Podcasters have officially taken the 2026 Golden Globe Awards by storm.
Actress Amy Poehler and her “Good Hang” podcast won the first ever Best Podcast award during the Sunday, January 11, ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. Snoop Dogg handed Poehler, 54, joked that the rapper presenting the award was “exactly how I pictured” the win.
“I don’t know about awards shows, but when they get it right, it makes sense. Thank you so much for this,” the actress said, offering a shout-out to her podcast producer and Spotify. “I just want to say that I know I’m new to this game, I have great respect for this form. I have great respect for all the people that I am nominated with. I am big fans of all of you, except for NPR. Just a bunch of celebs phoning it in. Try harder.”
She continued, “This is an attempt to try to make a very rough and unkind world filled with a little bit more love and laughter, and laughing with people, not at them, and we just have such a good time making it. Thank you so much for letting us make more.”
Poehler beat out five other podcasts in the category: Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert,” Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy,” Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett’s “SmartLess,” Mel Robbins’ “The Mel Robbins Podcast” and NPR’s “Up First.”
On her way up to the stage, announcers Marc Malkin and Kevin Frazier name-dropped Arnett, who is Poehler’s ex-husband, revealing that he predicted the former Parks and Recreation star’s win.
In May 2025, the Golden Globes announced the new annual Best Podcast category, with the goal of “recognizing the extraordinary and diverse talents in podcasting.”
“As the world of entertainment continues to evolve, we are excited to recognize new forms of storytelling,” Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne said in a statement at the time. “Podcasts have emerged as a profound medium for sharing narratives and building communities across global borders and generations. By celebrating achievements in both audio and visual podcasts, we aim to honor our heritage categories while making room for new voices and formats to be heard.”
In October 2025, the Golden Globes revealed a list of 25 podcasts eligible for the inaugural category, which was determined by Luminate’s data on audio analytics and insights.
“This year’s inaugural list of eligible programs for the new Best Podcast eligibility list reflects the incredible depth, diversity and creativity thriving in the podcasting world today,” read a statement from Hoehne. “From groundbreaking investigative series to deeply personal storytelling and innovative audio formats, this list showcases the power of podcasting to inform, entertain and inspire audiences around the globe. The Golden Globes is proud to be the first major entertainment award to recognize this medium.”
The 25 podcasts that made the cut were ABC News’ “20/20,” CBS News’ “48 Hours,” “Armchair Expert,” “Call Her Daddy,” Candace Owens’ “Candace,” “Crime Junkie,” “Dateline NBC,” “Good Hang,” “Morbid,” “MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories,” “Pardon My Take,” “Pod Save America,” “Rotten Mango,” “Shawn Ryan Show,” “SmartLess,” “Stuff You Should Know,” “The Ben Shapiro Show,” “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” The New York Times’ “The Daily,” “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “The Megyn Kelly Show,” “The Mel Robbins Podcast,” “The Tucker Carlson Show,” “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” and “Up First.”
Poehler, 54, later made headlines when she sent her support to her fellow nominee and ex-husband, Arnett, 55. (The pair were married from 2003 to 2016 and share sons Archie, 17, and Abel, 15.)
“Congrats. Let’s party,” she texted him and Hayes, 55, according to a December 2025 Hollywood Reporter profile on Arnett.
Arnett then laughed at Poehler’s reasoning for not including Bateman, 56, on the group message, reading aloud that she wrote, “I don’t have Bateman’s number, but that’s for the best.”
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