I was reading the State of Business Podcasting 2025 report last week. It analyses the Top 100 Business Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, reviewing over 70 data points per show to understand how leading business podcasts operate. It is descriptive, not prescriptive, offering trends which might help inform strategic decision making.

I looked at this from a learning perspective and here’s what stood out:

1. Micro-podcasts can sit inside the operating model
Short episodes reinforce key messages, build leader visibility and nudge behaviour. They’re cheaper than video and more scalable than workshops and a great opportunity for L&D in the next 18 months.

2. Learning needs a publishing mindset, not an event mindset
That means weekly, short, repeatable and consistent content. Podcasts can replace long updates, level 1 training, leadership comms and manager support that sit inside work, not outside it.

3. Build internal creator ecosystems
It’s notable that personal brands outperform corporate ones so elevate managers as hosts, peers as guests, teams as storytellers and leaders setting the narrative. This is how learning travels in modern organisations.

4. Audio improves equity
Podcasts reduce barriers for shift workers, field teams, hybrid staff, neurodiverse colleagues and time-poor managers. This is inclusion in practice and a channel bot restricted by Monday to Friday, 9 to5, or LMS logins.

5. Podcast analytics beat LMS data
Downloads, completions and consistency might tell you more about behaviour than attendance numbers. How people listen, on which channels, and when, can trigger conversations and analysis about engagement and experience.

Audio might be your organisation’s missing learning infrastructure. It fits hybrid work, respects your people’s time and can build trust. Is audio on the agenda, currently used, or not part of your approach? Let me know in the comments.

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