Welcome to Briefed - our weekly round-up of the media podcasts covering TV, journalism, audio and Hollywood from The Media Club.
This week we've had a post-Kimmel state visit from Trump, AI revolutionising everything from shopping to journalism (again), and broadcasters grappling with whether YouTube really is the new television. Plus, Prince Harry's remarkable PR comeback that's left palace communications scrambling, the ongoing fallout from Charlie Kirk's assassination, advertising bans reshaping the media landscape, and the perennial question of whether traditional media can adapt fast enough to survive the creator economy onslaught.
If you missed Friday's The Media Club, joining me was Charlotte Tobitt and Stephen Arnell and we talked the latest advertising ban hitting less healthy food, discussed Channel 4's strategic move into production with their Firecrest Films acquisition, and examined the findings from the RTS Cambridge Convention with media writer Kate Bulkley. Also on the show was Juliette Riddell on the Financial Times' new David Baddiel scribed Stephen Fry drama that blends AI with storytelling. Have a listen (or watch).
The Media Show
Ros Atkins and Katie Razzle produced an episode examining Donald Trump's state visit and its media implications. The show featured insights from Guto Harri, James O'Brien, and Isabel Oakeshott on how British media covered the visit, plus analysis of the ongoing fallout from Charlie Kirk's assassination and its impact on American political discourse. They also spoke with BBC Director General Tim Davie about the corporation's future strategy, including his thoughts on prominence, funding reform, and the challenge of reaching audiences in an increasingly fragmented media landscape. They touched on impartiality challenges and the BBC's response to political polarisation. (Guests: Guto Harri, James O'Brien, Isabel Oakeshott, Tim Davie)
Media Confidential
Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber served up two episodes this week. First, they hosted journalist and researcher Ayala Panievsky to discuss her latest book "The New Censorship: How the War on Media is Taking Us Down," exploring threats to journalism from populist politicians to social media manipulation. Their second episode tackled Linda Rothschild's potential sale of her 20% stake in The Economist worth up to $400 million, Peter Mandelson's downfall over the Epstein emails scandal, and a Press Gazette investigation revealing how news organisations fell for a fake royal cleaner called Anne Simmons. They also discussed the sobering circulation figures for The Scotsman and reflected on the state of regional journalism in Scotland. (Guests: Ayala Panievsky)
Roger Bolton's Beeb Watch
Roger Bolton hosted former BBC journalist Robin Aitken for a robust discussion about BBC bias and impartiality. Aitken, author of multiple books critiquing the corporation including "The Noble Liar," argued that the BBC has a coherent internal political culture that skews liberal. The debate covered everything from Brexit coverage to abortion reporting, with Bolton pushing back on claims of institutional bias whilst acknowledging the BBC's tendency to undervalue religious perspectives. A fascinating insight into how different viewpoints see the same organisation, with both agreeing that the BBC's ideal of impartial public service broadcasting remains worth striving for, even if they disagree on how close it comes to achieving it. (Guests: Robin Aitken)
Insiders: The TV Podcast
Peter Fincham and Jimmy Mulville welcomed producer Andy Harries for a special guest episode. Harries, who was Head of Drama at Granada before founding Left Bank Pictures, shared stories from his enviable career including The Royle Family, Cold Feet, The Crown, and Department Q. He revealed how the BBC initially struggled with The Royle Family's single-camera format without a studio audience, and took listeners inside the crucial pitch meeting where Netflix committed to £100 million for The Crown across two series. Classic television industry tales from someone who's been at the heart of British drama for decades, including the debt Cold Feet owes to the Golden Rose of Montreux and his audacious deal-making style. (Guests: Andy Harries from Left Bank Pictures)
TellyCast
Justin Crosby chatted with Ben Woods from Media Research about their major new report "The New Hollywood: YouTube's TV Takeover." Woods explained how YouTube has now overtaken Netflix for streaming on TV sets in the US, driven by younger audiences using living room TVs to watch social video rather than traditional broadcasts. The discussion covered why 35% of UK 16-19 year olds now primarily use TV sets for social platforms, the dominance of children's content like Peppa Pig on YouTube TV charts, and why traditional media needs to think like creators rather than broadcasters. A sobering look at how the attention economy is fundamentally reshaping television consumption habits. (Guests: Ben Woods from Media Research)
The Rest Is Entertainment
Richard Osman and Marina Hyde tackled whether Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson can finally snag an Oscar with his A24 production "The Smash Machine," questioning if this marks a genuine artistic pivot or just another blockbuster in disguise. They also pondered why MI6 has suddenly joined Instagram - is it about public trust, recruitment, or just trying to look cool with Reels? The conversation turned to Warner Brothers' remarkable turnaround under Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca, who went from being on the chopping block to looking like studio saviours thanks to patient strategy and bold filmmaking.
The Media Odyssey
Evan Shapiro and Marion Ranchet broadcast live from IBC in Amsterdam, exploring the convergence of traditional broadcasting with the creator economy. They welcomed the team from Whale TV, an independent television operating system that's emerged from white-label anonymity to become a major player in connected TV. The conversation covered Whale TV's innovative profit-sharing model with manufacturers, their 44 million monthly active users globally, and how they're monetising the living room through everything from home screen advertising to fast channels. A deep-dive into how TV operating systems actually make money and why the future of television might depend more on software than hardware. (Guests: Teresa, Chris, and team from Whale TV)
The Radio Academy Podcast
Georgie Jameson explored the world of immersive audio demonstrated at the Radio Academy Festival, speaking with experts about Dolby Atmos and spatial sound technology. The episode featured Richard Addis from Dolby explaining how three-dimensional sound opens up new creative possibilities for content creators, plus interviews with Kay Matchalot about "Sonic Sunset," an immersive sound piece touring ecosystems from Arctic waters to Indian skies. Dr Sian Williams from BBC Radio 3 Unwind discussed the science behind music's impact on our brains, including how listening to certain music can synchronise heartbeats and breathing between people in the same room. (Guests: Richard Addis from Dolby, Kay Matchalot from Media Art Exploration, Dr Sian Williams)
The Media Leader Podcast
Jack Benjamin sat down with behavioural scientists Lea Karam and Patrick Fagan to explore how consumer psychology is reshaping media consumption. The conversation delved into whether attention spans are genuinely shrinking or if we're simply developing better "filtering spans" to cope with content overload. Karam, who recently launched consultancy Mindscope after working at Mediaplus’ Behave, and Fagan, who lectures at UCL, discussed the paradox of social media - why we continue using platforms we perceive as toxic. Their analysis covered everything from subscription fatigue to how AI might be making us worse critical thinkers, plus the growing influence of opaque algorithms on human communication. (Guests: Lea Karam from Mindscope, Patrick Fagan)
The Future of Media, Explained
Dominic Ponsford and Charlotte Tobitt interviewed Luke Bradley-Jones, President of The Economist, about thriving in the post-search era. Bradley-Jones outlined his "three Ds" strategy: differentiation through human-crafted journalism, direct relationships with customers (including blocking AI crawlers), and discoverability through brand marketing and partnerships. He revealed The Economist's surprise launch of a newsletter on Substack and explained why they won't be doing licensing deals with OpenAI, viewing LLM platforms as competitive rather than collaborative. A masterclass in premium publishing strategy from someone running one of the world's most successful media brands. (Guests: Luke Bradley-Jones from The Economist)
Podnews Weekly Review
James Cridland and Sam Sethi tackled the AI content explosion flooding the podcasting ecosystem, with companies like Inception Point AI generating thousands of low-quality episodes despite industry criticism. Greg Glenday from Acast joined to reveal how the platform is betting on creator-first podcasting, whilst the hosts examined YouTube's new features that could either revolutionise monetisation or worsen content pollution. The discussion covered the tension between innovation and quality standards, with particular focus on how AI-generated content is being defended as "art" despite widespread pushback from industry experts. (Guests: Greg Glenday from Acast)
When It Hits the Fan
David Yelland and Simon Lewis analysed Prince Harry's remarkable PR turnaround, calling it one of the great comebacks in recent memory. They looked at how Harry's team orchestrated positive coverage through strategic meetings with the King, the Ukraine trip, and that crucial Guardian interview. The hosts debated whether this represents genuine reconciliation or brilliant media manipulation, with Yelland arguing Harry's team now control the narrative whilst Lewis urged caution about managing expectations. They also dissected Peter Mandelson's failed attempt to survive the Epstein emails scandal, praising his PR tactics whilst acknowledging the ultimate impossibility of his position.
MediaLand
Tim Burrowes and Vivienne Kelly examined Trump's escalating media warfare, including his $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times and his confrontation with ABC Australia's John Lyons over questioning during the state visit. They explored whether local journalists are "hurting Australia" by asking tough questions on the world stage, plus discussed the challenges of making Australian drama without being a major media company. The hosts spoke with Michael Cordell from CJZ about their new three-part hybrid drama-documentary "The People vs Robodebt" launching on SBS, examining the peaks and troughs of getting local stories made. They also covered the unclear government guidelines for youth social media restrictions and the Emmy Awards signalling prestige programming's return. (Guests: Michael Cordell from CJZ)
On the Media
Brooke Gladstone and Michael Lohinger presented two episodes this week. They examined the concept of "radicalisation engines" and the siege facing librarians across America, exploring how information professionals are caught in culture war crossfires. The second episode featured Dr Paul Offit sharing his expert opinions on RFK Jr's anti-vaccine positions and their potential impact on public health policy. Both episodes highlighted the ongoing tension between free speech principles and the responsibilities that come with platforms and positions of influence. (Guests: Dr Paul Offit)
Mixed Signals from Semafor Media
Ben Smith and Max Tani sat down with Malcolm Gladwell for a wide-ranging conversation about podcasting, politics, and the power of narrative. Gladwell argued that podcasts are "life extension technology" for journalists, allowing reinvention in an industry where people traditionally vanish in their 50s. He defended his company Pushkin's focus on expensive narrative podcasts over cheap chat shows, outlining their "Zelig strategy" of turning one story into multiple revenue streams. A fascinating insight into one of media's most successful contrarians. (Guests: Malcolm Gladwell)
Channels with Peter Kafka
Peter Kafka offered two episodes exploring the creator economy and emerging technology. He spoke with John Coogan from TBPN about how their tech news livestream became a hit without a huge audience but with serious influence, carving out a niche as the insidery but not-too-serious place where tech execs discuss daily news. Kafka also interviewed Alex Heath, who's just left The Verge to start his own operation with podcast Access and Substack Sources, testing Zuckerberg's new $800 Ray-Ban smart glasses and discussing Meta's political shift and AI obsession. (Guests: John Coogan from TBPN, Alex Heath)
Power Lines with Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino
Oliver Darcy and Jon Passantino produced a comprehensive analysis of the Jimmy Kimmel crisis, examining how Disney's decision to pull their late-night host following FCC threats represents a dangerous escalation in government pressure on media companies. They detailed the cascade of events from Brendan Carr's podcast threats to Nexstar and Sinclair refusing to air Kimmel's show, plus the emergency meetings inside Disney that led to the indefinite suspension. The hosts also explored anxiety rippling through CNN as David Ellison's Paramount eyes a Warner Bros Discovery takeover, potentially bringing conservative commentator Barry Weiss into a position of authority over the news network.
The Grill Room
Dylan and Julia examined Disney's controversial decision to sideline Jimmy Kimmel following FCC pressure, questioning whether the move actually created more problems than it solved for the entertainment giant. They also welcomed New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien for an in-depth discussion about the paper's transformation from traditional news outlet to lifestyle brand. Levien outlined their AI strategy, audio and video experiments, advertising playbook evolution, and The Athletic's success, all whilst pursuing their ambitious goal of 15 million subscribers by 2027. (Guests: Meredith Kopit Levien from The New York Times)
The Town with Matthew Belloni
Matt Belloni sat down with Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw and LightShed's Rich Greenfield to dissect reports that David Ellison is eyeing a majority-cash bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, just after acquiring Paramount. They explored why Ellison would pursue such aggressive consolidation now, whether the deal is even feasible, and what other properties might be on his shopping list. The conversation also covered the 2025 Emmy Awards, with Shaw and Belloni sharing their winners and losers plus the crucial question of which after-party served the best food. (Guests: Lucas Shaw from Bloomberg, Rich Greenfield from LightShed)
The Business
Kim Masters interviewed documentarian Matt Wolfe about his Emmy-winning HBO series "Pee-wee as Himself," examining the life of Paul Rubens. Wolfe revealed how Rubens had been fighting cancer for years whilst secretly working on the documentary, and shared insights into the complex relationship between the man and his beloved character. The conversation explored Rubens' private struggles with sexuality, his legal troubles, and how Wolfe navigated the challenge of earning trust from a notoriously private performer. A moving portrait of creative genius and personal cost, particularly poignant given Rubens recorded a final message for Wolfe the night before he died. (Guests: Matt Wolfe)
The Ankler Podcast
The Ankler team delivered an emergency podcast following Disney's shocking decision to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel after FCC Chair Brendan Carr's threats. Host Elaine Low was joined by the publication's top reporters to break down the crisis: Sean McNulty explained Nexstar and Sinclair's decision not to air Kimmel on affiliate stations, Lesley Goldberg provided the play-by-play on Disney's internal decision-making, Katey Rich explored historical precedent and impact on the creative community, and Natalie Jarvey analysed potential reactions from political creators on YouTube and other platforms. (Guests: Sean McNulty, Lesley Goldberg, Katey Rich, Natalie Jarvey from The Ankler)
Spot any media podcasts we've missed? Reply and let us know! And if you haven't already, subscribe to The Media Club on your favourite podcast app or catch us on YouTube. Got this forwarded to you? Then subscribe…