Brands are quietly launching podcasts—and people are actually listening.

Brands are quietly launching podcasts—and people are actually listening. As a creative apology to customers, McDonald’s launched “The Sauce,” a parody of the popular podcast “Serial” that explained why the fast food chain fell so short of the Rick and Mortyfandom’s expectations when they released Szechuan sauce. It broke into the iTunes Top 100 and it’s far from alone. “Inside Trader Joe’s,” which covers the inner workings of the beloved grocery store, peaked at number five on that same chart. (NYT)