iHeartMedia announced on March 13 the lineup of presenters and special guests for the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards, which will take place on March 16 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. The event will be streamed live and free on VEEPS starting at 7 p.m. Central Time.
The awards aim to recognize excellence across a wide range of podcast genres, including comedy, crime, sports, news, business, pop culture, and food. Winners in each category are selected by a panel of industry leaders, creatives, and visionaries.
Ego Nwodim, actress and host of the “Thanks Dad” podcast, will serve as emcee for this year’s ceremony. Actor and comedian Will Ferrell is scheduled to open the show while Holly Frey, host of “Stuff You Missed in History Class,” will act as winners correspondent. DJ Obscene will provide music during the event.
Presenters include Clayton Echard; Eric Andre; Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo; Iliza Schlesinger; Jennie Garth; Jonathan Goldstein; Juju Green; Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark; Lele Pons; Rider Strong; as well as TikTok creators Caroline Vazzana, Clifford Taylor IV, and Tim Martin. Special guests such as Andrea Gunning, Chris Wylde, DJ Dramos, Elyse Myers, Laurie Santos and various nominees are also expected to attend.
The event is open to select South by Southwest badge holders. A full list of categories and nominees is available online. In addition to streaming on VEEPS at veeps.events/iheartpodcastawards, the awards show will broadcast on select iHeartMedia radio stations at 11 p.m. local time and be accessible via the iHeartRadio app.
Executive producers for this year’s awards are John Sykes, Tom Poleman, Conal Byrne and Bart Peters for iHeartMedia. Sponsors include Audible, Avocados from Mexico, Gatorade Lower Sugar and She Rises Studios.
