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Unfiltered insight from the people building the future
A no-BS podcast where the founders, innovators & executive operators across advertising, tech & AI share what’s really happening.
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Featured Episode
Just released: the newest Signal & Noise conversation. Full episode library below.
May 6th, 2026
What happens when AI stops being a tool—and starts redefining what work actually is?
In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Jennifer Borchardt - UX leader, systems thinker, and newly minted Signal & Noise Executive Voice contributor - to unpack one of the most urgent questions of our time: What does AI mean for jobs, identity, and society itself?
Drawing on decades of experience at firms like Sapient, Slalom, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank, Jennifer brings a rare perspective that blends design, behavioral science, and real-world systems thinking. This isn’t a surface-level conversation about productivity gains, it’s a deep dive into the structural shifts already underway.
All Episodes
Browse every conversation across media, data, tech, and AI.
The complete archive. Newest episodes appear first.
POSSIBLE 2026 Day 2: Where AI Meets the Real Operating System of Marketing
Day 2 of POSSIBLE 2026 features Signal & Noise live from Miami, with top voices across adtech, martech, and AI. Topics include agentic media buying, first-party data, AI-driven measurement, identity, and infrastructure. Key themes: AI as decisioning systems, data bottlenecks, stack consolidation, and rebuilding measurement—showing how marketing is being re-architected for a data-native future.
Possible 2026 Day 1: AI, AdTech, CTV & the Future of Media | Signal & Noise Compilation
Recorded live at POSSIBLE 2026 in Miami, this Signal & Noise episode features top leaders in advertising, media, data, and AI. Through rapid interviews, experts explore AI monetization, CTV, ad quality, creator ecosystems, and brand trust. Key takeaway: innovation isn’t the problem—execution is. Watch full interviews on YouTube.
Beyond the Stack with Lucas Longacre & Viktor Williamson
What does “full stack” mean in the age of AI? In *Signal & Noise*, Lucas Longacre and Viktor Williamson explore modern software engineering—from frameworks like Next.js to agentic coding and AI-assisted development. They unpack evolving roles, performance, security, and human-centered design, plus why engineers are shifting from builders to orchestrators in a rapidly changing, AI-driven landscape.
The Activation Gap: Rob McLaughlin on Why First-Party Data Still Isn’t Moving the Needle
First-party data is widely valued—but rarely used in media. In Signal & Noise, Rob McLaughlin (explains why less than 3% of spend leverages it. The issue isn’t tools—it’s a broken model. Learn how brands can activate data directly from their cloud, reduce costs, improve speed, and shift from moving data to moving signals for better performance.
From Strategy to Scale: George Musi on What Actually Drives Growth Inside Agencies
Everyone says they want growth. Few organizations are actually built to deliver it.
In this episode of Signal & Noise, former agency exec George Musi — across Publicis, WPP, IPG, and Horizon — breaks down why growth keeps breaking inside large organizations.
Strategy isn't the problem. Execution systems are. And AI doesn't fix broken systems — it amplifies them.
The GTM Slop Problem: Marc Sabatini on the Six Dimensions of GTM. Partner Buying, and Winning the US Market
Most B2B companies don't fail because the product is bad — they fail because the system around it is broken. In this episode of Signal & Noise, Marc Sabatini (Co-Founder & CCO at HighSignals) breaks down the GTM Slop Problem: why launches stall, teams misalign, and great products still lose. 30+ years of GTM experience. No theory. Just how it actually works — or doesn't.
Ad Fraud, Part 2: Dr. Augustine Fou on Hidden Fees, Phantom Outcomes, and the Agentic Al Trap
In Part 2 of our ad fraud series, Brett and Rio go deeper with Dr. Augustine Fou — and it gets uncomfortable.
This isn't just about bots. It's about the system that profits from them: hidden take rates, spoofed supply, and "performance" that's often fabricated.
Then: agentic AI. Because broken inputs don't get fixed by automation — they scale. Who's getting paid? And how much are they taking?
From Publishers to Platforms: Evgeny Popov on CTV, Career Exits, and the Future of Television
Careers in AdTech follow the market—not a straight path. In this Signal & Noise episode, Evgeny Popov shares a full-stack view across publishers, agencies, DSPs, and CTV. From acquisitions to ACR data and measurement challenges, we explore how TV is becoming a data-driven channel—and why those who understand the entire ecosystem are best positioned to win.
The Old MarTech Stack Is Breaking, Part I: Semantic Layers Are the New Keeper of Data and Advertising Coherence with Leighton Welch & Sarah Martinez from Tracer
In this episode of Signal & Noise, Tracer’s Leighton Welch and Sarah Martinez explore how enterprise stacks are shifting to data-first, with the semantic layer at the core. We unpack five key trends—from warehouse-native architecture to AI readiness—and why success depends on shared, trusted data. Key takeaway: AI doesn’t fix bad data—it exposes it.
The CDP Redux: Category Creation to AI Fragmentation, with Dale Renner, CEO of Redpoint Global
The CDP isn’t dead—it’s just evolved. In this episode, Dale Renner breaks down how the category fragmented, why most CDPs failed to unify data, and how “everyone became a CDP.” The takeaway: without strong data and identity, personalization falls flat. The future isn’t platforms—it’s clean data, composable systems, and owned AI layers.
Evangelists, Not Mascots: Why AdTech CEOs Are Failing at Marketing — and How to Fix it with Joe Zappa
AdTech has powerful tech but weak marketing. In this Signal & Noise episode, Joe Zappa (Sharp Pen Media) explains why CEOs must lead messaging with clear beliefs—not jargon. Learn how to stand out in a crowded market, build strong narratives, avoid “AI slop,” and turn authenticity into a competitive advantage.
Structure the Ambiguity: Lucas Longacre & Zach Grumet on Product, AI, and the Real Work of Building
Lucas Longacre joins Signal & Noise and debuts with Zach Grumet to explore product management, leadership, and “structuring ambiguity.” They cover unclear problems, team friction, decision-making, and how AI is reshaping product development. Featuring insights from FinTech, HealthTech, and SaaS, this episode highlights why strong product leaders focus on clarity—not just shipping features—in an increasingly complex landscape.
Rewriting the Rules of Programmatic: Adam Heimlich on Agentic Bidding, ARTF, and Building Chalice AI
What if dashboards are dying—and analytics is becoming more human? In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre talk with Adam Greco about “Vibe Analytics,” a future where AI, natural language, and warehouse-native stacks replace rigid dashboards. They explore how this shift could democratize analytics, impact tools like Adobe and Amplitude, and reshape how marketers, analysts, and data teams measure and use data.
Vibe Analytics: The End is Nigh for Analytics Tech? Brett and Rio chat with Adam Greco.
What if dashboards are dying—and analytics is becoming more human? In this episode of Signal & Noise, Brett House and Rio Longacre talk with Adam Greco about “Vibe Analytics,” a future where AI, natural language, and warehouse-native stacks replace rigid dashboards. They explore how this shift could democratize analytics, impact tools like Adobe and Amplitude, and reshape how marketers, analysts, and data teams measure and use data.
RampUp Requiem: Rio Longacre & Krish Raja on Identity, Data Collaboration, and the Future of AdTech
At RampUp in San Francisco, hosted by LiveRamp, industry leaders gathered to discuss the future of identity, data collaboration, retail media, and AI in advertising. In this Signal & Noise episode, hosts recap the event and share insights from top AdTech voices on how privacy, data, and AI are reshaping modern marketing.
AI Doesn’t Fix Data Problems — It Amplifies Them: Acxiom's Crystal Wallace on Governance, Agentic Workflows & the End of “Monolithic SaaS”
In this episode of Signal & Noise, hosts Rio and Brett sit down with Crystal Santos Wallace for a candid conversation about what AI is actually doing inside modern agencies.
Drawing on her experience across global holdcos and at Omnicom Group and Acxiom, Crystal explains why AI doesn’t fix broken data — it amplifies it. They explore the shift from monolithic platforms to agent-orchestrated systems, why governance is becoming mission-critical, and how synthetic audiences and
The UX Reckoning: Designing for an Agentic AI World with Drew Burdick, Founder of StealthX
The marketing industry spends more than $4,000 per U.S. household every year.
Analysts estimate that 20–30% of that spend may be lost to waste, inefficiency, and outright fraud — tens of billions of dollars annually.
So here’s the uncomfortable question:
If everyone knows the plumbing is broken… Why does the system keep running?
In this episode of Signal & Noise, Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Sarah Caputo & David Nyurenberg to unpack what rarely gets said out
The Cost of Keeping Quiet: Ad Fraud, Incentives & The Silence Protecting Billions, with Sarah Caputo & David Nyurenberg
The marketing industry spends more than $4,000 per U.S. household every year.
Analysts estimate that 20–30% of that spend may be lost to waste, inefficiency, and outright fraud — tens of billions of dollars annually.
So here’s the uncomfortable question:
If everyone knows the plumbing is broken… Why does the system keep running?
In this episode of Signal & Noise, Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Sarah Caputo & David Nyurenberg to unpack what rarely gets said out
From Boom to Burden: Is Commerce Media a Growth Driver or a Brand Tax?
Commerce media is exploding—projected to surpass $100B in US ad spend by 2028—but beneath the hype, a harder question is emerging: is this truly incremental growth, or just a rebranded tax on brand dollars?
In this episode of Signal & Noise, hosts Rio Longacre and Brett House sit down with Amie Owen, Global Chief Commerce Officer at IPG Mediabrands, to cut through the noise surrounding retail and commerce media.
With Amazon and Walmart controlling roughly 80-85% of U.S. retai
The CDP Reckoning: Reality, Hype, and Life After the Magic Quadrant
The Customer Data Platform, or CDP, was supposed to be marketing’s system of record. Instead, it’s become one of the most fragmented—and misunderstood—categories in the stack.
In this episode of Signal & Noise, hosts Brett House and Rio Longacre sit down with Matthew Niederberger, Founder of MarTech Therapy, for a candid, practitioner-level conversation about where the CDP market actually stands today—and where it’s headed next.
Matthew brings 20+ years of hands-on MarTech ex
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