The clock is ticking for Haliburton’s Amanda Lytle, who is locked in a five-person online battle to see who will advance to the next stage of Ryan Seacrest’s ‘2026 Top Host’ contest.
The competition launched Oct. 5, with thousands of interviewers, podcasters, streamers and radio hosts signing up for the chance to have a six-episode podcast produced by iHeartRadio and appear as a guest on the show On Air with Ryan Seacrest. The winner also takes home $25,000.
After making it through the first few rounds of cuts, Lytle has been duking it out with four others in her group finals since last Thursday (Nov. 5). Votes are collected online, with Lytle in first place as of Monday (Nov. 9). Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 12).
“I jumped in on a bit of a whim – it was one of those things I saw on social media and thought to myself ‘this would change my life’,” Lytle said. “I didn’t really expect it to go anywhere – there were 85 people per group to begin with, so to make it to the final five is absolutely humbling.”
On-air conversation is nothing new for Lytle, who has been involved with two long-tenured podcasts – The Safe Haven, which ran for more than 200 episodes and saw her tackle difficult topics around grief and death, and The Book Stoop, where she interviewed authors and other creative-types.
Lytle is also a published author, having contributed to the 2021 collaborative She Moves Mountains, before leading a group of 13 women providing testimonials for She Lives Her Truth, released in 2022. She’s a full-time high school teacher with the Virtual Learning Centre, works on contract at Hal High during the winter semester, and is a certified death doula and registered psychotherapist qualifying, having just completed her master’s program.
While it’s been years since Lytle has had a steady presence in front of a microphone, she’s excited about the potential a new six-episode podcast may bring.
“I want it to become an educational space that inspires some really hard conversations. I want to bring on and interview six different professionals in the grief, dying and death space to inform, educate and just break ground so people are able to have those conversations in their own homes and within their own families,” Lytle said.
The idea was actually in the works before Lytle applied for ‘Top Host’, she noted.
“This came at the perfect time because it’s allowed me to plan for the next iteration of The Safe Haven. I wanted to come out with short series-style chunks, where there could be a few seasons dedicated to specific topics, more informative and educational,” Lytle said. “It almost feels like a life alignment, like it was meant to be. It gets me back into podcasting, live my vision of creating safe spaces where people can get that audio hug they need at home.”
Lytle said it would be “a total dream” to have a larger platform to spread her message. The money would be a major help, too, saying she hoped to pay off student debt so she could do more in-kind work in the community.
“I want to be able to get ahead so I can step into the work I believe I’m here to do, which is to educate and support and walk with others through dying, death, grief and also their own mental wellbeing,” Lytle said. “I wholeheartedly believe the type of services I can provide should not be just for the affluent. They should be for anybody who needs them.
Only the first-place contestant from each group will advance to the quarter-final stage, which runs Nov. 16-25. Lytle would have to make it through those and two more stages to become the next top host, with the grand prize winner to be revealed in January.
People can register their first vote for free, with subsequent votes available for $1 each. To vote, visit https://tophost.org/2026/amanda-lytle.
