Media Roundtable

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Episodes

272

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

The Media Roundtable isn’t just another industry podcast; it’s an open lab where the sharpest minds in podcasting, advertising, and media break down the forces shaping the audio and creator media landscape—and reconstruct them in real time. We created this show in service of brand marketers responsible for making audio and creator media campaigns not just sound good, but drive results. For many brands, audio advertising is a highly effective secret weapon–but it can be difficult to navigate, requiring specialist expertise to untangle its nuances. From brand safety to ad load, from recapping the latest industry news, to redefining what a podcast is in this day and age, we tackle the issues that matter most to brand marketers, in the most entertaining way possible. You’ll hear from a wide range of voices—past guests include Steven Bartlett ( The Diary of a CEO ), T-Pain, David Spade, Ashley Flowers ( Crime Junkie ), Ben Shapiro (The Daily Wire), and Ira Glass ( This American Life ), to name a few—alongside leading brands, publishers, and our own team of experts. If you’re invested in audio and creator media, whether you're buying the ads, creating the content, or just curious about the business, Media Roundtable is your ear to the ground with an eye on the future–and it’s time you listen. ]]>

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60 recent

September 2, 202642 min

Dhar Mann and MrBallen on What Creators Want From Brands

Earlier this year, Forbes released its annual Top Creators list. This week, we have two of its highest-ranked names sharing their behind-the-scenes secrets. . At Oxford Road’s CAO Summit this past July, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) welcomed two powerhouses of the creator economy: Dhar Mann (founder, Dhar Mann Studios ) and John Allen , aka MrBallen (founder, Ballen Studios ). In this in-depth conversation, the two stars talk about storytelling at scale, the benefits of paying attention to the comments section, and going beyond the brief. Let’s dive in. “It does seem sort of fluky when somebody goes viral. I promise you it's not. Going viral might be fluky. Staying relevant is not.” - John Allen , aka MrBallen (founder, Ballen Studios ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

August 26, 202639 min

Why AI Brands Need Audio: Insights from Our New Study

It seems like AI is everywhere these days. But if you look at actual usage, only 50% of Americans use AI once a week. That’s roughly the same share of Americans who used the internet back in 2001. If AI brands want to grow, there’s a hesitancy gap they’ll need to address. According to our new study with the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® , audio is the perfect place to foster a brand campaign. For details of our survey, as well as tips from our AI brand playbook, check out this week’s episode of The Media Roundtable. First-time host Tucker Peleuses (Chief of Staff to the CEO, Oxford Road ) welcomes Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategic Planning, Oxford Road ) and Pierre Bouvard (Chief Insights Officer, Cumulus Media | Westwood One ) to talk about AI’s split perceptions, audio wins, and why it’s important to remember that you’re not the customer. Let’s dive in. “ If you're an AI brand and you think most Americans are aware of you, you've got a lot of work to do.” - Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategy & Planning, Oxford Road ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

August 19, 20261 hr 10 min

The State of Podcasting 2026 – Live from the CAO Summit

If you weren’t at this year’s CAO Summit, you missed out on a keynote speech that drew parallels between the headaches caused by banks printing their own money in the 1800s and the state of podcasting today. Lucky for you, we’re releasing the full recording in this week’s episode of The Media Roundtable. Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) and Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road ) talk about how podcasting platforms are printing their own money, the friction that adds to industry tension, and how AMP is poised to help. Let’s dive in. “Today, we have platforms that each print their own currency. We have downloads, plays, views, streams, video views. Each number may be perfectly valid inside of one individual system that created it, but the problem appears when a brand tries to compare them to each other .” Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) Download the full State of Podcasting deck here: https://oxfordroad.com/thought-leadership/the-state-of-podcasting-2026 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

July 29, 202640 min

An AMP Accords Deep Dive with James Cridland

Podcasting is an amazing medium, but the industry that supports it hasn’t always been inherently brand friendly. Luckily, we have a chance to change that, thanks to the AMP Accords . Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ), Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road ), and James Cridland (Editor, Podnews & Podcast Business Journal ) do a deep dive deep into how the AMP Accords can shape the industry, and explain why imperfect standards are an improvement over the wild west. “Podcasting is truly the shining city on a hill as far as media goes, and we can't get out of our own freaking way to not spike our customers' tires when they drive into the parking lot.” - Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

July 15, 202657 min

The CMO Hot Seat: Zoom's Kim Storin On 5 Major Challenges And How To Fix Them

One CMO, six experts, and more than a dozen different marketing headaches. Throw them all together, and what do you get? A fiery edition of Media Roundtable , that’s what. Straight from Cannes, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) joins a panel of experts to solve every marketing challenge that Kim Storin (CMO, Zoom ) throws their way. Hear insights from: Dani Feore (VP, Industry Sales, The Weather Company ) Don Sklenka (SVP of AI Optimization, Claritas ) Grace Briscoe (EVP Client Development, Basis ) Elizabeth Dobbs (AVP, Marketing Technology, Data & Growth, Databricks ) Michael Bayston (Global VP Adtech Solutions, Acast ) The team talks about the best way to spend $500,000; the creative courage needed in the age of AI slop; and the one thing you need to make podcasting your strongest channel. Let’s dive in. “ If you just try to make [podcasting] a box you check because you feel like it needs to be a part of a balanced portfolio, don't bother. Either go big, or go home.” - Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

July 1, 20261 hr 15 min

Ad Infinitum S4E04: Femfinitum with Team Oxford Road on Women, Work, & Ads That Actually Work

Podcasting can be a lucrative advertising platform for brands. But the medium is still relatively new and distinct from traditional media, so marketers tend to get intimidated by it. Luckily, some of Oxford Road’s brightest minds have come together to create a cheat sheet. On this week’s episode of Ad Infinitum , host Stew Redwine (Executive Creative Director, Oxford Road ) communes with a powerhouse panel of Oxford Road thinkers: Miranda Romano (SVP, Media), Charisse Miller (Director of Client Success), Angela Hunter (Group Creative Director, Operations), and Jillian Garner (Client Success Manager, Client Services). The panel breaks down the skills needed to make podcast ads work, from managing relationships to crafting authentic copy. They even review and rate a few sample ads. “Audio doesn't always translate from TV. So our job is to make sure the message works for the audience, works for the platform, and also works for the business objective.” - Angela Hunter (Group Creative Director, Operations) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

June 17, 20261 hr 1 min

The Bridge-Building Business: Dan Goes Inside the Podcaster's Studio on podCast411

In a twist, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) takes a break from Media Roundtable to guest- star on the award-winning show podCast411 . Host Rob Walch interviews Dan about the specialist advantage, why better info wins, the key to building industry bridges, and so much more. Let’s dive in. “ I believe podcasting is the greatest canvas for the free and open exchange of ideas, but that has to be managed responsibly. And the tools to do so in many cases don't yet exist.” Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

June 11, 202655 min

Why Podcasting's Numbers Don't Add Up with Pete Birsinger (CEO & Founder of Podscribe)

For more than a year now, the Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting, or AMP , has been working to create new frameworks for podcast measurement. In this week’s Media Roundtable , we’re announcing some of our latest findings. Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) and Giles Martin (EVP -Strategy, Oxford Road ) welcome Pete Birsinger (CEO & Founder, Podscribe ) to discuss the problem with downloads, AMP’s internal tug-of-war, and the new standard metrics that could help grow the industry. “ This type of evolution should put podcasting on a better footing to compete with other media channels for an enormous part of advertising dollars.” Pete Birsinger (CEO & Founder, Podscribe ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

June 4, 202653 min

Podcast’s Next $1B Starts with Better Data - Dan Misener Unveils the Bumper Score

If your phone is full of podcast episodes you’ve never actually played, you know a download isn’t the same as an impression. So how can marketers figure out who’s really tuning in, and who’s tuning out? This week’s Media Roundtable discussion has you covered. Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) and Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road ) welcome Dan Misener (co-founder, Bumper ) to talk about the Bumper Score , a major new step toward shrinking the gap between a podcast’s reported listenership and its actual audience. It’s no secret we’re big advocates for better podcast measurement (check out today’s Forbes story , written by Frank Racioppi , about our work on the AMP Accords ). The Bumper Score, like AMP, is aimed at helping the industry unlock its next billions through better data. Join our panel of experts as they discuss how better information can not only lead to better measurement, but can also help prevent billions of dollars from being left on the sidelines. “ There is a gigantic gap between what buyers are paying for and what sellers are actually delivering.” Dan Misener (co-founder, Bumper ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

May 28, 202651 min

Introducing AMP: What's a Podcast, What's an Impression, and Did the Ad Work?

For the past year, some of the biggest names in podcasting have been working on a top-secret mission, one that could define the future of this multi-billion-dollar industry. Together, they debated three crucial questions: What’s a podcast? What’s an impression? Did the ad work? Now, after months of closed-door meetings and discussions, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) and long-time strategy consigliere Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road ) are excited to unveil AMP, the Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting. The unprecedented effort, which features a cross-section of industry leaders, aims to answer podcasting’s big three questions and, in doing so, create a new blueprint for creators, advertisers, and platforms. “ We know that the lack of consistency in what we're talking about, and in the things we're measuring, is costing everyone money.” – Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road ) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .