Knowing your research objectives is the easy part, but getting a room full of strangers to tell you something honest and unguarded is something else entirely. In this episode, Jasmina sits down with Andy Fielder and Jeff Hall, two of NRG's most experienced moderators with over 40 years of combined experience, to unpack the craft behind qualitative research. They get into active listening, managing group dynamics, adapting across formats from audience screenings to online IDIs, and how to hold space for genuinely difficult moments without losing the thread of a session. They also tackle the bigger question hanging over the industry: what can an AI moderator actually replicate, and what remains stubbornly human?

Long-held assumptions about high-quality production are being dismantled in the social video era. In this episode, Jasmina is joined by Hena Naghmi and Max Thomson from NRG’s Streaming and Creator Platforms practice to unpack a major shift in audience behavior: why viewers are increasingly categorizing short-form content as "premium." Drawing on key insights from NRG’s Future of Social Video research, the conversation traces how traditional definitions of video craft and authentic storytelling are being rewritten across every screen, including the rapid growth of social content on Connected TVs (CTVs).

Qual-at-scale is redefining how we approach open-ended research, with AI-driven methodologies turning individual responses into scalable insight. In this episode, Jasmina is joined by AJ Giovannetti, Senior VP of Theatrical Strategy, to unpack how NRG is using AI moderation and emerging platforms to engage hundreds of consumers all at once, uncovering meaningful patterns at speed. The pair assess what today’s tools can deliver and where qual-at-scale creates real value. They also look at what this shift means for the future of research, highlighting the core importance of combining AI with human interpretation.