The inaugural South African Podcast Awards celebrated South Africa’s top podcasters, recognising creativity and storytelling excellence across genres such as Arts, True Crime, Business, and Comedy.
The event, livestreamed on YouTube, was hosted by respected podcaster Sean Loots. It highlighted the best in South African podcasting, from exceptional production quality to impactful community storytelling.
Jonathan Warncke, managing director of organisers, the South African Podcasters Guild, shared insights on the growth of local podcasting, saying, “The South African Podcast Awards celebrates the creativity and diversity of our country’s podcasters. It’s a proud moment for our community to acknowledge this immense talent.”
South African Podcasters Guild’s Paulo Dias, writing on LInkedIn, said: “These awards were never about us, it was always about the South African audio creators out there. Not only will the awards grow from here, but SA podcasting will only get bigger.
“Thank you to all our judges as well as Sean Loots 🎙 Jonathan Warncke and Diego Domingo for the world class and perfect duration awards show and thanks to Ultimate Media for hosting and sponsoring a watch party.”
Awards were presented in two main categories: Genre Categories (Arts & Literature, Music & Entertainment, Society & Culture) and Special Categories (Best Production Quality, Best Content Quality, and Podcast of the Year).
The prestigious Podcast of the Year award went to Lynn Joffe for her show Solid Gold Story Time. Joffe, dedicating the award to her late sister, said, “This podcast brought me back to life. I believe in the power of storytelling to inspire literacy in young children. Thank you for bringing my inner child out.”
WATCH the SAPAs here.
For a full list of winners, visit the South African Podcasters Guild’s Instagram page.
