86th Peabody winners announced

The 86th Annual Peabody Awards honored outstanding storytelling across broadcasting and streaming media, recognizing 34 winners from over 1,000 entries in categories such as the following:

• entertainment,
• news,
• documentaries,
• podcasts,
• arts,
• children’s programming, and
• interactive media.

HBO Max led with six awards, followed by Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and PBS.

Special honors included Amy Poehler (Career Achievement), Sterlin Harjo (Trailblazer), James L. Brooks (Industry Icon), and PBS KIDS (Institutional Award).

Winners tackled diverse themes including social justice, authoritarianism, healthcare, and LGBTQ+ experiences.

Key highlights include:

News: Investigations into Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, U.S. immigration enforcement, climate change wildfires, prison abuses, and online radicalization.

Podcasts: Stories on Catholic anti-war activism, financial scams, and queer faith during the AIDS crisis.

Documentaries: Exposés on Alabama prison brutality, personal cancer journeys, resistance to indoctrination in Russia, Palestinian-Israeli relations, and gun violence in schools.

Arts: Profiles of musicians Fela Kuti and Sly Stone exploring civil resistance and Black artistry.

Entertainment: Series exploring youth radicalization, fascism through “Star Wars,” wellness critiques, sexual self-discovery amid terminal illness, LGBTQ+ love stories, and a Canadian drama on hockey players’ relationship.

Children’s: Animated superhero series focusing on STEM and diversity.

Interactive: Immersive narratives on wartime civilian casualties and immigration enforcement’s human impact.

The ceremony on May 31 in Beverly Hills will group winners thematically, celebrating stories that reflect Peabody’s mission to highlight storytelling that influences culture and promotes social awareness.