This week on the Media Roundtable, we’re sitting down with Lex Friedman (not to be confused with Lex Fridman), one of podcasting’s original builders and a leader who’s shaped the business of podcasting since Day 1.

Before launching his own consulting business, Lex played a part in nearly every major chapter of the industry, including Chief Business Development at Midroll, Chief Revenue Officer at ART19, Head of Podcast Partnerships at Amazon, and Head of Podcast Strategy at Wondery. Along the way, he’s helped define how ads get sold, how shows get funded, and how podcasting itself gets defined.

In this episode, Lex opens up on what made podcast ads such a “win-win-win” from the start, why early pitches were simply “talk radio…on demand,” and how a listenership of “completionists” continue to set podcasts apart. He even drops an acoustic guitar analogy to explain why the word podcast isn’t going anywhere, no matter how the platforms try to rebrand it.

"Stop apologizing for podcasting being what it is—because it’s clearly working."

—Lex Friedman

The conversation covers: Ad Load Tipping Points, Completionist Behavior, Consolidation and Mega-Deals, and more.

Let’s go.

Watch the conversation on Youtube: https://youtu.be/HjDmqUiBSQg

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Finally, some insights brand builders and performance marketers can agree on.

We gathered CAOs in finance, food, jobs, and boots to share everything they’ve learned as they’ve scaled podcasting to enviable levels–and whether you’re brand or performance, you’ll benefit from their wealth of experience

On The Media Roundtable, we have one of our favorite conversations from the 2025 CAO Summit. Conor Doyle (President, Oxford Road) moderated ”No More Maybes: Scaling Podcast Performance with Precision,” where he gathered some of the sharpest CAOs who have scaled podcasts and agreed to share their secrets.

Conor sat down with:

• Gladwell Mwangi (Director of Paid Media, Whole Foods)

• Kezia Koo (Former Sr. Director, Global Growth & Performance Marketing, Indeed),

• Megan Smith (Director, Media Strategy, Tecovas), and

• Nick Fairbairn (Vice President, Growth Marketing, Chime)

These audio evangelists candidly shared how they grew podcasts with confidence and their hard-won lessons from the journey.

They’re talking: Measurement Quality, Podcasts Play Nice, Thoughtful Success, and more. Let’s dig in.

“ Every single time we ratchet up the quality of our measurement, it's telling us time and time again, that podcast is efficient, it's driving revenue and bringing customers in.”

– Kezia Koo (Former Sr. Director, Global Growth & Performance Marketing, Indeed)

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Want to see more clearly in podcasting? You need to hear the audio experts who’ve returned from the Summit.

The world’s only podcast solely dedicated to audio ads is back! Presenting Ad Infinitum Season 3, Episode 11 - "When the Helmets Come Off: Kraig T. Kitchin at CAO Summit 2025"

Host Stew Redwine (Executive Creative Director, Oxford Road ) welcomes back Kraig T. Kitchin (Senior Strategic Advisor for Oxford Road & Bonafide Audio Legend) to break down their biggest takeaways from an inspiring 2025 Chief Audio Officer Summit.

“[The CAOs] brought their best material and they didn't hold back vulnerabilities of the goods, the bads, and the uglies of what it is they do.”

• Kraig T. Kitchin (Senior Strategic Advisor for Oxford Road & Bonafide Audio Legend)

Our dynamic duo’s talking: Taking Off Your Helmet, Audio’s Edge, Human in Middle, and more. Let’s dig in.

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