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Thought Leadership The Podcaster’s Blueprint: How Ira Glass Made Podcasting a Cultural Phenomenon

Hot tip for CAOs: Find a podcaster who believes in ‘good promotion’ like Ira Glass. 

Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road & Veritone One) sits down with Audio Legend and Podcast Pioneer Ira Glass (Host, Executive Producer, This American Life) in a new episode of “What’s a Podcast? – The Extended Interviews.” This week’s episode is sponsored by our friends at Fairing.

The team is talking: Promo Power, Blueprints, The Feels, and more. Let’s dig in. 


“ You really have to be very thoughtful and show cunning in the way that you deal with advertising and promotion…. that’s where you protect yourself and your right to make whatever you want.“

Good Promotion Protects Creators ️ –  Ira recognizes that in order to play, someone’s gotta pay:  I really love making radio stories, and I love interviewing people. At the same time, we’re dealing with 500 public radio stations…  I want us to deliver the advertisers what they need because that gives us the freedom to play. Successful podcasters are super creative AND business savvy. The CAO Takeaway: No need to box in hosts with overly prescriptive copy–let them cook it up their way. 

Build the Blueprint with Your Listeners  – Ira built the podcasting blueprint using listener behavior. His show Serial was unlike anything ever done on radio. So how do you scale it? His team realized the listener experience was more similar to TV than radio: it had to be binged. We felt like the only way that show could exist was as a podcast. It’s an apt insight. Whatever you’re building, it starts with meeting the audience where they are.

Get Hooked on a Feeling  – Ira supports video in podcasts if it adds to the story. He’s experimented with animation, photographs, and video for his shows. As long as it’s communicating a feeling that makes sense with the story, doesn’t seem bad to me. Video is yet another medium to expand Podcast’s reach. Look for hosts who use it wisely (and creatively).

Get sharp as Glass on the industry’s changes. Tune into the full episode below.

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London Calling, Global Response: Highlights from The Podcast Show 2025

Podcasting is global. Is your brand ready? On an all-new Media Roundtable: Special Edition, we’re recapping the highlights of Podcast Show London 2025 with notable attendees. This week’s episode is sponsored by our friends at ALLCITY Network.

For the next best thing to a front row seat, we’ve assembled an all-star panel of audio industry insiders to share their fresh insights.

Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road) hosts:

⭐️ Jarrod Klawinsky – (Director, Digital Media, Oxford Road)

⭐️ Rosemary Scalabrino – (Director, Business Development, Veritone One)

⭐️ Parastoo Hosseini – (International Audio Manager, Oxford Road)

⭐️ Steven Abraham – (President, International, Oxford Road)
These all-stars are talking: Collabs with Giants, Brand Moves, Being a Local and more. Let’s jump in.

“ We talk about global, but everybody’s really very, very, very local.”

Mind the Front Door – The big players showed up–YouTube, Spotify, and yes, Apple. With YouTube as the gateway to the international market, there’s an open question of how to measure when DAI (Dynamic Ad Insertion) is much more common than simulcast for video. How will the big players allow for the kind of tracking that brands really need for confidence in their investments? On the positive side for brands, we see more publisher consideration of pixel tracking.

Think Local or Get Lost – Our experts saw two seemingly contradicting trends: First, there’s a push to move all of Europe forward, raising the industry with standardized measurement and performance tracking. Simultaneously, we need to stay local. Brands and media partners need to take the time to transcreate, not just translate. On the content side, the competition isn’t just among US creators; it involves many local ones as well, often overlooked by US companies entering the space. The same goes for brands that are advertising. Localization of ads isn’t just translating your US ad into multiple languages; success depends on deep contextual understanding.

Brands, Don’t Miss Out – The opportunity to be the first mover in a new market is huge, but it’s not likely going to last. Brands, if you can sell internationally and international podcasts aren’t already on your radar, it’s time to ask why. Take advantage of the hard localization and relationship-building work Oxford Road’s been doing to become a leader in this space.

For the insights you need to take your podcasting campaign global, check out the full episode below.

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Podcasting: Why Have We Been Undervaluing a $7.3B Industry? - with Hernan Lopez

CAOs, there’s a number out there in the world that if you knew it, it’d change your business forever. Our guest on this week’s episode of the Media Roundtable found that number— How’d he do it? Join Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road & Veritone One) as he hosts Hernan Lopez (Founder, Wondery & Owl & Co) in a special double episode about the BIGGEST number in podcasting and why it matters..

They’re talking: Counting What Counts, Why Definitions Matter, Audio Wins, and more. Let’s dive in.

“ I estimated the global podcast economy to be worth $7.3 billion.”

Count What Counts – Hernan’s $7.3B estimate of the industry shakes up previous assumptions on podcasting. It doubled the US estimate, and added several billion in global podcast business. Tracking down the numbers isn’t easy, and it’s not perfect. That’s okay. CAOs, in measurement, having a better idea of the truth puts you miles ahead in your decision-making power.

Definitions Matter – Owl & Co.’s groundbreaking study emerged from Hernan and Dan’s discussion as part of our “What’s A Podcast?” limited series. They knew the IAB didn’t count video podcasts in their $2B US estimate, and video podcasts are clearly podcasts too. When we define our industry clearly and consistently, we can show receipts for the growth we’re driving (and get commensurate investments).

Audio-Only Successes – The pie has grown for everyone by counting video podcasts as podcasts. But equally important—video isn’t necessary to succeed in podcasting (e.g., Pivot, audio-only, should earn ~$25M/episode). There are pros and cons to every format approach, and the actual metric we should care about is what connects with an audience. CAOs, when you’re picking shows, consider being format-flexible, but insist on audience-host connection, like Hernan has been able to cultivate across shows at Wondery.

For a deeper dive into one of the most consequential studies podcasting’s ever seen, plus Hernan’s fascinating journey to get there, check out the full episode below.

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Follow the Audience & Win: Responding to Listener Behavior with Steven Goldstein (Amplifi Media) & Jay Nachlis (Coleman Insights)

CAOs, the most important thing to remember is this: chase your audience and success will follow.

This week on the Media Roundtable: Special Edition, Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road & Veritone One) welcomes audio heavyweights Steven Goldstein (Founder & CEO, Amplifi Media) and Jay Nachlis (Vice President, Coleman Insights). This episode is sponsored by our friends at Libsyn.

The team is talking: Listener Behaviors by the Numbers, The Audio-Only Lane, and Growing Pains. Let’s jump in.

 ”You have to chase the audience. That’s what the big media companies are learning how to do. And that’s what podcasting has to learn how to do.”

The Numbers Don’t Lie – The people have spoken. 85% of consumers agree podcasts can be audio or video. And the definition matters. Owl & Co.’s recent industry valuation hit $7.3B, helped by video’s inclusion. The insight is two-fold: 

  1. Video fuels growth through short-form discovery.
  2. Calling video podcasts “podcasts” ensures the industry gets credit for that growth (plus the increased investments that follow).

Driving Audio-Only Growth – We’ve seen a huge shift to video podcasts, but where does audio-only still win? Driving, commuting, and exercising all show audio-only growth. And several formats could (or should) remain audio-only: news, fiction/storytelling, and sports. When creators cite video production challenges, a strong audio-only lane is good news for ensuring a healthy creator ecosystem.

Growing Industry = Growing Pains – 77% of podcast consumers switch seamlessly from audio to video. But for advertisers, metrics don’t follow across platforms (Dan cites clients who won’t touch simulcast because of the measurement headache). If we want to keep growing past $7.3B, we need open, unified measurement across platforms (Agree? Check out our petition and join us.) 

For better clarity on the consumer trends shaping the industry, tune into the full episode below.

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