From the Nominator

"The public’s trust in institutions such as traditional media and government has waned. The widespread use of artificial intelligence and related technologies has blurred the lines between fact versus fiction and human versus machine. The ability to spread information, especially misinformation, is prevalent and far too easy. One way organizations can break this cycle of distrust is to be a consistent and reliable source of fact-based information (2023 Edelman Trust Barometer).

Since its launch in 2018, the “Big Brains” podcast from the University of Chicago has featured Nobel laureates and world-leading scholars providing their trusted expertise on critical issues shaping our world. “Big Brains” has built an unmatched reputation as the convener of the world’s brightest minds and a trusted and reliable source for sharing academic research. 

In 2022, “Big Brains” celebrated its milestone 100th podcast episode and set out to achieve the single goal of building an even larger general audience by translating big ideas and complex discoveries into easy-to-understand concepts any listener could share at a dinner table conversation.

By adopting a more conversational tone and leveraging new marketing tactics, the podcast became more accessible, and the results were astonishing as downloads of “Big Brains” increased nearly 35 percent from last year (443K downloads in 2022). On average, the podcast was downloaded nearly 10,000 more times each month last year versus the previous year. Furthermore, YouTube views of the podcast jumped an impressive 85 percent to 140,245 in 2022."

From the Judges

The judges were taken by the Chicago team's unique approach to content, distribution, and format in this podcast. Clearly well-resourced, the team's investment is well justified by the podcast's broad appeal, relevance, and impact. This podcast clearly stood out from the rest in an increasingly competitive category.