The Instagram Stories - Social Media News

The Instagram Stories - Social Media News

The ultimate destination for the latest in social media news, focusing on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads, and Edits. The show features exclusive audio clips from the voices behind the platforms, giving updates and insider insights. Whether you're a creator, marketer, or social media enthusiast, stay ahead of the curve and on top of social media news with 'The Instagram Stories - Social Media News'. Instagram and the Glyph are trademarks of Instagram, LLC in the U.S. and other countries. The publisher, author, and contributing photographers are independent and not affiliated with, endorsed, or sponsored by Instagram, LLC. Instagram and the Glyph are used with permission by Instagram, LLC.

Episodes

January 23, 2026 26 mins

 


 

In this interview, I chat with Diego Sanchez, a product manager at Buffer. He is a product leader with over a decade of experience launching new products from zero to one. At Buffer, he leads Community, the company’s newest product, focused on building scalable, meaningful social engagement.

Diego explains what makes Buffer different from other social media management platforms - the team is dedicated to helping small businesses a...

Mark as Played

TikTok's 2026 trend report is out! Longtime listener Casey Ross stops by to share his insights. The YouTube team has improvements to the content upload system, then actor Chris Gethard shares his thoughts on the creator economy and compares the American Revolutionary War being kicked off by mail delivery to our current system of gatekeepers with Instagram and TikTok. Then I do Wednesday Waffle, part 2 of the story where I hired act...

Mark as Played

The Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, answers questions about posting every day on Instagram, and explains the new Edits linking feature. He also gets into improvements around saves, and explains why there's no dedicated Direct Message app for Instagram. 


 

Links:

My Latest Reel - Anna Mongiello's Story (Instagram) (TikTok)


 

Sign Up for The Weekly Email Roundup: Newsletter

Leave a Review: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Mark as Played

Apple announces a direct competitor to Adobe Creative Cloud - it's cheaper and you can purchase the apps so you don't need to pay monthly. Also, the Head of Instagram busts the myth about needing to edit video in Instagram, and YouTube rolls out protections to keep kids limited in their Shorts watch time. Lastly, I do Wednesday Waffle, talking about a gift that I set up for my wife.

NordVPN:  Get Exclusive NordVPN deal here → https:...

Mark as Played

The Head of Instagram explains how often the Instagram algorithm changes, how to use Trial Reels and make them permanent, along with how to share a Reel to Broadcast Channel. We also talk about music on Reels, and how frustrating it is when Instagram loses music rights to a song and now your Reel has no audio.

 


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of persona...

Mark as Played

In this episode, I interview Anna Mangiello, a User-Generated Content (UGC) creator and coach. 

Anna is a former high school teacher turned full-time UGC creator and coach who has been creating UGC content since 2021.

She has worked with over 800 brands, including Fiverr, Maybelline, L’Oréal, TikTok, Microsoft, Dr. Squatch, and many others.

Anna has helped more than 700 creators build profitable online businesses through her programs,...

Mark as Played

The Head of Instagram gave 3 tips for Reels in 2026, which involve the Edits app for ideas plus Trial Reels. He also wrote a long blog post about the state of Instagram and where things are headed with respect to AI. The CEO of YouTube, Neal Mohan, gave an interview explaining where he sees YouTube fitting into the landscape compared to Netflix and where things will be in 5 years.

Links:

Instagram: 3 Reels Tips for 2026 (Instagram)

In...

Mark as Played

When the new year starts, Jen Lehner and I make predictions for the next 12 months. In today's episode, we talk about our favorite marketing campaigns of 2025 and our predictions for social media in 2026. 

 

Links:

Watch the rest of the interview (YouTube)

Listen to the rest of the interview (Spotify)

Jen Lehner: https://jenlehner.com/

Front Row Daily Briefing: https://jenlehner.com/flash/
 

Sign Up for The Weekly Email Roundup: Newsletter

...

Mark as Played

At the end of every year, Jen Lehner and I discuss social media and tech - the biggest fails, the best new features, and make predictions for the next 12 months. In today's episode, we get into the biggest social media fail of the past 12 months, our favorite new Instagram features, and our favorite new apps and platforms.


 

 

Links:

Jen Lehner: https://jenlehner.com/

Front Row Daily Briefing: https://jenlehner.com/flash/

 

Sign Up for Th...

Mark as Played

Every year around this time, Jen Lehner and I talk about our favorite social media moments of the year, the biggest fails, the best new features, and make predictions for the next 12 months. In today's episode, we start by talking about the predictions we made for 2025, then get into our favorite social media news story of the year and our favorite TikTok trend of the year.


 

Links:

Jen Lehner: https://jenlehner.com/

Front Row Daily Br...

Mark as Played

Today the head of Instagram explains why Follower count still matters, the limiting of hashtags to 5, Instagram on televisions and the available data, plus a feature request that already exists in the Edits app.


 

Links:
 

Sign Up for The Weekly Email Roundup: Newsletter

Leave a Review: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Me on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@danielhillmedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Host...

Mark as Played

Instagram announces that hashtags will be limited to 5 - but don't worry, they weren't helping you get reach anyway. TikTok has been sold! The CEO of TikTok, Shou Chew, sent a memo to employees, which thankfully we have access to. Also the YouTube team is hard at work, rolling out the YouTube Create app for iOS and Nano Banana AI features in YouTube.


 

Links:

TikTok: TikTok signs agreement to create new U.S. joint venture, memo says (...

Mark as Played
December 17, 2025 12 mins

Instagram announces their TV app is coming to Amazon Fire devices first, the Edits team has a bunch of updates, X (AKA Twitter) makes a separate desktop inbox that Threads needs to add ASAP, and the YouTube team adds images to the Shorts feed. Plus the YouTube team discusses strategic ways to use the new collabs feature and I do Wednesday Waffle.

 

Incogni: Take back your personal data with Incogni! Use code [ignews] at the link belo...

Mark as Played

Today on the show, the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, talks about what Creators should focus on in 2026, how to adjust your Instagram algorithm settings, how to Edit a Reel after posting it (hint: you can't!) and the future of the Edits app on the desktop. 

 

Links:

Sign Up for The Weekly Email Roundup: Newsletter

Leave a Review: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Me on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Mark as Played

Today we hear from Mr. Beast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, on which platform is the most important to create content for, and why. If you've ever struggled with this question, and I certainly have, you're going to like this episode. Also the Instagram @creators account explains the analytics stat "when people liked this" for videos, and why it's so important. Lastly the YouTube team explains Brand Partner Video Access via BrandConnect.


 

You...

Mark as Played

Instagram has added Story Re-Sharing - I explain how we all did this before using workarounds, but how businesses and brands can use this new feature strategically. Also Instagram is rolling out Reels topic customization in the USA this week, plus testing Early Access Reels. The YouTube team is has been improving the YouTube Studio Inspiration tab, the Create app and Thumbnail/Title A/B testing. Then after the end music, I do Wedne...

Mark as Played

The Head of Instagram's weekly Ask Me Anything is always packed full of good questions. Today's episode includes answers to questions like "how short is too short for a Reel?", "How long should I try to make new content before moving on if it's not working?", "What counts as a view for photos or a carousel?", and "Does someone viewing my Reel at 2x affect the calculated watch time?"

Links:


 

Sign Up for The Weekly Email Roundup: Newsl...

Mark as Played

People have been writing "Dear Algo" on Threads with requests for how their feed should be different - and now Threads is testing supporting these requests. Additionally, the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri explains why they move the buttons around at the bottom, and YouTube Liaison Rene Ritchie explains how to link from a YouTube Short to a longform video.


 

Links:

Threads: "Dear Algo" support in testing (Threads)

Instagram: Why Botto...

Mark as Played

Normally the Head of Instagram answers questions, but today the CEO of YouTube takes over. He answers questions like "What's YouTube going to look like 5 or 10 years from now?" and "How does YouTube help Creators?" Additionally, YouTube announces "Recap", a feature that is exactly like Spotify Wrapped, and the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, explains Notes.

Links:

YouTube: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan Shares How the Platform Innovates: "Y...

Mark as Played

A listener named Nina left me a lovely review of the show, plus links in Reels isn't news and Lia Haberman of the In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) email newsletter.


 

Links:

Old News: Links in Reels (Social Media Today)

Interview with Lia Haberman (Video) (Audio)


 

 

Sign Up for The Weekly Email Roundup: Newsletter

Leave a Review: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Follow Me on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@danielh...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Crime Junkie

    Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.

    On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.