The Podcaster’s Blueprint: How Ira Glass Made Podcasting a Cultural Phenomenon

Hot tip for CAOs: Find a podcaster who believes in 'good promotion' like Ira Glass. 

Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road & Veritone One) sits down with Audio Legend and Podcast Pioneer Ira Glass (Host, Executive Producer, This American Life) in a new episode of “What’s a Podcast? - The Extended Interviews.” This week’s episode is sponsored by our friends at Fairing.

The team is talking: Promo Power, Blueprints, The Feels, and more. Let’s dig in. 


“ You really have to be very thoughtful and show cunning in the way that you deal with advertising and promotion…. that's where you protect yourself and your right to make whatever you want.“

Good Promotion Protects Creators 🛡️ -  Ira recognizes that in order to play, someone’s gotta pay:  I really love making radio stories, and I love interviewing people. At the same time, we're dealing with 500 public radio stations...  I want us to deliver the advertisers what they need because that gives us the freedom to play. Successful podcasters are super creative AND business savvy. The CAO Takeaway: No need to box in hosts with overly prescriptive copy–let them cook it up their way. 

Build the Blueprint with Your Listeners 🧱  - Ira built the podcasting blueprint using listener behavior. His show Serial was unlike anything ever done on radio. So how do you scale it? His team realized the listener experience was more similar to TV than radio: it had to be binged. We felt like the only way that show could exist was as a podcast. It’s an apt insight. Whatever you’re building, it starts with meeting the audience where they are.

Get Hooked on a Feeling 🥹  - Ira supports video in podcasts if it adds to the story. He’s experimented with animation, photographs, and video for his shows. As long as it's communicating a feeling that makes sense with the story, [video] doesn't seem bad to me. Video is yet another medium to expand Podcast’s reach. Look for hosts who use it wisely (and creatively).


Get sharp as Glass on the industry’s changes. Tune into the full episode below.

Bianca Gorodinsky