“Giggly Squad,” hosted by Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo, won Podcast of the Year at the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards, which were presented live at SXSW in Austin, Texas on Monday (March 16). The show, hosted by comedian Ego Nwodim, was held at ACL Live at the Moody Theater and was streamed live exclusively on VEEPS. The event also was also broadcast on select iHeartMedia radio stations and was available live on the iHeartRadio app. 

Other key winners included: “Call Her Daddy” (Best Pop Culture), “Good Hang With Amy Poehler” (Best Comedy), “All Songs Considered” (Best Music) and “Watch What Crappens” (Best TV & Film).

In addition to the fan-voted and category awards, iHeartMedia presented three Icon Awards – the Social Impact Award to Jay Shetty, the Audible Audio Pioneer Award to Terry Gross and the Innovator Award to Hrishikesh Hirway. 

Will Ferrell kicked off the show in full Team USA speed skating gear as he joked with the crowd full of a “few of his peers and many of his admirers.” 

Host Ego Nwodim, who was also nominated in the Best Emerging category for her podcast “Thanks Dad,” welcomed the audience and talked about the importance of podcasts. 

“Broken Record” host Justin Richmond presented the 2026 Social Impact Award to Jay Shetty and his “On Purpose” podcast. Shetty accepted the award via video message. 

Jennie Garth, host of “I Choose Me,” celebrated the shows nominated for Best TV & Film for keeping us all engaged before presenting the award to “Watch What Crappens.” Hosts Ronnie Karam and Ben Mandelker accepted the award. 

Eric Andre presented the Best Comedy Award to “Good Hang with Amy Poehler.” Poehler accepted via video message and thanked her listeners, teasing her next episode with Viola Davis. 

Juju Green presented the Innovator Award to Hrishikesh Hirway who recounted the beginnings of “Song Exploder” and his desire to dive into every beat of creating the music we hear. 

TikTok creators and podcast hosts Clifford Taylor IV and Timothy Martin presented Best Business & Finance to “The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett.”

Jonathan Goldstein presented the Audible Audio Pioneer Icon Award to “Fresh Air” host Terry Gross, who accepted her award via video message. She recounted her beginnings as a volunteer at her college radio station and gaining her skills by broadcasting in front of nearly no audience. 

Iliza Shlesinger presented Podcast of the Year to Giggly Squad hosts Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo.

Executive producers for the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards were John Sykes, Tom Poleman, Conal Byrne and Bart Peters for iHeartMedia. 

Here’s a full list of nominees for the 2026 iHeartPodcast Awards, with winners marked:

Podcast of the Year

Good Hang With Amy Poehler

The Breakfast Club

The Mel Robbins Podcast

Pablo Torre Finds Out

The Daily

The Rest Is History

This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von

Call Her Daddy

Heavyweight

WINNER: Giggly Squad

Best Overall Host

Amy Poehler

Pablo Torre

Alex Cooper

Emma Chamberlain

WINNER: Caleb Hearon

Best Overall Ensemble

We Can Do Hard Things

SmartLess

WINNER: The Basement Yard

This Is Important

Get Played

Best Pop Culture

Las Culturistas

WINNER: Call Her Daddy

Therapuss With Jake Shane

Giggly Squad

The Viall Files

Best Music

The Bobby Bones Show

Song Exploder

Switched On Pop

WINNER: All Songs Considered

One Song

Best TV & Film

The Big Picture

The Rewatchables

How Did This Get Made?

WINNER: Watch What Crappens

Girls Rewatch

Best Comedy

WINNER: Good Hang With Amy Poehler

The Toast

Distractible

Handsome

The Basement Yard

Best Business & Finance

Earn Your Leisure

How I Built This

Acquired

Young and Profiting With Hala Taha

WINNER: The Diary of a CEO With Steven Bartlett

Best Crime

Crime Junkie

Rotten Mango

Anatomy of Murder

My Favorite Murder

WINNER: Wisecrack

Best Food

WINNER: Eating While Broke

The Sporkful

Home Cooking

The Splendid Table

Dinner’s On Me

Best Wellness & Fitness

On Purpose With Jay Shetty

Huberman Lab

WINNER: The Mel Robbins Podcast

10% Happier

Maintenance Phase

Best History

WINNER: The Rest Is History

You’re Wrong About

Throughline

American History Tellers

SNAFU

Best Kids & Family

Story Pirates

Wow in the World

WINNER: Circle Round

The Big Fib

Brains On!

Best News

The Daily

The Megyn Kelly Show

Pivot

WINNER: The MeidasTouch Podcast

Up First From NPR

Best Fiction

The NoSleep Podcast

Havoc Town

Old Gods of Appalachia

Table Read

WINNER: Murder at the Patel Motel

Best Sports

New Heights

WINNER: Pardon My Take

The Zach Lowe Show

Club 520

The Ringer Fantasy Football Show

Best Science

Radiolab

Ologies

WINNER: Hidden Brain

StarTalk Radio

Shell Game

Best Technology

Hard Fork

Black Tech Green Money

Galaxy Brain

WINNER: Acquired

All-In

Best Ad Read

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

Call Her Daddy

WINNER: My Brother, My Brother and Me

Dudes on Dudes

Distractible

Best Political

Pod Save America

The Bulwark Podcast

WINNER: Breaking Points With Krystal and Saagar

Hacks on Tap

The Ben Shapiro Show

Best Spanish Language

Gracias, Come Again.

Radio Ambulante

Leyenda Legendarias

WINNER: Chente Ydrach

Relatos de la Noche

Best Advice/Inspirational

IMO With Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson

On Purpose With Jay Shetty

WINNER: Thanks for Asking

Just Heal With Dr. Jay

Self-Conscious With Chrissy Teigen

Best Beauty & Fashion

Nymphet Alumni

Fashion Neurosis With Bella Freud

Articles of Interest

Lipstick on the Rim

WINNER: Naked Beauty

Best Travel

WINNER: Women Who Travel

Travel With Rick Steves

Zero to Travel

Points Talk

The Travel Diaries

Best Spirituality & Religion

Deeply Well With Devi Brown

Girls Gone Bible

Joel Osteen Podcast

WHOA That’s Good Podcast

WINNER: Elevation With Steven Furtick

Best Branded Podcast

This Is Not a Beauty Podcast (L’Oreal)

Crucible Moments (Sequoia Capital)

WINNER: The Unshakeables (Chase for Business)

ZOE Science & Nutrition (ZOE)

Smart Talks (IBM)

Best Emerging

Khloé in Wonder Land

WINNER: Smart Girl Dumb Questions With Nayeema Raza

Try Hard

Thanks Dad With Ego Nwodim

Upstairs Neighbors

Best International

ShxtsNGigs (United Kingdom)

Las Alucines (Mexico)

The Rest Is History (United Kingdom)

WINNER: Shameless (Australia)

Crime Beat (Canada)

We’ve all seen an Oscar recipient played off by the orchestra before, so why did it feel especially brutal when the songwriting team behind best original song winner “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters was cut off on Sunday night?

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are discussing the moment, which has been nine months in the making, ever since the animated hit premiered on Netflix in June. The breakout smash song from the project, “Golden,” ended up spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Golden Globe and a Grammy on its way to Oscar glory. Many viewers — especially younger fans and K-pop listeners — were likely tuning in for this award, in addition to the dynamic performance of the HUNTR/X song minutes earlier. So when EJAE gave her heartfelt speech and then began to pass to her fellow songwriters only for them to be cut off by music and a commercial break, it felt like a missed opportunity not to be able to hear from Yu-Han Lee and Mark Sonnenblick about the historic win — though the two songwriters were able to share their speeches backstage after the show, if not to the millions of viewers at home.

Listen to Katie & Keith’s full conversation about the moment below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Harry Styles goes 4-for-4 on the Billboard 200, scoring his fourth No. 1 debut, which is the entirety of his charting releases. Has anyone else seen their first four chart entries debut at No. 1?

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

Pooh Shiesty thinks Nike owes him a check.

During a recent episode of Complex’s Sneaker Shopping, host Joe La Puma brought up A$AP Rocky‘s appearance on The Questlove Show, where the Harlem rapper revealed that he throws on a balaclava —which has since become synonymous with the Memphis rapper — whenever he hops on a train to maneuver through his hometown unnoticed.

“When I take the train, I put a Pooh Shiesty on,” Rocky told Questlove. “Sometimes I’m by myself. Sometimes I’m with security. I take the train to keep myself grounded.”

Someone off camera then tossed La Puma a package of a Nike Hyperwarm Knit Hood and the two got into how the fashion accessory has become known as a “shiesty,” with Pooh saying, “Come on, man. That’s supposed to me right there, man.” Adding, “For real, these junks get you through some places, you know? Like he told you, he snuck through the subway. Wouldn’t be able to do that with no regular [look.]”

When asked if he knew him throwing on a “shiesty” would become so influential, he replied that he never really thought anything of it at first. “Nah, I ain’t think that,” he answered. “But you know a lot of stuff a man do, a lot of people gravitate to.”

Pooh Shiesty’s bubbling career hit a snag back in 2022 when he was sentenced to five years in prison for a gun case, but hit the ground running after his release last October with the single “FDO” that has been on the Billboard Hot 100 going on 12 weeks now.

You can watch the full episode below.

The Kennedy Center’s board of directors voted on Monday to shut down operations for two years following this summer’s July 4 celebrations. The widely expected decision comes in the wake of numerous resignations and cancellations during President Donald Trump’s second term, although Trump himself has cited the need for repairs as a reason for the closure.

“We’re going to ensure it remains the finest performing arts facility of its kind anywhere in the world,” Trump told reporters at the White House before the board met Monday.

The board also voted to install Matt Floca as CEO and executive director, replacing Trump ally Richard Grenell, who oversaw far-reaching changes at the venue that prompted an outcry from many artists and exacerbated the operation’s financial challenges. Trump praised Grenell on Monday, saying he had been a longtime friend, and wished Floca “good luck with everything.”

The Kennedy Center said the vote was unanimous, though Rep. Joyce Beatty didn’t cast a vote. The Ohio Democrat is an ex officio member of the board and sued to preclude the Trump administration from excluding her from Monday’s meeting. Over the weekend, a federal judge ruled she was entitled to participate in the meeting but didn’t require that the board allow her to vote.

Trump hosted the board meeting at the White House in a reminder of the influence he has held over the Kennedy Center during his second term. Shortly after returning to office last year, Trump ousted the center’s previous leadership and replaced it with a hand-picked board of trustees that named him chairman. He also brought in Grenell, who served in a variety of capacities during Trump’s first term, when the president mostly ignored the Kennedy Center.

The center’s lineup has since included more Trump-friendly programming, including serving as the venue for the premiere of first lady Melania Trump’s documentary, “Melania.” The board also announced it had renamed the facility the Trump Kennedy Center, a change scholars and lawmakers say must be initiated by Congress, and physically added the president’s name to the building’s facade.

The fallout from the arts community was swift and intense. Actor Issa Rae, musician Bela Fleck and author Louise Penny were among the numerous artists who withdrew from appearances, while consultants such as musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming resigned. Earlier this month, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra, Jean Davidson, left to head the Los Angeles-based Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Without mentioning the abandoned performances, Trump said in February he would close the Kennedy Center to fix what he has described as a dilapidated building.

Ahead of the closure, Grenell warned staff about impending cuts that will leave “skeletal teams.”
Floca, Grenell’s successor, had been serving as vice president of operations. According to his LinkedIn page, he joined the Kennedy Center in January 2024, during the Biden administration.

A center press release from the time describes him as “an experienced facilities management professional with a construction management background and an appreciation for whole building design principles.”

Previous experience for Floca listed on LinkedIn includes a handful of positions with the District of Columbia government, among them associate director of sustainability and energy and director of facilities management. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science degree in construction management.

This story was originally published by The Associated Press.