Slate’s Slow Burn is the 2022 Apple Podcasts Award winner

After announcing the best apps of 2022 in the App Store Awards, Apple has now announced its Podcasts Award winner. Slate won “Show of the Year” with Slows Burn, a narrative nonfiction series whose latest season covered Roe v. Wade.

The recipient of the Apple Podcasts Award is Slate’s critically acclaimed narrative history series, Slow Burn, for its latest season, Roe v. Wade, hosted by Slate executive editor Susan Matthews. Published throughout June 2022, the four-episode season explores the events leading up to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision, offering listeners an in-depth perspective on this universal and timely human rights issue.

“Apple Podcasts is where users discover new shows, enjoy their favorites, unlock premium listening experiences, and support the creators who make them possible,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats. “Podcasting plays an important role in our lives — helping us stay informed, keep entertained, and get inspired — and we’re pleased to honor the Slate team with this recognition.”

Beginning today, users can also explore six Slow Burn Extras — brand-new episodes available for free exclusively on Apple Podcasts that provide new perspectives and deeper insights. Listeners can hear about the making of Slow Burn: Roe v. Wade, never-before-heard personal stories, extended follow-up interviews with characters from the series, and a roundtable conversation about the evolution of the Supreme Court featuring Slate’s legal experts.

“I wanted to make this series because I was really discouraged by how polarized and stuck the conversation around abortion was, and it seemed incredibly timely and important,” said host Susan Matthews. “We set out to tell this story in a way that helped expand and challenge what people understood about this subject. 

Slow Burn is one of the all-time most popular shows on Apple Podcasts. The show’s first two seasons are hosted by Leon Neyfakh and cover the Watergate and Clinton-Lewinsky scandals, respectively. Additional seasons cover the creative lives and tragic deaths of two of the world’s most famous rappers, the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, as well as the LA riots (both hosted by Joel Anderson); David Duke’s rise to power and prominence (hosted by Josh Levin); and the road to the Iraq War (hosted by Noreen Malone). All seven seasons are available for free on Apple Podcasts.