Hookergate: Criminals & Libertines in the South
Creator: Lindsay Byron (Atlanta, GA)

About the Podcast: "Hookergate: Criminals & Libertines in the South" takes listeners back in time to 1977 when a high-profile prostitution ring involving 11 businesses in three states was the most-talked-about headline of the day. The podcast combs through the dusty archives of the Danville Register & Bee, which were carefully clipped and preserved by Lindsay's aunt's mama, who held a familial connection to this web of crime. "Hookergate: Criminals & Libertines in the South” will share unforgettable colorful quotes from local reporters and unbelievable but true dramatic scenes pulled straight from the police reports. It’s all brought to life by Dr. Byron and presented alongside present-day interviews with individuals from the older Southern generation, who remember the madness as it unfolded in real time. 

Fun Fact: Lindsay is the proud owner of a "tripawd" mutt, whose continued enthusiasm for chasing large vehicles exceeds the degree to which he values his remaining legs. The UPS truck can take another limb, as far as he's concerned!

Thank you to all the Creators who participated in this year’s search for The Next Great Podcast. We were so impressed with all of your fantastic work!

Meet the Finalists

The Murderesses of Cook County Jail

Creators: Lungowe Zeko + Leesa Charlotte (New York)

About the Podcast: While nearly everyone knows the musical ‘Chicago’, we love the way Lulu and Leesa shed new light on the story. This podcast uses the allure of the glamorous, slick world of ‘Chicago’ to tell a thrilling story that doubles as a deep examination of class, race, and gender in the 1920s.  As trained media professionals AND ‘Chicago’ superfans, this podcast is well researched and is delivered in a way that is both intriguing and informative. 

Fun Fact: Lungowe's birthday is Star Wars Day (May the 4th) and Leesa shares a birthday with George Lucas (May 14th), so they're destined to be Star Wars fans!

Al Mafqud: The Missing
Creator: Fahrinisa Campana (Athens, Greece)

About the Podcast: Very little is known about the Yazidi Genocide, and Fahrinisa plans to change that with this podcast. She combines beautiful writing with high-quality audio to tell a deeply reported and emotionally compelling story about a little-known, yet incredibly high-stakes, topic. By focusing on the complicated figures in a single family, this podcast has the potential to build awareness about a complex geopolitical issue through these relatable human stories.
Fun Fact: Fahrinisa is an avid knitter and can knit anything from sweaters, to gloves, to baby onesies.

Tragedy Porn
Creators: Sara White + Rylie Johnson (Atlanta, GA)
About the Podcast: After the success of Only Murders in the Building—about murder podcast fans whose fascination with the category turns their lives upside down—it feels like an actual podcast that critically examines our true crime obsession is way overdue. We believe this will draw a big audience of listeners who feel a little ambivalent about their own fascination with dark tales—or who thoroughly enjoy the category but want some help unpacking why. With philosophy, history, and psychology backgrounds, Rylie and Sara will examine issues like why certain victims’ stories get privileged over others and why violence and scandal excite the human brain so much.

Fun Fact: The idea for this show came while watching Crimescene Kitchen, where bakers look at clues from a kitchen "crime scene" to determine what was made in the kitchen and recreate it. It was then Sara realized the true crime obsession had gone too far.

Crimes Against Food
Creator: Devin Andrade (Toronto, Ontario)
About the Podcast: It is time for a true crime show where no one has to die. Crimes Against Food takes the upsetting, yet popular, true crime genre and mixes it with food to create a fun, light-hearted, and overall refreshing show that aims to solve food history’s greatest mysteries. Devin does a great job of maintaining the high stakes and drama associated with true crime—and as the listener, you get to walk away without feeling awful about the state of humanity. By combining great audio design with a compelling concept and charismatic host, we think this show has the potential to capture a huge audience and help the true crime category evolve in an exciting new direction.

Fun Fact: One time, I incorrectly measured the amount of flour for a shortbread recipe, and those embarrassingly crispy and buttery cookies haunted me for years... until I eventually redeemed myself with biscuit baking skills as good as Ted Lasso's.

PUSH Podcast: Wheelchair Basketball in the USA
Creator: Derek Hoot (Middleton, WI)

About the Podcast: We love this podcast for the way it centers the voices of athletes with disabilities, using sports journalism as a vehicle for larger conversations about whose stories matter. As a competitive wheelchair basketball player himself, Derek’s personal connection to the game makes him a dynamic host who understands what it takes to rise to the top of the sport.

Fun Fact: Derek played wheelchair basketball in Jordan and Germany, before moving back to the US and starting PUSH Podcast.

The Two Musketeers
Creators: Ana Weinberg (Mexico City, MX) + Andrew Pfannkuche (Luxembourg)

About the Podcast: You think you know Alexandre Dumas until Anna and Andrew give you the full story. Just like Newton’s Law did for the guy who discovered the laws of gravity, we think this show will shed new light on a beloved author who very few people actually know anything about. Dumas’s gripping story has the potential to attract a big audience, and Ana and Andrew’s relaxed conversational style make this feel especially approachable, like you’re hearing about a little-known chapter of history from a friend.

Fun Fact: Ana and Andrew met working backstage on a history podcast in 2015 and have been friends ever since.

Life Salad

Creators: Stevie Weisz + Marty Hart (BC)

About the Podcast: We all started out as a collection of cells, and though we’ve since evolved into unique human beings, we’re all still held to the same arbitrary standards about what our bodies should and shouldn’t look like. We love this concept for the way it questions those standards and aims to deconstruct the social and political meanings of our bodies. Alex and Andre's dedication to body positivity, diversity, and mental health awareness, among other vastly under-discussed topics, is what makes this show both interesting and necessary.

Fun Fact: The way we begin each episode – "Ladies and gentlemen, multisex, undecided, or robot" – was inspired by Doctor Who

Yeah, That Didn't Work Out
Creators: Gina Finio (Tucson, AZ)

About the Podcast: Rom-coms and fairy tales leave us believing that true love is both fated and eternal. But what really happens after the happily ever after? Gina’s upbeat, authentic, and realistic take on the lack of real-life fairytale endings for couples is both fascinating and relatable. We love the way she finds the beauty (and humor) in moving on, making anybody who’s been through--or is in the midst of--a breakup feel a lot less alone. Featuring a variety of real-life stories from guests of every walk of life, this show has potential to captivate a big audience by focusing on an experience almost anyone can relate to: heartbreak.

Fun Fact: Gina has a little dog named Ducky and he is her longest relationship :) 

Mending Fences
Creators: Alex Boykins (Reno, NV)
About the Podcast: On every episode of her moving new podcast, Alex embarks on an emotional journey in an attempt to reconcile friends and family who have fallen out. We love the heartfelt look at the complexities of human relationships, the effort to bring closure and healing to both parties, and the emphasis on exploring friendships, why they end, and how those endings impact our lives.

Fun Fact: From the age of eight, I was obsessed with Baywatch. I would watch and re-watch the episodes if they didn't end the way I wanted. I would add in new characters and replay scenes with my dolls, then perform them for my family. I had a LOT of re-writes!