Send James and Sam a message or voicemailJames is back from Europe; and we chat about why podcast ad spend is rising. Plus...• Libsyn RSS namespace for ad slot availability and why it feels odd in public feeds • Goalhanger’s newsletter strategy as a membership product and audience data hub • smart TV growth for podcast consumption and why smart speakers still fail discovery • Canadian in car listening data plus listener resistance to AI hosts • AI agents clipping shows, MCP servers, and how micropayments could change access • blocking scrapers with WAF rules and the limits of user agent based controls • Spotify audiobooks expansion and the attention competition inside major apps • human written certification for books and the wider provenance problem • bot driven streaming fraud as a warning for future podcast monetisation • app and hosting updates including transcripts, video tools, and evolving person tags Become a monthly subscriber! weekly.podnews.netSupport the showConnect With Us: Email: weekly@podnews.netFediverse: @james@bne.social and @samsethi@podcastindex.socialSupport us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net