Today in the business of podcasting:

• Amazon Ads and Spotify have partnered to give Australian advertisers programmatic access to Spotify's audio and video inventory through Amazon DSP, combining Amazon's shopping and streaming data with Spotify's 751 million monthly listeners for full-funnel campaign planning in a single solution.
• Tom Fox argues rural podcasters are positioned to fill the civic void left by shrinking public media, with local institutions like community banks, colleges, and small businesses having a genuine stake in supporting trusted local audio platforms beyond just buying ad space.
• Podcasting had a strong showing at SXSW 2026 with over 20 official sessions featuring voices like Kara Swisher, Scott Galloway, and Brené Brown, while highlights included Tiger Sisters explaining how they built Spotify's No. 1 business podcast from a kitchen-table show, TikTok and iHeartMedia announcing a new podcast network, and Rhett and Link discussing why they quietly ended Ear Biscuits.
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To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.