The Ruler & The Regent | The Audio Monarchy | The history of radio predicts the future of podcasting and audio advertising.

In the Season 3 Finale of Ad Infinitum, host Stew Redwine hands the mic to producer Jeanna Isham for a special editorial episode - no ad roundup, no scoring, no guest interview - just a wide-angle story about the history of audio advertising and why sound has always been the hidden power in advertising, regardless of how it shows up.

Jeanna frames audio history as a monarchy: King Radio establishes the original six “sonic laws” that still govern the medium today - Attention, Trust, Memory, Proximity, Monetization, and the Covenant (the promise not to abuse a listener’s time). Through a “Royal Council” of historians, strategists, and creators - including Kraig Kitchin, Cynthia Meyers, Tom Webster, Paul Riismandel, Arielle Nissenblatt, Shaun Michael Colón, and Dallas Taylor - the episode traces how radio evolved from scarce, centralized broadcast into today’s fragmented, platform-shaped attention economy.

Along the way, the story tracks the transfer of power: from advertisers who once owned the show, to broadcasters who later owned the minutes, to the reality that now rules everything audio and audio advertising - the audience owns the time. Podcasting rises as the rebellious prince built on abundance, intimacy, and active attention. But the same old risks return in new clothes: ad load inflation, disinvestment in voices, and platforms that reward behavior over craft.

The takeaway is both a warning and a blueprint for all audio advertising: the future belongs to the creators, brands, and networks that earn attention fast, protect trust, create memory, stay close to context, monetize without breaking the covenant - and keep building the lane instead of copying the last winner.

Ad Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.

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