About this episode
New Media Show #652 with Rob Greenlee and Lauren Shippen
On Episode 652 of the New Media Show, host Rob Greenlee shares a screen with Lauren Shippen, Creative Director at Atypical Artists, to tackle a growing tension in creator media around audio fiction, which is thriving as a storytelling format but is being pressure-tested by the industry’s video-first discovery push.
Fiction podcasts did not stop working. What changed is how platforms signal value, how audiences discover new shows, and how creators feel forced to look video-ready to compete.
The real question for fiction creators in 2026 is not “How do I force my story into video?” It is “How do I protect the magic of audio storytelling while adding the right discovery layers for today’s platforms?”
Lauren shares what fiction creators often misunderstand about sustainability, what typically breaks first when the story stalls, and where video helps, hurts, or becomes unrealistic.
Rob lays out a practical framework for separating audio as the product from video as the discovery layer, plus realistic tiers of visual strategy that will not turn your show into a second production company.
Quick answers for creators
What is the episode about
A practical conversation about protecting audio fiction storytelling while adapting to video-driven discovery across platforms in 2026.
Should fiction podcasts become video podcasts to grow
Not automatically. The strategy is to keep audio as the core product and use video selectively as a discovery layer when it improves reach without breaking the production model.
What is the bigges
