The Podcast Academy announced that its Board of Governors will bestow WTF with Marc Maron with the Governors Award which recognizes a podcast or individual for the compelling impact they’ve had on the industry. Marc Maron and Brendan McDonald will accept the top accolade at inaugural Awards for Excellence in Audio (The Ambies) on May 16. The ceremony will be streamed LIVE on YouTube, Twitch, and other platforms from Los Angeles, CA at 5PM PT/8PM ET, with a pre-show starting at 4:30PM PT/7:30PM ET.
“‘WTF with Marc Maron’ has been a trailblazer for the medium since its inception and represents what’s unique about the industry,” said Chairman of the Podcast Academy, Donald Albright. “As co-creators, producers and owners of WTF, Marc and Brendan have served as global pioneers for podcasters big and small, both in front of and behind the mic. The Podcast Academy is humbled to honor WTF with the first-ever Governors Award.”
Maron and McDonald added: “It’s a genuine honor to be recognized by our peers as a major influence on the podcast medium. The show has evolved into what it is now through our persistence, creativity, discipline, and curiosity. We’re grateful for this recognition and the freedom that podcasting affords us.”
WTF with Marc Maron, which is an independently-produced podcast, changed the landscape when it premiered in September 2009. With more than 600 million downloads since then, the podcast helped define the medium and continues to reach millions of listeners twice-a-week. The show’s landmark episode with President Barack Obama broke podcast records and garnered worldwide acclaim when it was released in 2015.
Marc has welcomed comedians, actors, directors, writers, authors, musicians and folks from all walks of life to WTF. His probing, comprehensive interview style allows guests to express themselves in ways listeners have never heard. WTF has featured amazingly revealing interviews with some of the world’s biggest personalities including Stacey Abrams, Mel Brooks, Anna Kendrick, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawerence, John Legend, David Letterman, Sir Paul McCartney, Eddie Murphy, Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, Bruce Springsteen, Dick Van Dyke and Kate Winslet, to name just a few of the more than 1,200 guests who have appeared on the show.
The Ambies celebrate excellence in podcasting and elevate awareness and status of podcasts as a unique and personal medium for entertainment, information, storytelling and expression. This year, the ceremony will highlight 164 nominees across 23 categories and is sponsored by Amazon Music (Gold sponsor), PRX (Silver sponsor), Tenderfoot TV (Silver sponsor), and Wondery (Silver sponsor). The official pre-show is sponsored by Adobe. The full list of 2021 nominees may be found here.