Megaphone (formerly Panoply Media) is a podcast technology company owned by

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

, focusing on ad-insertion and hosting. It was formerly an audio content producer started by

The Slate Group The Slate Group, legally The Slate Group, LLC, is an American online publishing entity established in June 2008 by Graham Holdings Company. Among the publications overseen by The Slate Group are ''Slate'' and '' ForeignPolicy.com''. The creation o ...

as Panoply Media, and later shifted to focusing solely on helping companies with production, advertising, and audience metrics.

History

Slate itself began podcasting in 2005 with the '' Slate Political Gabfest''. Panoply Media launched in Feb 2015. Slate acquired dynamic ad-insertion company Audiometric in August 2015, and made the functionality available to other companies in January 2016 under the moniker "Megaphone". , Panoply had published more than 100 podcasts through partnerships with ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'', ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', ''New York'' magazine, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', '' Inc.'', Vox, ''

Real Simple ''Real Simple'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. The magazine features articles and information related to homemaking, childcare, cooking, and emotional well-being. The magazine is distinguished by its clean, unclut ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', and ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

''. It has produced branded content for Purina,

Umpqua Bank Umpqua Holdings Corporation, d.b.a. Umpqua Bank, is a financial holding company based in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Headquarters are in the Umpqua Bank Plaza, formerly the headquarters of Benj. Franklin Savings and Loan. The fir ...

, Prudential and Starbucks. In January 2018, the Slate Group separated its Slate-branded podcasts, such as '' The Gist'', from the rest of the Panoply lineup, for purposes of revenue control as it sought to increase membership in Slate Plus, its premium content service. Accordingly, Slate podcasts no longer carry the Panoply logo and branding. In September 2018, it was announced that Panoply would cease production of all podcasts and shut down its editorial division in order to focus on podcast hosting, analytics, and monetization technology. In November 2020,

announced its intent to acquire Megaphone from The Slate Group for . The acquisition was completed in December 2020. After the acquisitions of podcast technology companies Whooshkaa in December 2021 and Chartable in February 2022, Spotify announced that these products will be integrated into Megaphone.

Former Panoply branded podcasts

; BuzzFeed * ''Internet Explorer'' * ''No One Knows Anything'' * ''See Something Say Something'' — about being Muslim in America * '' Another Round'' — topics ranging from race, gender and pop culture to squirrels, mangoes, and jokes, hosted by Tracy Clayton and

Heben Nigatu Heben Nigatu is an Ethiopian-American writer and the former co-host of BuzzFeed podcast ''Another Round (Podcast), Another Round'' which stopped broadcasting in 2017. She previously wrote for ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' and is current ...

;

First Look Media First Look Media is an American nonprofit media organization founded by Pierre Omidyar in October 2013 as a venue for "original, independent journalism". Overview The project was started as a collaboration with Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, ...

* ''

Intercepted with Jeremy Scahill ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reported o ...

'' — by

The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially reporte ...

* ''Maeve in America'' — hosted by Maeve Higgins ;GE Podcast Theater * '' The Message'' — science fiction, co-produced with Slate * ''Life.After'' ; MTV * ''Game of Crones'' — recap of '' Game of Thrones'' * ''Happy Sad Confused'' — celebrities * ''Lady Problems'' — women's issues * ''North Mollywood'' * ''Skillset'' * ''Speed Dial'' * ''Team Wolf'' * ''The Stakes'' ;''

'' * ''Nerdcast'' — politics * ''Off Message'' ;''

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

'' * ''How Your World Works'' * ''Most Useful Podcast Ever'' ;'' Vanity Fair'' * ''In the Limelight'' * ''Little Gold Men'' — the Oscar race ;'' Vox'' * ''The

Ezra Klein Ezra Klein (born May 10, 1984) is an American journalist, political analyst, ''New York Times'' columnist, and the host of ''The Ezra Klein Show'' podcast. He is a co-founder of '' Vox'' and formerly served as the website's editor-at-large. He h ...

Show'' * ''The Weeds'' — hosted by

, Sarah Kliff, and

Matthew Yglesias Matthew Yglesias (; born May 18, 1981) is a liberal American blogger and journalist who writes about economics and politics. Yglesias has written columns and articles for publications such as ''The American Prospect'', ''The Atlantic'', and ''Sla ...

;''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' * ''Heard On the Street'' * ''Media Mix'' * ''Money, Markets & More'' * ''MoneyBeat'' * ''Opinion: Foreign Edition'' * ''Opinion: Potomac Watch'' * ''Tech News Briefing'' * ''Watching Your Wealth'' * ''What's News'' * ''Your Money Matters'' ;Other * ''BackStory'' — a weekly podcast about American history, hosted by Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, Nathan Connolly and Joanne Freeman * ''Bad With Money'' — hosted by

Gaby Dunn Gabe Dunn (born June 1, 1988) is an American writer, actor, pop journalist, comedian, LGBTQ activist, and podcaster. They were a writer and director for BuzzFeed Video, before leaving to focus on their YouTube comedy show and podcast ''Just Betw ...

* '' Girlboss Radio with

Sophia Amoruso Sophia Christina Amoruso (born April 20, 1984) is an American businesswoman. Amoruso was born in San Diego, California, and moved to Sacramento, California, after High school, soon after relocating to San Francisco. Amoruso founded Nasty Gal, a wo ...

'' * ''GLoP Culture'' — with

Jonah Goldberg Jonah Jacob Goldberg (born March 21, 1969) is an American conservative syndicated columnist, author, political analyst, and commentator. The founding editor of ''National Review Online'', from 1998 until 2019 he was an editor at '' National Revie ...

John Podhoretz John Mordecai Podhoretz (; born April 18, 1961) is an American writer. He is the editor of ''Commentary'' magazine, a columnist for the ''New York Post'', the author of several books on politics, and a former speechwriter for Presidents Ronald ...

, and

Rob Long Robert Long is an American writer and television producer in Hollywood. As a screenwriter and executive producer for the long-running television program ''Cheers'', he received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in 1992 and 1993. Long created the ...

* '' Revisionist History'' — hosted by

Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little ...

* ''

T. D. Jakes Thomas Dexter Jakes (born June 9, 1957), known as T. D. Jakes, is an American bishop, author and filmmaker. He is the bishop of The Potter's House, a non-denominational American megachurch. Jakes's church services and Evangelistic sermons are ...

Podcast'' * ''Detective'' — weekly interviews with Detectives who are being featured on

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

true crime shows. * '' Tumanbay'' — international broadcast of this BBC Four scripted radio drama, set in a fictional

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

ern city during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Two seasons have already aired in the UK. *''Whatever Happened To Pizza At McDonald's?'' — investigative journalism program centered around the circumstances and reasoning for fast food chain

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

ceasing to offer pizza in their restaurants. * ''LGBTQ&A'' — interview podcast documenting the stories of the LGBTQ community with Jeffrey Masters. * ''By the Book'' — bi-weekly podcast trying out self-help books with Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer. * ''You Must Remember This'' — early Hollywood history with Karina Longworth.

Slate branded podcasts

* ''Amicus'' — Amicus is a podcast about "the Supreme Court and the laws it interprets for the United States," hosted by

Dahlia Lithwick Dahlia Lithwick is a Canadian-American lawyer, writer, and journalist. Lithwick is currently a contributing editor at ''Newsweek'' and senior editor at ''Slate''. She primarily writes about law and politics in the United States. She writes "Supr ...

. The podcast first aired October 23, 2014 and has aired a few times a month since * ''Audio Book Club —'' The Audio Book Club functions as a

book discussion club A book discussion club is a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read and express their opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. It is more often called simply a book club, a term that is also used to describe a book sales c ...

. Every month critics gather to discuss a book previously announced. The podcast first aired on March 15, 2006 * ''Culture Gabfest'' — a weekly round-table focusing on cultural news, with Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner. The podcast first aired on April 23, 2008, and airs every Wednesday. * ''Daily Podcast'' — All of Slate's podcasts and extra content. * ''

Dear Prudence "Dear Prudence" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). The song was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Written in ...

'' — Dear Prudence is an advice column, hosted by

Daniel Mallory Ortberg Daniel M. Lavery (born Mallory Ortberg, November 28, 1986) is an American author and editor. He is known for having co-founded the website '' The Toast'', and written the books ''Texts from Jane Eyre'' (2014), ''The Merry Spinster'' (2018), and ' ...

. The column dates back to 1997, and the podcast to June 7, 2016. The podcast airs every Wednesday * ''The Waves'' — women's issues, formerly ''The Double X Gabfest'' * '' The Gist'' — The Gist is a daily (Monday through Friday) news and opinion podcast hosted by

Mike Pesca Mike Pesca (born December 29, 1971) is an American radio journalist and podcaster based in New York City. He is the host of the daily podcast, '' The Gist,'' and the editor of ''Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History.'' Ca ...

* ''Upon Further Review'' — Upon Further Review is a limited release podcast hosted by

, focusing on sports hypotheticals, such as, "What would have happened if the Brooklyn Dodgers had never left for Los Angeles?" * ''Hang Up and Listen'' — sports * ''Hit Parade'' — music history and the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

, hosted by Chris Molanphy. * ''Lexicon Valley'' — language issues * ''Slate Money'' — business and finance, hosted by Felix Salmon * ''Mom and Dad Are Fighting'' — parenting * '' Slate Political Gabfest'' — a weekly round-table focusing on political news * ''Trumpcast'' — originally focused on Trump's presidential run, it continued to cover his presidency * ''Whistlestop'' — politics, hosted by John Dickerson * ''Slate Presents'' — an anthology series, where each season functions as a stand-alone narrative miniseries. The first season, titled ''Standoff: What Happened at Ruby Ridge?'' was hosted by Ruth Graham, and examined the Ruby Ridge incident. The second season, hosted by Emily Bazelon, is titled ''Charged: A True Punishment Story'' and examines the workings of a special court in New York that focused on cases of illegal gun possession. ;Slate's imprint, the ''Onward Project'' * ''Happier with

Gretchen Rubin Gretchen Craft Rubin (born December 14, 1965) is an American author, blogger and speaker. Early life and education Born Gretchen Anne Craft, Gretchen Rubin grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where her father was a lawyer at the firm of Craft, Fr ...

'' * ''Radical Candor'' — managers and relationships at work * ''Side Hustle School'' — about making money on the side while having a main job, hosted by Chris Guillebeau

Previous shows

;Slate: * ''Spoiler Specials'' — film * ''About Race'' * ''Manners for the Digital Age'' ;Other: * '' Politically Re-Active'' — political comedy, hosted by

W. Kamau Bell Walter Kamau Bell (born January 26, 1973) is an American stand-up comic and television host. He has hosted the CNN series ''United Shades of America'' since 2016, and hosted FXX television series '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' from 2012 ...

and

Hari Kondabolu Hari Karthikeya Kondabolu (born October 21, 1982)Beem, p. 38 is an American stand-up comic. His comedy covers subjects such as race, inequity, and Indian stereotypes. He was a writer for '' Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell'' and the creator of ...

, moved to

Earwolf Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. In 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014, a separate com ...

after Season 1.

References

External links