Bible favourite that’s available twice weekly.  Listen now >> 

The Offside Rule

Women’s football continues to rise in both profile and popularity, with big TV deals, proper press coverage, breakout pundits like Alex Scott and Karen Carney and of course the England Women’s Euro’s win all helping the cause. As one of the first podcassts focusing exclusively on the women’s game The Offside Rule continues to lead the way, reporting on the Women’s Super League, Championship and more. Lynsey Hooper, Kait Borsay and Hayley McQueen are passionate and engaging hosts who actively promote female inclusion in every element of the game. Listen now >> 

Touchline Fracas

A show for the everyday fan, featuring fascinating debates between passionate supporters so often unheard by mainstream media. Weekly episodes cover all areas of the Premier League, while they also host individual club podcasts focusing on Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and Manchester United. Touchline Fracas is a predominantly Black-owned media platform that by utilising fans, provides a refreshing alternative to the shows dominated by journalists, pundits and former pros. Listen now >> 

Counter Pressed

A more recent addition to the roster of podcast’s looking at the women’s game, Counter Pressed features journalist Flo Lloyd-Hughes and a rotating cast of friends for this twice weekly deep dive into the WSL and much more. As a regular guest on the aforementioned Wrighty’s House, Flo brings a similar vibe to this twice weekly show that, no matter the lineup, brings a consistent chemistry between it’s co-hosts.  Listen now >> 

The Overlap with Gary Neville

After cementing himself as one of, if the the country’s leading football pundit, Gary Neville has proven equally as adept in podcasting as he speaks to some of the biggest names from football and the wider sporting world. Gary goes deep with his guests, refelcting on their careers and vulnerabilities in revealing long form interviews. Guests so far have inlcuded Harry Kane, Jill Scott, David Beckham and UEFA President Alexsander Čeferin.    Listen now >> 

GIANT

If you’re looking for a change from the daily review shows, GIANT’s documentary-style episodes are a great place to start. Produced by the team behind Mundial magazine alongside Spotify, GIANT focuses on specific stories from the history of football, often speaking to the people who were directly involved. Whether telling a story from the grassroots of lower league football or celebrating the essence of what made a former great great, each episode is beautifully produced and deeply captivating. Listen now >> 

Stadio

When founders Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga started Stadio, their aim was to cover much more than just the Premier League. From far-flung European leagues, to wider societal and political issues off the pitch, Ryan and Musa speak passionately and sensitively about the game they love, whatever the subject. A twice-weekly show that will quickly become an essential part of your podcast library, especially if you’re a fan of a beautifully crafted analogy… Listen now >> 

Tifo Football Podcast

The Tifo Football Podcast was created off the back of their popular YouTube channel, with the aim of providing in-depth tactical, historical and geopolitical breakdowns of the beautiful game. The chemistry between the hosts is infectious, and their detailed analysis of often overlooked areas of the game really differentiate them from the pack. Interested in how transfers work post Brexit? Keen to drill down into Premier League tactical trends? Intrigued by full time Fantasy Football players? Tifo has got you covered.  Listen now >> 

Football Cliches

The language of football is unique, bizarre and, of course, riddled with cliché. What is a ‘proper football man’? How late in a game can you score the ‘opener’? What’s the difference between ‘swooping’ for a signing and ‘splashing the cash’? These linguistic quandaries and many more are all examined here. In its forensic and borderline obsessive analysis of how we talk about the game, Football Cliches mines a rich seam of humour and absurdity. Each episode focuses on a specific element of the language of football, and assesses what we talk about when we talk about goals, kits, celebrations, transfer windows and more. Listen now >> 

That Peter Crouch Podcast

Peter Crouch’s podcast has gained a vast following since debuting on BBC Radio 5 Live in 2018. The ex England striker already had a reputation as a charismatic character, but the show’s format enables his playful personality to shine even brighter. The main attraction is Crouch’s ability to regale his co-hosts with anecdotes and behind-the-scenes knowledge from his playing days, but his analysis of the modern game is also worth tuning in for. Listen now >> 

Quickly Kevin, Will He Score?

Named after the infamous piece of commentary between Brian Moore and Kevin Keegan at France ‘98 and positively dripping with 90s nostalgia. Hosts Josh Widdicombe, Michael Marden and Chris Scull delight in reminiscing about the ‘golden age’ of the Premier League, interviewing cult heroes from Matt Le Tissier and Paul Merson, to Carlton Palmer and Graeme Le Saux. There’s been no new epsiodes since December 2022 but considering the focus is on nostalgia the content remains timeless. Perfect if you yearn for the simpler times of sticker albums, jumpers for goalposts and staying up for Match of the Day. Listen now >> 

The Blizzard

Highly-respected football writer Jonathan Wilson and the Football Ramble’s Marcus Speller are joined by a guest each week for a deep dive into one of football’s ‘greatest games’. Focusing on a single game gives the show the breathing space needed to closely examine every aspect of the match, from the context around the fixture at the time, to the action on the pitch and ramifications for all involved. Although episode’s stopped being released in November 2021 these A refreshing change from the swift analysis necessary in more general round-up shows. Listen now >> 

The post 15 of the best Football Podcasts to listen to in 2023 appeared first on POD BIBLE.

As the festival draws near, we caught up with Founder, Dylan Pugh, to find out what we can expect at the festival this year…

It’s nearly festival time! Which shows are you most excited about seeing in this inaugural year?

They’re all going to be great shows obviously, but two in particular stand out for me. We have Morning Kombat, the leading MMA/Boxing podcast in the US and reigning Sports Podcast of the Year, flying over to play their first live show in the UK. They have a huge audience over here, and great guests lined-up, so that will be a great one.

And the FozCast will also be playing their first ever live show too, which is really exciting. I’ve been a huge fan of the way Ben Foster has built his own audience as a content creator – and he’s bloody good at it too! We’re excited for his fans to be able to watch the FozCast live in-person for the first time.

You mentioned some predictions for Sports podcasting in 2022 last time we spoke (more immediate content, the rise of the ex-professional, keeping episodes short and regular) – did we see it all happen?

We definitely saw more ex-athletes launch a podcast this year, from Jonny Wilkinson and Andrew “Beef” Johnston, to Neil Warnock and Chris Kamara. I would expect that trend to continue in 2023, with more current athletes in their prime joining the party.

Any things about 2022 podcasting that surprised you?

We didn’t see as much growth in the live audio space as I was expecting. Facebook flirted with it, but cooled their plans, Twitter Spaces has not been as widely adopted, and Spotify’s plans with Greenroom are yet to materialise at scale. In the same space, we saw more live-streaming and watch-alongs from leading sports podcasters – another trend I expect to continue to grow this year. And I was surprised by how quickly the live podcasting scene has not only returned post-Covid, but accelerated at such pace.

What are your predictions for sports podcasting in the next 12 months?

More current athletes in their prime to enter the game as podcasters, more sports podcasts going live and on tour, and in general, I think we’ll see some more variation in the types of podcast being created – niche topics and different formats. There’s clearly a formula that works for sports podcasting at the moment and I can see why people are sticking to that, but my opinion is that there’s now a lot of repetition. Those that do something different to the norm will cut through

Both the audio industry and the sports industry have a big gender disparity – do you think podcasts could help to engage these audiences?

Absolutely. There’s huge momentum around women’s sport right now and the growth trajectory is significant. To my earlier point, the sports podcast landscape is very ‘samey’ in terms of the format and profile of the hosts – and the gender disparity is shocking. So as women’s sport continues to grow in popularity, there’s a huge opportunity to add some fresh new voices to the space.

There’s already some amazing podcasts such as the No Balls: The Cricket Podcast, The Good, the Scaz & the Rugby and Jill Scott’s Coffee Club, and from our work with the Sports Podcast Awards, we are seeing more female producers out there too, which is great to see.

TV has made big strides in the number of female voices in sport, but these are not the current athletes and top stars themselves. Podcasts can be an amazing platform to showcase their true personalities and to build these characters and role models to inspire the next generation of female sport stars and audio creators.

I would urge anybody that commissions a sports podcast to think about the opportunity here, and the responsibility that we have as an industry to redress this balance.

For those interested in attending a live sports podcast show, how can they get involved with Pod Live?

We have live shows each night from Wednesday 8th to Sunday 12th February at Kings Place in London. There are two shows each night, with four on the Sunday, and tickets can be bought HERE. We have shows covering Rugby, Football, Cycling, F1, Combat Sports and some general sports comedy shows like Fighting Talk and Socially Distant Sports Bar – so something for everyone!

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This was the fourth annual Pod Bible Polls, where we ask listeners to vote for their favourite podcasts of the year. All of the nominees featured in the Pod Bible Magazine, on the Pod Bible Podcast, on the website or newsletter over the last twelve months – except the final Independent Podcast category, which was open to all.

2022 also saw a slight change in the categories – we’re celebrating fiction podcasts for the first time in the ‘Audio Drama’ category, and a ‘News & Investigation’ poll highlights some of the big productions that came out of the UK last year.

The polls were open for the whole of December and closed at midnight on the 31st of December. Once again we received a record number of votes, but our team have now counted and verified them. We’re happy to see there’s a good mix of classic podcasts, indy shows and new productions amongst the winners and runners-up.

Pod disciples, these are your Pod Bible Poll Winners for 2022!

COMEDY

WINNER: OFF MENU

2nd – MY THERAPIST GHOSTED ME

3rd – HELP I SEXTED MY BOSS

After being pipped to the post last year, the Off Menu lads are back to prove they are the kings of the comedy podcast genre! Ed Gamble and James Acaster’s chats with celebrities about their dream menus continues to make us laugh and salivate in equal measure. It has been a massive year for Off Menu, with more merch and live shows – including their first trip over the Atlantic. So it’s no surprise their fanbase has grown and once again rallied behind them to make it to the number one spot.

My Therapist Ghosted Me and Help I Sexted My Boss have come in the second and third slots. Clearly listeners are still craving good chat between good friends!

INTERVIEW & CONVERSATION

WINNER: THE ADAM BUXTON PODCAST

2nd – THE DIARY OF A CEO

3rd – HAPPY PLACE WITH FEARNE COTTON

Another return for a previous Pod Bible Polls winner, this marks the third win for The Adam Buxton Podcast. The podcast recently celebrated it’s 200th episode with old friend and regular podcast guest, film director Joe Cornish. It’s that familiarity that’s a part of keeping fans returning to Adam’s show. It’s no secret that we are fans of Adam’s and have enjoyed our own conversations with him over the years, and this poll position goes to show that he’s lost none of his flare after all these years.

Given how high it often sits in the charts, we’re not surprised to see The Diary of a CEO has polled for the first time, and previous magazine cover star Fearne Cotton has placed 3rd for the second time, having done the same in our 2020 poll.

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

WINNER: BROWN GIRLS DO IT TOO

2nd – THE GUILTY FEMINIST

3rd – EFFIN HORMONES

Brown Girls Do It Too have done it! They’ve toppled Deborah Frances-White and The Guilty Feminist off the top of the best Lifestyle & Culture category for the first time since our polls began. Poppy Jay and Rubina Pabani’s show explores the messy realities, fantasies, sexpectations and navigating life and relationships as British Asian women. It’s another show that has had an astronomical year, including a tour of their live show. They also appeared at the London Podcast Festival in September and hosted the Audio Production Awards in November.

The Guilty Feminist drops to 2nd place, but the Indy podcast Effin’ Hormones builds on its success at the British Podcast Awards this year – and with fans such as Idris Elba cheering them it’s no wonder.

FILM & TV

WINNER: KERMODE & MAYO’S TAKE

2nd – FILMS TO BE BURIED WITH

3rd – CLASH OF THE TITLES

It’s a new WINNER, and a new show, but an old pairing that have been reliably among the most-downloaded podcast hosts of them all in the UK. When Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo left the BBC earlier this year, we didn’t have to wait long for Kermode & Mayo’s Take to fill the gap. The show is reassuringly familiar but the fresh format brought their takes on film and television to new listeners. Those listeners certainly voted in their masses this year! Read more about Kermode and Mayo’s move from radio to podcasting here >>

Brett Goldstein’s Film’s to be Buried With drops to second place, but considering how busy he’s been (staring in Marvel films, gracing the cover of our magazine) it’s understandable. Clash Of The Titles holds steady in third place for the second year in a row, proving there’s still plenty of films ready to do combat.

MUSIC

WINNER: NOTHING IS REAL

2nd – FOLK ON FOOT

3rd – ROCKONTEURS

Our list of the best Beatles Podcasts has been one of our most popular articles on the website this year, so it’s not that surprising to see the Beatles showing up on top here. But Nothing Is Real is a popular podcast on its own merit, even outside of the Beatles fame. Jason Carty and Steven Cockroft have enough Beatles knowledge to win the Beatles Brains of Ireland quiz, but they share stories in an accessible way for listeners.

Folk On Foot comes in second, a show that serves the folk community music with conversations and sounds of nature through plein air interviews. In a year of celebrity podcasts, we have Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp coming in to third place with Rockonteurs, the show he hosts with bass player to the stars Guy Pratt. And after several years of a BBC Sounds show topping this category, it’s somewhat nice to see the independent shows dominate this year.

SPORT & LEISURE

WINNER: BEEF’S GOLF CLUB

2nd – THAT PETER CROUCH PODCAST

3rd – FOOTBALL RAMBLE

Even though it’s new, Beef’s Golf Club has already grown a big community who have helped it top this year’s polls. One of the things that may have led to its success is that this show so universal in who can listen. It is very welcoming to beginners and teaches the basics, rather than serving commentary to people who are already golf fans.

Despite the epic summer of football, football podcasts didn’t quite hit the target this year despite their ongoing popularity. That Peter Crouch Podcast drops to 2nd place after winning last year, and Football Ramble drops to third after its 2021 runner-up position.

NEWS & INVESTIGATION

WINNER: CAN I TELL YOU A SECRET?

2nd – THE REST IS POLITICS

3rd – THINGS FELL APART

In the first new category, the big publishers are using their platform to bring cutting-edge journalism to UK podcasts. The Guardian’s Can I Tell You A Secret? takes a sensitive look at the subject of stalking. Produced by an award-winning team, it features moving sound design from the fantastic Axel Kacoutie (a contender for the hardest-working-person-in-podcasting at the moment). We named this as a possible Podcast of the Year in our last magazine, and the voters seem to agree.

The Rest Is Politics comes in second with its unlikely double act of Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, and Things Fell Apart was a short series from BBC Sounds, hosted by Jon Ronson, that helped us make sense of the culture wars.

AUDIO DRAMA

WINNER: THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES

2nd – ELIZA: A ROBOT STORY

3rd – JACKIE THE RIPPER

This is our first year for highlighting fiction podcasts in their own category, and The Magnus Archives has proved it’s still a classic of the genre. A horror fiction podcast examining what lurks in the archives of the Magnus Institute, the show ran for nearly 6 years before coming to end this year. If you’re new to fiction podcasts, this is a great place to start.

Crowd Network’s Eliza: A Robot Story proves popular even though it came out later in the year, and shows that a sci-fi audio drama can reach a wide audience. And the gory story of Jackie The Ripper from Stak made its way to third place.

OH. MY. POD.

INDEPENDENT PODCAST

WINNER: PROPER MENTAL PODCAST

2nd – PICTURE THE SCENE

3rd – ECONOMICS IN TEN

The ‘Oh My Pod’ Independent Podcast poll is open to literally every independent podcast. Shows that win this category are hitting the all the right marks with their listeners and creating communities that can’t stop talking about their show. It is fiercely contested each year and seeing a podcast that focuses on mental health get to top of this list is testament to the way it resonates with listeners. We featured Tom’s show way back in June last year, and would like to think that helped its growth!

Once again, HUNDREDS of podcasts were put forward for this category to a massive thank you and congratulations to every podcast mentioned!

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Congratulations to all our winners, runners up and nominees and thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for their favourite shows. We’re sure 2023 will be another incredible year for podcasting and look forward to celebrating it with another set of Pod Bible Poll’s at the end of the year!

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Sports podcasts are one of the most popular genres of audio entertainment, so there were 24 categories covering all areas of sports podcasting. Without further ado, here are the winners of the Sports Podcast Awards 2022, voted for by the listening public…

Best American Football Podcast

The Fantasy Footballers – The expert trio of Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike “The Fantasy Hitman” Wright break down the world of Fantasy Football with astute analysis, strong opinions, and matchup-winning advice you can’t get anywhere else.  Listen now >>

Best Baseball Podcast

Talkin’ Baseball – Breaking down and recapping the series that were, the standings, the good, the bad and the angry from MLB, every Monday and Friday. Listen now >>

Best Basketball Podcast

Basketball History 101 – Rick Loayza aims to bring back some of the old stories from basketball’s history,  and the older days of basketball before there were 22 cameras and instant highlights on your device. Listen now >>

Best College Sports Podcast:

The Nolecast – The leading podcast about Florida State sports. Bud Elliott and Ingram Smith discuss FSU football and recruiting, as well as basketball and baseball. Listen now >>

Best Combat Sports Podcast:

Morning Kombat – Luke Thomas is a former Marine Sergeant and the Sr. MMA Analyst for CBS Sports. Brian Campbell is the CBS Sports Sr. Insider for all things Combat. Together they cover everything happening in the world of Boxing and MMA, including talking to the fighters, promoters and the fans. Listen now >>

Best Cricket Podcast:

Giving The Game Away – The aim of this podcasts is to humanise sportspeople by discussing their off-the-pitch interests, and highlighting lesser-spoken aspects of their lives such as dealing with rejection, recovering from injuries and handling the media. Listen now >>

Best Esports Podcast:

The Football Manager Show by The Athletic – Every week, Iain Macintosh speaks to the people who know the game best; the people who literally made the game. Listen now >>

Best Fitness Podcast:

The Running For Real Podcast – Former professional runner and life-long athlete, Tina Muir, hosts this unique running podcast that focuses on relating every experience back to the listeners. Listen now >>

Best Golf Podcast:

Sky Sports Golf Podcast – Keeping up to date with latest golf news, reviews of the week’s tournaments and a look ahead to forthcoming events. Listen now >>

Best Motorsports Podcast:

WTF1 Podcast – All the latest F1 news, races, incidents and controversy. Who was at fault for the crash? Who needs to step up their game before they get the sack? What can be guaranteed… there will be arguments and there will be memes.Listen now >>

Best Olympic & Paralympic Podcast:

Off The Podium – Three men who dream of Olympic glory and have as much athletic prowess as a piece of cheese sit down (or stand up) and discuss the Olympics, bringing you daily updates, segments and attempted humour that would make even the most passionate Olympics fan in the world crack a wry smile. Well, at least that’s what they hope. Listen now >>

Best Rugby Podcast:

The Rugby Pod – Perhaps no surprise the ‘most listened to rugby podcast in the world’ wins this one. The Rugby Pod from The Ringer is hosted by Andy Rowe, and features Andy Goode, and Big Jim Hamilton. Listen now >>

Best Soccer Podcast:

Transfer Talk – Transfer Talk is a podcast from Sky Sports News which features debate and analysis from some of the most well connected reporters in the football world throughout the transfer window. Listen now >>

Best Tennis Podcast:

Control the Controllables – Dan Kiernan, Director of SotoTennis Academy in Spain has created a podcast to entertain, educate and energise the tennis community. Listen now >>

Best Urban & Adventure Podcast:

Tough Girl Podcast – A completely independent podcast from Sarah Williams highlight women in adventure and extreme sports. It’s also one of our favourite outdoors podcasts! Listen now >>

Best Winter Sports Podcast:

The Ski Podcast – Hosted by Iain Martin, The Ski Podcast is a UK-based podcast that looks at at all aspects of the world of skiing and snowboarding, from resorts to racing, Ski Sunday to slush. Listen now >>

Best Equality & Social Impact Podcast:

TWS Sports Podcast – This podcast is hosted by autistic children from Tettenhall Wood School in Wolverhampton. Each week, they chat to a sporting guest from around the world. Listen now >> 

Best News & Current Affairs Podcast:

Football Social Daily – The ONLY daily Premier League podcast bringing the latest news and opinion from the EPL. It talks about big Premier League talking points from the fans’ perspective, 7 days a week throughout the season. Listen now >>

Best Performance and Wellbeing Podcast:

The High Performance Podcast – The High Performance Podcast is an intimate glimpse into the lives of high-achieving, world-class performers who have all excelled in their field with first-hand experiences and lessons to share. Hosted by sports broadcaster Jake Humphrey and leading organisational psychologist Damian Hughes. Listen now >>

Best Sports Business Podcast:

Are You Not Entertained? – Honest, amusing but above all, authentic, Roger Mitchell, Grant Williams and Giles Morgan invite guests from all corners of the sport, music and entertainment worlds to join them and discuss how the game has changed, where it might be headed and what that means for the people who matter the most; the fans. Listen now >>

Best Sports Comedy Podcast:

The Socially Distant Sports Bar – No stranger to winning awards, The Socially Distance Sports Bar builds on its Pod Bible Poll win from 2020! Listen here >>

Best Sports Documentary Podcast:

Defiance – Legendary sprinter Michael Johnson embarks upon a personal journey through the history of protest in sport. He discovers the remarkable stories of those who’ve taken stands, and assesses the impact of their efforts in driving societal change. Listen now >>

Best Team Podcast:

Two Woods Four Quarters: A Harlequins Podcast – A fan podcast for the Harlequins rugby team, Two Woods, Four Quarters: A Harlequins Podcast is hosted by cousins; Will Wood & Michael Wood. Listen now >> 

The Big Hitters Award:

The Fantasy Footballers – The only podcast to win in more than one category! Listen now >>

Sports Podcast of the Year:

Morning Kombat – The coverted award of the night the Sports Podcast of the Year was chosen by the Sports Podcast Awards advisory board , Morning Kombat podcast spotlights the world of boxing and MMA. Listen here>>

—

Congratulations to all the winners. We look forward to next year!

The post The Sports Podcast Awards 2022 – The Winners appeared first on POD BIBLE.

JANUARY 2022: A whole host of top names in the sports podcasting world are set to go head-to-head as the shortlists are announced for the inaugural Sports Podcast Awards taking place in March 2022 with a virtual ceremony. The awards come after research shows that sports was by far the fastest growing podcasting category in 2021 with download growth of 89% compared to the previous year.

The annual celebration, that honours the work of the very best that the global sports audio community has to offer, is brought to you by the company behind the prestigious Sports Industry Awards. After a rigorous judging process from an expert industry jury, a total of 128 podcasts from 13 countries and more than 50 different podcast networks all over the globe have made the short-list and will be in with a chance of picking up an award to honour their work.

Podcasts from global networks such as The Athletic, NBC, Sky Sports, The Ringer and iHeart Media will see their podcasts face-off to be crowned top of the tree for audio content. Categories include shows that cover well-known sports such as Football, Baseball and Golf, as well as others such as Combat Sports, Urban & Adventure and Winter Sports, all of which are well represented.

There are also awards for other important topical subjects within the industry including Performance and Wellbeing, Sports Business and Equality and Social Impact, as well as the coveted Sports Podcast of the Year, which will be decided from the winners of each category by the awards advisory board.

Among those sports podcasts in the running for an award is Jake Humphrey’s, High Performance Podcast, which will contest the Performance and Wellbeing category and Big Hitters awards, for which it will go up against popular US podcast The Fantasy Footballers among others. 

The Equality Social Impact category will be contested by eight shows each tackling important issues within sport, these include BBC’s LGBT Sports Podcast, climate change awareness show Emergency on Planet Sport and female football podcast Goal Diggers.

Other big names to be recognised at the shortlisting phase include The Greatest Game with Jamie Carragher, The Socially Distant Sports Bar and the Joe Marler Show.

The Sports Podcast Awards were launched to unite the sports podcast community globally, from elite podcasters to grass roots and anything in between, in fact 61% of entrants to this year’s awards were independent podcasts. With recent data showing that over 20 million major sports fans in the US are tuning into podcasts at least once a week, sports podcasts are now among the most listened to in the world of audio content.

Speaking on the announcement, Dylan Pugh, Managing Director of Sports Industry Group said: “Announcing our shortlists for this year’s awards is the perfect way to kick off 2022, and we’re proud to have podcasts of all shapes and sizes included. Now, we want the wider podcasting community, including content creators and listeners, to engage by voting for their favourites. Joining the Sports Podcast Awards community is truly the best way to boost discoverability for your favourite podcasts and we’re very much looking forward to a fantastic virtual ceremony in March to crown our winners.”

With the shortlisted podcasts now in place, it’s the turn of the podcasters and listeners themselves to have their say on who deserves to be crowned the winner in each category. Both will have the power to decide, with a unique judging format that makes this a truly democratic process.

There is still time to sign up to become a judge and Sports Podcast Awards would encourage podcasters and listeners to get in touch if they want to be part of the community. Simply visit www.sportspodcastawards.com and register to become a judge.

Now judging has begun, participants will be able to follow along as the results are recorded and shown via an ever-changing live league table for each individual category on the SPA website. You can also win prizes for being the most active and accurate judge! The winner’s announcement will then take place at the end of March with the league tables going dark for the final week to build suspense for the ceremony itself.

For more information and to view the entire shortlist please visit: http://www.sportspodcastawards.com

-ENDS-

Read the full short list of categories in The Sports Podcast Awards below, and listen to all the shortlist on the Sports Podcast Awards Spotify playlists. Listen now >>

Best American Football Podcast

The Nat Coombs Show
God Bless Football
Just Getting Started with Rich Eisen
The Fantasy Footballers
The Rough Cut Sportscast
Greg Bedard’s Patriots Podcast
The Cleats Off Podcast
Talkin’ Giants

Best Baseball Podcast

Wrigleyville Nation Podcast
Too Tall Sports Podcast
GOATS: On the Bump By Ross Stripling
Talkin’ Baseball
Almostcooperstown.com
Red Sox Beat
The Chris Rose Rotation
That 90s Baseball Pod

Best Basketball Podcast

Forgotten Seasons
Got ‘Em Coach
Basketball History 101
Titus & Tate
Celtics Beat
Showtime with Michael Cooper
Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman Podcast
Lakers Nation

Best College Sports Podcast:

The Jboy Show
Buckeye Talk
ABCA Podcast
Athletes Unfiltered
I-80 Preview Podcast
Orange Bowl Boys: A Miami Hurricanes Podcast
The Sports Stove Podcast
The Nolecast

Best Combat Sports Podcast:

Morning Kombat
Fight Night Boxing Podcast
iFL TV
Fight Disciples
Adam Catterall presents Frank Warren’s Heavyweight Podcast
The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani
Talk is Jericho
Boxing Life Stories

Best Cricket Podcast:

The Last Wicket
The Cricket Library
Middle Please, Umpire
Teluguone Cricket Podcast
GIVING THE GAME AWAY
Cricket Sirf Cricket
Cricket Daily
Cricket Unfiltered

Best Esports Podcast:

Esports Network Podcast
Esports Minute
The Football Manager Show by The Athletic

Best Fitness Podcast:

The Pinkbike Podcast
RowAlong
The Training For Ultra Podcast
Meathead Test Kitchen
MindPump: Raw Fitness Truth
Fit Dad Fitness
The Running For Real Podcast
Well Far: The Running Podcast

Best Golf Podcast:

Sky Sports Golf Podcast
Those Weekend Golf Guys
Next on the nee with Chris Mascaro
Golf Smarter
Power of the Game
The Open Podcasts
The Golf Psychology Podcast
Fore The People

Best Motorsports Podcast:

New Track Record
WTF1 Podcast
Sprint Race Show
Positive Regression: A Motorsports Analytics Podcast
Bring Back V10s – Classic F1 Stories
The Race F1 Podcast
The Final Lap Weekly

Best Olympic & Paralympic Podcast:

Off The Podium
My Defining Moments
A Winning Mindset: Lessons from the Paralympics
Equal Too: Achieving Disability Equality
Keep the Flame Alive
My New Favorite Olympian
Monday Mile with Aimee Fuller
Destination Tokyo

Best Rugby Podcast:

The Eagle-Eyed Rugby Podcast
GrassRoots – Women’s Rugby from the Roots Up
The Rugby Pod
RugbyPass Offload
The Rig Biz Pod
Out Of Your League
The Good, The Bad & The Rugby
MaulOver Podcast

Best Soccer Podcast:

The Big Interview with Graham Hunter
Transfer Talk
The Official Fantasy Premier League Podcast
The Totally Football Show
The Greatest Game with Jamie Carragher
GameDay
The Players
Football Stories

Best Tennis Podcast:

The Passing Shot Tennis Podcast
Rock n Roll Tennis
Ready Play Tennis Podcast
Control the Controllables
The Tennis Podcast
What you talking about Willis?
Tennis IQ Podcast
Hold On to Your Racket

Best Urban & Adventure Podcast:

Off Watch
Factor Two
Big Deep – An Ocean Podcast
Riders Lounge Podcast
Tough Girl Podcast
HeadRightOut
How to Be Superhuman
The Joy of SUP – the Paddleboarding Sunshine Podcast

Best Winter Sports Podcast:

Legends of the Brand
Hockey Night In New York
Bruins Beat
Poke The Bear
FNRad Snowboarding Podcast
The Ski Podcast
Monday Mile with Aimee Fuller
Here In Puckberg

Best Equality & Social Impact Podcast:

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Equal Too: Achieving Disability Equality
Goal Diggers Podcast
Ordineroli Speaking
Emergency on Planet Sport
TWS Sports Podcast
Play It Forward: Presented by PeacePlayers
The BBC’s LGBT Sports Podcast

Best News & Current Affairs Podcast:

Football Social Daily
b2b Sports
12 To 1 with Adrian Abraham
Sport Unlocked
The Sports Stove Podcast
All Things Gymnastics
The Matt Bernier Show
GuysBeerSports

Best Performance and Wellbeing Podcast:

Truth + Tribe
Rise With Us
Slice of PIE
The High Performance Podcast
Raising Your Game
Charges with Rex Chapman
The Running For Real Podcast
The Everyday Adventure Podcast

Best Sports Business Podcast:

Inside Sponsorship
The Sports Entrepreneurs Podcast by Marcus Luer
Sporticast
The Business Called Cricket with Rica Roy
The Business Case For Women’s Sports
The Drive Phase Podcast
Are You Not Entertained?
SportsPro Podcast

Best Sports Comedy Podcast:

The Socially Distant Sports Bar
Sigma Sports Presents Matt Stephens Unplugged
Row Z
Football Clichés
Joe Marler Show
BENCHED with Toast, Roman & Scoop
The Divide Live
Unleashed

Best Sports Documentary Podcast:

Sporting Witness
Truly the GOATs
Football’s Cult Heroes
The Sound of Football
Inside The Tour
TOGETHXR: Summer of Gold
SC Reportajes Podcast
Defiance

Best Team Podcast:

Wrigleyville Nation Podcast
When Football Was Football
Two Woods Four Quarters: A Harlequins Podcast
Talkin’ Yanks
Bleeding Green Nation: for Philadelphia Eagles fans
Patriots Beat
Garden Report
Utd Podcast

The Big Hitters Award:

The Jboy Show
The Tennis Podcast
The High Performance Podcast
The MMA hour with Ariel Helwani
Talk is Jericho
Just Getting Started with Rich Eisen
The Fantasy Footballers
Monday Mile with Aimee Fuller

Combined awards

Sports Podcast of the Year (TBC)

The post Shortlists are announced for the Sports Podcast Awards 2022 appeared first on POD BIBLE.

At the start of December we asked listeners to vote for their favourite podcasts of the year within a number of categories. All nominees had featured in Pod Bible Magazine, on the Pod Bible Podcast or on this very website in 2021, but the final Independent Podcast category was open to all. 2021 also saw the introduction of the ‘Informative’ category, which allowed us to celebrate the podcasts that have educated us the most over the past year.

The polls were open for the whole of December and we received a record number of votes. The independent podcast category received the widest range of suggestions yet and we’re excited to check out a number of shows we hadn’t been aware of!

Voting in the polls closed at midnight on the 31st of December and all votes have now been counted and verified.

Pod disciples, we present to you, your Pod Bible Poll Winners for 2021!

COMEDY

WINNER: HAVE A WORD

2nd – OFF MENU

3rd – ROB BECKETT AND JOSH WIDDICOMBE’S PARENTING HELL

After back to back wins in 2019 and 2020,  Off Menu have been knocked off the top spot and there’s a new Comedy Poll Winner in town! Congratulations to Adam Rowe and Dan Nightingale, the two men behind the wildly popular Have A Word.

Each week Adam and Dan, alongside a plethora of special guests, chat about anything and everything, and they have a bloody good laugh while doing it. Check out their YouTube channel for full episodes and highlight clips (and to instantly become jealous of their lovely studio set up).

Visit the Have A Word website for the best ways to listen.

INTERVIEW & CONVERSATION

WINNER: JAACKMAATES HAPPY HOUR

2nd – THE ADAM BUXTON PODCAST

3rd – RICHARD HERRING’S LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE PODCAST

Like Have A Word, JaackMaate’s Happy Hour is the second podcast to win their category after their first nomination and let us tell you, they received A LOT of votes. On each episode Jaack and co-ost Stevie are joined by an array of the internet’s best celebrities for full and frank conversations about the lives they lead and how they found themselves where they are today.

Listen to JaackMaates Happy Hour exclusively on Spotify.

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

WINNER: THE GUILTY FEMINIST

2nd – TAN FRANCE’S QUEER ICONS

3rd – TALK ART

The first podcast to bag a hat trick of wins in the Pod Bible Poll Winners, Deborah Frances-White and The Guilty Feminist have won best Lifestyle & Culture podcast in 2019, 2020 and now 2021! In each episode Deborah and her guests discuss topics ‘all 21st century feminists agree on’ whilst confessing the insecurities, hypocrisies and fears that underlie their principles. Can they make it four in a row next year….?

Deborah was our cover star for Issue #013 of Pod Bible Magazine which you can read here.

Listen to The Guilty Feminist on Acast or visit the show’s website.

FILM & TV

WINNER: FILMS TO BE BURIED WITH

2nd – OBSESSED WITH…

3rd – CLASH OF THE TITLES

What’s better, winning an Emmy or securing top spot in the Film & TV Category of the Pod Bible Polls for the second year in a row? We’ll let Brett Goldstein be the judge of that, but what a year he’s had! With award winning TV shows, guest appearances on American chat shows and a return to live stand up, Brett has been a busy man over the past 12 months, so keeping up a consistent release schedule on Films To Be Buried With has been a real achievement. On each episode Brett asks his guests to discuss their lives via the films that mean most to them with his 2021 lineup including an amazing variety of film fanatics including Jimmy Carr, Teri Hatcher, Barry Jenkins and Brene Brown.

You can listen to Brett discuss the show on episode #033 of Pod Bible Podcast before checking out his extensive back catalogue on Acast. 

MUSIC

WINNER: JAMES ACASTER’S PERFECT SOUNDS

2nd – YOUR OWN PERSONAL BEATLES

3rd – THE LINE-UP WITH SHAUN KEAVENY

Is it time we all agreed that 2016 is the greatest year for music, ever? James Acaster certainly thinks so and given the popularity of his BBC Sounds show it may just be time to join him. Perfect Sounds launched last year and features James trying to convince comedians that 2016 is the greatest year is musical history. Each episode gives the opportunity to discover a new artist to add to your playlist and James does a fantastic job of getting across why he loves each one.

Listen to James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds on Acast or wherever you get your podcasts.

SOCIAL CONSCIENCE

WINNER: RUSSELL KANE’S MAN BAGGAGE

2nd – GRIEFCAST

3rd – THE F WORD

On Man Baggage, Russell Kane and his celebrity panel unpack the emotional baggage that men spend their lives avoiding. With no topic off the table, Russell and his guests explore all the uncomfortable and anxiety inducing conversations that usually make men run for the door by doing what blokes do best – make daft jokes about them. You can read our chat with Russell in Issue #016 of Pod Bible magazine.

Congratulations also to Cariad Lloyd’s Griefcast on finishing in the top 3 for the third year running and continuing to make such an important and sensitively produced show!

Listen to Russell Kane’s Man Baggage on Acast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

SPORT & LEISURE

WINNER: WRIGHTY’S HOUSE

2nd – FOOTBALL RAMBLE

3rd – TAILENDERS

A trophy in your debut season isn’t a bad way to start is it? But what else would you expect from Ian Wright, ex footballer and one of the nations favourite pundits who’s enthusiasm and passion for the game shines in every episode. Each week on Wrighty’s House, Ian is joined by a rotating cast to dissect the latest results and news stories from both the men’s and women’s game. Already a fan? Keep a close eye on Pod Bible this year…

Listen to Wrighty’s House on Spotify.

INFORMATIVE

WINNER: NO SUCH THING AS A FISH

2nd – DAN SNOW’S HISTORY HIT

3rd – DERREN BROWN’S BOOT CAMP FOR THE BRAIN

As recent Pod Bible cover stars it feels fitting that No Such Thing As A Fish have topped the first ever Informative poll, a new category created to celebrate the many podcasts that educated us throughout 2021. Each week the gang discuss a new set of facts and although largely comedy based, you never finish an episode without learning something new to keep in your back pocket for the next family meal / trip to the pub / zoom catchup.

You can watch a conversation with Dan, James, Andrew and Anna here or listen to the podcast now on Acast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

OH. MY. POD.

INDEPENDENT PODCAST

WINNER: THE CINEMILE

2nd – ECONOMICS IN 10

3rd – PICTURE THE SCENE: A TRUE CRIME PODCAST

The ‘Oh My Pod’ Independent Podcast poll is fiercely contested each year and is arguably the hardest to win. It’s open to literally every independent podcast out there so to top the charts you not only need to be a good show, you also need your listeners to mobilise and get their votes in! This years winner is The Cinemile, a podcast married couple Dave and Cathy podcast their walk home from the movies. Simple huh? Over the years the show has built a loyal following and their back catalogue is ready and waiting for you to get stuck in. So go listen to The Cinemile on Acast, or listen to their appearance on the Pod Bible Podcast back in March 2020.

You voted for over 500 different podcasts in this category so a massive thank you and congratulations to every podcast mentioned! 

_

Congratulations to all our winners, runners up and nominees and thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for their favourite shows. We’re sure 2022 will be another incredible year for podcasting and look forward to celebrating it with another set of Pod Bible Poll’s at the end of the year!

The post POD BIBLE POLL WINNERS 2021 – WINNERS ANNOUNCED! appeared first on POD BIBLE.

There’s plenty more to come from the world of sports podcasting. Throughout 2020, there was an explosion of podcasts, and in particular sports podcasts, largely due to us all being stuck indoors. As restrictions have gradually eased, this boom of creativity has shown no signs of stopping and looks set to continue as we move into 2022.

As an independent creator myself, I’ve witnessed how difficult it is to get your work heard. But also, as a consumer, I find myself in a cycle of listening to the same podcasts, because it’s hard to discover new ones. By creating an awards programme especially for Sports Podcasts, we’re looking to move that process along and give up and coming talent more opportunities for their content to shine.

So, given what we’ve learnt about sports podcasting over the past couple of years, here’s what we think will happen in 2022.

What’s on the horizon for 2022?

Interestingly, rights holders in the UK haven’t properly invested in podcasting yet. This is something we would expect to see change sooner rather than later. In the US, sports teams have official club podcasts that are hugely popular, that are owned and run by the franchise itself. In the UK, we’re a little way behind on this, with Manchester United and a few other teams producing a podcast. That said, the investment is limited just now, which influences the quality of the content.

If we take football for example, most Premier League and some Championship clubs have their own club-run TV channels. They create a large amount of short-form content for social media yet haven’t properly invested in podcasts yet. I think that is sure to change.

In general, we are likely to see the podcast space become more immediate. Now, you often wait until Tuesday to listen to a podcast about weekend sport. Monday is the perfect day to catch the attention of listeners, they are looking for content about the games they’ve just watched.

The Eggchasers is the only major rugby podcast that releases its content on a Monday, which is a massive USP and contributes in my opinion to its success. Outlets like TALKsport and other radio shows will continue to release their regular content, but traditional podcasts will look to follow suit with content released immediately after the action takes place.

Another thing I would see as a trend for sports podcasting is the social audio space. Although not traditional, it is included in the world of audio, in my mind Twitter Spaces in particular is only just kicking off so it will be interesting to see how this develops and whether it grows.

Platforms like Clubhouse came with big noise during the pandemic but have fizzled out a lot. With Spotify acquiring Locker Room and subsequently launching Greenroom, this opens up a big opportunity for sports, so it will be interesting what they do with that. Although these platforms have not yet delivered on their promise yet in my opinion, I do think that sport as a genre is perfect for social audio and the more immediate, live discussions following major sport events. Not every podcaster is lucky enough to be supported by a platform, so how do they attract listeners?

Keep it short (and regular)

For the new kids on the block to build a listenership, regular scheduled episodes, social media, and short-form content is crucial. With the world turning virtual and with podcast recording platforms like Riverside.fm, it’s now so easy to record video content from your recording, and pair these with tools like Headliner to create short-form clips. The result is a plethora of rich highlights that you can release from each episode, to then be consumed across multiple channels.

Plenty of people entered the first ever Sports Podcast Awards

In fact, plenty of podcasts that have entered the Sports Podcast Awards have said that while their long-form original podcast might not get a huge number of listeners, their short-form content gets huge engagement.

The rise of the podcasting ex-professional

For any sportsperson looking to transition into a career in the media, podcasting is a fantastic medium to get started. And during lockdown, when there was no live sport happening, podcasting became the go-to medium to express their voice and build their profile.

We saw the likes of David Seaman, Joe Cole and Tony Bellew all recently making moves into podcasting, whilst Peter Crouch is the poster boy of the UK sports podcast scene. But it’s not just ex-athletes though – we’ve also seen current sportspeople such as Andros Townsend, Geraint Thomas, Jimmy Anderson, Joe Marler, Carl Frampton and Ben Foster launch successful podcasts, with Foster in particular being an interesting case, as he started as a YouTube show, which then evolved into a podcast.

Podcasts are a huge opportunity for current sportspeople to build their profile ahead of the inevitable transition to life after sport. But the UK still lags behind the US in this area, especially in football, with the intense media scrutiny footballers are under here. In the US, companies like BlueWire, The Players Tribune and Uninterrupted are leading the way in athlete-led content, giving fans direct access to players and different perspectives from those still in the game. Hopefully the UK will catch-up on this aspect as ex-pros also inspire the next generation of podcasters to take up the mic.

Celebrating achievement with the Sports Podcast Awards

In terms of the awards, we’ve been extremely happy with the number of entries we received and the wide variety of sports that are represented. We also have a broad range of independent and platform supported podcasts, a range of age and gender for our entrants, and participants from all over the world. The most entries have come from the US and the UK&I, but we also have a great showing from Canada and Australia as well as shows from India, Singapore, Spain, and the Middle East. So, a fantastic variety of entrants all with one thing in common, they love podcasting!

Our industry jury are now selecting eight podcasts for each category to be shortlisted. We’ve got a fantastic group of people involved that work across the podcast industry including judges from well-known platforms for example Amazon, Spotify, Audioboom, iHeart, The Athletic and The Ringer. From further afield, it’s great to have industry professionals from the likes of Sport Social, Headliner, Washington Football Team and Meadowlark Media, giving us a real contrast of UK and US participants who are passionate about a range of sports.

We will be announcing the shortlists in the first week of January, then the judging process starts, and the power goes to podcasters and listeners to find our winners. We are currently on the hunt for judges and would encourage podcasters and listeners to get in touch if they want to be part of our community.

Once judging begins, participants will be able to follow along through live, dynamic leaderboards for each individual category on the SPA website. Judges will also be able to win prizes for being the most active and accurate judge! The winner’s announcement will take place at the end of March, which we are very much looking forward to.

—

Dylan Pugh is Managing Director of Sports Industry Group and Founder of the brand-new Sports Podcast Awards. Winners for the inaugural awards will be announced across 25 categories in March 2022. Podcasters and listeners can keep updated via sportspodcastawards.com or follow @SportsPodAwards on Twitter.

The post What’s happening to Sports podcasting in 2022? appeared first on POD BIBLE.

To celebrate the start of The Championships, after a two-year hiatus, podcaster and tennis fan Rosie Wilby dusts off her whites, dishes up some strawberries and serves up a few questions to one of their three hosts, David Law.

What inspired you to start the podcast?

Catherine Whitaker and I started working together in tennis in 2007 when podcasts were in their infancy. We would often talk about those we enjoyed listening to. At the time that meant The Ricky Gervais Podcast and later the Alan Davies Arsenal Podcast, now known as The Tuesday Club. They made us laugh and we fell in love with the medium. Then one day in May 2012, I messaged Catherine and said, ‘how about we start our own tennis podcast?’ And off we went.

I was convinced we needed big-name guests every week. And we did that for the first year but it’s very difficult to keep up. Catherine felt that we could do it without because those were the shows we enjoyed listening to. She was right. We still do interviews but we get bigger audiences for pub conversations about what’s happening in the sport.

How do you make such a visual sport sound so interesting and exciting?

Haha thanks for the kind words. To us it is an interesting and exciting sport. So we’re just saying how we feel about it. Hopefully that comes across. I’ve been commentating for BBC 5 Live on tennis for the last nineteen years and it’s my job to make a visual sport sound interesting and exciting without pictures. So that probably also helps.

How do you plan to cover Wimbledon? Is it all the more exciting after a two year gap?

It really is. After a year in which Wimbledon didn’t happen, we can’t wait for it to return. We will produce a podcast every night during Wimbledon. And after eighteen months of recording remotely via zoom, we will finally be able to be in the same room – Catherine’s flat! We will also provide a daily Twitter commentary (@TennisPodcast) and produce daily newsletters which feature Matt’s Stat (courtesy of our third voice, Matt Roberts), trivia and predictions for the following day.

Can Roger Federer and Serena Williams win what might be their last Wimbledon?

They’re not the favourites any more but they can definitely win it. I think their entire years this year, and in fact the remainders of their careers, have been pretty much planned to target this particular Wimbledon. They are both thirty-nine years old. It’s now or never.

What inspired you to look back at tennis history in your Tennis Re-Lived series during the pandemic?

We were left with a black hole of six months without live tennis when lockdown began. We had promised daily shows during the Grand Slams to the 1467 listeners who crowdfunded us at the start of 2020. So, in the absence of live action, we decided to go back and watch classic matches together and make daily podcasts about them throughout what would have been the French Open and Wimbledon 2020.

The concept evolved into us speaking to players who were involved with those matches, coaches and commentators who were there and also producing documentary podcasts about pioneers like Althea Gibson, the first black Wimbledon champion. At the same time, we offered all of our 1467 backers a refund for the year because we knew it wasn’t what they signed up for. Only one person took up the offer. Tennis Re-Lived brought us closer to the sport than ever and gave us a chance to understand its history.

Listen to:

Billie Jean King – The Interview. 18 January 2021.

Once you’ve listened to the daily Wimbledon episodes for up-to-the-minute tennis news, seek out this fascinating interview with the inspirational champion and activist who campaigned for equal prize money in the 1970s, launched the women’s tennis tour and was recently depicted by Emma Stone in the film Battle of the Sexes. Listen now >>

Tennis Aggro – parts 1 & 2. 31 December 2020 / 4 January 2021.

A celebratory countdown of the best and funniest on-court tantrums and arguments. Yes, John McEnroe does feature. Although only at number six. You’ll have to listen to see who tops him. Listen now >>

Sliding Doors – part 1. 21 December 2020.

The team discuss some fascinating ‘what if…’ questions, including how Monica Seles’ career might have unfolded if she hadn’t been stabbed by a deranged Steffi Graf fan in 1993. Listen now >>

US Open Re-Lived: Althea Gibson & US Open Re-Lived: Arthur Ashe. 26 August 2020 / 28 August 2020.

Two of the more documentary-style storytelling shows looking back at pioneering players and activists who changed the game. Listen now >>

Wimbledon Re-Lived 1993-98: The Jana Novotna Story. 4 July 2020.

The emotional story of the 1998 Czech champion who had once cried on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent after a defeat to Steffi Graf. Listen now >>

Listen to The Tennis Podcast now on ACAST, SPOTIFY or your favourite podcast app.

The post The Tennis Podcast // The best podcast to keep up with Wimbledon appeared first on POD BIBLE.

The 2 Johnnies Podcast has been exclusive to Spotify since Monday 14th June, and continues in it’s mixture of comedy, current affairs and sport, – as well as an array of guests – hosted in their very own studio in the heart of Co. Tipperary. We asked the Johnnies a few questions about how they find podcasting, and their move to Spotify.

Can you tell us a bit about your show and yourselves?

We are the 2 Johnnies, we’re a musical comedy duo from Ireland. I guess we started off as “internet sensations” in 2016 and began to become well known for our comedy sketches and songs, which capture the uniquely funny side of all things Irish. Then in 2018 we launched the 2 Johnnies Podcast and it has since gone on to be Ireland’s fastest-growing podcast.

The podcast is a mixture of comedy, current affairs and sport and we try as best we can to bring together a wide range of Irish themed topics into an hour-long episode. Previous guests include Tadhg Furlong, Tommy Tiernan, John Kavanagh, Eddie Hearn, James Haskell and more. We’ve also been on a world tour with the podcast and are gearing up for our biggest ever live podcast, which will be a record attendance for a live podcast in Ireland. We sound like we’re blowing a lot of smoke up our own arse here but really we are sound and we’re just happy to not have real jobs.

We’re planning on taking over the world haha. It’s great to be teaming up with Spotify its always been our dream to become bigger worldwide and hopefully that’s going to happen off the back of this deal. On the guests front, we want the big fish – Joe Rogan. He’s welcome to 2 Johnnies HQ in Cahir, Ireland for a cup of tea anyway or a keg of Guinness, whichever he prefers.

Why podcasting? What is it about the format that appeals to you?

We were putting out a lot of content on Instagram stories and even snapchat when that was at its height, but we kept getting caught for time. 15 seconds isn’t much time to tell a story. We both went away on holidays and really got into podcasts and had a bit of a lightbulb moment and thought  “we should do a podcast” and so The 2 Johnnies Podcast was born – on a beach in Lanzarote. Pure glamour.

If you could go back to before you started out and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Enjoy it more, at times we’re so busy we don’t get a chance to really enjoy what’s happening to us or take it in. So now we’re off for a pint to soak it all in.

With 172 episodes – an immense back-catalogue! – ate there any episodes that stand out or mean the most to you?

We really like the ‘only fans’ episode. We were the first in Ireland to really dive into the whole phenomenon and it really made a stir and got people talking. We’ve also dealt with serious topics like a guy who wanted to come out as gay to his team mates at his local football club and more topics like male body image, polyamory or living with your parents. The joys of podcasts is that you can vary it up, that way there’s a bit of something for everyone.

Which podcasts or podcast hosts inspire you most?

It’s hard to look past Joe Rogan, he’s been so consistent and probably paved the way for podcasters all around the world. Adam Buxton too, he’s like the godfather of podcasts. Jack mate is killing it too at the moment. They’re all different but definitely people we look up to.

Finally, can you recommend a podcast our readers may not have heard of?

We both love totally different podcasts but some of the ones we recommend at the moment are Broken Record by Rick Ruben and Three Castles Burning, which is about the history of Dublin. Quickly Kevin – will he score the 90s soccer podcast is a go too at the moment if like us you like 90s soccer. If you don’t well… unlucky. Try the Wolf and Owl podcast with Romesh Ranganathan and Tom Davis, it’s a great laugh.

Listen to The 2 Johnnies now, exclusively on SPOTIFY.

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Just in time for the highly anticipated European football tournament, the new playlist will feature the very best of football podcasts alongside curated commentary from special celebrity guests and personalised music selections, so fans can stay abreast of the news and views around the beautiful game. And we’re seeing excitement reach fever pitch, with global streams of England’s now-traditional football anthem Three Lions having more than doubled in the last week alone.

Over the past two years, football podcasts in the UK have seen an incredible uplift of 166% as fans look to consume more and more content, with the number of listeners more than doubling over that period to over 240,000. After London, Birmingham is the most football-mad city, closely followed by Bristol and Manchester, while the Scots are loving their national team’s current success with Glasgow and Edinburgh listeners also tuning in to the football podcasts.

Whether you are a football fanatic or new to the game, listeners can expect original content from a range of top podcasts, including Wrighty’s House, The Stadio Podcast, GIANT and brand new Spotify Original The Teamsheet. In The Teamsheet, guest hosts including Ivo Graham and Anita Nneka Jones will be joined by famous football legends to build their own dream five-a-side, poring over every selection across the week with the hosts there to question every dodgy inclusion along the way.

Comedian Ivo Graham, one of the hosts of new podcast The Teamsheet said: “Ahead of the most consistently jeopardised and as such the most emotionally invested summer of sport most of us have ever known, it’s a delight to be part of Spotify’s veritable buffet of new football content. Interviewing guests about their fantasy five-a-sides for the Teamsheet has been, at least personally, a delightful aperitif to the Football Now coverage of the Euros, which should hopefully provide a whole host of hipster choices for future episodes.” 

Former footballer and pundit Ian Wright, host of Spotify Original podcast Wrighty’s House, said: “With so much going on during the next month, The Football Now playlist will just pull everything you need into one place, making it easy for you to get up to speed with the tournament. We’ll be recording Wrighty’s House which will be included in the playlist throughout the tournament and we’ll do some special recordings after England games so pop in!”

No matter how you like to consume your football news, Spotify’s Football Now is the ultimate destination, making life easier by pulling everything together for all your football needs.

Spotify’s most popular football podcasts you might find in your Football Now playlist include:

• Wrighty’s House (Spotify Original) – Former Arsenal and England National Team striker and BBC Match of the Day pundit Ian Wright is joined by a rotating panel of friends and special guests to discuss the latest football headlines, as well as the broader social issues impacting the sport and the world at large.
• GIANT (Spotify Exclusive) – A weekly podcast bringing your football stories that matter, told by the people who were there. This audio documentary series takes listeners deep into the stories they might know, think they know or definitely should know. It’s as much about people as it is penalties, life as it is legends, and emotion as it is extra-time.
• Football Legends (Spotify Original) – Football Legends bring you the real stories from the beautiful game. Hosted by Robbie Knox (Soccer AM) and Martin Gritton (former footballer), along with the authors of Booked!, Dan Trelfer and John Smith, this podcast takes a story from a legendary ex-player’s autobiography and dissects it.
• Ringer FC – Ringer FC is the podcast home for all things football. On Mondays and Tuesday catch ‘Stadio’, hosted by Ryan Hunn and Musa Okwonga, two long-time friends, covering the major European football leagues and a lot more.

James Cator, Spotify UK and Ireland, Head of Studios said: “Sports is one of the fastest growing genres for podcasts and football is our national game in the UK – so it’s no surprise that we’ve seen a 166% uplift in listenership of football podcasts on Spotify over the past two years. With it being such a huge passion point of our audience, we wanted to offer a personalised experience where fans can get all of their favourite content in one place – which is why we’ve launched Football Now just in time for the tournament starting this weekend. We’ve already seen great success with listeners making their personalised playlists like Your Daily Wellness and Your Daily Drive an essential part of their days – so expect Football Now to become that key daily destination for all your football podcast and music needs.”

Football Now follows in the footsteps of Spotify’s successful playlists ‘Your Daily Drive’ and ‘Your Daily Wellness’.

The post Spotify UK launches Football Now: a daily roundup of the best football podcasts appeared first on POD BIBLE.

Who are you and what’s your podcast about?

I got my start in life as a personal trainer over two decades ago and woke one day to find myself as the CEO of a $1 billion dollar company living in Chicago! After a massively adventurous childhood my life lost its adventurous edge, work and other commitments quickly took priority and my passion and desire for adventure was suppressed. After a series of life changing moments something had to change. Soon my family and I were heading home to the UK to hit reset. I am a father of 4, in my mid-40’s and I had just discovered I was seriously depressed despite all the trappings of success. I was suffering with anxiety and knew I needed to change trajectory. I began reconnecting with nature, in the great outdoors, to make space to think and soon began to reignite that adventurous joy from my childhood. In 2020, to share how transformational it had been for me, I launched the 28 Summers podcast – inspired by an interview with Jesse Itzler on the Impact Theory podcast. What started as a passion project quickly evolved – my story and those of my inspirational guests is already helping people from all walks of life reignite their spark and passion for adventure. After launching in July 2020 I have just released my 25th episode!

What was the first podcast you ever listened to?

I don’t really recall the first ever podcast I listened to but I do remember the first one which had a really profound impact on me. It was 2018 and Tom Bilyeu was interviewing Jesse Itzler, a super successful serial entrepreneur and author. They were discussing where Jesse’s zest for life and passion for optimising every moment came from. Jesse explained that he had just turned 50 and that the average life expectancy for a male in the USA was 78 years. He shared with Tom that he had recently become fixated with the idea he might only have 28 summers left. For days after watching that interview I grappled with the idea that our individual atomic clock is counting down and we have no idea when it will hit zero. But what if we did? If we did know, what decisions might we make? How might we live our lives differently? In that moment the idea for my podcast was born – in its simplest form, it’s focused on the idea of living everyday adventurously and embracing the wonder of life; as we never know when the ride may be over.

Why did you decide to start podcasting in the first place?

I wanted to share inspirational stories of people doing incredible things to help others looking to live more adventurously. For me, recapturing my adventurous inner child has been genuinely transformational in terms of both my physical and mental health and I felt that others might feel the same. So far the feedback has been incredible and listeners are already sharing amazing feedback with me.

Which podcasts do you take inspiration from?

My go-to podcasts are the Toughgirl Podcast (with Sarah Williams) and Chatting to a Friend (by Catie Friend) – both interview exceptional and inspirational women and help spotlight their stories; as a father of two girls I love that these incredible women have these platforms to share their stories. I also love the High Performance Podcast with Jake Humphreys and Damian Hughes which gives an amazing insight into the minds of some of the world’s best performers.

Who’s your dream guest for the podcast?

It’s so hard to pick one! I’d love to have Ben Fogle, Jason Fox, Ranulph Fiennes or Laura Bingham join me to chat all things adventure!

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as a podcaster?

Probably that consistency is key. I have only been going since July 2020 but I am now up to 25 episodes and hitting a regular weekly cadence of releasing the podcast and am finding that rhythm is really good for growing the audience and meeting their expectations. When I find a podcast I love I always get disappointed if they miss a release day so I’ve tried to keep that top of mind with my own podcast.

Which episode would you say is the perfect introduction to your podcast?

I would say the interview with Max Woosey (Season 2, Episode 13). The episode with Max is actually quite short but it perfectly sums up the notion of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Max is 11 years old and was given a tent by his terminally ill neighbour under the promise he had to have an adventure in it. Max has slept outside in his garden for a whole year inn that tent and raised £500K for the hospice that cared for his friend. It’s the perfect example for the podcast; Max has had an incredible adventure and done something truly exceptional, all from his back garden!

Where can the Pod Bible readers find out more about you?

The best place to connect with me is on Instagram @1dayadventurer and @28_summers – but you can also find out more about the podcast, find my blog and much more at www.28summers.com.

Listen to 28 Summers on SPOTIFY or your favourite podcast app.

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This article was produced as part of a paid advertising package. To enquire about advertising with Pod Bible email info@podbiblemag.com.

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With everything from the delayed European Championship to the London Marathon to get stuck into, listeners will be hungry for sports and related content. Sport and Nutrition was Acast’s second most-listened to category in March, and interest shows no sign of slowing down.

Even before the Euros kick off, the world of football is a dramatic one both on and off the pitch. The European Super League proposal sent shockwaves through the footballing community in April, even ruffling BoJo’s feathers — but not so much that he actually brushed his hair before denouncing the plans.

And, with people rushing to get in shape for summer with the June 21 moment of freedom looming, they’ll also be turning to fitness and nutrition podcasts for tips and inspiration.

Acast is the home of great podcasts, so we’ve put together a few of our favourite shows to scratch the itch of every football fan or fitness freak.

Not Another Nutrition Podcast

Martin MacDonald breaks down all things nutrition in this new show — minus the incomprehensible health jargon. This pod is perfect for those still green in their journey of wellness and fitness, providing sustainable advice to keep you on track with your goals. Listen now on Acast >>

Football Weekly

Our favourite pundits are back to deliver you your weekly dose of football discussion. This week Max Rushden discusses the ESL proposals, the end of José Mourinho’s tenure as Spurs manager, and the weekend’s Premier League and FA Cup games. Listen now on Acast >>

Deliciously Ella

It wouldn’t be a health and wellness roundup if we didn’t include the health-conscious influencer queen herself, Deliciously Ella. Each week she interviews an expert to bring a little inspiration to your life — from gut health to mental health and anxiety, how to make sustainable changes, skincare, and so much more. Listen now on Acast >>

talkSPORT Daily

Taking it from the radio to your favourite podcast platform, talkSPORT Daily nails the biggest talking points of the day — with plenty of punchy personality and opinion. This week’s episode is headlined by Thierry Henry’s social media blackout and Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel slamming the expansion plans for the Champions League. Listen now on Acast >>

I AM Athlete

Since we’re talking “football”, we thought we’d be cheeky and take it stateside to our cousins across the pond. Ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in a sports locker room? Sit back with a front-row seat into the minds and madness of NFL Hall of Famers Brandon Marshall, Chad Johnson, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder. Their raw and honest conversations tell their journey to the top. Listen now on Acast >>

Football, Feminism, and Everything in Between

We love a hybrid here at Acast and, as I’m sure you know, football has a tendency to be male-dominated — so this daddy-daughter podcast is refreshing. Alistair Campbell is joined by daughter Grace for a beautiful, cultural sandwich, merged with everything football and feminism. The hilarious duo add humour and opposing perspectives to taboo and touchy topics. Listen now on Acast >>

The Doctor’s Kitchen

For those who want a doctor’s seal of approval on their fitness and food goals, we present to you Dr. Rupy Aujla. The Doctor’s Kitchen is a show about food, medicine, lifestyle and how to improve your health. Join Dr Rupy and his expert guests as they explore how diet and lifestyle can help you achieve your healthiest and most fulfilling life. Listen now on Acast >>

Football Ramble

Lastly, it’s the podcast that does what it says on the tin. Football Ramble hosts dissect their passion for the world’s most popular sport, and a shared inability to take themselves too seriously. Catch up on the latest, including their opinions on the ESL, and subscribe now for top Euros coverage throughout the summer. Listen now on Acast >>

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This article was produced as part of a paid advertising package. To enquire about advertising with Pod Bible email info@podbiblemag.com

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Blake Harrison (credit: Joseph Gordon Sinclair)

He may be best known for his roles in shows such as The Inbetweeners and A Very English Scandal, but Blake Harrison is also a massive fan of mixed martial arts – a sport that’s popularity has grown exponentially over the past few years. As with any sport, there are of course a never ending pool of podcasts offering reviews, reactions and interviews with athletes. So which ones are worth checking out? Blake is here to let you know the shows he couldn’t live without…

MMA FIGHTING
Mike Heck and Alexander Lee are some of the best journalists involved in the sport. Their show offers a variety of breaking news and insight into the latest MMA developments. They’re currently releasing four shows a week so there’s plenty to get through! LISTEN NOW

SEVERE MMA
I’ve only recently began listening to this but Sean Sheehan has some fantastic knowledge of areas of the sport that are often overlooked by others, like judging & scoring criteria. Sean is a brilliant host who breaks things down in an easily digestible way. LISTEN NOW

DC & HELWANI
A weekly show featuring UFC legend Daniel Cormier and ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, with Ariel also releasing a bonus show on the feed every Wednesday. The dynamic between these two makes me laugh every week and they also get some of the best interviews out there. LISTEN NOW

THE JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE
As a huge MMA advocate and a UFC commentator Joe is always fascinating when talking about the sport. His interviews are always in depth and he also does fun fight companion episodes. There’s also a wide range of fantastic non MMA content with everyone from comedians to scientists and politicians. LISTEN NOW

THE MMA FAN PODCAST
Do I look like a narcissist saying I can’t live without my own podcast? Probably. But doing it does bring me a lot of joy. We’re a brand new show & we’ve already been able to secure great interviews with top fighters. We also have fun getting recognisable non MMA fans to watch a fight as we try to convince them to jump on the MMA bandwagon. Stu & I are two UBER fans and this is our laid back and lighthearted take on the sport we love. LISTEN NOW

The post Blake Harrison’s top 5 MMA podcasts appeared first on POD BIBLE.

At the start of December we asked listeners to vote for their favourite podcasts of the year within a number of categories. All nominees had featured in Pod Bible Magazine or on the Pod Bible Podcast in 2020 but the final Independent Podcast category was open to all.

The polls were open for the whole of December and we were once again blown away by the number of votes received. Podcasts have been an integral part of people’s 2020, with the format making it easy to adapt to the various restrictions we’ve all endured. Not only were people finding more time to listen to podcasts, many were purchasing microphones and starting their own shows too.

Voting in the polls closed at midnight on the 31st of December and all votes have now been counted and verified.

Pod disciples, we present to you, your Pod Bible Poll Winners for 2020!

INTERVIEW & CONVERSATION

WINNER: THE ADAM BUXTON PODCAST

2nd – DISTRACTION PIECES PODCAST WITH SCROOBIUS PIP

3rd – HAPPY PLACE WITH FEARNE COTTON

The Adam Buxton Podcast is our Best Interview podcast for the second year running! A fan favourite, and a staff favourite, from the cheery singing in the intro to his insightful and considered opinions in his conversations with his guests. Dr. Buckles popped up throughout the year, providing a comforting distraction when we needed it most and with guests from Zadie Smith to Paul McCartney, Adam’s back catalogue continues to go from strength to strength. Congratulations to Adam and here’s to many more ramble chats in 2021!

Listen to The Adam Buxton Podcast on Acast, or via Adam-buxton.co.uk.

COMEDY

WINNER: OFF MENU

2nd – SH**GED MARRIED ANNOYED

3rd – FRENCH & SAUNDERS: TITTING ABOUT

As one of our Editor’s go-to podcasts, and a leader in the world of podcasts featuring a genie and a magic restaurant, Ed Gamble and James Acaster’s Off Menu has been crowned Best Comedy podcast for the second year running!

Each week guests are invited to the dream restaurant where they are asked to describe their ideal meal. Choices can come from any place and any time, from Michelin starred restaurants to Nan’s Sunday lunch and everything in between. As they approach 100 episodes the show continues to provide regular belly laughs, particularly when guests order something contrary to James or Ed’s philosophy of good food. Another well deserved win for a podcast that kept many of us smiling during such a difficult year.

Listen to James & Ed discuss the show on episode #012 of the Pod Bible podcast. Visit the Off Menu website or listen via Apple Podcasts, Acast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

LIFESTYLE & CULTURE

WINNER: THE GUILTY FEMINIST

2nd – HOMO SAPIENS

3rd – TALK ART

It’s back to back wins for Deborah Frances-White and her team as The Guilty Feminist wins best Lifestyle & Culture podcast for 2020! In each episode Deborah and her guests discuss topics ‘all 21st century feminists agree on’ whilst confessing the insecurities, hypocrisies and fears that underlie their principles. This time last year, The Guilty Feminist was formatted as a live show, often recording in front of a live audience. Whilst 2020 saw a lot of Deborah’s live shows cancelled, it has not been a washout – as well our becoming a Pod Bible Poll Winner, The Guilty Feminist also won Gold at the British Podcasting Spotlight Award and continues to adapt with ease to these strange times we’re experiencing.

Listen to The Guilty Feminist on Acast or visit the show’s website.

FILM & TV

WINNER: FILMS TO BE BURIED WITH

2nd – KERMODE & MAYO’S FILM REVIEW

3rd – HOW DID THIS GET MADE

After coming in second place in 2019, Films To Be Buried With with Brett Goldstein has switched places with national treasures Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo to become this year’s Best Film & TV Podcast. Based on the fact that we are born and we die, and in between we watch a lot of films, Films To Be Buried With is funny, interesting and surprisingly philosophical. Host Brett Goldstein asks his guests to discuss their lives via the films that mean most to them with his 2020 lineup including an amazing variety of film fanatics including Edgar Wright, Sharon Stone and Romesh Ranganathan.

You can listen to Brett discuss the show on episode #033 of Pod Bible Podcast before checking out his extensive back catalogueon Acast. 

MUSIC

WINNER: JAMES ACASTER’S PERFECT SOUNDS

2nd – HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE

3rd – LIFERS WITH ED GAMBLE

It’s time to crack open the Cawston Press as James Acaster has made his way to the top spot in another category! Perfect Sounds launched in April this year and has a simple premise: James tries to convince comedians that 2016 is the greatest year for music, ever. Although 2016 may seem like a random year initially, it is meaningful – at the start of 2017 James had a mental crisis, and listening to music from the year prior went a long way in helping him get through it. After listening to so much from that year, he became convinced it was the best year for music of all time. We’re still not entirely sure, but the fact that David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ album and Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ both came out that year is a solid argument.

Listen to James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds on Acast or wherever you get your podcasts.

SOCIAL CONSCIENCE

WINNER: SEX POWER MONEY

2nd – GRIEFCAST

3rd – OUT WITH SUZI RUFFELL

Sex Power Money is this year’s Best Social Conscience Podcast! In it, comedian Sara Pascoe turns her attention to things that really matter to humans – sex, power and money. The series is an accompaniment to Sara’s book of the same name, and includes interviews people who have experience around sex work, stripping and pornography. The great thing about this series is how it allows people who are so often talked about to speak for themselves, while exploring the history of subjects like ‘whore stigma’ and the ramifications of our current laws around selling sex.

The Griefcast topped this category last year, but whilst votes were extremely close, it just lost out to Sara’s brilliant podcast in the final days of voting.

Listen to Sex Power Money on Acast or wherever you listen to podcasts.

SPORT & LEISURE

WINNER: SOCIALLY DISTANCED SPORTS BAR

2nd – TAILENDERS

3rd – FOOTBALL RAMBLE

We couldn’t get to the end of this list without a podcast produced in response to the pandemic. With so many events cancelled this year, and regular pub chats about sports impossible, it is no surprise that the Best Sport & Leisure Podcast is The Social Distant Sports Bar. And it’s also no surprise that a sports podcast in a year with so much sport cancelled offers listeners much more than sport commentary. Elis James, Mike Bubbins and Steff Garrero get together remotely and try to talk about sports clips from the past over some drinks, which mostly leads to them getting distracted by most things and talking about everything else.

You can read more about The Socially Distant Sports Bar inour Have You Heard? article then listen on Acast or their website.

OH. MY. POD. INDEPENDENT PODCAST

WINNER: MONKEY TENNIS – THE ALAN PARTRIDGE FAN PODCAST

2nd – SCRIPT SIRENS PRESENTS: SIREN SCREAMS

3rd – THE BRUISED BANANA – AN ARSENAL PODCAST

By popular vote, the Oh. My. Pod. Best Independent Podcast 2020 is Monkey Tennis – The Alan Partridge Fan Podcast. The definitive Partridge fan podcast has been running for four years now, and in that time has received acclaim from places such as The Daily Telegraph. Hosts and guests analyse the entire Alan Partridge universe – including (in quite a meta way) the new Alan Partridge – From The Oasthouse Podcast.

In this category we opened up the polls for listeners to submit any independent or amateur podcast they felt deserved recognition. It’s a real testament to the love for this fan podcast that having an official Alan Partridge podcast has not made this one less popular. Listen to Monkey Tennis on Acast.

You voted for over 400 different podcasts in this category so a massive thank you and congratulations to every podcast mentioned! 

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Congratulations to all our winners, runners up and nominees and thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for their favourite shows. We have no doubt that 2021 will be another incredible year for podcasting and look forward to celebrating it with another set of Pod Bible Poll’s at the end of the year!

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