• by Joe Mandese , February 28, 2017

Want the skinny on the ad world’s not-so-beaten-path-takers? Take a detour to Adlandia, a new bi-weekly podcast hosted by GE’s Alexa Christon and Giant Spoon’s Laura Correnti featuring the “less-heard voices in the marketing, advertising and publishing industries.”

The show, which posts new installments every other Tuesday, can be found on iTunes, Google Play, iHeartRadio, Spotify and directly at Panapoly, in whose Brooklyn, New York studios Christon and Correnti record each episode.

The series launched February 21 and featured interviews with Mic.com Co-Founder and Editor-at-Large Jake Horowitz and Lenny CEO Ben Cooley about the effect Donald Trump’s election has had on the advertising and media world.

Upcoming guests include:

• Jarrod Dicker, head of commercial product and technology at The Washington Post, and founder of its RED research and experimentation unit.

• Lindsey Slaby, founder of creative brand consultancy Sunday Dinner.

• Amanda Latifi, co-founder and CEO of shopping app Hafta Have.

In the following Q&A, Adlandia’s Correnti explains the who, what, when, where and why of the podcast.

MAD: Who are you, how did you connect and why are you doing Adlandia -- and how does it relate to your day jobs?

Correnti: [We are] two female execs -- media and marketing -- who have pushed to do things a little differently and build ideas in white spaces. In working together over the past five years, we have been fortunate enough to build work we're really proud of and in some cases invent new forms of media and marketing. And along the way, we've forged some invaluable relationships with people who are shaping the advertising, marketing and media industries. We decided to endeavor on this independent venture -- yes, it's extracurricular from our day jobs -- and bring listeners into conversations that are often had outside of the boardroom that questions conventional thinking.

MAD: What are your ambitions for Adlandia?

Correnti: We think of Adlandia as a kind of marketing clubhouse, a place where listeners can come join us in a smart, laid back -- and hopefully entertaining -- conversations with other people in the industry. Our ambition is to help shape what's next and our goal is to have people in the industry get a different take on something and hopefully not just ask themselves, what if, but why not? 

MAD: Where are you recording, and how do your pick your interview subjects?

Correnti: We record at Panoply Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Each episode will feature guests that we feel listeners may not necessarily know, but they should. Typically we pair guests who have something either in common or can wax on a topic. These guests are challenging legacy models, creating new products, reinventing measurement and standards, creating breakthrough work, and ultimately are the people you want in your network of industry partners and ultimately friends.

MAD: Why should people care about this podcast?

Correnti: Adlandia is less about circling headlines and more so about digging into substance to find the signals in the noise. Our discussions are meant to poke holes and challenge ourselves and listeners to think about things differently so we generate new ideas and solutions. We are less breaking news, more think-piece-style round tables, with some good funny thrown in. The commentary is witty, fun and provocative -- you should be laughing and nodding your head fervently at the conversation and think to yourself, "That's interesting, what could I do with something like that?"