How do advertisers use fear—and where does persuasion become manipulation? Find out in a very spooky episode of Ad Infinitum.

That’s right: The world’s only podcast solely dedicated to audio ads is back! Host Stew Redwine (Executive Creative Director, Oxford Road) welcomes Bethany Dwyer (comedian, author of Break Free from Fear, owner of Cryptiques Vintage) to talk about big fears, the Red Guardian, audience manipulation, and more. There’s even an Audiolytics breakdown of ads from Cigna Healthcare, Cloaked, 4imprint, and Northwest Registered Agent. Let’s dig in.

“ Fear keeps you small. It's designed to do that. It's like a parasite that lives off you, and you're just a host.”

-The purpose of radio, according to Rahul Sabnis (President & Chief Creative Officer, iHeartMedia)

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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)

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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)

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In the media landscape, podcasts stand alone: They deliver unique content for audiences and great results for brands—so long as the balance of ads is kept in check. With audiences and brands complaining about high ad load, how can creators make sure they’re not cramming their shows with commercials?

In this week’s episode of The Media Roundtable, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) and Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road) talk about podcasting’s origins, “radioifcation,” and the Oxford Clock. Let’s dive in.

“ The sell side is gonna sell everything they can. They're gonna sell host-read ads, as many as they can. They're gonna sell produced ads in breaks, dynamically inserted, until the buyer and the listener scream.”

- Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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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)

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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

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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)

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