One‑Dollar AI Podcast Mills

A startup claims it can produce podcast episodes for $1 or less and profit if roughly 20 people listen, thanks to programmatic ads. It already runs 5,000 shows and publishes 3,000 episodes weekly, with 10 million downloads since 2023, fronted by dozens of synthetic hosts. This model industrializes long‑tail audio, making volume and SEO the business, not editorial craft. — If AI can cheaply flood podcast feeds, discovery, ad pricing, labor markets, and authenticity norms in media could be upended.