Apple Video Podcasts, RSS vs API, Rise of Synthetic Creators | Justin Jackson #657

If you are trying to understand where podcasting is going in 2026 and beyond, this is one of those conversations that clarifies the whole board. On Episode 657 of The New Media Show, Host Rob Greenlee shares a microphone and a video camera with Justin Jackson, CEO and Co-Founder of Transistor.fm, to unpack two forces reshaping the medium at the same time: Apple’s push back into video podcasts using HLS streaming, and the accelerating rise of synthetic creators and human clones powered by AI. The real takeaway in this episode is that this is no longer just a podcasting story. It’s a media transformation story, and creators who treat it that way will have the advantage. Justin brings a rare combination to this topic because he is not just watching the ecosystem from the outside. He is building one of the most respected independent podcast hosting platforms and is deeply involved in coordinating the industry’s progress through the Podcast Standards Project. One of the most useful parts of this episode is hearing how standards actually get adopted. Podcasting has a coordination problem, and the only way the open ecosystem keeps evolving is when hosting providers, apps, and major platforms agree on what becomes “standard.” Justin explains why this work is slower than people want and why it matters, using real examples such as transcript support and creator-recommendation tooling via Podroll. From there, we go straight into the big shift: Apple leaning harder into video again, this time through HLS. The practical impact for creators is obvious. Video becomes easier to distribute, monetize, and measure across pla