Excellence in news podcast journalism was today honoured at the Society of Editors’ inaugural News Podcast Awards 2026.
Held at the Holiday Inn in Bloomsbury and presented by Sky News’ Kamali Melbourne, the inaugural awards brought together more than 150 journalists, producers and editors for a celebration of news podcast journalism.
Supported by VodafoneThree, Allwyn, Octopus Energy and Notified, big winners of the day included Sky News and Tortoise’s The Wargame which was named Podcast of the Year with Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction winning the Podcast Interview of the Year for its revelations that Angela Rayner had not paid enough stamp duty on her second home.
Other big winners of the afternoon included Global’s The News Agents which was named Political Podcast of the Year while Goalhanger’s The Rest is Entertainment was named the Showbiz and Entertainment Podcast of the Year. The Guardian’s Missing in the Amazon, an investigative series into the 2022 disappearances and murders of British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, was named True Crime Podcast of the Year. The Daily Mail’s Pipeline: Left to Die investigation into the shocking case of four professional divers who were sucked into a oil pipeline off the Caribbean island of Trinidad was awarded the Investigative Podcast of the Year accolade.
The Best Regional and Community Podcast was awarded to Reach plc’s The Northern Agenda while The Times and The Sunday Times’ The Royals podcast was presented with the Royal Podcast of the Year award. The Economist also took home two awards for News Summary Podcast of the Year for The Intelligence and Business and Economy Podcast of the Year for Boss Class.
Announcing the winners Dawn Alford, Chief Executive of the Society of Editors and co-chair of the judges said: “News podcasts are one of the most important, influential and fastest-growing ways in which people consume journalism today and the News Podcast Awards are about celebrating excellence, creativity, innovation and impact as well as bringing community together.
“We are honoured to celebrate your achievements and champion the brilliant reporting and journalism being produced across this vital platform.”
High resolution photos, news reports and video will be available in due course.
News Podcast Awards 2026 winners and highly commended
News Summary Podcast of the Year
Winner: The Intelligence, Economist Podcasts+
Highly commended: The Story, The Times and The Sunday Times
Investigative Podcast of the Year
Winner: Pipeline: Left to Die, Daily Mail
Highly commended: Foundling, The Observer
True Crime Podcast of the Year
Winner: Missing in the Amazon, The Guardian
Highly commended: The Poppy Day Bomb, The Times and The Sunday Times
Showbiz & Entertainment Podcast of the Year
Winner: The Rest is Entertainment, Goalhanger
Highly commended: Anatomy of a cancellation, BBC News – Long Form Audio
Political Podcast of the Year
Winner: The News Agents, Global
Highly commended: The Rest is Politics, Goalhanger
Royal Podcast of the Year
Winner: The Royals, The Times and The Sunday Times
Highly commended: Palace Confidential, Daily Mail
Scoop / Interview of the Year
Winner: Angela Rayner Interview, Electoral Dysfunction, Sky News
Highly commended: Nigel Farage Interview, The Mishal Husain Show, Bloomberg
Business & Economy Podcast of the Year
Winner: Boss Class, The Economist
Highly commended: The Economics Show, Financial Times
Best Regional or Community Podcast
Winner: The Northern Agenda, Reach plc
Highly commended: The BelTel, Belfast Telegraph
Podcast of the Year
Winner: The Wargame, Sky News & Tortoise
