Adam Heimlich and Gareth Glaser open with a classic Wilford Brimley ”Diabetes” intro before launching into a chaotic week in ad tech. Apple sent shockwaves through the industry by updating Safari to aggressively block URLs associated with browser fingerprinting. Among the affected companies—including LiveRamp, ID5, and Permutative—Apple took the drastic step of blocking The Trade Desk’s primary ad-serving and impression-tracking domain. The hosts debate whether browser makers are overstepping their bounds, examining common carrier laws, net neutrality, and the blatant double standard of Apple giving Google search a pass in exchange for $20 billion annually while crippling independent ad tech.

The conversation turns to the future of identity resolution, with Gareth predicting an accelerated migration from client-side scripts to server-side processing and CDN edge workers to bypass browser-level blocking. The hosts also explore Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI), ad stitching, and the rise of Unified Media Platforms (UMPs) as big tech companies build proprietary ad networks.

Closing out the episode, Adam and Gareth react to a sobering economic projection claiming that current AI investments would require American households to spend $300 per month (9% of US GDP) on AI bills. Finally, they dissect the bankruptcy of Open Web (formerly Disqus/Vocal), with Gareth delivering a fiery rant on how third-party comment widgets act as ”leaky buckets” that undercut publisher ad yields.

KEY TOPICS

• Apple Safari Blocks The Trade Desk: Apple updated Safari to block URLs associated with fingerprinting, targeting ID5, Permutative, LiveRamp, and notably blocking The Trade Desk's core ad-serving and tracking domain.

• Browsers as Common Carriers & Tying: The hosts discuss whether browsers should be treated as common carriers prohibited from altering web content, contrasting Apple’s crackdowns with the $20 billion exception given to Google search.

• Identity Moving to CDN Edge Workers: Gareth predicts that identity vendors will abandon client-side scripts in favor of server-side processing and CDN edge compute to make identity requests indistinguishable from publisher content.

• The $300/Month AI GDP Projection: Adam breaks down a professor's study showing that for current AI valuations to pay off, AI spend would need to reach 9% of US GDP, equating to a $300 monthly bill per American household.

• Open Web Bankruptcy & ”Leaky Buckets”: Following Open Web's Chapter 11 filing, Gareth explains how third-party comment widgets create ”leaky buckets” by running separate, cheaper ad auctions that cannibalize publisher yield.

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Wilford Brimley Intro & Show Opening01:14 Q4 Instability & Industry Shockwaves03:27 Apple Safari Blocks The Trade Desk & ID Vendors06:33 DoubleClick Exemption vs. Trade Desk Impression Tracking07:50 Browser Tying, Monopolization & Apple’s $20B Google Deal10:27 Browsers as Common Carriers & Net Neutrality13:08 Frequency Capping on Safari (UID1 vs. UID2)16:22 Ian Meyers vs. Apple Engineer (”Hardest Hit Keystrokes”)19:51 Voluntary CTV Inventory Deals vs. Unilateral Browser Bans21:37 Ad Blockers, Direct Mail & Consumer Privacy Hypocrisy26:13 AI Browsers & Government Option / Post Office Analogy30:06 In Defense of the Open Web as a Standardized Ad Network32:00 Moving Identity Server-Side to CDN Edge Compute35:49 Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) & Brutal Ad Blockers38:09 The Evolution of CDNs: From Dumb Storage to Edge Compute40:36 Unified Media Platforms (UMPs) & Open Web Ad Networks44:36 Enterprise vs. SMB Ad Tech: AI Agents & Data Collaboration47:19 The Economic Reality of AI: 9% of US GDP ($300/Mo Bills)51:22 Open Web Bankruptcy & Publisher ”Leaky Buckets”58:18 Caddyshack Quotes & Wrap-Up