MAM
Mathemedia: Shripad Kulkarni launches podcast for media’s next era
MUMBAI: Shripad Kulkarni, veteran media maven and former ceo of Vizeum, is launching MatheMedia, a first-of-its-kind podcast that promises to crack the code of India’s fast-changing media landscape.
Streaming from 1 September 2025, the long-format series blends a CMO briefing with a masterclass, featuring over 25 industry heavyweights from advertising, tech, publishing, and brand leadership. The opening episode, aptly titled ‘The New Media Code’, will bring together voices such as L.V. Krishnan (TAM Media Research), Puneet Avasthi (Kantar), and Ajay Gupte (WPP Media) to decode the seismic shifts shaking the industry.
“We live in a world of channel chaos, with more platforms and fragmented audiences than ever before,” said MatheMedia, founder, Shripad Kulkarni. “Gone are the days when we could think & work linear & measure with a linear mindset. Today’s marketer faces multiple challenges. With more category entry points, brand assets & personalised messaging needs, brand strategy is being redefined. Brand custodians face growing pressure from a crowded network of channels and partners. It’s time for new rules in strategy, media, measurement, and collaborations.”
The podcast’s 12-episode debut season will tackle hot-button issues: the rise of AI in advertising, quick commerce, evolving consumer journeys, and the urgent need for unified, privacy-compliant measurement systems. Expect candid debates, sharp insights, and a dash of storytelling to simplify complex industry jargons.
Guests lined up include Schbang’s Akshay Gurnani, Google India’s Priya Choudhary, Dentsu Creative Isobar’s Sahil Shah, and India Today’s Vivek Malhotra, to name just a few. Think of it as a roundtable where India’s top media minds redraw the playbook for marketers navigating chaos.
Kulkarni, who has advised marquee brands from Fevicol and BMW to Airbnb and Yes Bank, brings his three-decade expertise and signature wit to the mic. His goal is to help professionals not just adapt to disruption, but shape it.
Episodes will drop every Monday across Spotify, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram. So, whether you’re a CMO, a curious marketer, or just wondering why your ads keep following you around the internet, MatheMedia might just be the formula you need.
Apple rarely announces minor updates with much fanfare, and iOS 26.4 is no exception. No dramatic redesigns, no flashy keynote moments. What it delivers instead is a focused set of improvements that sharpen the experience you already have. If that sounds underwhelming, spend a week with it. You will change your mind.
Apple Music Learns to Listen Better
The biggest shift in this update lives inside Apple Music. Apple has brought AI-powered playlist generation to the app, and it works on mood rather than genre. Type something like “rainy evening at home” or “running late on a Monday,” and it builds a playlist that actually fits. This is not algorithmic guesswork dressed up in new clothing. It genuinely reads the intent behind vague descriptions and responds well.
Alongside this, a new concerts feature scans your listening history and surfaces live events happening near you. It is a smart bridge between your digital music habits and real-world experiences. Apple is quietly making the case that a music app should do more than just play songs.
Shazam also gets a meaningful upgrade. It can now identify songs without an internet connection. This might sound like a minor convenience, but anyone who has tried to Shazam something at a crowded venue with patchy signal will tell you it is anything but minor. The feature works locally on-device, which also means it is faster.
CarPlay Gets Smarter Controls
CarPlay has been updated with deeper integration for intelligent voice assistants. The goal is to reduce how often drivers need to look at a screen or tap anything at all. You speak, things happen. It is a clear step toward making the driving experience safer without stripping away functionality. The integration feels natural rather than bolted on, which is a harder thing to achieve than it sounds.
The Fixes You Feel Every Day
This is where iOS 26.4 earns its keep. Keyboard responsiveness has been improved, and the difference is noticeable immediately. Typing feels more accurate and less combative. Accessibility features have been refined across the board, with better contrast options and adjusted spacing that makes the interface easier to read without forcing you into larger text sizes.
The Health app has also been updated. It now surfaces more actionable insights from your daily data rather than just displaying numbers. If your sleep patterns have shifted or your activity levels have changed, the app now contextualises that clearly instead of leaving you to interpret raw figures on your own.
These are the kinds of changes that do not photograph well for a press release. They also happen to be the ones that make your phone feel genuinely better to use.
A Few Other Additions
New emojis have been added in this update. They will find their way into your conversations faster than you expect. Family Sharing has also been updated, with more granular control over shared payments and subscriptions. If you share an Apple account with family members, this puts clearer limits on who can spend what, which has been a long-requested fix.
What This Update Actually Represents
iOS 26.4 is Apple doing what it does best when it is not trying to make headlines. Every addition here serves a clear purpose. The AI music features are genuinely useful. The CarPlay improvements address a real safety concern. The small UI fixes accumulate into a noticeably smoother daily experience.
There is no bloat. Nothing feels experimental or half-finished. That discipline is harder to maintain than it looks, especially as operating systems grow more complex with each passing year.
If you have been holding off on updating, this is the one worth installing.
