This looks like a savvy brand extension for a podcast that's built an incredibly loyal following. The Goneies positions How Long Gone as more than just a show—it's becoming a full media empire with its own tentpole event.
Insiders note that Racket NYC is an interesting venue choice—it screams insider status, which fits the pod's reputation for catering to a very specific type of culture-obsessed listener. Don't expect mainstream appeal; that's kind of the point.
The inaugural Goneies ceremony will take place September 15 at Racket NYC in Manhattan. The show is hosted by How Long Gone, the cult-famous podcast starring Chris Black and Jason Stewart. Variety first reported this announcement on August 13, 2026.
Look, if you're surprised that a podcast with hardcore fans who treat every episode like gospel decided to give themselves trophies, you haven't been paying attention. This is either genius branding or the most on-brand flex imaginable—probably both.
Move over, Oscars. Move over, Emmys. There's a new awards show in town, and it's exclusively for people who've probably already formed strong opinions about it.
How Long Gone, the culture podcast that Chris Black and Jason Stewart have built into something between a media empire and a lifestyle brand, announced Tuesday that they're launching their very own ceremony: The Goneies. According to Variety's exclusive report, the inaugural edition of The Goneies will take place September 15 at Racket NYC in Manhattan's Lower East Side neighborhood. The event marks the first time the podcast—known for its sharp takes on fashion, music, media, and whatever else catches Black and Stewart's attention—will attempt to translate its distinctive voice into a live awards format.
The choice of venue speaks volumes about what this event is meant to be. Racket NYC has carved out a reputation as an intimate space that attracts the kind of crowd who knows what's cool before it becomes widely known. It's not Madison Square Garden, and that's clearly intentional.
The Goneies appears designed to reward the converted rather than convert anyone new—which tracks perfectly with How Long Gone's existing brand strategy. Black and Stewart have spent years cultivating a following that views their podcast as less entertainment and more cultural compass. Their audience skews heavily toward creative professionals, fashion industry insiders, and anyone who considers themselves seriously online about culture in all its forms.
Giving these people an awards show to call their own makes sense from a community-building perspective, even if it reads as aggressively niche from the outside. Whether The Goneies becomes an annual tradition or flames out after one ceremony depends largely on whether Black and Stewart can maintain the sardonic edge that made them popular while operating within the structural constraints of any awards show. Most ceremonies devolve into self-congratulatory backslapping relatively quickly. We'll see if How Long Gone's particular brand of cynicism can survive the format—or if they even want it to.
