#191: Amy Poehler Wins 1st Golden Globe for Podcasting & What It Means For You
This week we are celebrating a groundbreaking moment in podcasting history - for the first time ever, podcasting has become a category at the Golden Globes, with Amy Poehler taking home the award for her show Good Hang on Sunday, January 11th, 2026.
But beyond this exciting achievement, I want to talk with you about the importance of starting your podcast journey.
You'll hear why representation of women in podcast hosting is so vital, how barriers like video and self-doubt still keep many of us from using our voices, and what it truly means to create a ripple effect by showing up and sharing your story.
Whether you're dreaming of starting your own show or need the confirmation that audio podcasting still works to keep going, this episode is a call-to-action for you to honor your message by using your voice, and starting your show scrappy, so that you can shape your version of success - and in turn, lead by example, by making space for others to see what's possible for themselves.
[note: if I sound out of breath in this episode - it's because I am! I'm pregnant and out of breath these days...c'est la vie!)
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why Amy Poehler's win is a significant moment for women in media and podcasting
How to leverage this win as inspiration and motivation to begin your podcast
Why letting go of what might be standing in your way is important for all of us - we need your voice and perspective
How audio podcasting can be your vehicle for success on your terms
00:00 "Why start your podcast or keep going"
03:02 Amy Poehler embraces podcasting
07:46 "Start simple, scrappy and share your truth"
Read the Full Transcript
Christina Barsi [00:00:29]:
Hi and welcome back to the Boss Goddess Podcast. Today's episode is a little different because we just made history yesterday. I'm recording this on Monday, this comes out on Tuesday.
Christina Barsi [00:01:14]:
We just made history on Sunday in podcasting. And I want to talk about that a little. And more importantly, as you're listening to this, I want you to really consider what might be holding you back from starting your own podcast. If that is something that you are thinking about and if you already have a podcast and you're considering maybe quitting, because I'm hearing that a lot lately, I want you to listen in to how I'm about to have this conversation with you and why it's important that you don't quit. And even more importantly than that, for either of you, whether you're thinking of starting or you're thinking of quitting, I want you to think about this question.
What is it on your heart that you want to say - the reason you either showed up in the first place or you feel this desire to show up. So this is a short one today, and it sits at the heart of why I do what I do and the reason I care so much about creating a simple way for you to start your own podcast and use your voice and to make sure it supports your lifestyle and your goals and honors who you are. Because when you can honor yourself in this way, you show others what is possible for them.
Christina Barsi [00:02:33]:
It has a huge ripple effect. So here we go. Let's dive in. So we, as women, and as women in media, and even more specifically women in podcasting, like I said, have just made history. Because for the first time ever, podcasting has become a category within the Golden Globes. And the winner was none other than the beloved Amy Poehler for her podcast “Good Hang”. So podcasting just won a Golden Globe. That is huge.
Christina Barsi [00:03:02]:
And Amy has chosen to really lean into the medium of podcasting because she actually added an audio division to her production company, Paper Kite Productions, really recently, I believe it was last year, and I actually got to see Amy Poehler talk with her first podcast, or she was talking about her first podcast, which was called “Say More with Dr.? Sheila”, because she spoke at a conference that I always speak at called Podcast Movement. And that says a lot right there. But it was so fun to see her there and to see her really embracing podcasting as a medium on every level. So I wanted to talk about this today because obviously it truly is history in the making, but also because of the fact that a woman won the first ever Golden Globe for podcasting, which is particularly noteworthy because male hosts still far outnumber women. In fact, a recent study by USC Annenberg that came out last year shared that women make up only 35.9% of podcast hosts compared to the 64.1% that are hosted by men. That's a really big gap.
Christina Barsi [00:04:16]:
Now, if you Google, like, diversity and podcasting and things like that, usually they're looking at listenership. So the numbers you'll see there are a little more evened out nowadays. Women are still a little bit less or still…I don't know the number off top of my head, but it's like 48, 49% or something now in listenership. It wasn't always that way. When I started, it was way less than that. But so it's grown a lot in the listenership side, which is great.
Christina Barsi [00:04:41]:
But on the podcast hosting side, there's still a huge gap. That 35% or so has been that number for a little bit of time now, and it's not improving, which is interesting. I'll link to the Annenberg Report in the show notes. And it is also noteworthy to say that they're looking at popular podcasts when they created that number. So that's just a little detail, but my point here is that even though Amy Poehler is the person who won, who's a very talented, very famous woman, it's still a win for us because she won over the men, because that Annenberg Report, those numbers are based on women in Amy's echelon, right.
Christina Barsi [00:05:29]:
So it's a big win that she took that Golden Globe home. So my hope is, is that this moment in time inspires more of us, more women to jump into the medium. So, again, my question today for you is, if you're on the fence, what is really holding you back? Like, really ask yourself that question. How can you begin to use your voice? Your voice is extremely powerful, and podcasting has one of the lowest barriers to enter. And I'm going to talk about that in just a moment because I have lots of theories about why this gap exists. And these theories are based on conversations that I've had with you, that I've had with my clients, that I've had with strangers who've reached out to me, who feel like quitting. And part of the problem is the disparity itself. When we don't see ourselves represented, we get discouraged.
Christina Barsi [00:06:23]:
It shrinks our view of what is possible. This is just human behavior. It's a core reason why it's super important to have diverse voices that we get to hear from. Cause it shows us that there's room for us, right? That there's space for us. There's someone out there being successful, which means maybe we can experience the same thing. Maybe there's room. Another reason that comes up often, especially in the last couple of years, is the video dilemma. This is a big one, and it affects women specifically for different reasons.
Christina Barsi [00:06:55]:
One being not feeling as confident or comfortable on video as you might with audio only. Another being the subject matter being more of an intimate nature, and audio feels safer for the host and the listener. This is specific to perhaps taboo topics, things that a listener might want to privately listen to, where it's a little more obvious when someone is watching a video than if they just have earbuds on and they can have a private moment in a topic that they're not allowed to talk about in their culture, let's say, or in their community or even in their family unit. So this is why. This is one of the big reasons why podcasting, audio podcasting can be a really safe and important space to have more women leverage. Another being lifestyle.
Christina Barsi [00:07:46]:
And not having a space that can be camera ready very easily because maybe you have little kids running around, maybe it's a bit messier on a regular basis. And that just seems like a lot of work to try to make happen. And then another big one is feeling like starting and keeping it going is too much work because of the camera and the lighting and the audio trifecta that needs figuring out while you're trying to figure out how to create a good show and develop your message and your brand and all of the things that actually make the show. So this is why I'm so passionate about starting simple, starting scrappy. All of that video stuff can come later, if ever. It's up to you. It's not needed to build your foundation and create your show. The more important thing here is to have you speaking your truth.
Christina Barsi [00:08:35]:
And in order to do that, you have to start or stick around if you're thinking of quitting. I truly, truly, truly believe that we need you. We need your voice, we need your perspective. We need your leadership, your creativity, your humor, your expertise, your thoughts, your feelings, your version of all of it. Though it's really amazing that Amy Poehler was the first to ever win a Golden Globe for podcasting, it's true that it's just a little harder for us to see ourselves in her success because of who she is, right? So we need more versions of success than the one we see from figures like Amy Poehler. It's how we get to change and shape the world, the conversation and the way we get to show up. Right? We get to shape the conversation.
Christina Barsi [00:09:28]:
We get to change what's possible, and you get to do it on your terms. You get to create your version of success that is gonna resonate to someone else just like you. So, really, I just wanted to talk with you today about this amazing moment, put it into perspective, come back down to reality and ask you this question. If you're thinking of starting or you're thinking of quitting, what is one thing that that person who needs your wisdom, your compassion, or your space holding, what do they need to hear from you? What do you want them to know? Like, really think about that? What's the core thing calling and pulling at you, that important message, that simple space holding, that simple, “you're not alone”. Now, what is actually stopping you? This is your time. I can't wait to see what you create. So I'll see you in the next episode. Till next time.
