What’s a Podcast?: The Revolution Redefined

Business

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.

What’s a Podcast?: The Revolution Redefined Trailer

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

Episode 1: The Genesis – The Accidental Revolution

Podcasting didn’t start with a business plan—it started with rebels, weirdos, and accidental pioneers tinkering in garages. In Episode 1 of What’s A Podcast?, we trace the medium’s origin story—from the earliest RSS hacks to the moment Steve Jobs brought podcasts to iTunes. Along the way, you’ll hear from Adam Carolla and Leo Laporte on bypassing traditional media, and Ira Glass on how public radio helped shape podcasting’s storytelling DNA. Featuring firsthand interviews with the people who built podcasting before it had a name—and who are still fighting to define what it is today.

For the most comprehensive picture of what podcasting means to consumers today, check out our accompanying white paper with Edison Research, “What is a Podcast?: Preserving its Essence, Structuring for Expansion,” featuring quantitative and qualitative data compiled from over 4,000 Americans.

Download the White Paper Here: https://oxfordroad.com/whats-a-podcast

And if you’re really invested in the future of podcasting, there’s something you can do today. Help us bring YouTube, Spotify, and other platforms to the table—not to regulate, but to collaborate. Sign our petition for a shared definition, an open measurement framework, and a future where podcasting remains open, inclusive, and built to last.

Add Your Name to the Petition Here: https://chng.it/6S5S7bPrjR

Episode 2: The Explosion – Mainstream & the Pod-demic

After Serial broke the sound barrier, podcasting went from niche to everywhere—fast. In this episode, we follow the industry through its Hollywood makeover, the rise of podcast celebrities, and a pandemic-era boom that flooded the market with new voices. Hear from insiders like Bryan Barletta, Pete Birsinger, and the Meiselas Brothers on how podcasting became a business, a brand builder–for D2C brands and podcasters’ personal brands alike–and a battleground for independence. From million-dollar deals to the chaos of overproduction, this is the story of podcasting’s wildest decade.

Download the White Paper Here: https://oxfordroad.com/whats-a-podcast

Add Your Name to the Petition Here: https://chng.it/6S5S7bPrjR

Episode 3: The Crossroads – Identity Crisis & the Future

So… what is a podcast in 2025? As video takes over and platforms tighten their grip, the medium faces an identity crisis. In our final episode, we examine what’s at stake and where podcasting might go next. You’ll hear from industry leaders like Guy Raz, James Cridland, Dan Franks, and AJ Feliciano as they wrestle with the evolving definition of podcasting, the tension between independence and algorithms, and the future of audio-first storytelling. Because the word “podcast” might be up for debate—but its power is not.

Download the White Paper Here: https://oxfordroad.com/whats-a-podcast

Add Your Name to the Petition Here: https://chng.it/6S5S7bPrjR

Charting Podcasting’s Pirate Ship Past with Adam Carolla

Presenting The Media Roundtable Limited Series: “What’s a Podcast? – The Extended Interviews.” This week we have a guest who’s not only influential in podcasting history but in Oxford Road history too.

While conducting interviews for the series, Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road and Veritone One) got a chance to sit down with audio legend Adam Carolla (Host of The Adam Carolla Show).

“ Big picture, the people with the voices and the people with the ideas are gonna win. That's what makes it pure.”

Adam Carolla (Podcast Pioneer, Host of The Adam Carolla Show).

Together they talked: Audio Magic, Betting on Yourself, Podcasting’s Meritocracy, and more. Let’s dive in.

Redefining Podcasts: Audio, Video, and the Future of the Channel with Larry Rosin (Edison Research)

The Media Roundtable limited series: “What’s a Podcast? – The Extended Interviews” continues with this crucial debate. This week's episode is sponsored by Fairing.

Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road and Veritone One) teams up with Larry Rosin (President, Edison Research) for our extensive qualitative and quantitative journey to define what a ‘podcast’ is in 2025. This episode is a culmination of all that work: a debate to finally forge one definition to rule them all.

“ It's such an American idea, this democratization of voices–this fact that now there is actually representation of interests that were underserved for so long.”

Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road and Veritone One)

Together we're talking: Consumers vs the Industry, the Spirit of Podcasting, Video Inclusion, and more. Let's dig in.