How long until podcasting has its own “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore” moment?

You know the one.

Half a century later and we seem to have learned nothing.

At the rate things are going, it won’t be long before Ted Sarandos and Bari Weiss are responsible for the two dominant forms of enshittification in whatever medium people mistakenly decide to call a podcast next.

For the past few years, podcast trade publications have been awash in takes about how video is taking over podcasting. If you’re producing podcasts you’ve undoubtedly been told that you need video to stay relevant.

But what happens when you start catering to a medium that is fundamentally different from the one that made podcasting open, accessible, and built for the ears?

If Marshall McLuhan’s theory of media ecology is any indication, changing the medium changes the message.

That’s where This Is TV Now comes in.

Podcast industry insider Dane Cardiel and industry outsider Stella Young step into the studio to remind creators of all stripes to think carefully about why they’re creating in the first place.

Sure, the ad market is more lucrative in video. But relentlessly chasing ad dollars inevitably shapes what you create.

Yes, Really Simple Syndication makes podcast monetization more challenging than platform-controlled ecosystems. But, it’s almost as though that was by design.

Patronage models can help fund production, but they’re not unique to podcasting. They’re mostly just bolt-ons to your online presence and, because they’re essentially three Stripe API calls in a trench coat, someone is still extracting a margin along the way.

The point is that capital flows through industries. Once it’s finished extracting value from the artisans, makers, and creatives who have contributed to something special, it moves on to the next opportunity.

This dynamic, at least in part, is what we think might be making podcasts behave like TV now. Any contempt you feel toward that shift is probably earned, but don’t let marketing firms and industry consultants distract you from your creative process.

That’s one of the notes that This Is TV Now hits as it forces you to think deeply about what media is morphing into and what we can do to shape it. You’re either along for the ride or a driving force in this change.

Creators: we want to hear how you’re tuning out trends, resisting the pressure of capital, and staying true to the work that made you want to create in the first place.

Have a listen, and let us know what you think.

Every morning, financial news follows the same script. Headlines panic, coverage catastrophises, and somewhere inside the noise is the story that actually matters — the one that tells you where the opportunity sits, not just where the fear is pointing.

Most sources have stopped looking. The alarm is easier to sell.

The Daily Upside was created by Wall Street insiders for readers who crave real insight over recycled anxiety. Five minutes of global business and finance, before the noise sets the agenda — just the facts, context, and analysis your decisions need.

Join 1M readers — including managing directors and principals at some of Wall Street’s largest institutions — who trust The Daily Upside to filter through the chaos.

The upsides are always there. We’ll find them before breakfast.

Start reading for free today

Got a podcast worth sharing?

Submit it here and we’ll share it on social so you can share it with your friends and followers. If that post gets high engagement, we’ll included it here in the newsletter!

Follow us on other social platforms like Reddit or Threads for your daily dose of podcast recommendations.

Explore More Podcast Newsletters: Support Podcast Delivery by subscribing to these fine newsletters.