Your golden podcast cheat sheet for watching the Oscars: 7 shows to stream before tuning into Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony

We’re in the home stretch toward the biggest night in Hollywood: the 94th Academy Awards ceremony! To prep and count down to the celebration, we’ve selected several podcasts all about the Oscars. Tune into these shows for interviews with nominees like The Power of the Dog’s director Jane Campion and Spencer’s Kristen Stewart. There are a slew of episodes casting predictions and offering guides for each Oscar category. Rewind to past wins on episodes of “Categorically Oscars” and “Oscar Wild.”

We can’t wait to watch the live, televised ceremony hosted by Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes, and Regina Hall this Sunday, starting at 8PM EST on ABC.

Little Gold Men by Vanity Fair

“Little Gold Men by Vanity Fair” heads to Hollywood for award show coverage, red carpet premieres, and conversations with creators, stars, and more. This week’s episodes detailed Oscar predictions, the most popular nominees on the list based on insider intel from a luncheon for Oscar nominees, and unpacked the categories. Earlier this year, the podcast chatted with Billie Eilish and Finneas about their song “No Time To Die” from the James Bond film.

The Awardist

“The Awardist” is counting down to the Oscars with predictions for the big night and interviews with nominees. This series is hosted by Entertainment Weekly’s Executive Editor Clarissa Cruz and Movies Editor Joshua Rothkopf. This week, the hosts spoke with The Power of the Dog director Jane Campion and Kristen Stewart, nominated for starring in Spencer.

The Big Picture

Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins covered Oscars buzz this week with predictions for all 23 categories on “The Big Picture.” If you’re feeling nostalgic, tune into their episode time warping to the 1990s for a fun Oscar winners draft. Last week, Amanda and Sean shared their favorite Best Picture winners ever and explored The Power of the Dog.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” has several anticipatory episodes, including preview guides and deep-dives into categories like Documentary Feature and Best Song. A recent episode ranked past Best Picture winners after polling listeners, and the hosts shared their picks for the best Best Picture of all time.

Categorically Oscars

“Categorically Oscars” is obsessed with the Academy Awards. They select an Oscar year and category from history to discuss each episode. They’ll analyze the nominees and share if they believe the Academy “got it right.” Recent episodes shared the hosts’ predictions for Sunday’s ceremony. This podcast has been up and running since 2020 and has released over 60 episodes.

Oscar Wild

“Oscar Wild” has been breaking down this year’s nominations, past ceremonies, and reviewing new films. Hosts Sophia Ciminello and Nick Ruhrkraut cast predictions for Sunday’s ceremony and reviewed contenders for all categories. They recently interviewed Nightmare Alley’s cinematographer Dan Laustsen and production designer Tamara Deverell. Dune’s hair, makeup, and prosthetic designer Donald Mowat also stopped by for a chat.

Mike, Mike, and Oscar

“Mike, Mike, and Oscar” is celebrating awards season year-round with episodes and has released several must-hear episodes for this year’s Oscars. They answered questions like what’s going on in the Lead Actress category, reviewed some theories, and shared predictions. They dug into which category they believe Paolo Gucci has successfully re-written and reviewed the Best Picture nominations.