Can't Make It to MAICON 2026? No Problem — These 8 Podcasts Will Bring the Event Back to You

A while back, a friend of mine who works in marketing was venting to me: at an industry conference, he had filled more than twenty pages of notes — and in the three months since he got back, he hadn't opened them once.

I didn't laugh at him. Because I'm no different.

Think about it: at the conference, keynotes roll out one after another, quotable lines fly fast and furious, and you scribble away for dear life. But after the venue empties out? The notes sit in your notes app, the ideas sit in your notes, and eventually they all end up in a folder called "read later."

Most of the good stuff you pick up at a conference dies when the crowd disperses.

That's the thing I want to talk about today.

From October 13 to 15, one of the liveliest gatherings in the marketing-AI world — MAICON (Marketing AI Conference) — opens once again in Cleveland, Ohio. It is organized by the Marketing AI Institute, a team devoted to figuring out how AI can actually land in real marketing work.

Now, on this edition of the conference, they've landed on a clever fix for "out the door, out of mind."

On-site: they set up a podcast studio.

What Is an On-Site Podcast Studio?

Picture a radio station that has packed up and moved into the convention hall.

The main stage has its own rules: schedules locked to the minute, topics kept broad, speakers addressing thousands. Many of the questions really worth chewing on get talked out over coffee in the hallway instead.

The on-site podcast studio is exactly that: the coffee-break conversations, made official.

The first trial run last year was a hit. This is year two: over two days, 8 podcast shows will record right inside the venue. Production is handled by the team at Evergreen Podcasts — this is their line of work, and they'll have a booth at the hall, too.

In other words, whatever the keynote stage didn't have time to dig into, the hosts pick up in a small room. If you're there, you can pull up a chair and listen. If you're not, no worries — the shows will carry the sounds of Cleveland back to you.

"Taking the conference out of the hall" — this is what that looks like.

So how should you listen to those 8 shows?

I've grouped them for you by the question you're trying to answer.

Want to Know How Others Are Actually Using AI

First up: Marketing AI Sparkcast, hosted by Aby Varma.

This show brings in front-line marketing leaders to explain how they put AI to work in real business — what you hear is always "here's what we did, and here's how it went." At 7:30 on the morning of October 14, it will also be the very first live recording of the event.

Second: The Agile Brand, hosted by Greg Kihlström.

This one's strength is its guest list: platform players like Adobe, Salesforce, and Optimizely, brands like Marriott, Georgia-Pacific, Nestlé, and Zoom — CMOs and product leads take the mic in rotation. The cadence is intense, too: three new episodes a week, each 20 to 30 minutes, focused on marketing technology, AI, and customer experience.

Impressive. At this density, it's like subscribing to an industry executives' chat room straight into your earbuds.

Want to Track AI's Every Move, Week by Week

Third: The Artificial Intelligence Show, hosted by Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput.

How fast does AI move? Fast enough that what you finally understood last week may already be out of date this week. Every week, these two take the latest AI news apart piece by piece and tell you what changed and what to watch next.

If you don't want to drown in the news feed but can't afford to fall behind either, this one show is enough.

Want Something You Can Act On Right After Listening

Fourth: Build a Better Agency, hosted by Drew McLellan of the Agency Management Institute.

This show has a refreshingly practical rule: every episode has to end with an action you can execute directly. When you finish listening, it's not just "huh, that makes sense" — it's one thing you can try changing tomorrow. If you run an agency, make this one a priority.

Fifth: In-Ear Insights, hosted by the longtime duo Christopher Penn and Katie Robbert.

The style can be summed up in one line: within 30 minutes, answer one real business question — no small talk, no detours. Even better, knowing that people absorb knowledge in different ways, each episode ships with a full set of resources — video, audio, a written transcript, all of it.

Want Something on the Lighter Side

Sixth: Pretty Funny Business, hosted by Sydney Mulligan and Lauren Aquilino, the two founders of EMMIE Collective.

Anyone who has run a business knows there are plenty of moments in it that are not one bit funny. This show goes straight for those moments — talking feminism, marketing, and revenue operations, and turning the bitter stuff into comedy. The live edition should be quite a scene.

The Remaining Two, Each with Its Own Lane

Seventh: AI for U, hosted by Brian Piper, made for higher education, with a new episode every other Thursday. It covers how universities fold AI into everyday workflows and how they improve the student experience. Even if you're not in higher ed, it's worth a listen to hear how another sector iterates in small, quick steps.

Eighth: AI Marketing Companion, hosted by Sandy Carter — a veteran of the tech world and a keynote speaker who spends her life on the big-conference circuit. In each episode, she sits down with an industry expert to take apart one trend that is shaping the future of business.

When the Crowd Disperses, the Conversation Doesn't Have To

Back to the question at the start: where do all the good ideas from a conference end up?

Most of them die when the crowd disperses.

But this October, you have one more option. If you're in Cleveland, go claim a seat in the podcast studio and catch a live recording. If you're not, add these 8 shows to your subscription list and let them bring the event back to you. Four shows record on October 14 and four more on October 15, running from 7:30 in the morning straight into the afternoon.

Oh, and that friend with the twenty-plus pages of notes? I'm already getting ready to send him this list of 8 shows.

The conference will let out, but the conversation doesn't have to.

Here's to a rich October harvest for your ears.