Knob Feel: The Story of the Greatest Podcast Ad Campaign of All Time

Overview:

On this episode, Rob and Britta tell the story of the golden age of podcast advertising — how it started, why those ads worked, and why that era seems to be over. Along the way we tell the story of what happened when Cards Against Humanity partnerned with a very opinionated tech podcaster to create the most entertaining ad campaign in the history of the medium.

Guests include Lex Friedman, one of the first people to sell podcast ads, and John Siracusa and Casey Liss, co-hosts of Accidental Tech Podcast.

Toaster Oven via Wikicommons

Discussed in this episode:

The Wolf Den: Lex Friedman, Midroll's EVP of Sales and Development (Episode 71)

Hypercritical: Dream Crusher (Episode 1)

Hypercritical: The Wrong Guy (Episode 42)

Hypercritical: Pinching the Harmonica (Episode 49)

Hypercritical: Worse and More Diverse (Episode 18)

Casey Liss: Siracusa on Toasters

Lex Friedman: lexfriedman.com

John Siracusa: hypercritical.co

Music from Blue Dot Sessions

Found Footage Horror: Podcast Coverage of the Ice Invasion

In the weeks since Alex Pretti's murder, Rob and Britta have been listening to numerous podcasts that covered the ICE invasion of American cities over the past year. Ingesting a year of audio ICE coverage puts this story (not to mention our conception of audio journalism) into a whole new perspective.

Come for the heartfelt media criticism. Stay for Rob's brutal takedown of The Daily.

ICE Agents in Minneapolis After Shooting — photo by Chad Davis via Wikimedia Commons

If you’d like to donate to people helping those targeted by ICE in Minneapolis, you can do that here. If you like the work we’re doing, you can support us on our Patreon.

Discussed in this Episode:

This American Life: “The Largest Deportation Operation in American History”

Reveal: "Taken by ICE"

Radio Atlantic: "When Border Patrol Comes to Town"

What Next: "Everyone Saw ICE Kill Renee Good"

The Daily: "On the Front Line of Minnesota's Fight with ICE"

Panic World: "We Were at ICE's Invasion in Minneapolis"

Radio Atlantic: "Another Death in Minneapolis"

This American Life: "What Is Your Emergency?"

5-4: "Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo"

Heavyweight: "Minneapolis"

To Show What's Going On: Photojournalists in Minneapolis

Rob and Britta both live in the Twin Cities, so on this episode, we took a break from discussing audio storytelling, and Britta interviewed two photojournalists who've been covering ICE in Minneapolis. It's a conversation about what they've seen, the vital role of photojournalism at this moment, and the personal toll of doing this work.

Photo by Evan Frost

Some Joyous Crazy Thing - Apocalyptic Vox Pop from Scott Carrier and Erica Heilman

At the tail end of 2025, Rob and Britta discuss work by Scott Carrier and Erica Heilman that captures something about how it felt to live through this harrowing year. To support our show and access our bonus story feed, follow this link to our Patreon.

Photo by Rob McGinley Myers

Show Links:

What a Wonderful Thing - 99% Invisible

Image by Eric Havir via Flickr

Episode Description:

As the 15th anniversary of 99% Invisible approaches, Rob and Britta dig into four very different episodes from the first four years of that show's run (as well as the story of the time Rob met Roman Mars):

To support Phonograph, subscribe to our new bonus feed, which features experiments in audio storytelling, including this month's story about a young mother's relationship to her hearing aids, having refused to wear them since she started losing her hearing in the 6th grade.

Show Notes:

Invisible Ink (featured on Transom.org)
"Genesis Object" on 99% Invisible
HowSound episode on 99% Invisible
HowSound episode on Heyoon
Alex Goldman's new podcast Hyperfixed
Music from Blue Dot Sessions

What Covid Did to Them - Nancy Updike's "We Were Three"

Photo by U.S. Pacific Fleet via Flickr

Episode Description:

Rob and Britta discuss Nancy Updike's podcast "We Were Three," which tells the story of one family devastated by Covid and what that devastation revealed. Also discussed: Nancy Updike's status as as one of the all time great audio producers.

To support Phonograph, subscribe to our new bonus feed, which features experiments in audio storytelling. This month's story comes from Rob: a collage of recordings he made in the spring of 2020 around the theme of anxiety and grocery shopping.

Show Notes:

ICU nurse Kelley Anaas talking about the state of nurses near the end of 2020

Serial Productions podcast We Were Three

Nancy Updike's talk at the Third Coast International Audio Festival

Nancy Updike's story for This American Life about private contractors in Iraq

The Longform Podcast interview with Nancy Updike and Jenelle Pifer

Maintenance Phase episode about Covid Conspiracies

Music - Blue Dot Sessions