More Trusted That Influencers. More Trusted Than Leaders
A new Wondery study puts a number on something you already feel. 81% of creator fans say they trust their favorite creator as much as, or more than, their close friends. 85% view that creator as a friend. 89% trust the host’s expertise on the topics they cover.
Here is the part that matters for your branded show. Half of consumers assume a creator did not like a brand when the brand gets mentioned once and never again. But 71% say a consistent presence across multiple episodes signals a genuine endorsement. One mention reads as a transaction. Showing up episode after episode reads as belief.
Two more numbers worth your time. Clips are almost twice as effective as word of mouth at bringing new viewers to a show, and 95% of existing fans take action after seeing a clip.
The takeaway: if your brand has a podcast, your host is not a channel. Your host is the relationship. Show up consistently and clip everything.
Source: Wondery and SmithGeiger, “Brand Building in the Creator Age,” June 2026 survey of 3,000 US adults.
Listen Notes Is Deleting the AI Podcast Flood
Flooding the zone with AI podcasts gets harder when the zone has a janitor.
Listen Notes, lead by , the podcast search engine and database, flagged and removed roughly 59,000 AI generated fake podcasts in the 12 months through September, by my count of its published monthly figures. In September alone it pulled about 3,000 against roughly 8,800 new human made shows, so around one fake for every three real ones. Meanwhile human launches have fallen from about 20,200 in January to around 9,000 a month since July.
Wenbin clarified by email “We do allow some partially ‘AI-generated’ shows in our database, as long as we see ‘proof of work.’ For example, some shows might have a human and an AI co-host together, so the AI-generated part might make up 20% of the content. What we don't like is the mass production of 100% AI-generated junk that isn't meant for human listeners to consume, e.g., one-click to generate 10,000 fake podcasts to distribute to 10,000 websites for back links.”
None of that proves AI shows can’t find an audience somewhere else. It does mean at least one big podcast database treats them as junk to be deleted, not competitors to be feared.
If your show is made by humans, say so out loud in your descriptions, your transcripts, and your pitches.
Access to humans is about to get scarce
I’ve spent this week in Orlando at the Public Relations Society of America’s annual ICON conference, where thousands of PR professionals gather to talk about where this industry is headed. Between sessions I’ve been asking students and young pros just getting started a simple question: how do you feel about AI, and does it scare you that it might swallow the entry level jobs you’d normally start in?
Their answer surprised me. They aren’t scared. What I keep hearing is that the human element will never disappear, and that the thing about to become genuinely scarce is access to humans. A real voice, a real conversation, a real person on the other end. And more than one of them told me, unprompted, that podcasting looks like the most accessible way to create that.
They might be right. When everything else gets automated, the scarcest thing in communications won’t be content. It’ll be a human being.
One In Four Podcast Listeners Will Change Their Vote
The midterms are almost here, and podcasts are officially a campaign stop. New Sounds Profitable research says one in four likely voters who listen to podcasts monthly would be more likely to vote for a candidate who appears on one. The kicker: people who never listen to political shows are just as movable, and they make up 70% of the voting podcast audience. Your next vote, brought to you by a comedy podcast.
Aussie’s Are All Ears
Australia has weighed in on the audio versus video debate. PodPoll 26 asked podcast consumers how they prefer their podcasts, and it wasn't close: 60% said audio, only 23% said video. The study also found half of Australians are now regular monthly podcast consumers, a first. All that video noise, and ears still win.
Welcome New Subscribers from PRSA ICON
While I was in Orlando, in the land of the sun, more than 200 people signed up to receive this newsletter, and this is the first edition they will be receiving. It was great to meet everyone. I know I have follow up meetings with several and I am looking forward to the discussions with each and every one of you. Thank you so much for subscribing to the newsletter.
Our Website Let's connect on LinkedIn Our YouTube channel The Stories and Strategies podcast on Apple, on Spotify And on YouTube