u/FerdinandHu

I’ve been working on a bit of an experiment: a podcast award judged by podcasters themselves.

Unlike most podcast awards, there’s no entry fee and no traditional judging panel. Instead, creators who enter review other podcasts using the same structured criteria. In return, every participant gets evaluated by fellow podcasters and receives actual feedback on their work.

The idea is simple: you don’t pay to enter — you contribute by reviewing others.

I’m calling it the Open Podcast Awards, and I’m currently putting together the first group of podcasters to take part.

Curious to see where this goes.

The idea is simple: submit your podcast for free, review 3 other podcasts, and in return your own work is reviewed by fellow podcasters.

A few months ago I made what felt like a slightly crazy decision.

I entered one of the best-known podcast awards. Between the submission fee and everything that went into preparing my entry, it felt like spending a truckload of money on a single shot. Maybe I'll win. But realistically, there's a good chance that in a few months I'll simply receive an email saying my podcast wasn't selected...and that's the end of the story.

That experience made me stop and think.

As an independent podcaster, what am I actually getting from participating in an award? If I don't win, I don't learn what could be improved. I don't receive meaningful feedback. I don't discover other creators. And nobody discovers me.

I also realized something about myself. I'm probably never going to become the person who posts TikTok's, YouTube Shorts, or constantly optimizes Instagram reels.

I was thinking... What if podcast awards worked more like peer review? Every creator who submits a podcast also reviews a few podcasts from other categories. Nobody reviews direct competitors. Everyone follows the same evaluation criteria. Every participant receives multiple independent reviews and constructive feedback. And the highest-rated podcasts are recognized by the community itself instead of a small judging panel.

I honestly don't know if this idea would work. There are definitely challenges around fairness, bias, and making the review process enjoyable. But I can't stop thinking that there might be something here.

I'm curious... Would community-powered, peer-review podcast award be something worth developing?
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Update 5th August 2026:
I am building it… with input and support from Reddit. It will be epic …

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