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What’s a Podcast?: The Revolution Redefined

What’s a Podcast?: The Revolution Redefined

Written by: Media Roundtable
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What’s a Podcast?: The Revolution Redefined is a provocative three-part series that unpacks the identity crisis, evolution, and future of podcasting. Produced by Oxford Road, the leading agency in podcast advertising, and Shaun Colón (Age of Audio), and hosted by industry veteran Allyson Marino, this series goes beyond nostalgia to expose the seismic shifts reshaping the medium.


Once an independent, audio-first frontier, podcasting is now being redefined by the rise of video, platform exclusivity, and the battle for control. Featuring candid insights from over 30 industry pioneers—including Ira Glass, Guy Raz, Adam Carolla, and Leo Laporte—this series takes listeners inside the high-stakes tug-of-war that will determine the fate of the industry.

As platforms like YouTube and Spotify blur the boundaries between podcasts and video content, What’s a Podcast? asks the hard question: if we don’t act now, will podcasting lose the very thing that made it revolutionary?


This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a wake-up call.

Economics
Episodes
  • "Stop Apologizing": Lex Friedman on Why Podcasting Will Always Evolve and Why That's a Good Thing
    Oct 8 2025

    This week on the Media Roundtable, we’re sitting down with Lex Friedman (not to be confused with Lex Fridman), one of podcasting’s original builders and a leader who’s shaped the business of podcasting since Day 1.

    Before launching his own consulting business, Lex played a part in nearly every major chapter of the industry, including Chief Business Development at Midroll, Chief Revenue Officer at ART19, Head of Podcast Partnerships at Amazon, and Head of Podcast Strategy at Wondery. Along the way, he’s helped define how ads get sold, how shows get funded, and how podcasting itself gets defined.

    In this episode, Lex opens up on what made podcast ads such a “win-win-win” from the start, why early pitches were simply “talk radio…on demand,” and how a listenership of “completionists” continue to set podcasts apart. He even drops an acoustic guitar analogy to explain why the word podcast isn’t going anywhere, no matter how the platforms try to rebrand it.

    "Stop apologizing for podcasting being what it is—because it’s clearly working."

    —Lex Friedman

    The conversation covers: Ad Load Tipping Points, Completionist Behavior, Consolidation and Mega-Deals, and more.

    Let’s go.


    Watch the conversation on Youtube: https://youtu.be/HjDmqUiBSQg

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    52 mins
  • How We Built This: Guy Raz on Intimacy, Independence, and What's Worth Preserving in Podcasting
    Aug 6 2025

    This week’s archival pull from What’s a Podcast? The Extended Interviews features one of the voices that helped build the podcast industry as we know it: Guy Raz.

    Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road) sits down with the creator of How I Built This to talk about how we built this—i.e. how podcasting went from media exile to mainstream power player—and what’s worth protecting as the lines between audio, video, and algorithm blur.

    “[As a listener], you’re giving me your time—and your time is more valuable than money.”

    —Guy Raz

    The team is talking: The Podcast Intimacy Advantage, Video as an Add-On, Goodbye to Gatekeepers, and more.

    Let’s dive in.

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    52 mins
  • Podcast to Primetime: How Evan Shapiro Turned Audio into TV and What’s Next
    Jul 9 2025

    This week on “What’s a Podcast? - The Extended Interviews,” Evan Shapiro (renowned Media Universe Cartographer) brings his latest industry map to share with Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road & Veritone One) how and why podcasts should expand into other mediums.


    At IFC, Evan pioneered the podcast-to-TV pipeline (Comedy Bang Bang, WTF with Marc Maron). Now he navigates uncharted media waters with his show The Media Odyssey. He’s a perfect guide for this podcast voyage.



    The team is talking: In Creators We Trust, Podcasting’s New Identity, Audience Connection, and more. Let’s dig in.

    “[Podcasting] was the first form of the creator economy.”

    • Evan Shapiro (renowned Media Universe Cartographer)


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    30 mins
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