Commentary

Sounds Profitable Names Ira Glass, Don Lemon Among First Speakers for Inaugural Business Summit

Published on August 13, 2026

Sounds Profitable, the trade association for the podcasting industry, has announced the first speakers and participating organizations for its inaugural Business Summit. The event runs September 14-15, 2026, at Terminal 5 in New York City and is open exclusively to Sounds Profitable Partners.

The first wave of confirmed participants includes Ira Glass, Don Lemon and Rich Roll, along with representatives from YouTube, Amazon and Scalable. Maggie Sellers Reum, host of the “Hot Smart Rich” podcast from FlightStory, and Kimberly Adams of Marketplace’s “Morning Report” will also appear. Sounds Profitable said additional speakers and programming will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Summit will include what the organization described as major news from Crooked Media, to be unveiled live from the stage. Sounds Profitable said no speaking slots at the event are sponsored or sold, with every session independently curated.

“The Business Summit exists because more than 220 companies have invested in Sounds Profitable’s mission to grow podcasting,” said Bryan Barletta, partner at Sounds Profitable and president of Podcast Movement. “We wanted to create an event worthy of that investment. That means content that’s practical instead of hypothetical, speakers who are doing the work instead of talking about it, and conversations that attendees can take back to their businesses the very next day.”

More than 125 brand, agency and advertiser representatives have registered so far, spanning holding companies, independent agencies and direct brands, according to the announcement. The Summit opens with a community Run Club event in Central Park on the morning of September 14, hosted with Voicing Change Media and creator Zac Clark.

The event is part of a broader week of podcast industry programming at Terminal 5, which also includes the official IAB Podcast Upfront After Party on September 16 and Podcast Movement on September 17-18. Each partner organization may purchase up to two tickets to the Business Summit, with additional tickets available based on capacity.