Channels with Peter Kafka

Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz on Sam Altman’s Trust Problem

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:46:00 -0000

Sam Altman has spent years presenting himself as the face of AI: The guy warning that the technology could change everything, and the guy insisting that he should be the one to build it. Now we are facing some overdue questions: Can we trust Sam Altman with the massive power AI may generate? And should we trust anyone with that power?

Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz join me to talk about their New Yorker profile of the OpenAI CEO, the internal fights around OpenAI’s mission, and why so many people who’ve worked with Altman keep coming back to the same concerns about trust.

We talk about Altman’s talent for telling different audiences different things; why Silicon Valley’s usual tolerance for founder myth-making looks different when the product is AI; and how OpenAI went from warning about dangerous race dynamics to helping kick one off with ChatGPT.

Then we broaden out: if the real problem is structural, not just personal, what kind of oversight should exist for the people building a technology they say could reshape all of our lives?

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What Happens When a “Succession” Writer Takes on Silicon Valley

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0000

Jonathan Glatzer has written for shows like Succession and Better Call Saul. Now he’s got his own: The Audacity, a new AMC drama set in Silicon Valley.
So why make a Silicon Valley show right now — and what, exactly, is he trying to say about tech?

Glatzer tells me he wasn’t interested in making a wall-to-wall “tech show,” or in doing spot-the-billionaire satire. Instead, he says, he wanted to focus on the people living inside that world: the strivers, service providers, almost-rich neighbors, therapists, and families orbiting vast amounts of money and power.

We talk about why privacy and data collection still worry him more than AI hype; why he thinks tech has failed to deliver on many of its biggest promises; and why he’s more interested in the human consequences of Silicon Valley than in explaining how the industry works.

Plus: what it means to make a prestige-style TV drama in a post-Peak TV market, why AMC was willing to take a swing on this one, and how you fake Silicon Valley by shooting in Vancouver.

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Why We Need to Pay Attention to Elon Musk Again

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0000

Elon Musk has spent the last year being quieter than usual — by Elon Musk standards.
That may be about to change in a very big way, as his SpaceX moves toward what could be one of the biggest IPOs in history. So what, exactly, is Musk selling? A rocket company? A satellite internet giant? An AI play? Or just the latest, biggest version of Elon himself?
Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin, who has been tracking Musk for a couple of decades, joins me to walk through what Musk has actually been up to lately. We talk about what SpaceX is now that it includes multiple businesses under one roof; why Musk might want to take it public after years of insisting he didn’t; and how much of the pitch is grounded in real operating businesses — rockets! Satellite internet! — versus the familiar promise of something much vaguer and hard to assess.
Then we broaden out: Tesla’s drift from car company to AI-and-robotics story, whether X is still a business or simply a political and cultural weapon, and what changed after Musk’s break with Trump. The bigger question underneath all of it: has Musk built a coherent empire — or just a very effective machine for turning hype, power, and celebrity into capital?

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Why Prediction Markets Are Turning Everything Into a Bet

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0000

Prediction markets are suddenly everywhere: in sports, in politics, in the media business — and, depending on who you ask, they’re either a useful forecasting tool or just gambling with better branding. So what changed? And why is the federal government sounding more like a booster than a regulator?

WIRED’s Kate Knibbs joins me to explain why she made prediction markets her beat, how Kalshi and Polymarket went mainstream, why Trump-world is so friendly to them, why some states are trying to stop them, and what happens when more and more of public life gets turned into a bet. We also talk about media companies cutting deals with prediction-market firms, the blurry rules around insider trading, and why this story is really about the casino-fication of everything.

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How to Survive without Google: People Inc's Playbook

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0000

Lots of publishers are freaked out about “Google Zero” — the notion that one day, Google will stop sending them any traffic at all.

That’s more or less already happened at People Inc., says CEO Neil Vogel. Vogel says Google used to account for 70% of his properties’ traffic, but dropped off quickly in the last couple years. Now Google represents about 25% of his mix.

That decline is supposed to be an existential problem for people like Vogel, who built a series of sites designed to harvest search traffic. Instead, he’s growing at a double-digit clip.

One reason People Inc. is doing well is that Vogel, backed by Barry Diller’s IAC, bought People, along with all the other titles owned by magazine publisher Meredith back in 2021. Turns out many of those brands still mean something to lots of people.

Meanwhile, Vogel has been happy to sign deals with AI companies like OpenAI. Isn’t there a chance those companies will end up being unreliable partners, just like platforms of the past? Sure, Vogel says. But he’s willing to take the chance — and the money those AI companies are providing — and figure it out as he goes.

“There is a chance we are a hundred percent wrong on all of this,” he tells me. “There's a chance that we're a hundred percent right. The truth is probably somewhere in between.”

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Matt Belloni on the Oscars, the Ellisons, and Hollywood’s Next Chapter

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0000

Oscar season is supposed to be Hollywood’s lap. It is also, increasingly, a reminder of how shaky things are in Hollywood right now. And this one comes as one of the town’s most prominent players is about to be swallowed by a new mogul, backed by tech money.

Here to unpack all of it is Puck’s Matt Belloni, who explains why we may never see an Oscars like this again; how the show will — or won’t — change when it migrates to YouTube in a couple years; how the movie business thinks about the upcoming Paramount/WBD deal; and some 100% not guaranteed betting advice for Sunday night’s show.

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The World’s Cup Is Coming to Trump’s America, with Roger Bennett

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0000

The World Cup is coming to the U.S (and Canada, and Mexico) in less than 100 days.

Perhaps you’re an American who doesn’t care about soccer, and has given this news zero thought. That won’t be an option when the games arrive, says Roger Bennett. The CEO of the Men in Blazers podcast network — and author of “We Are the World (Cup)”, a personal history of the tournament — tells me this won’t be like anything we’ve seen here; even for old timers like me, who can remember the 1994 edition, which the U.S. also hosted.

This time around, Roger predicts, we are going to feel the “global eclipse” of attention the games generate, and will be astonished when places like Kansas City and Seattle turn into temporary versions of Argentina and the Netherlands. Even if you don’t watch a single second of a single game, you won’t be able to ignore it.

The other thing you won’t be able to ignore: The fact that America is hosting the world at the same time it is telling much of the world to pound sand. What happens if/when “America First” politics, visas, and Homeland Security become part of the tournament’s story?

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Netflix Walks, Paramount Wins, and the Ellisons Take Hollywood

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:42:00 -0000

Netflix shocked the world last year by winning a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. This week it shocked us by walking away.
In this emergency bonus episode, CNBC’s Alex Sherman walks us through the whiplash: Why Netflix chose not to counter Paramount, what the market blowback signaled, and how much of this was about price versus the very real prospect of a long, ugly regulatory and political slog.
Then we spin it forward: what a Paramount/WBD mash-up means in practice (translation: overlap, “synergies,” and a lot of job anxiety)? What happens to crown-jewel assets like HBO and CNN? And why this isn’t just another media merger, but a power shift. We don’t really know what David and Larry Ellison have planned for their newly acquired media empire — but we do know that they are now very big players.

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Brian Stelter on the Trump Media Shakedown Era

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:00:00 -0000

Brian Stelter puts its clearly: "All M&A runs through the Oval Office right now.” So how much does Trump matter in the Netflix/Paramount battle for Warner Bros. Discovery — and what does he want out of it?

Stelter, CNN’s chief media analyst and author of the newsletter Reliable Sources, walks us through the information vacuum around the deal, Trump’s habit of inserting himself as a would-be kingmaker, and the harder-to-prove question haunting every newsroom: not just what Trump says out loud, but what companies do (or don’t do) because they’re afraid to become his next target.

Then we broaden out: Brendan Carr’s FCC and broadcast pressure, the Nexstar/TEGNA fight, and what’s going on in Murdochland when Trump can sue the Wall Street Journal and still break bread with Rupert Murdoch. Plus: the state of CNN — and what it’s like to work at a network that may have a new owner sooner than later.

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Janice Min on Hollywood’s Crisis; Reed Duchscher on the Creator Boom

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0000

Janice Min and Reed Duchscher are both building new media companies in LA. But their perspectives are quite different: Min runs The Ankler, the trade pub that mostly focuses on the fate of Big Media companies like Paramount and Netflix; Duchscher runs Night, a talent agency focused on digital talent like Kai Cenat and Hassan Piker (he’s best known for his work with Mr. Beast).
So it’s not totally shocking that my conversation with Min is a pretty downbeat chat about the state of the industry — LA, she says, currently has “a Detroit Vibe”. And that my chat with Duchscher is more upbeat — he just raised $70 million to build out his business.
But there’s still a lot of overlap in these two conversations, because both of these CEOs are trying to build businesses that can stand up to industry changes. Min, for instance, is getting ready to live in a world where consolidation means a smaller pool of advertisers for her publication. And Duchscher is trying to navigate platforms like YouTube, which is simultaneously asking his clients to make long-form videos that can work on TV, and clips built for YouTube shorts, its TikTok knock off.

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How Odd Lots' Joe Weisenthal Turned Curiosity Into a Career, and a Hit Podcast

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0000

If Joe Weisenthal didn’t exist, the internet would have to invent him. Because Joe Weisenthal is built for the internet — more specifically, an internet personality: Knows a lot, curious about even more, often right, happy to be wrong, always has something to say about anything.
That persona/personality did wonders for Joe in the early days of Business Insider — which, not coincidentally, were also the early days of Twitter, where Joe really took off. Then he took his talents to Bloomberg, and since then has turned himself into a successful business/finance podcaster: Along with co-host Tracy Alloway, they’ve turned “Odd Lots” from a project no one at Bloomberg paid attention to into a genuine hit.
Discussed here: Why Joe is still at Bloomberg, instead of doing the indie media route that could make him a gazillion dollars; what makes a perfect podcast guest; and Joe’s semi-secret country music ambitions. Plus, something smart you can say about tariffs, if you’re in a place where people are talking about tariffs.
Bonus content! This pod also includes a conversation with filmmaker Adam Bhala Lough, who wanted to make a movie about OpenAI’s Sam Altman, but couldn’t. So he made a fake Sam Altman instead, which is why his movie is called Deepfaking Sam Altman.

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Jeff Bezos Used To Be In Love with The Washington Post. What Happened?

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 18:30:00 -0000

Jeff Bezos used to be the savior of The Washington Post. He bought it for $250 million in 2013, and then invested money and energy into turning it around — and it worked.
Now the Amazon founder is decimating the Post’s staff, and his managers are telling the ones who are left that things have to change.
So what happened, and what happens next? Erik Wemple is the right person to ask: He spent years covering media at the Post, and now he’s at the New York Times, where he’s covering the collapse of his old home.

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Who is Josh D'Amaro and Why is He Disney's New CEO?

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 17:07:00 -0000

In February 2020, Disney CEO Bob Iger finally announced his successor: Bob Chapek, who ran the company’s parks business. That didn’t work out.
Now Iger is running it back: This time around he’s announced that Josh D’Amaro, who runs the company’s park business, is going to succeed him.
So: Who is Josh D’Amaro, and what has he done to prove himself CEO-worthy? Why does Iger (and the Disney board) think this one will work? And what happens to all the Disney businesses D’Amaro doesn’t have any background in - you know, the movies and TV shows you think about when you think of Disney?
We have an excellent guest to walk us through all of this: Puck’s Julia Alexander, who has been covering Disney for years — and also worked there for a year doing strategy stuff.
Julia’s argument in a nutshell: Disney doesn’t know what’s going to happen to the business of making things like movies and TV shows. But it knows people are going to keep coming to its parks and cruises, so it hired the guy that knows that business. Is that the right call?

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Running a Newsroom in Minneapolis + How to Make a Game of Thrones For Less

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0000

In an ideal world, I wouldn’t be bringing you an interview with the editor of the Minnesota Star Tribune about her paper’s coverage of the killing of Alex Pretti in the same episode where I interview the man behind HBO’s newest Game of Thrones show.

But we’re not in an ideal world right now.

So here’s a conversation with Star Tribune editor Kathleen Hennessey — who left the New York Times to take the gig less than a year ago — about the challenges of covering the chaos in the Twin Cities, and how the paper tries to distinguish itself from the many, many competitors it has on this story. From the NYT itself to citizens posting their own videos.

And then I chat with Ira Parker, whose “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” is HBO’s newest GOT extension. But this one differs from the others in ways you can see onscreen — it’s lighter and more fun, and doesn’t require viewers to understand things like the Targaryen family tree — and in offscreen ways you can’t necessarily see — namely, that it’s much cheaper to make.

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Chuck Klosterman on Why Football Owns TV (and Why It Won’t Forever)

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0000

Football isn’t just the biggest show on TV — at this point, it’s basically the only reason some TV networks exist. So it’s a very worthy subject for Chuck Klosterman, the provocative and prolific writer, to tackle in his new book, which is called… Football.

The big Channels idea here is to talk about football’s dominance in American media and culture, and What That Means — and how that might end, one day. And we most definitely get into that.

But when you have Chuck Klosterman in studio, you talk about as much as you can. So in this this one, we also get into:

Why football is a “completely mediated,” made-for-tv-even-if-accidentally experience — and why “the only seat” is basically your couch
How video games helped rewire the way fans understand (and even play) football
How gambling created a “fake game” that sits on top of the real one
Why the concussion panic faded even though the hits didn’t

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How to Build a Profitable Media Company in 3 years, with Semafor’s Justin Smith

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:00:00 -0000

News is a tough business. So how did Semafor, the news startup founded by Ben Smith and Justin Smith, figure out how to turn a profit in their third year of business?

Excellent journalism certainly helps. But it’s really because the company made two key decisions: Focusing on events — and focusing on events in Washington, D.C., where companies will pay a lot of money to reach a relatively small crowd of influential people.

There’s more to it than that, as Semafor’s CEOJustin Smith explains to me in our conversation. But it’s not a coincidence that Semafor is doing well in the same market that’s been quite kind to other news startups in recent years, including Axios and Punchbowl.

So one big question I had going into this conversation — and one I still have — is whether you can adapt the Semafor playbook if your media company isn’t oriented around the C Suite/K Street set. But take a listen and let me know what you think.

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Inside Bari Weiss’s Rise: LA, Sun Valley, and the Mogul Network

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:00:00 -0000

How, exactly, did Bari Weiss become the head of CBS News?

We know that David Ellison, who bought Paramount last year, hired her — and bought The Free Press, the publication she started a few years earlier. But how did she get on Ellison’s radar? And why are so many media moguls, like Ellison, huge fans?

New York magazine’s Charlotte Klein knows. She recently published an excellent profile of Weiss that tracks her ascent over the last few years, and I wanted to talk to her about it. It’s a story about networking, talent, and timing, and I think it tells us a lot about where we’re at right now.

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Craig Finn on Friendship, Fans and The Hold Steady’s Second Life

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Craig Finn makes music — as the head of the Hold Steady, and on his solo records — about grown-up lives and bad decisions. Back in 2017, we talked about his life as a working rock musician — and how touring actually works, how the band found a second life, and why fans and friendship matter more than old ideas of rock stardom.

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Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt’s Second Act: Less Budget, More Control

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

PJ Vogt helped invent modern narrative podcasting with “Reply All.” Now he’s running “Search Engine” with a much smaller team and a lot more control. We talk through what he gave up this time around, what he gained, and how he actually makes the show each week.

I loved this conversation when we recorded it earlier this year. And I think it’s just as relevant now, as media talent — and lots of people in other industries, too — are figuring out how to think about money, ownership and scale.

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"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What’s Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

The backstory here is that weeks ago, Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw agreed to join me for my 2025/2026 look back/look ahead episode. And then things got way more compelling, because Paramount and Netflix got into a truly unprecedented fight over the future of Warner Bros Discovery.

So that’s what we’re talking about here, including:

*Why this truly is a turning point for Hollywood, and streaming, and the great media/tech collision we’ve been covering for years.

*How Trump, Middle Eastern money and antitrust regulators complicate the deal

*Who actually needs this merger more.

*What happens now that WBD has formally dismissed Paramount’s bid? Again: we recorded this a few days before the news — but as you’ll hear, we had a pretty good sense of how it was going to go.

And because this still is a wrap-up episode, we got some AI vs. Hollywood chat into this one, as well as some listening/watching recs.

PS: I’ve got some bonus programming coming to you over the next couple of weeks. Have a great holiday, and I’ll see you in January.

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Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He’s a Must-Read Media Gossip.

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

I chat with lots of media reporters. Lachlan Cartwright is a different beast: An Aussie who started out working for Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids in London and New York, and then on to the National Enquirer — yes, that National Enquirer — back when it was catching and killing stories on behalf on Donald Trump. Now Cartwright runs Breaker, a must-read New York media gossip newsletter and podcast, and spends his time staking out Sulzberger family barbecues, knocking on doors at 4:45 a.m., and writing about the people who run the news.

We talk about how tabloid training shaped the way he reports; what he saw and did during his Enquirer years — and how he thinks about that period now; and why he believes there’s still a business (and an appetite) for smart, funny, deeply-inside media gossip. And then I put him to work, dishing on the big under-covered stories we will be talking about in the next year.

Cheers!

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"Hollywood is Truly Freaked Out." Inside the Netflix/WBD Deal with Lucas Shaw

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 20:22:00 -0000

In 2013, Netflix wanted to become HBO. Now Netflix is going to buy HBO along with the Warner Bros. Studio, in a blockbuster $83 billion deal.

Wowza. Here to talk me through this is Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, who has been deep in the deal talks for weeks. Discussed in this one:

*How did Netflix maneuver its way into a deal everyone thought Paramount would win?

*Will this deal actually get past Donald Trump and U.S. regulators?

*What does this deal — a kind of deal Netflix has never, ever made in the past — tell us about Netflix today?

*What happens to my favorite HBO shows?

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PBS Lost a Billion Dollars. Now what? With CEO Paula Kerger

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0000

The last time I interviewed PBS CEO Paula Kerger was 2019: Donald Trump was President, and Republicans were trying to defund public media — as they had been trying to do for decades.

That didn’t happen then, but this year it did, and now Kerger is trying to fill a $1 billion funding hole.

So far, she says, PBS and its member stations have held up ok — no one has had to shut down, yet.

But while Kerger holds out hope she can convince Congress to start funding public TV again, it’s worth talking about why federally funded public media was created in 1967 — and whether it still makes sense to continue that setup in 2025. And if federal funding is permanently off the table, what will PBS do — and not do -- in the future?

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What Happens To Media When The Web Goes Away, with Tony Haile

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0000

We built the modern media business for the web — for people who visited websites, read articles, and saw ads. What happens when no one does that anymore?

That’s been one of the big themes of conversations we’ve been having on Channels with this year — with people who run big and small media properties, and with people who are trying to build media businesses. And that’s why I wanted to talk to Tony Haile.

Tony got into digital media years ago, when he was the CEO of Chartbeat - the analytics site that trained every web publisher to watch what was happening to their properties in real time. Then he went on to build Scroll, a sort of ad-blocking subscription service that was meant to work with lots of news publishers. Twitter bought that one, then killed it.

The point is that Tony has spent a lot of time talking and working with media companies of all sorts, and now… it looks like he’s getting out. So I wanted to talk him about why his new company — Filament — is not a media startup, and what he thinks is going to happen to the rest of the media business as AI washes over the landscape. This is going to sound like a bummer of a conversation — and in some parts it is! But he’s a good guide, and there are some glimmers of hope here and there.

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Kevin Reilly got to the top of the TV heap. Now he's in AI.

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0000

If you watched something on TV that you liked in the past few decades, there’s a good chance Kevin Reilly was involved: at various times he’s held top jobs at FX, Fox, NBC, Turner and HBO Max.

But that run ended in 2020, and now Reilly is running Kartel, an AI company that… well, I’m still not entirely sure what it does. (To be fair, as Reilly notes in our chat, it’s a young company that’s still figuring it out itself.)

But I really wanted to talk to Reilly to get his POV on TV, which more or less peaked when he was working in the industry. Now, of course, it is in what appears to be permanent decline, while its remaining participants try to merge their way to safety.

Why did TV flourish in its not-that-long ago Golden Age? And why didn’t its leaders see — or act on — the threat that streaming/digital/internet tech would have on their industry?

You probably have some ideas yourself. Now you get to hear it directly from a guy who was there, at the top.

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What the Disney–YouTube Battle Tells Us About the End of Cable

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0000

It’s not unusual for a big TV network and a big TV distributor to fight about money. But the Disney-YouTube fight is unusual -- at the bare minimum, because it has stretched out for so long. CNBC’s Alex Sherman lives and breathes this stuff, so I asked him to walk me through it, and make some prognostications about when it might get settled (spoiler alert: he thinks some football fans who pay for YouTube TV may be unhappy for a while longer.)

Then Sherman and I move on to the other Big Media deal: the battle for the company we currently call Warner Bros. Discovery, but is likely to be owned by someone else, in some form…. eventually.

Discussed here: why, really, did Larry and David Ellison put in multiple offers to buy another media company weeks after they bought Paramount? What would they do with WBD if they got it? And are any of the theoretical other buyers for all or parts of WBD real?

Bonus question for you: did I use the word “degradation” correctly in this one?

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The Bulwark's Sarah Longwell on Why Republicans Won the Attention War

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0000

In some ways, the Bulwark feels like other small publishers in 2025: it’s found growth and profit by pushing itself out on any platform it can find.

But that wasn’t the plan when the company started in 2018. Back then, it was a non-profit cofounded by Republicans who couldn’t stand their party’s embrace of Donald Trump, and wanted a place to organize, debate and push back.

Over the years the site turned itself into a for-profit, and found success selling Substack subscriptions — it’s currently on pace to do more than $12 million a year from those alone, says CEO Sarah Longwell. But it has really caught fire in recent years by embracing YouTube. “The thing that made the biggest difference was when we decided to turn the cameras on,” she says.

I talked to Longwell this week about the Bulwark’s evolution, and the tension between running a mission-driven company and one that wants to make money. And since Longwell still does political consulting and focus group work, I also talked to her about the state of the art when it comes to political media — and why she thinks Republicans are so much better at it then Democrats.

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The Man Who Fixed The New York Times Wants to Fix CNN

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Would you pay $7 a month to stream CNN?

Because CNN CEO Mark Thompson would like you to do that.

I know, I know, I’m skeptical, too. But Thompson has been here before: At his last job, as CEO of the New York Times, he helped shepherd that company’s subscription business, which had a gazillion naysayers at the start. And now the Times’ business model is the envy of everyone in journalism.

Can he do it again? One big difference is that the Times launched its paywall all the way back in 2011, before everyone was asking consumers to pay for monthly subscriptions for everything. I also have a hunch that the Times brand registers more deeply for its audience than CNN does for its. But now we’ll get to find out.

Meantime, all of this is happening as CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery is likely to get sold, yet again. Which means all of the work Thompson and his team are doing could get upended by a new management regime.

But that’s the future. For now, it’s very much worth listening to Thompson make the case for CNN, and TV news in general.

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The End of Mass Media—and What Comes Next

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

We spend a lot of time on this show talking to people who run media companies. We also spend a lot of time talking to media reporters.

So here’s our one-man Venn diagram: Brian Morrissey runs The Rebooting, where he podcasts, writes and hosts events, all geared at making people in the media business smarter about the media business. If you want to hear from a guy who understands the big picture, but also the practical realities of operating, he’s your guy.

Brian has been preaching the gospel of small media for some time, so we start there: What is the upside of running a scaled-down media company these days — and what happens to all the businesses that spent years chasing scale?

And yes, Brian and I also talk about AI, and what it will and won’t do for (and to) media. But we also spend a lot of time talking about Google, and the enormous power it currently has — particularly when it comes to the company’s Discover feature, which drives an astonishing amount of traffic.

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The PR Guy Who Says the AI Boom Is a Bust

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

The AI story is changing fast. A few months ago, it was all promise and inevitability. Now even AI boosters are asking if the numbers make sense.

Ed Zitron got there early. He runs a PR firm for a living, which means he’s supposed to help people sell their stories. But he’s become best known for tearing tech’s biggest stories apart. And he’s been pushing at the economics behind the AI boom, via his newsletter and podcast, for some time.

We talk about how he built a career out of skepticism, why the media keeps falling for big tech’s favorite stories, and what happens if the AI party ends early.

(And yes: I wrote the paragraphs above with an assist from ChatGPT — mostly so I can imagine Zitron fuming when he reads this.)

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Why the Guardian Doesn't Need a Billionaire to Thrive

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

In lots of ways Guardian Media Group is facing the same problems as every other news publisher: A tricky ad environment, platform problems, looming AI threats.

One big difference: The Guardian also has a $1.5 billion trust backing the non-profit, which seems way, way better than being owned by a run-of-the-mill billionaire who might want to meddle with the paper.

But CEO Anna Bateson says the Guardian needs to be a self-sustaining publisher. So it has been steadily, and successfully, getting readers to shoulder the load, via donations, which now account for 40% of the company's revenue.

We talk about how and why the Guardian switched its business model; why it still wants ad money; how the British, lefty news shop is trying to break into America yet again, and why asking readers for donations is, and isn't, like asking them to pay for subscriptions.

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Almost Everyone is Taking Money from OpenAI. Why is Ziff Davis suing them?

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:00:00 -0000

In the future, digital publishers could get run over by AI. In the present, they are deeply concerned about Google, and the prospect that the search giant is going to choke off their last reliable traffic stream.
That may explain why lots of publishers are making deals with OpenAI now -- and doing a lot of grousing about Google.
Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah is going the other way: he's one of only two big publishers to sue OpenAI (the other one is the New York Times) and he says his portfolio of sites would like more traffic from Google, but is confident things will work out.
Shah and Ziff Davis never got the attention some of their digital peers did a decade ago. On the flip side, they're still standing in 2025. So this is a POV worth paying attention to.

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The Future of Late Night TV, Jimmy Kimmel, and The First Amendment

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 19:19:00 -0000

When’s the last time you stayed up to watch a late night TV monologue? Months? Years? Decades?

I’m not sure, either. But I stayed up Tuesday night to watch Jimmy Kimmel’s return. James Poniewozik, who covers TV for the New York Times, just caught up with it the next day on YouTube.

Which underscores one of the odder parts of the Trump v. Kimmel fight - it revolves around a time slot and a format that has been on its way out for a long time.

So how did late night TV become a flashpoint in a crucial First Amendment fight? And how long is it going to stick around?

James is the perfect person for this discussion: Not only does he watch TV (or YouTube) for a living, he’s also become a professional Trump-watcher, because Trump is a TV character. (Trump and TV are the subject of James’ excellent 2019 book). But make no mistake: the threats he’s making — on his own and with the help of his regulators – are very real.

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I tried Zuckerberg's $800 Ray-Bans. Are they the future? With Alex Heath

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 00:35:00 -0000

A year ago I got try a pair of $10,000 computer goggles from Meta. The tech was super-impressive, but you couldn’t buy them them. You still can’t.

Now Mark Zuckerberg is trying a similar idea. But this time around the the tech is scaled-down, lighter and way cheaper: the new version costs $800, and you’ll be able to buy them in a couple days.

Why would you want to wear a computer on your face - no matter how much it costs and how much they weigh? And why do all the big tech companies keep trying to make this happen? I have some ideas, but Alex Heath is deeply sourced on this stuff, so asked him.

Up until this week, Alex was a star tech reporter at The Verge. Now he’s off on his own, with Access (a podcast) and Sources (a Substack). He’s kicking off his foray into indie media with a long interview with Zuckerberg, so we used that as a jumping off point to talk about Zuckerberg’s political shift, his AI obsession, and his big bet on wearable tech.

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How TBPN Made a Tech News Splash

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0000

John Coogan knows what you’re thinking: the world does not need another tech podcast. And the world does not need another podcast featuring two dudes talking.

Yet Coogan and Jordi Hays have started another tech podcast, featuring the two of them talking and… it’s a hit. In the span of a year, TBPN has become the place where tech execs go to chop up the news of the day - first in a daily livestream, and later in clips that circulate around the internet.

And Coogan and Hays are carving out a niche for themselves: Insidery, in-the-know, but also not that serious about the whole thing. They don’t have a huge audience, but they have an influential one, and the beginnings of a very intriguing business.

I talked to Coogan about how TBPN got off the ground, how it works today, where he and Hays go from here — and whether their success has built a playbook for others to follow.

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Patch’s AI Experiment: Thousands of Newsletters, Zero Humans

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Everyone agrees that the decline/disapperance of local news is a big problem. No one agrees about the best way to solve it.

So let’s check in on a new AI push from Patch, the people who have been trying to do local news, online, at scale, for more than two decades.

Last spring, Patch CEO Warren St. John announced that he was running local newsletters for thousands of communities across the U.S., without employing a single human to make them. This week, I asked him how it’s going.

No one is going to mistake these “Patch AM” emails for a fully-staffed local news outlet — and in fact Patch relies on other local outlets to help populate their newsletters. But they also seem like a well-meaning effort to provide residents with something, as opposed to nothing. Or, in St. John’s words: He’s providing them with a Kind bar, not a 5-course meal.

Does that make you nervous about the future of news? Or optimistic? Somewhere in between? Take a listen and let me know what you think.

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Oliver Darcy Thinks the Media Doesn’t Get It. So He Built Status

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0000

One thing about the internet is that it lets you build really, really fast. A little more than a year ago, Oliver Darcy was an unemployed former CNN media reporter. Today he’s the proprietor of Status, his must-read media newsletter.

In our conversation, we spend a little bit of time talking through the mechanics of his two-man operation, and how he thinks about the future. But I wanted to focus our chat and something that’s a little harder to sum up: How Darcy’s reporting and writing fits into the larger media landscape in the Trump 2.0 era, and why he goes out of his way to spell out exactly what’s happening. “We say the things that everyone else is thinking and no one is else saying,” he says. I think that’s part of it. Another is that Darcy is uniquely well-suited to covering right-wing media — which used to be on the fringes and is now squarely mainstream - because he used to be a right-wing media creator himself. So he’s particularly clued in to the way a lot of this stuff works, and impatient that others can’t or won’t see it.

Oh, and Darcy has one bit of advice for people running big media operations wondering how they can get influential creators to work with them: “Don't let them leave.”

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Why Henry Blodget is Building Another Media Company

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Henry Blodget can’t help himself. The Business Insider founder is starting another media business, knowing full well how difficult the industry can be. You can watch him build it in real time: Regenerator on Substack, and Solutions on TikTok, YouTube and everywhere you hear your favorite podcasts.

Henry — who hired me to work at Business Insider in 2007, back when it was called Silicon Alley Insider — sat down for a chat about what’s changed in media and the internet over the years, and what hasn’t. We also took time to talk about the AI boom, whether it’s a bubble, and why bubbles can be useful. It’s a blast from the past and a look at the future, all in one chat. Enjoy!

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ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro on streaming, the NFL and sports betting

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0000

The media industry has been waiting for ESPN to cut the cord for a decade. Now it’s finally happening: This week the sports TV giant will let you start streaming — without a cable TV subscription — for $30 a month.

Why now? ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro is quite frank about it: Along with his boss — Disney CEO Bob Iger — he wanted to make as much money from the cable TV business as he could before it dwindled away. And even now, Pitaro says he hopes the new service brings in customers who don’t have cable — as opposed to getting ones who do still pay for cable to trade down.

That illustrates the issue facing all of the big TV players these days: They know the future is a digital one, where they’ll have to work much harder to win and keep customers. So they’re hanging on to the old TV model as long as they can. At the same time they’re trying to build a profitable streaming future. That tension is the main thrust of this conversation I had with Pitaro this week in Disney’s new Manhattan headquarters. We also had time to get into his recent deal with the NFL, his ongoing commitment to sports betting — and whether ESPN is still committed to diversity in 2025.

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A Busy - and Expensive - Summer for AI, with NYT's Mike Isaac

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0000

What makes a particular engineer worth $250 million to Mark Zuckerberg?

What does Trump 2.0 mean — and not mean — to people building large language models?

I didn’t know the answers to these questions either. So I got the New York Times’ Mike Isaac, who covers this stuff for a living, to walk me through some of the biggest questions in AI right now — which means we’re also getting at some of the biggest questions in tech.

Warning: This is a pants-free episode. Probably still Safe For Work, though.

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Why the Algorithm is Making Comedy Boom, Again

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0000

The last time I talked to Jesse David Fox about the comedy boom it was… March 5, 2020.

Since then, some things have changed. But in other ways it’s just the same: comedy - or at least, some kinds of comedy - seems almost custom-built for our current technological and cultural moment, and it’s easier than ever to get this stuff on your devices whenever you want. Or whenever the algorithm thinks you want it.

Fox is a great person to talk to about this stuff: he covers comedy very, very seriously over at Vulture, and on his Good One podcast, and he has a lot of thoughts about the way tech - and perhaps politics - is shaping the stuff that makes us laugh.

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What is TV’s endgame?

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0000

A decade ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger freaked out the media industry by acknowledging something many of us saw coming — his previously unassailable TV business was starting to erode.

But even with a 10-year warning, today’s moguls seem unable to cope
with 2025’s reality: The pay TV business is permanently eroding, and there’s nothing in its place that’s likely to generate the same kind of revenue and profit.

But the people who run Big TV are trying to find answers, anyway. So I asked Lightshed analyst Rich Greenfield to talk through some of their moves. What will David and Larry Ellison do once they finally buy Paramount? What are the prospects for ESPN’s soon-to-launch streamer? What about Fox’s soon-to-launch streamer? Who’s going to buy all of these ailing cable TV networks that are coming on the market? And what kind of deals - if any - can get done in the Trump 2.0 era?

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Why Trump is defunding NPR and PBS - and suing Rupert Murdoch

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Reporting on the place you work is not fun. But it is an occupational hazard for media reporters — particularly for NPR’s David Folkenflik.

That’s because National Public Radio — along with Public Broadcasting Service, its TV counterpart — is quite frequently the target of attacks from critics on the right, who would like the federal government to stop funding it. Now it looks like they’ve gotten their way, and the two networks are going to lose a combined $500 million a year.

So what happens now? And how did we get here? And should the federal government be funding media organizations at all? We discuss.

And, since Folkenflik is also one of my go-to Rupert Murdoch experts, I asked him to stick around and opine about Donald Trump’s libel suit against Murdoch and his Wall Street Journal. Who has more to lose, and who is likely to blink first?

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Inside the Rise and Fall of Condé Nast with Michael Grynbaum

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Here's one way New York Times reporter Michael Grynbaum described Condé Nast to me in this week’s chat: “A real exporter of American cultural influence in the late 20th century.” And here’s another one: "A kind of enchanted land” but also a “lost world."

And here’s one way I’d describe it: it’s hard to imagine in 2025, but just a few decades ago, magazines were incredibly important — and Conde Nast was the most important, most glamorous magazine publisher in the world.

We know why all of that has changed — in large part because of the technology that allows you to listen to this conversation. But Empire of the Elite, Grynbaum’s excellent new book, focuses mostly on how Conde reached its peak influence, and how it sustained it for years.

Also discussed here: Money money money. Also: Why Jeff Bezos is very unlikely to buy Vogue in the near future.

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Inside the NYT - and Everywhere Else - with Semafor's Max Tani

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 09:00:00 -0000

You’re probably a normal person, so you didn’t spend your holiday weekend talking to people at the New York Times about a local politics story that some people didn’t like.

But that’s Max Tani’s job: He’s Semafor’s media reporter, which means he’s supposed to burrow into the paper of record — as well as other important media institutions — and tell you what’s going inside and why it actually matters.

So we spent a bunch of time in this chat talking about Tani’s story about a controversial-at-least-online Times story . In part because I find the whole thing fascinating (I’m not normal). And in part because it gives you a pretty good idea of what being a media reporter entails in 2025.

Also discussed here: When is something a tweet, and when is it a story? Why is this a “weird moment in media”? And why was 2024 the “fragmentation election?”

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Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker on the problem with tech - and people

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 09:00:00 -0000

"Black Mirror" creator Charlie Brooker knows that everyone thinks his show is about tech-fueled dystopias. But he says it's really about humans, not their tools.

I loved this chat back when we recorded it in 2023, when Brooker was promoting the sixth season of his Netflix show. Now there's a new season - and Brooker's vision of the world is as relevant as ever.

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How to become a Substack Star with Emily Sundberg

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 09:00:00 -0000

What's the best way to describe what Emily Sundberg does?

Substacker? Influencer? Journalist? Brand-builder?

Let's go with "yes". And she does a much better job of describing herself in our conversation, where we talk about how she went from being a laid-off marketer at Meta to a one-woman business with a devoted following and a revenue line that’s up and to the right.

A very quick primer for those of you haven't heard of Sundberg and her Feed Me newsletter - she’s building a very interesting publishing company that revolves around her reporting, insights and taste, aimed at people who make good money and spend some of it on very nice restaurants, shops and hotels in places like London, LA and New York. My assumption is that a slice of her audience doesn’t do any of that at all — but wants to read about people who do.

In olden times, Sundberg might have a column in a glossy magazine - and in fact she spent some time working at places like New York magazine on her way up. Today what's left of the glossy magazine world would love to attach itself to her. It’s a very 2025 proposition.

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Why did Apple ice out the most famous Apple blogger?

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 15:07:00 -0000

If you want smart, nuanced insight into Apple’s products and would-be products, you turn to John Gruber, who’s been blogging about this stuff for more than two decades at his Daring Fireball site.

So in March, when Gruber announced that Something is Rotten in the State of Cupertino — focusing on Apple’s botched plans to imbue its ailing Siri service with state-of-the-art AI — lots of people paid attention. Including, apparently, folks at the very top of the Apple org chart.

I talked to Gruber about the fallout from that post. Which is pretty interesting! But there’s a lot more going on in this conversation. It’s partly about the friction Apple has been generating lately — not just about its AI efforts, but the way it runs its App Store, and the way it interacts with developers — and why all of that does and doesn’t matter.

And it’s also about the delightfully retro practice of running an ad-supported blog in 2025. That works very well for Gruber, but it seems like the new Grubers of the world are doing their work on YouTube or Substack. He’s got some thoughts about that, too.

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On the hunt for media optimism, with Semafor’s Ben Smith and The Rebooting’s Brian Morrissey

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 09:00:00 -0000

Here’s one where we try to do two things at once:

Have a convo about green shoots in media with two smart guys who know media really well — Semafor’s Ben Smith and The Rebooting’s Brian Morrissey.
Try to find new audiences for our respective podcasts, by cutting up that conversation into 3 parts, and distributing those parts to our respective feeds.

Which is to say: You can hear more of the this conversation by heading to Semafor’s Mixed Signals pod, and you can hear a different slice of the chat by heading to Brian’s Rebooting pod. It’s an experiment, based on the thesis that the people who listen to one of our shows would be very interested in listening to the other shows. Did we get it right? What can we do to make it better? Please let us know.

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Scott Frank on Netflix, the future of Hollywood, and Dept. Q

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Scott Frank used to write great movies, like “Out of Sight.” Now he’s a Netflix guy, and a super successful one: he made “Godless,” a horses-and-everything Western for the streamer, then had a pandemic-era phenomenon with “The Queen’s Gambit.” Now he’s back with “Dept. Q”, his take on the British mystery genre. You can find that one on Netflix’s top 10 lists in the U.S. and around the world.

I like talking to Scott on this show — something we started doing way back in 2017 — because he’s happy to talk about the mechanics of his work, and the economics of Hollywood, and how they intersect. And that’s what we’re doing during this chat too. We discuss the backstory behind his newest show, his take on the history of the streaming bubble, why he’s pretty sanguine about AI in Hollywood but very nervous about its new tech overlords — and the industry he’d get into if he was starting his career in 2025. (Hint: it’s also something that gets consumed on screens.)

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Bluesky Wasn’t Supposed to be a Twitter Rival. Now It Is.

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 09:00:00 -0000

I admit it: I most definitely rolled my eyes in 2019, when Twitter announced vague plans to build an "open and decentralized standard for social media".

At the time I didn't really understand what then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was trying to do — or why the head of a social media company with plenty of problems was messing around with plans to create more social media companies.

I get it now: Bluesky was a science project that aimed to let people build their own social networks. And that's still what it is at its core, says Bluesky CEO Jay Graber.

But in the meantime, Bluesky has also become an accidental Twitter rival, with some 36 million users. And most of them likely don't care about Bluesky's origins, or the fact that it's really supposed to be a technical framework for decentralized social media. Or what decentralized social media means, for that matter.

All of which means that talking to Graber about Bluesky means you're doing two things at once: Asking about how Bluesky, the app, works — and what Bluesky, the idea is. Which is what we did when we talked at Web Summit Vancouver in May.

Also discussed here: Why is Jack Dorsey mad about Bluesky? What’s up with ads and Bluesky? And who designs Jay Graber’s T-shirts?

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How to Reinvent a Magazine, with Wired’s Katie Drummond

Wed, 28 May 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Today we’re talking about how you take a media property that’s been around for a long time, and find a way to bring in new eyeballs — and new revenue.

That property is Wired — the place that told you about the internet before the internet even existed — and the person who’s reviving it is Katie Drummond, who has been running the property for a couple of years.

As we discuss, Wired has always done interesting and important work — but when Katie got to it, she had a plan to inject it with new life. And it turns out that this plan had Wired perfectly situated to thrive during the Trump 2.0/Elon/Doge era.

Also discussed here: Tech’s actual view of Trump; how Canadians actually view America; and how to give yourself a Condé Nast glow-up.

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Meta's Adam Mosseri explains how Instagram really works - and how he wants to build Threads

Wed, 21 May 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Adam Mosseri's official title is head of Instagram, Meta's massive photo and video app. He also runs Threads, the Twitter clone the company launched two years ago.

Unofficially, he's become one of Meta's chief explainers, frequently jumping on social media to defend and proselytize on behalf of his employer.

So when I got a chance to interview Mosseri, I had a long list of questions about… lots of things: I wanted to know how Mosseri felt about the company's recent pivot to Trump-friendly policies, and how he looked at TikTok, for instance.

And while it may not be the most important thing on Meta's roadmap, I was also really curious about a unique opportunity Mosseri created for himself: the chance to build a brand-new social network from the ground up. What did he want to accomplish with Threads, and what mistakes that earlier social networks made was he hoping to avoid?

There's a bunch in here. Take a listen and let me know what you think.

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How Apple trapped itself in China

Wed, 14 May 2025 10:00:00 -0000

The iPhone you’re reading this on was made in China.

For a long time, that fact was a huge part of Apple’s success story: Working hand-in-hand, Apple and China built a sophisticated supply chain that let Apple manufacture very complicated technology at an enormous scale.

Now that relationship seems like Apple’s achilles heel, says Patrick McGee.

McGee covered Apple for the Financial Times for years. Now his new book “Apple in China” explains how Apple ventured into China, spent years and tens of billions of dollars investing in the country’s production infrastructure, and now seems trapped there — and in the middle of the U.S./China trade war.

McGee’s book is in large part a history book, and one that I’d recommend to anyone who wants to understand Apple, and China. It’s also, obviously, a very timely one. So this interview is part “how did we get here” and also “what happens next”. (Spoiler: Moving Apple’s production to India and Vietnam — something you read about periodically — isn’t going to happen, if ever, for years.)

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Ian Rogers tells me I need a crypto wallet

Wed, 07 May 2025 14:34:00 -0000

I wanted to talk to Ian Rogers about his fascinating career. He wanted to talk to me about Ledger, the crypto wallet company he’s working at now.

So we did both things.

Background: Rogers was an important figure in the digital music business, back when the music business was being fundamentally reshaped by digital. He helped the Beastie Boys get on the internet, long before every band did that. Then he helped bring digital music to millions of people in the MP3 era - first at AOL, then Yahoo — and then in the streaming era — first at Beats, and then Apple Music. Then he did digital stuff at LVMH, the luxury goods conglomerate. Now he’s chief experience officer at Ledger, a French company that has sold 7 million physical storage devices for crypto.

I remain confused and skeptical about crypto, but I’m always open to hearing from folks who are passionate about it — to see if they can convince me that I’m missing something. And the most persuasive argument I hear is usually from folks like Rogers — people who were around when the internet was novel and exciting in the 90s, and think they’re seeing the same kind of tectonic shift this time around. It’s a pitch that’s part FOMO — you wouldn’t want to be one of the people who thought the internet was a fad in 1995, right? — and part blue-sky optimism: What if it was 1995 and you could get in on the ground floor of the internet? Take a listen and let me know what you think.

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How to fight Apple and (maybe) win, with Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney

Tue, 06 May 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Today's podcast is an in-depth discussion of Apple's App Store rules and how they... wait! Don't leave!

I could try to tell you why Apple's App Store rules are important to both Apple and the digital economy (sadly, I just realized I've been covering them for nearly 15 years, so they better be important). But a better messenger for that task is Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games - the company behind Fortnite.

Sweeney has spent 5 years fighting Apple in court - and by his estimation has sacrificed $1 billion in revenue - over the way Apple runs its App Store. For most of that time it seemed like a futile effort.

But last week a federal judge handed Epic what could be a huge victory, and could potentially cost Apple a meaningful amount of revenue. Apple is going to appeal that ruling, but for now, Sweeney sees this a win for his own company, and many other developers who've chafed at the fees they have to pay Apple every time a consumer wants to give them money.

And if you think none of that matters to you, a normal person, Sweeney is happy to explain why (he thinks) you're wrong.

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Tariffs, Trump, TikTok: What’s going to happen to ads in 2025?

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 10:29:00 -0000

There are all kinds of ways to measure the health of an economy. The one I rely on is ad spending.

One reason for that is simple: I work in ad-supported businesses, so I want to know about things are going to affect me personally. A less self-interested reason: The health of the ad business is tied directly to the way companies feel about their overall health. So if things turn south, you’ll often see it in falling ad spend.

And as the industry gets increasingly digital, that means it’s that much more responsive to changes in the economy: When the pandemic hit 5 years ago, ad spend all but disappeared for a couple months — and then roared back once companies realized how much spending had shifted online.

So that’s the background for my chat with Smartly CEO Laura Desmond, who I often rely on for a state-of-the-state when it comes to the ad industry. Desmond is a longtime ad biz veteran, and at her current gig she works directly with digital clients, helping them figure out where to place their money and the best way to optimize their campaigns. So she’s got excellent insight into the most sensitive spenders in the market.

Desmond’s takeaway: Long-term changes like a possible TikTok ban just don’t show up on most advertisers’ radars. But potential tariff impacts, which could hit by late May, could be a big hit — if they materialize.

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Roblox CEO David Baszucki knows what your kids are doing.

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 11:22:00 -0000

Every day some 85 million people - most of them kids - show up to play, chat and spend money on Roblox. That’s a massive audience just about any tech or media company would like to have. But David Baszucki wants more: He thinks his platform can eventually command 10% of the worldwide gaming market.

I spent time talking to Baszucki about those ambitions and what has to happen to make it a reality. But I also wanted to spend time getting him to explain what exactly Roblox is, and why its low-fi, user generated games resonate with his audience. It’s an unlikely special sauce that has made the company, which spent years flying under the radar, worth some $40 billion today.

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How to make money in Washington, with Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Some people don’t want to pay for media. But lots of people are paying Jake Sherman and his team at Punchbowl News: The 4-year-old startup is thriving by providing super-insidery news and data about what’s happening in Congress. I chatted with Sherman because I wanted to get an update on his business (he says he’s not going to sell it anytime soon, despite lots of speculation to the contrary).

I also had a basic, outside the Beltway question: In a world where Congress spends a lot of time not passing bills, what exactly does Punchbowl cover? He was happy to spell it all out for me.

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NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAi and the economy

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 10:00:00 -0000

The New York Times faces the same challenges every other news organization faces in 2025.

But it’s also in way better shape to take those challenges on: Thanks to a business model built on 11 million subscribers, it’s not nearly so worried about things like the fluctuations of the ad business, or changes in Google’s algorithm.

That comparative strength also gives NYT publisher AG Sulzberger the ability to do things his peers can’t or won’t do: Like suing OpenAI for copyright infringement, instead of taking a cash settlement. Or calling out the likelihood of a press crackdown if Donald Trump was re-elected - a call he made in September that looks very prescient today.

We talk through both of those issues in this conversation, and a bunch more - like the role of the NYT opinion section, how willing the Times is to experiment, and how the paper thinks about the economic turmoil we now find ourselves in.

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Trump vs The Media, Round 2, with Sara Fischer

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0000

The Trump 2.0 era is less than three months old. But it’s already creating havoc for journalists and the companies they work for.

In Washington, Trump and his team are demoting traditional media - or kicking them out of the White House entirely. In corporate boardrooms, he is forcing media owners to settle lawsuits they would normally fight, and to submit to investigations from newly aggressive regulators.

Again: We’re just at the beginning of this new era. What’s coming down the pike? I asked Sara Fischer, the excellent and Washington-wired media correspondent, to walk me through it

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How long can sports keep TV alive?

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Call it symbiosis. Call it co-dependency. However you want to characterize it, there’s zero debate that Big TV and Big Sports are deeply intertwined. So if the TV business is shrinking, what happens to sports?

That’s the main question I had for John Ourand, the longtime sports business reporter who’s now at Puck. But I had lots of related ones, like: Now that (some) college students are getting paid to play sports, how does that affect the TV product itself? What’s happening to the local sports networks that bring you baseball, basketball and hockey? And is the sports betting media boom drying up?

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Inside PJ Vogt’s low budget, super successful podcast

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 12:18:00 -0000

Anyone who makes things thinks they could do it better if they had more. More money, time, headcount, infrastructure.

Some of us find there can be upsides to doing it with less, too.

That's not exactly PJ Vogt's story but I think it's directionally accurate: Vogt cohosted a huge hit podcast - Reply All - and when he decided to try again - with Search Engine - he had a lot less to work with. That shaped his thinking about the company he wanted to run and the product it puts out each week. It seems like it's working, and Vogt walks us through the details and his decisions.

Also joining me: Zach Mack, who has helped other people (like me) make podcasts for years, made one that only he could make. Go listen to his "Alternate Realities" series on NPR's Embedded - but first listen to how he made it.

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Twitch CEO Dan Clancy wants to hang on to the live-streaming crown

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 10:00:00 -0000

Back when I first started covering the internet, the idea of broadcasting yourself for hours on end seemed like a pipe dream for weirdos. Now it's how some people make a living.

Twitch more or less created live-streaming in the U.S., which is why Amazon bought it for about $1 billion back in 2014. But now there are plenty of places to watch, and create, live streams. How does Twitch fend off competitors? How does it convince its most popular streamers to keep streaming? And how will Amazon eventually make real money from the operation, which is was still in the red a few years ago?

Those are all questions I asked Twitch CEO Dan Clancy, at a live taping at South by Southwest. Clancy also got to hear firsthand from Twitch's users and partners in a Q&A session at the end of our chat. Thanks to everyone who came out, and thanks to the folks at the Vox Media podcast network for putting it all together.

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Matt Belloni: what the Oscars tell us about Hollywood

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0000

We had to stop recording this one for a minute, because Matt Belloni got a text. More on that below.

Big picture: Matt is a longtime Hollywood reporter - and lawyer before that - who now has the industry's ear via his writing at Puck and his The Town podcast. I asked him to talk about what lies ahead for the Oscars, the out-of-step TV production that still has big audiences and prestige; and the current state of Hollywood, the business. Also discussed here: Awards party catering, and the most popular movie executive who isn't Bob Iger.

For the record: When we started recording this podcast, the audience for Sunday's Oscar awards had declined yet again. By the end of it, new numbers meant it was the most popular show in the last five years. Obviously we would have preferred to know that in advance.

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Free speech is under attack

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0000

The most useful class I ever took in college was a media law class, where I learned two things: 1) Journalists in the U.S. (along every other American citizen) have enormous freedom to say and write what they want, without fear of a defamation suit and 2) this freedom exists largely because of New York Times v Sullivan, a seminal Supreme Court case.

Now NYT v Sullivan is under concerted attack, from a group that includes wealthy and powerful people and companies; lawyers who see an opportunity; and, of course, Donald Trump.

David Enrich, an editor who oversees business investigations at the Times, gets to do his work in large part because of the court precedent set decades ago. His upcoming book Murder the Truth takes us on a tour of incidents that show what losing NYT v Sullivan could mean for journalism in the U.S. — and how powerful people are already chipping away at press freedom.

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Matthew Ball: Why the games business is broken

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Everyone knows that video games are giant, fast-growing business that's going to swamp traditional media.

Except that's not true: The games business is now in a prolonged and confusing funk. Investor and analyst Matthew Ball has been diving deep into the industry, so I asked him to take a stab at explaining what's going on. Bonus question: When does the face computer's moment finally arrive?

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BuzzFeed wants to build a… social network?

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0000

A decade ago BuzzFeed was the bleeding edge of digital media, and Serious People thought it was going to be a threat to the likes of the New York Times. Many rounds of layoffs and asset sales later, BuzzFeed is a much more modest operation.

But say this for Jonah Peretti: He continues to pitch Very Big Ideas for his company. Now the BuzzFeed CEO thinks he can create an internet that doesn’t run on content that makes you feel lousy, and that he can also create his own social network. I am… skeptical, but I wanted to hear him out, and now you can make up your own mind.

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Why Michael Lewis is worried about the sports betting boom

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 11:00:00 -0000

It’s hard to remember now. But just a few years ago, sports betting was illegal in almost all of United States. And sports leagues and the media companies that worked with them wanted nothing to do with anything that even referenced gambling.

Things are very, very different now! And it happened so quickly that very few people have stopped to ask what any of this means for America, and what it will mean down the road.

Those questions — and the reasons why so few of us are posing them — turn out to be a great topic for Michael Lewis. You can hear him grappling with them in the excellent new season of his “Against the Rules” podcast series. And I was delighted to discuss all of it with him on my show. It also gave me an opportunity to discuss “The Fifth Risk” - his 2018 book about Donald Trump’s first attempt to take over federal government, which is extra-timely right now. And I couldn’t let him go without a brief chat about crypto and Sam Bankman-Fried.

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How Silicon Valley really feels about Trump, TikTok and DeepSeek

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0000

I haven’t checked in with Jessica Lessin in some time — and I have to say I picked a pretty good time to catch up with her. Because Silicon Valley is undergoing something meaningful right now, and she’s in a great position to tell us more about it: Lessin is a veteran technology reporter who founded The Information in 2013, and it has been a go-to for anyone who wants serious reporting about tech in the Bay Area and around the world, ever since.

Discussed in this episode: What’s really animating tech’s embrace of Donald Trump? What’s going to happen to TikTok? And what does the arrival of DeepSeek mean for the AI boom?

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How TikTok (still) works

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 11:00:00 -0000

TikTok banned itself for less than a day. Now it’s back in the U.S. - despite a law that says it shouldn’t be operating. We’re not going to weigh in on all of the… weirdness around the last few days on this episode, in part because we don’t know how it’s going to play out.

But in the meantime I wanted to talk to someone who knows how TikTok actually works — from a content creator’s perspective, at least. Adam Faze runs Gymnasium, a small production studio that specializes in TikTok videos, and so far it’s gone well: In 18 months, he’s launched two successful shows, signed up Amazon to sponsor one of them, and is ramping up to make more. He walked me through the way companies like his actually make money on TikTok, how the platform differs from TikTok clones like Instagram Reels, and how he thinks this could grow in the future. Assuming TikTok sticks around the U.S., that is.

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How does Wall Street think about Trump, media and tech?

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 11:10:00 -0000

Why didn’t Meta’s stock move when Mark Zuckerberg announced his pro-MAGA pivot? Why do big media companies want to dump their cable TV networks — but hang on to their broadcast TV networks? What’s going to happen in Google’s antitrust case?These are all good questions, right? I think so, too. So I posed them, along with many more, to MoffettNathanson’s Michael Nathanson, one of the sharpest Wall Street analysts covering tech and media. We cover a lot of ground in a short time, and I think you’ll enjoy this one.

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Why Katie Notopoulos still loves the internet

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 11:15:00 -0000

I’m a lucky man. Whenever I’m baffled by the internet, and social media, I turn to my co-worker Katie Notopoulos, who is there to explain it to me. That’s because Katie’s job at Business Insider is to explain how the internet works — how the people who run big internet platforms want it to work, and what the people who actually use those platforms do on it, for better and for worse. So that’s what we’re talking about today, to help ease us into the new year.

Discussed here: Why Katie still loves the internet and technology, even with all of its many warts; how she came to be a professional chronicler of the internet; how her views on all of this are changing as her kids grow older; and poop. Lots of poop talk here. You’re gonna love it.

Note: We recorded this chat on January 6 — a day before Mark Zuckerberg announced he was going to reshape his entire company to accommodate the upcoming Trump administration. So that’s why it’s not in this conversation. Rest assured - we’ll be talking about this a lot in future episodes. Happy 2025!

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Looking back, and ahead, with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 11:30:00 -0000

I don’t love a lot of year-end #content . But I do love talking to Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw every year, to help put the year in media in perspective, and to think about what might be coming in 2025. And that’s exactly what we did here. Enjoy it now, or over your break. We’ll see you again in January.

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1440’s newsletters are short, popular and profitable

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Newsletters are not a new idea. Yet every few years the media business rediscovers them, anyway — either as a way to quickly launch a startup with bigger ambitions, or as a standalone business. Tim Huelskamp took the second route in 2017, when he co-founded 1440 — a newsletter that promises to quickly bring you the most important news of the day. Again — not a new idea. But Huelskamp seems to have figured out how to build something pretty big: He says 1440 has 4 million readers, and is turning a profit on something like $20 million in annual revenue. How’d he do it? What’s he going to do next? And how will he compete with AI companies that can do all of this faster, and cheaper? I’m glad you asked: I’ve got the same questions, so I asked him myself.

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Studying online bad behavior was hard. It's going to get harder in Trump 2.0

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 11:15:00 -0000

You probably shouldn't know Renee DiResta's name: She's a researcher who studies online bad behavior, not a celebrity. But the work DiReata did studying the "stop the steal" movement after 2020 has made her famous in some corners of the internet, and not in a good way: She's been harassed, pelted with subpoenas and sued twice.

Now things could get really unpleasant for her.

Donald Trump's victory means that a lot of people who have target dDiResta in the past are newly ascendant. But she tells me she's more worried about a chilling effect that could hamper anyone who's trying to learn about, and fix social media's ills. Also discussed here: what not to do when you go on Joe Rogan.

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How to build your own media company - without VCs or billionaires

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 11:30:00 -0000

Lots of people start media companies using money from rich people. Jason Koebler and his colleagues did it themselves, using a grand total of $4,000. That was back in the summer of 2023. Now 404 Media, the tech news + investigations site they started after leaving Vice Media, is a success story. Koebler tells us how they started, how it’s going, and what he’d like to do next.

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Meet the man making money for Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Bari Weiss all used to work for big mainstream media companies. Now they’re on the internet, building their own companies, with the help of Chris Balfe.

Balfe’s Red Seat Ventures helps online creators set up shop, produce programming, and — crucially — helps them monetize through ad sales and/or subscriptions. Balfe got his start working with Glenn Beck when the former Fox News star left and started his own online business. I always assumed we’d see other high-profile talent follow Beck’s footsteps, but it took much longer than I thought. Now it’s a reality, and the talent Balfe works with may very well have helped re-elect Donald Trump.

You can’t escape politics when you talk to someone who works with Tucker Carlson, and we spend a little bit of time on that in our chat. But this is really a discussion about how online media — primarily podcasts and YouTube — works today, and where it’s going next.

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Taylor Lorenz on Joe Rogan, Joe Biden and goodbye to big media.

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 11:15:00 -0000

One take you may have heard after the election: Democrats need their own Joe Rogan.

Taylor Lorenz disagrees. And Lorenz is worth listening to. For years, she has been a really sharp observer of social media and online spaces, and she built a high-profile career explaining the internet for audiences at places like the Atlantic, the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Now Lorenz is on her own, which is where she says she always wanted to end up. We talked about how and why she left the Post this year. And how she’s thinking about building her career without the advantages – and disadvantages — that come from working for a big organization.

But first we talk about the podcast election (which was also the YouTube election) and where she thinks the Harris campaign went wrong. And why she thinks liberals don’t need their own Rogan — and why they can’t get one, anyway.

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Elon Musk funds Trump — and owns Twitter. What does that mean?

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 11:14:00 -0000

You want up-to-the minute election analysis? Sorry, not on this episode.

But: If you want smart thoughts about politics and media and tech all merged together? We got you here, courtesy of The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel, who came on to discuss how we should think about Elon Musk, Donald Trump supporter, being the same person as Elon Musk, guy who owns Twitter. Plus, because it’s Charlie: A useful way to think about what misinformation is, and isn’t.

And! If you don’t want politics in your podcast today, we can accommodate that too, via a chat with Griffin Gaffney, the CEO/publisher of the San Francisco Standard. The Standard, owned by billionaire Mike Moritz, is a three-year-old news startup that lots of people in the Bay Area seem to love. And I wanted to know how he’s making it work, and the pros and cons of having a billionaire owner, and how he thinks the paper might actually turn a profit some day.

Ideally, you’ll listen to both of these chats. But it’s a podcast! You do you.

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Pod Save America’s Jon Lovett wants to win an election and make money

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Jon Lovett and his cofounders at Crooked Media are a good story - former Obama aides who started their own media company after the 2016 election, and are now generating 25 million podcast downloads a month. But for a few weeks this summer, after they became prominent voices in the push to replace Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket, their story got even more interesting. I’ve wanted to talk to Lovett about that experience for months, so a week before the election seems like good timing, no? Also discussed here: How to navigate a media landscape dominated by Donald Trump; Elon Musk, and the upside of getting kicked off of Survivor.

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Emma Tucker brought fresh eyes to the Wall Street Journal

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

Emma Tucker became the Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief in 2023, and she’s been moving fast ever since.

For starters, there are punchier, more provocative stories and headlines. Just as important: She’s been making a series of cuts and staffing changes. That approach has its critics, but it also seems to be working: Subscriptions are up 7% in the last year.

In our chat, we discuss all of that, plus more: What her background as a British journalist means as stakes out the Journal’s niche of “American capitalism”; why she felt comfortable running a story suggesting that Joe Biden was “slipping” weeks before it became evident to the entire world; and a brief update on Evan Gershkovich, the Journal reporter who spent more than a year in a Russian jail.

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Tubi CEO Anjali Sud says you can’t beat free

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

What if you could watch shows and movies on a screen, for free, in exchange for watching some ads?

In olden times, we called that “TV”. Now the industry term is “advertising-based video on demand,” and it seems to be growing quite quickly. This is good news for Tubi, the AVOD/streamer Fox bought back in the spring of 2020, and for Anjali Sud, who has been running Tubi for the last year. At the moment, Tubi’s programming is helping it beat services with much bigger profiles, and budgets, including Comcast’s Peacock and WBD’s Max.

Sud, who used to run IAC’s Vimeo video service, talked to me live at the NAB NY show. Discussed here: Tubi’s approaching to licensing and programming, why it makes sense for the streamer to make a smattering of its own shows, and what being part of Fox does and doesn’t do for her.

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Behind the scenes of the Trump movie you almost never saw

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

What do Donald Trump and the video game industry have to do with each other?

Nothing! Yet we’re combining them into a single podcast, anyway.

First up: A chat with Gabriel Sherman, the longtime Vanity Fair reporter who wrote and produced “The Apprentice.” That’s the new Trump biopic that isn’t what you think it is, and is very much worth your time — and which almost never got released in the U.S.

As Sherman tells us, this is a movie that’s a sort of Trump creation myth, centering around his relationship with Roy Cohn, the notorious lawyer/fixer. It’s not an anti-Trump movie in the vein of “Vice”, but it’s also not a flattering story. That makes it hard to understand why Trump-backer Dan Snyder initially backed the production — but less hard to understand why Snyder reportedly wanted to block it once he’d seen it. Sherman walks us through the whole backstory, which is wild even by Hollywood’s standards.

And then we switch gears completely, to talk about the surprisingly troubled state of the video game business, with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. I’m used to seeing conventional media industries struggle in the face of digital disruption — but one of the reasons they are usually struggling is the rise of video games. Yet that industry is undergoing multiple years of brutal layoffs and consolidation. Schreier, whose new book “Play Nice” follows the twisted path of legendary games studio Blizzard Entertainment, tells us how the industry got itself into trouble, and whether it can play its way out of it.

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Matt Yglesias on the election, Substack success and the great unbundling

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 10:00:00 -0000

The last time I talked to Matt Yglesias, we were co-workers at Vox.com, and Joe Biden had just been elected president. Now Yglesias runs Slow Boring, a tremendously successful Substack, and I wanted to check back in. Discussed here: What a policy nerd does in an election that’s awfully light on policy; why hating the media is now a popular pastime across the political spectrum; what it’s like to run a three-person business that’s grossing something like $1.4 million a year.

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I tried Orion, Mark Zuckerberg's $10k face computer

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 17:50:00 -0000

Mark Zuckerberg, along with most of the men running big tech companies, has spent many years and tons of money trying to put a computer on your face. Now it looks like he’s getting very close to making it a reality: He’s just debuted Orion, a pair of bulky — but not too bulky — glasses that are also a computer. You can’t buy these things yet - they cost Meta a ton to make — but Meta thinks you’ll buy something like it in the not-too-distance future.

The crucial caveat here is that we don’t know if this actually true. And it’s possible we never find out - there could be engineering challenges that mean Meta can never get this thing into mass production. But Zuckerberg certainly seems confident.

I got to try Orion briefly, so I want to share some of my impressions at the top of this episde. Then I talk to the Verge’s Alex Heath, who is both a face computer expert and a Mark Zuckerberg expert, and got to use Orion and talk to Zuckerberg at the same time. We talk about why Zuckerberg is building these things, why he’s showing them off — and why Zuckerberg is spending a lot of time telling everyone that his is a new Zuckerberg, and that he’s done with politics and done apologizing.

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YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wants to share the wealth

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 14:31:00 -0000

YouTube turns 20 next year, which makes it positively ancient by internet standards. Yet the world’s biggest video site is still incredibly relevant for huge swaths of the globe, even if it doesn’t get the media attention other sites generate. It’s also the only major social platform that routinely shares revenue with the users who create the stuff that powers the site. I think that if Google executives took a truth serum they’d tell me they’re jealous of places like TikTok and Instagram, which also have giant businesses but share much, much less of the wealth with their users - but CEO Neal Mohan insists that’s not the case.

In this conversation we spend quite a bit of time talking about that business model, and much more: Like how Mohan thinks about AI; why he’s also in the cable TV business; and how he’s thinking about his company’s role in the upcoming US election, given the possibility of more election denialism.

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How David Remnick remade the New Yorker

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0000

When David Remnick got to the New Yorker in 1998, it was very much a capital M Magazine — it existed on ink and paper, and that was about it. Now it’s still a Magazine, but it’s also everything else you need to be to survive as a media company in 2024 — a robust online publisher, a podcast machine, a video operation, conference host and more. Along the way, it also pivoted from an ad-based business model to one that thrives on consumer subscriptions. And it remains one of my favorite publications, hands down. So I was delighted Remnick took time to talk to me about what has changed at the New Yorker under his tenure, and what hasn’t. Also discussed here: Whether the New Yorker still has special status among owner Conde Nast’s roster of titles; the acquisition Remnick should have made but didn’t; and why he invited, and then uninvited, Steve Bannon to speak at the 2018 New Yorker Festival.

By the way: Welcome to the first episode of Channels! Feel free to send guest suggestions and (just about) anything else my way: pkafka on most of the socials.

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Welcome to Channels with Peter Kafka

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 09:00:00 -0000

What happens when you mash up media, tech and business? You get a million things to talk about, and that’s what we’ll be doing on this show: Talking to people who run big tech and media companies, the people who are doing some of the most interesting work in those worlds, and people who can help us understand all of it.

And by “we” I mean “me” - I’m Peter Kafka, and I’m a journalist who has been covering the collision of tech and media for a long time, at places like Forbes, Recode, Vox and now Business Insider. If you want, you can think of this show as a way to listen in on the interviews I do to get smarter about my work.

And if you think all of the above sounds like the show that used to be called Recode Media with Peter kafka? You are smart, and perceptive and good-looking. And yup! Same idea, same guy, new name. Coming soon, to your favorite podcast app.

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That’s a wrap (for now)

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0000

Peter Kafka, soon to be formerly of Vox, reviews the year in media with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw. What did we learn from the strikes? Is the bundle back? Are movies back? What’s going on with whatever the NBA is doing right now? And what’s up with Bob Iger saying he didn’t say something he definitely said on live TV?

This is the last episode of “Recode Media” in its current form, but stay subscribed to this feed! Peter and this show will be back with a new name and a new corporate daddy in 2024.

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Sam Altman’s back at OpenAI. What’s next?

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0000

After a wild series of events, Sam Altman is back as CEO of OpenAI… with more power than ever before. The Verge’s Alex Heath worked sleepless nights covering every twist and turn of this saga. He updates Vox’s Peter Kafka about where we are now, what all of this means moving forward, and how tech journalism can drive someone to mistake alcohol for water.

Then, we continue with artificial intelligence talk as News/Media Alliance President and CEO Danielle Coffey pops in to discuss the journalism industry’s response to having its assets fuel generative models like OpenAI’s.

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What just happened to OpenAI?

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 21:50:00 -0000

The board of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, ousted CEO Sam Altman on Friday. Since then, the board has appointed not one, but two, interim CEOs. And Altman and his OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman got snatched up by Microsoft. The New York Times’ Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to talk about what we know and what we don’t about this whole situation.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape.

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why so, Sirius?

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0000

SiriusXM makes money by beaming music and talk radio - especially Howard Stern - to your car using satellites and selling monthly subscriptions. That turns out to be a surprisingly resilient business: The company has 34 million subscribers and $9 billion in annual revenue. But CEO Jennifer Witz knows she has to adapt to the streaming world, so she’s refreshing the company’s brand and app, with the hopes that you’ll keep listening when you’re not driving. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to Witz about how she plans to position her company in a crowded field.

Then, Peter catches up with one of his favorites, Rob Harvilla (@harvilla), about his new book. It’s an adaption of his excellent podcast, which goes by the same name: 60 Songs that Explain the ’90s.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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No seriously. What’s the future of Disney? And why did Fox News fire Tucker Carlson?

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0000

It’s a double shot of media business takes, with conversations about the Walt Disney Corporation and Fox News, with references to “Succession” in both.

First, CNBC’s Alex Sherman (@sherman4949) joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to talk about Disney’s strategy, or lack thereof. What does it want to do with ESPN? ABC? Marvel? Star Wars? And although it plans to buy the remaining third of Hulu… what the hell does it want to do with Hulu? Plus, he gives us some hot goss about the Bobs (Iger and Chapek), and which Bob is most to blame for Disney’s troubles.

Then, media reporter Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) joins us to talk about his SECOND book about Fox News, “Network of Lies.” What’s the real story behind Tucker Carlson’s departure? And what will Lachlan Murdoch do once his dad formally leaves the company?

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Land of the Giants: What We All Got Wrong About Twitter

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 04:00:00 -0000

This week, an episode of the latest season of Land of the Giants: The Twitter Fantasy, hosted by our own Peter Kafka. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe!

Twitter began life as an accident. In the beginning, even its founders weren’t sure what it was: the internet’s town square, a real-time information source, or the next Facebook, maybe? Twitter's power has always been misunderstood -- by its leaders, by its users, and lately, by the world's richest person.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How Dropout found success streaming comedy for $6 a month

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 04:00:00 -0000

When Sam Reich bought CollegeHumor from Barry Diller’s IAC for pennies in January 2020, the comedy site was long past its heyday. A few months later, the pandemic hit. It wouldn’t have been a surprise if CollegeHumor had vanished entirely. Instead, Reich pushed the company to lean into Dropout, the subscription streaming part of the business, and create more improvised comedy content that lent itself well to viral clips on TikTok and YouTube. Today, Dropout has a dedicated fanbase of hundreds of thousands of subscribers and is even talking about establishing a revenue-sharing model with its employees. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks with Reich about how he turned it all around, and what it’s like to be on-camera talent and everyone’s boss.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Inside the New York Times’ controversial Gaza headline

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 19:52:00 -0000

The New York Times issued a rare editors’ note Monday: a mea culpa for a headline repeating unverified claims from Hamas that a Gaza hospital explosion was caused by an Israeli airstrike. Vanity Fair media reporter Charlotte Klein (@charlottetklein) obtained internal Slack messages from the Times’ editors which reveal an internal debate about the framing of the original headline. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to Klein about her scoop.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How the Washington Post is covering the Israel-Hamas War

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 20:10:00 -0000

The war in Israel and Gaza is hugely complicated - dangerous, horrifying, and moving fast. Which means it’s a huge job for those who have to cover it. The Washington Post’s international editor, Douglas Jehl (@jehld), joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to discuss how a major news operation covers the conflict between Israel and Hamas. How do you weigh the need to keep on top of the story with the need to fact-check everything in the fog of war? How do editors and reporters balance the risks of entering a conflict zone? And what happens when mistakes are made?

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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The rise and (maybe) fall of Marvel

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 04:00:00 -0000

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an interconnected series of movies and TV shows that produced four of the top-grossing movies of all time and changed the way Hollywood works. It also may have a hard time sustaining the cultural and business dominance it has enjoyed for the last decade-plus. Here to discuss the superhero’s journey is writer and podcaster Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis), co-author of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios. She gives Vox’s Peter Kafka the 101 on the history of Marvel and how it spiraled into myriad streaming shows and films that are increasingly difficult to keep up with in “phase five,” or as Robinson calls it, “the wobble.”

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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The internet, explained by Taylor Lorenz

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) is the person who told you what “cheugy” means, what a “content house” is, and basically anything else you want to know about young people, the social media they use, and the people who make that media. Now the Washington Post journalist has a book out explaining all of this: “Extremely Online”, which is a history of social media told from the POV of the influencers/creators who made social media work. She talks to Vox’s Peter Kafka about the often contentious relationship between creators and platforms, how even Mr. Beast lives and dies by the algorithm, and how “don’t feed the trolls” is actually terrible advice.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Warner Music Group’s CEO says AI songs are coming whether you like it or not

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 04:00:00 -0000

When Robert Kyncl (@rkyncl) worked at YouTube, he made deals with companies like Warner Music Group. Now, he’s the CEO of Warner Music Group. Vox’s Peter Kafka interviewed Kyncl live on stage at the Code conference. Kyncl explains how Warner Music Group approaches AI both as a tool and as an intellectual property concern, and why he wants Spotify to charge more. And even though the blockchain and NFT craze has passed — Kyncl is still optimistic about its business potential.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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HBO boss Casey Bloys on the strikes, the bundle and AI

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0000

The Hollywood writers’ strike is over and there’s hope the actors guild and studios will also settle their differences soon. So people like HBO and HBO Max Content boss Casey Bloys (@caseybloys) may be able to start making shows again shortly. But how will new deals affect what he makes… and what he doesn’t make? Bloys talks to Peter Kafka about that and much more: TV’s attempt to re-bundle the bundle, why “Max” makes sense as a brand (and as a container for HBO), why HBO shows on Netflix help HBO and what he thinks of AI TV shows. Spoiler! He’s not a fan. Recorded live at the 2023 Code Conference in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Why did it take 5 months to solve the Writers’ Strike?

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 23:51:00 -0000

After a historic strike that went on for almost 150 days, the studios and the Writers Guild of America have a (tentative) deal. What’s in the deal, and why did it take almost half a year to get there? And what does this mean for the Screen Actors Guild strike, still in progress? And what happened to the AI issue we were told was existential? Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw) joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to break down what we know so far.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Why did Rupert Murdoch just leave his media empire?

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 20:51:00 -0000

One of the most powerful people of the 21st century says he’s retiring. Rupert Murdoch, 92, will hand over control of News Corp. and Fox Corp. to his son Lachlan, in November. What does that actually mean? And what happens next?

Here to offer some very informed speculation is longtime Murdoch family watcher Brian Stelter, who wrote one book on Murdoch and Fox News and has another one on the way. Up for discussion with Vox’s Peter Kafka: How active has Rupert been at the top of his company? Why is this happening now? What happens to the Murdoch empire right now? And, most importantly - what happens to that empire once Rupert retires from planet Earth?

Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) is the author of Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth and the forthcoming book Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How Matthew Berry made fake football his real job

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Once the domain of the nerdiest of sports fans, these days fantasy football analysis is on primetime TV. Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) comments on fantasy football for NBC Sports (and before that, ESPN) and founded the website fantasylife.com. It's the culmination of a career that, for many people, would have already been a fantasy: serving as George Carlin’s assistant and writing for Married with Children. Berry joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to talk about the business of fantasy sports and what makes it different from straight-up betting.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's Rise and Fall

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Wait a minute. For a couple of years there - 2020 through 2022 - everyone acted like bitcoin and even weirder crypto things were worth trillions of dollars. And cartoon apes were on Jimmy Fallon? And now none of us want to pretend that happened at all?

Zeke Faux (@ZekeFaux) wants to talk about it with Vox’s Peter Kafka. Faux is an investigative reporter for Bloomberg, and his new book Number Go Up chronicles the crazy crypto bubble, and Faux’s worldwide hunt to uncover the truth behind one crucial coin. Along the way, Faux spends lots of time with accused fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, including a mind-blowing hangout when SBF was hiding out from the feds in a Bahamian penthouse. Faux’s work is particularly timely because SBF is about to go on trial. but even beyond that, it’s important to remember just how big crypto mania was - and to wonder if we will learn any lessons for the next bubble.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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The Business of Taylor Swift

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Taylor Swift is on one of the most successful concert tours of all time, but what's her secret? Switched on Pop's Charlie Harding (@charlieharding) sits down with Peter to discuss the business of Taylor Swift. How her music, her fans, and her industry expertise catapulted her to being one of the most profitable singers of this generation.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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It’s the US vs China with tech in between

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 04:00:00 -0000

The US and China are in a sort of cold war, and the tech industry is caught in the middle. But it’s complicated: Ask TikTok, the Chinese-owned app that dominates entertainment in the US. Or Apple, which couldn’t exist without the Chinese supply chain that makes the iPhone. Here to explain the state of play to Vox’s Peter Kafka is The Information’s Jessica Lessin (@JessicaLessin) who just returned from a trip to Beijing and Shanghai with “tech’s favorite politician,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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CNN is Mark Thompson’s problem now

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0000

David Zaslav sent up the white smoke, marking the selection of a new CNN CEO. Mark Thompson comes from The New York Times and the BBC, and has his work cut out for him to dig CNN out of the hole dug by his predecessor - but really, the hole that every TV news operation is in. Puck’s Dylan Byers (@dylanbyers), who broke the news of Thompson’s hire, returns to tell Vox’s Peter Kafka all about Thompson and CNN’s second big streaming play after the quickly-abandoned CNN+.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How The Try Guys survived going viral

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Born at BuzzFeed in 2014, The Try Guys make online videos where they try all sorts of things: earwax extractions, baking pie without a recipe, getting kidnapped, the usual. Since then, they’ve become their own independent media company, wrote a bestselling book, hosted a Food Network show — and broke up with one of their founding members in a public cheating scandal that was even parodied on Saturday Night Live. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to one of the titular guys, Zach Kornfeld (@korndiddy), about what being a Try Guy is like almost a decade in, whether it’s time to try new Try Guys, and their recent live “Choose Your Own Shakespeare” Romeo and Juliet performance.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Today, Explained: Sound of Freedom is the surprise movie hit of the summer

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0000

A movie made for peanuts and distributed by a studio far outside the Hollywood system has done better box office numbers than both the new Mission Impossible and Indiana Jones movies. Sound of Freedom is about a rogue federal agent who goes to Colombia to break up a child sex trafficking ring. The conservative media love it. Faith-based groups love it. QAnon loves it. But how did this movie get made? And is the guy the movie based on the hero the movie makes him out to be? Recode Media sister podcast Today, Explained recently took on these questions. Listen in.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Land of the Giants: How Tesla became the Elon Musk Co.

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0000

This week, a quick update on Disney’s deal to get into sports betting. Then, we’re bringing you an episode of The Verge’s latest season of Land of the Giants, The Tesla Shock Wave. This episode tells the story of how Elon Musk joined the electric car company - and how he eventually led a coup against the original founders. Musk went on to make the car company’s brand synonymous with his own, which was great for Tesla… until it wasn’t.

Hosted by Tamara Warren (@tamaratam) and Patrick George (@bypatrickgeorge)

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker says tech isn’t our problem - it’s us

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Black Mirror isn’t just a hit TV show: It’s a window into the not-too-distant future. Creator Charlie Brooker (@charltonbrooker) has an astonishing track record of consistently imagining what we’re just about to see - whether it’s Donald Trump, the downside of social media, or AI-generated TV shows. And he’s made something that’s pervaded pop culture - when someone says “That’s like a Black Mirror episode” we know exactly what they mean. Brooker tells Vox’s Peter Kafka that, despite what you might think, he doesn’t hate tech - his problem is with the humans that use it.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why Lina Khan is fighting big tech - and losing

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Joe Biden wants to stop big companies - especially big tech companies - from buying or merging with other companies. FTC boss Lina Khan is supposed to be his enforcer, but… it’s not going well. In fact, it’s possible Khan’s struggles have made it easier for big companies to bulk up, or at least more likely to try. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks about all this with Cecilia Kang (@ceciliakang), who covers tech and regulation for The New York Times.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Strikes! AI! And a Steven Soderbergh show he’s selling himself.

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 04:00:00 -0000

This is a very good week to make a Recode Media episode: Hollywood is reeling from two different strikes. Disney CEO Bob Iger has hung a For Sale sign on parts of his company. And Steven Soderbergh just made a TV series and is selling it directly to consumers, like it’s 2012 or something.

First up, Vox’s Peter Kafka runs all of his Hollywood strike theories past Matt Belloni (@MattBelloni), founding partner of Puck News. Is AI really that big of a hangup for writers and actors on the picket line? When does this get solved and will consumers care? Then they discuss the problems Iger is grappling with in his second stint as Disney’s boss - and how he created those problems during his first stint in that job.

Finally, a conversation with writer Kurt Anderson (@KBAndersen), who co-created Command Z with Soderbergh, on why now is the perfect time to self-release a project. It’s a business move that feels like a throwback to times before the streaming boom. Are we going to see more of these?

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Can Meta Make a Twitter Killer?

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 04:00:00 -0000

We’re one week into the Threads era. How long is that going to last? What does it mean for Twitter, really? And what do Threads and continued chaos at Twitter say about the future of social media?

That’s maybe a lot to talk tackle, but we’re going to do it anyway. NYT tech reporter Mike Isaac (@mikeisaac) joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to get us up to speed on Mark Zuckerberg’s effort to depants Elon Musk — it seems to be going pretty well, for the moment. And we’ll try to answer one big question: Why exactly does Zuckerberg want a Twitter clone, anyway? Then veteran tech exec and big thinker Eugene Wei (@eugenewei) joins to talk about what Musk got wrong at Twitter, why Meta is building its own Twitter using cues from Instagram and TikTok, and life in the algorithm age.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Why ESPN’s old boss made movies you can’t see - yet

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 14:53:00 -0000

Former head of ESPN John Skipper has produced an ambitious new project. Now he has to figure out how to get it in front of you: Sports

Explains the World is a series of films featuring well-known personalities (like Curt Schilling) and people you’ve never heard of (like a group of skater girls in Ethiopia). What it doesn’t have, yet, is a deal to get them on a TV screen near you — a condition that may or may not say a lot about the streaming industry in 2023. Skipper and executive producer Smriti Keshari recently sat down with Vox’s Peter

Kafka at the Tribeca Film Festival to talk about the work of figuring out what streamers want, why an a la carte ESPN would be a bad deal for consumers and why nothing will ever live up to The Last Dance.

Featuring: John Skipper (@johnskipper), Cofounder and CEO of Meadowlark Media

Smriti Keshari (@keshari), filmmaker and Executive Producer of Sports Explains the World

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How to make laughs on TikTok and action on Netflix

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Comedian Nimesh Patel was grinding it out in the stand-up mines for years with middling success. And then the stage changed. Patel tells us how TikTok changed everything and what it’s like to live at the whim of the algorithm.

Then, host Peter Kafka catches up with former stunt coordinator and current filmmaker Sam Hargrave about the secret sauce of making action films for Netflix. It’s a lot of punching, a little Chris Hemsworth and a dash of stabbing the crap of people. His new movie, Extraction 2, is out on the streamer now.

Featuring: Nimesh Patel (@findingnimesh), stand-up comedian

Sam Hargrave, director of Extraction 2 on Netfilx

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Is Instagram the place to unbreak news?

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Mosheh Oinounou worked his way up through the TV news ranks and ended up running CBS Evening News. Now he’s starting over - this time on Instagram - with Mo News, a platform he says is a more responsive way to deliver news to an engaged audience. Oinounou talks to Vox’s Peter Kafka about the maladies affecting conventional news, the challenge of bootstrapping a news outlet in 2023, and why CNN’s former boss Chris Licht may have gotten at least one thing right.

Then, Peter talks to his friend and former co-worker Jason Del Rey about his adventures covering Amazon and Walmart, and how he turned that into Winner Sells All, his deeply researched new book.

Featuring: Mosheh Oinounou (@Mosheh), Founder of Mo News

Jason Del Rey (@DelRey), Journalist & Author of Winner Sells All

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Meet the AI company that wants to remake Hollywood

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 04:00:00 -0000

For some people that’s a dystopian vision. But for Cristóbal Valenzuela, it’s a mission statement: Valenzuela is the co-founder and CEO of Runway, an AI startup that wants to radically change the way movies and TV are made. Right now the buzzy company - currently valued at $1.5 billion - helps TV shows like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and movies like Everything Everywhere All at Once create special effects at a fraction of the traditional cost. But Valenzuela has much bigger ambitions for his product. And he thinks generative AI will be a major part of the stuff we watch in the near future. He talks to Vox’s Peter Kafka about the promise of that prediction — and the costs.

References made during the episode:

Runway's Guide to Rotoscoping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wb1N_EitdI
Paul Trillo's short film THANK YOU FOR NOT ANSWERING: https://vimeo.com/821101511

Featuring: Cristóbal Valenzuela (@c_valenzuelab), Co-Founder & CEO of Runway

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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CNN’s CEO is out; Apple reveals its goggles

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 21:55:35 -0000

After just over a year of questionable leadership and on the heels of an unflattering Atlantic profile, Chris Licht is out as the head of CNN. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to Puck’s Dylan Byers, who not only covered Licht, but became part of the story.

Then! Apple revealed its long-rumored mixed-reality headset this week. It’ll cost $3,500 when it goes on sale sometime next year, and will allow people who aren’t you to see your eyes while you use it. Wired’s Lauren Goode went face-on with the new device and shares her impressions.

Featuring: Dylan Byers (@DylanByers), Founding Partner and Senior Correspondent at Puck

Lauren Goode (@LaurenGoode), Senior Staff Writer at Wired

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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NYT rising star Astead Herndon on podcasts, power, and the 2024 race

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 04:00:00 -0000

It’s not just Ron DeSantis: All kinds of candidates are piling into the 2024 presidential race. New York Times national politics reporter Astead W. Herndon is covering the contest in audio form, via his show, “The Run-Up” — a weekly deep dive from the campaign trail. Herndon’s reporting is thoughtful and clear-eyed, and gives everyone he talks to — candidates, party leaders and, crucially, voters — the opportunity to really explain how the world looks from their perspective.

Vox’s Peter Kafka is a huge fan, and talks to Herndon about his very fast rise in journalism, how he prepares to talk to people from all walks of life (including the MyPillow guy); why audio reporting is so different than text; and how hosting a New York Times podcast compares to being on the front page of the New York Times.

Featuring: Astead Herndon (@asteadwh), Politics Reporter for NY Times & Political Analyst for CNN

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Meet the media insider who makes Succession feel real

Mon, 22 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

Succession — the HBO drama about a Murdoch-ish family of media moguls — feels authentic thanks, in part, to consultant Merissa Marr. Marr covered the Murdochs and other media titans for years at The Wall Street Journal, and she’s worked with the creative team behind Succession since the beginning. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to Marr about Succession’s obsession with getting tiny details about Big Media just right; which non-Murdoch moguls influence the show’s depiction of the Roy clan; what happens when art and reality clash — and, of course, some Elon Matsson talk.

Featuring: Merissa Marr (@mermarr), media journalist and TV consultant

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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It’s TV’s biggest week - and TV is on strike

Mon, 15 May 2023 23:00:00 -0000

Live from New York, it’s Upfronts week, where TV networks sell billions of dollars of advertising with glitzy presentations. It’s also the third week of the writers’ strike, which means the people who make the shows that run in between ads are picketing those presentations. So it’s a good time to talk about the state of the post-streaming boom TV business. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw drops by the studio to talk to Vox’s Peter Kafka about challenges facing the networks as they sell ads, and the writers as they try to get better deals - and whether either side really thinks AI is going to write a script anytime soon.

Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), media reporter for Bloomberg

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Ken Jennings on the future of Jeopardy!

Thu, 11 May 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Ken Jennings won 74 straight episodes of Jeopardy back in 2004. Somehow he’s turned that winning streak into a career, and now co-hosts the surprisingly resilient game show.

Peter Kafka talked to Jennings about his job and much more at the Crosscut Ideas Festival in Seattle. And while the sound quality isn’t pristine, the conversation covers a lot of ground. Jennings, for instance, talks about the tension between Jeopardy’s producers, who want to refresh the show in the hopes of bringing in new viewers, with its large and loyal audience, who want things kept the way they are. Also discussed: Why you still can’t stream Jeopardy! (blame it on syndication), the show’s attempts to diversify the contestant pool, and how, as a man who once competed against an AI named Watson (and lost), he sees AI could be used as a tool to help Jeopardy! in the future.

Featuring: Ken Jennings (@KenJennings), Jeopardy! Co-Host

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How worried—or excited—should we be about AI?

Thu, 04 May 2023 04:00:00 -0000

AI is amazing… or terrifying, depending on who you ask. This is a technology that elicits strong, almost existential reactions. So in the final episode of our special series about AI, we dig into the giant ambitions and enormous concerns people have about the very same tech.

Featuring: New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose (@kevinroose), who tells me why his viral conversation with Bing’s AI chatbot changed the way he thought about the new tech.

Then: Google has everything to lose here, so I speak with James Manyika, Google’s Senior Vice President of Technology and Society, about the company’s ambitions for AI. [9:23]

Plus: I talk to Professor Emily M. Bender (@emilymbender), one of the people behind a now-famous paper on AI’s limits. Her “stochastic parrot” seems to have hit a nerve with some of AI’s biggest proponents. So maybe she’s onto something. [29:30]

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Jonah Peretti, Nick Denton and Ben Smith on digital news’ past and future

Tue, 02 May 2023 10:00:00 -0000

It’s our first four-way pod, featuring BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti, Gawker founder Nick Denton, and Semafor founder (and former editor-in-chief of the recently shuttered BuzzFeed News) Ben Smith, who wrote a book about them both. Peter Kafka talks to all of them in conjunction with Smith’s new book “Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral.” What lessons did Smith learn from Peretti and Denton’s mistakes? If Disney offers to buy you out for hundreds of millions of dollars, should you take it? And is TikTok our last, best hope?

Featuring: Jonah Peretti (@peretti), Founder of BuzzFeed

Nick Denton (@nicknotned), Founder of Gawker

Ben Smith, (@semaforben), Editor-In-Chief of Semafor

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Inside the AI Gold Rush

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Silicon Valley needs a new thing and AI is that new thing: investors are supposed to pour 43 billion dollars into AI this year. But will individual startups cash in on the boom, or will the real winners of AI be the same handful of big, established companies?

Featuring: Renate Nyborg (@renate), a tech veteran who is launching an AI startup, and got a firsthand look at the AI funding frenzy. (00:00)

Then: Dror Berman (@drorberman), a venture capitalist at Innovation Endeavors, which he co-founded with the former CEO of Google. He’s one of the guys throwing a ton of money into AI. The reason he thinks he’ll get it right is because he’s done it before. (06:47)

And: Jessica Lessin (@Jessicalessin), founder and editor-in-chief of The Information. She knows Silicon Valley inside and out and translates this moment for us. (24:00)

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AI is the future! AI is a fraud. Let's debate.

Thu, 20 Apr 2023 04:00:00 -0000

AI has captured the imagination of Silicon Valley seemingly overnight. And in all this excitement, it's hard to tell what's really going on. What is this technology, how does Silicon Valley plan to change our world with it, and what exactly has a bunch of smart people very worried?

I'm doing a special series to figure that all out. Over the next three weeks, I'll talk to true AI believers and its sharpest detractors to get the real story about where this technology stands, and what it might mean for us.

First up: I meet Joshua Browder (@jbrowder1), a Stanford computer science dropout who tried to get an AI lawyer into court.

Then: Microsoft's CTO Kevin Scott (@kevin_scott) pitches me on a bright AI future. (5:10)

Plus: I talk to hype-deflator, cognitive scientist and author Gary Marcus (@GaryMarcus). He believes in AI, but he thinks the giants of Silicon Valley are scaling flawed technology now—with potentially dangerous consequences. (25:30)

Subscribe for free to Recode Media to make sure you get the whole series.

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Has Fox News learned a $787 million lesson?

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 21:30:02 -0000

Fox News, accused of repeatedly and knowingly spreading lies about Dominion Voting Systems, opted Tuesday to fork over $787 million rather than find out what its correspondents had to say under oath in a court of law. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to NPR's David Folkenflik about what, if anything, this will change when it comes to Fox News and the wider media.

Featuring: David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik), NPR Media Correspondent & Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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'Chef Reactions' blew up on TikTok. But will TikTok blow up?

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 04:00:00 -0000

It’s a TikTok double-header!

Vox’s Peter Kafka talks to ‘Chef Reactions,’ the semi-anonymous TikTok star whose hilarious culinary critiques skyrocketed him to viral fame in less than a year.

After that, The Washington Post’s Will Oremus catches us up on the controversy over TikTok - the debate over national security issues, and how likely it is the platform could actually get banned in the United States.

Featuring: Chef Reactions (@chefreactions), Chef & Content Creator

Will Oremus (@WillOremus), Tech reporter for The Washington Post

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Why is a talent agency buying pro wrestling? Plus a green media startup

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Endeavor started out as a traditional Hollywood talent agency - CEO Ari Emanuel, famously, was the model for Jeremy Piven’s character on “Entourage.” But suddenly, it’s become a giant media company focused on real and fake fighting, by merging its UFC business - featuring people who are really fighting each other - with the WWE - the one where the fights are scripted. Journalist Ariel Helwani, who knows both worlds very well, joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to explain the deal and what it means for the TV and streaming landscape.

Then Dave Finocchio, who co-founded the sports site Bleacher Report and kept running it after it was acquired by Time Warner, joins to discuss his newest media company: The Cool Down. It’s aimed at consumers who want to be greener, save money or both. Finocchio started his last company by figuring out how to capitalize on search and social media, but those worlds changed dramatically in the last few years. So what’s his new game plan?

Featuring: Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani), Host of The MMA Hour

Dve Finocchio (@DaveFinocchio), Founder of The Cool Down

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Is Apple sure about Apple’s new Goggles? Plus Roger Bennett, Media Mogul

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 04:00:00 -0000

We’ve had questions about Apple’s new VR headset — supposedly set to debut in June — for some time. Starting with: Who’s going to pay $3,000 for these things, and what will they do with them? Turns out some Apple employees have the same questions — which is very unusual for a Big Deal Apple Debut, to say the very least. The NYT’s Tripp Mickle joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to explain. Then Peter checks in with Men In Blazers co-founder Roger Bennett, who is finally ready to talk about the business of running a soccer-mad digital media company, why niches are good, and his plans to scale up before the 2026 World Cup.

Featuring: Tripp Mickle (@trippmickle), Tech Reporter for the New York Times

Roger Bennett (@rogbennett), Co-Founder of Men In Blazers

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Podcast pioneer Jesse Thorn built his own business. Now his employees own it.

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 04:00:00 -0000

Jesse Thorn has been podcasting for so long it was called radio. Over time he turned his career into a business - Maximum Fun, a network of eclectic pop culture shows like Bullseye; My Brother, My Brother and Me; and Judge John Hodgman — and relied primarily on listener donations to fund it.

But, as Thorn tells Vox’s Peter Kafka, running a business was running him down, and he didn’t want to sell the company to a Spotify or Sirius.

So he found a unique solution: He turned Maximum Fun into a worker-owned co-op. That means Thorn still owns a piece of the company he built over two decades, but so do his former employees, who are now his co-workers. And he thinks other media companies can and should do this, too.

Featuring: Jesse Thorn (@JesseThorn), Founder of Maximum Fun

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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An SVB (phew!) update + Benedict Evans on the future of (almost) everything

Thu, 16 Mar 2023 04:00:00 -0000

First: A Silicon Valley Bank check-in with Dan Primack of Axios. Why, exactly, did so many tech companies (and, um, media companies) bank with SVB, and what happens next?

Then, Peter Kafka has a great, wide-ranging conversation with tech analyst / thinkfluencer Benedict Evans. They talk about artificial intelligence, Amazon’s ad business (or whatever we should call it), YouTube’s place in the streaming wars, and what the metaverse and jetpacks have in common. Plus, cow hooves!

Featuring: Dan Primack (@danprimack), Business Editor at Axios

Benedict Evans (@benedictevans), Tech Analyst

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Science fiction pioneer Neal Stephenson on the metaverse, the movies and why he still believes in blockchain

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0000

Mark Zuckerberg wants to build the metaverse. Neal Stephenson created the meta verse three decades ago.

The author’s 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash popularized the use of the term “avatar” in a digital context, inspired the makers of Google Earth, and, of course, imagined (and named) the dystopian metaverse that Silicon Valley is racing to make a reality.

Stephenson has also tried his hand at actual science - helping Jeff Bezos build his private rocket ship business, and later working with Magic Leap at its fizzled AR goggles attempt. Now he’s trying his hand at the blockchain and says he’s not dissuaded by last year’s crypto crash. And if you act right now, you can bid on some of his real and digital goods at a Sotheby’s auction.

Stephenson talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about all of that, plus his failed (so far) attempts to turn his work into TV shows or movies, the future of VR, and why his vision of cautious optimism involves calamitous climate disasters.

Featuring: Neal Stephenson (@nealstephenson), Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Meet the woman who got De La Soul streaming

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0000

De La Soul was legendary for their trail-blazing approach to hip-hop. But in recent years the trio become notable for another reason: You couldn’t hear their music on any streaming platform. This means that generations of fans - including Recode’s Peter Kafka - couldn’t find them on the likes of Spotify, and potential new fans would never hear them at all.

Today that’s changed, thanks to Reservoir Media's CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi, who purchased the company that owned the trio’s music, and then spent 18 months clearing the legal path to get them online. Khosrowshahi talks about the work and money that went into getting De La Soul streaming again and explains how her independent music company operates in a world dominated by giant players.

Featuring: Golnar Khosrowshahi (@ReservoirMedia) CEO of Reservoir Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Real-life “Succession”: Jim Stewart on Sumner Redstone’s sordid saga

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0000

Veteran business journalist James B. Stewart specializes in getting behind the scenes to tell the stories of rich, powerful, and complicated subjects. He has a doozy with “Unscripted”, the new book he co-wrote about the last days of media mogul Sumner Redstone, who at one point was one of the most powerful men in the industry, and whose decline fueled years of fighting between his family, his employees, and his mistresses. If you like tawdry tales of sex, avarice, and greed — or wanted to know some of the real-life backstories behind HBO’s “Succession” — this is for you. Stewart also talks about other massive media stories he’s covered, including Bob Iger’s rise at Disney, and the AT&T/Time Warner shotgun marriage and divorce. Stewart also offers reporting tips and explains why his background as a lawyer helps him as a journalist.

Featuring: James B. Stewart (@jamesstewartnyt), Columnist for New York Times and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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We quiz BuzzFeed’s CEO about AI

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 23:45:00 -0000

It used to be that a human would have to write a BuzzFeed quiz about “Which Fictional Artificial Intelligence Are You?” But now, BuzzFeed writers are using real artificial intelligence tools — from Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT — to help craft the site’s famous quizzes. Investors love the idea. Not all of BuzzFeed's employees are quite sure about it, though. Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti about the new technology, which one of this show’s producers used to go on a virtual Valentine’s Day date with Henry Cavill where they attended “a secret rave at his dad’s law firm.”

Featuring: Jonah Peretti (@peretti), CEO of BuzzFeed

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why is tech in trouble if the economy is ok?

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0000

Tech and media companies (including the one that brings you this podcast) are laying off workers left and right. Meanwhile, the latest national jobs report is shockingly strong. So… why? Do the excuses make any sense?

First, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to Vox’s Emily Stewart about the overall economy, the likelihood of a recession, and when we’d actually know if one is happening. Then, New York Times correspondent Mike Isaac is back to dive into the specifics of the tech sector.

Featuring: Emily Stewart (@EmilyStewartM), Business reporter for Vox.com

Mike Isaac (@mikeisaac), New York Times tech reporter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Land of the Giants: The Hidden Hand Behind Your Swipes

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 05:00:00 -0000

This week, we bring you an episode of The Cut and The Verge’s latest season of Land of the Giants: Dating Games.

This episode is all about Match Group, the company that went on an acquisition spree and now controls two-thirds of the dating apps market. To hear more stories about how dating apps became a billion-dollar industry and the algorithms that control your love life, subscribe to Land of the Giants wherever you subscribe to podcasts.

Hosted by Sangeeta Singh Kurtz (@sangeetaskurtz) and Lakshmi Rengarajan (@Shmi_So_Far)

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Don't tell investor Li Jin that Web3 is dead

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0000

Investor Li Jin helped popularize the idea of the Creator Economy — the theory that many people who make stuff online could and should get paid for that work. Then she merged that pitch with an embrace of crypto/Web3 — and by 2021 the New York Times was calling her the “It Girl in venture capital.” Now many of the people who embraced both creator economy investments and crypto want nothing to do with that. But not Jin, who says she’s still all in. She talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about launching a fund in a pandemic, riding out a down cycle, and what it’s like to be the face of thesis.

Featuring: Li Jin (@ljin18), Co-Founder & General Partner at Variant Fund

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How The Last of Us went from hit game to hit zombie tv

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0000

The critically-lauded video game The Last of Us is now a critically-lauded HBO series. It's about a global pandemic that turns much of the world’s population into zombie-like monsters. Executive producer (and former roommate of Ted Cruz) Craig Mazin talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what makes the game special — and adaptable into prestige television. Mazin dives into how he went from writing The Hangover sequels to making Chernobyl, and the science and emotional math of storytelling.

Featuring: Craig Mazin (@clmazin), showrunner for The Last of Us

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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"Resist trying to make things better" - a conversation with internet security expert Alex Stamos

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 12:30:00 -0000

A new study in the journal Nature Communications finds "no evidence of a meaningful relationship" between Russian disinformation and voting behavior in the 2016 election. If disinformation maybe isn’t as effective as we assumed, does that change social networks’ responsibility to control it? Recode’s Peter Kafka discusses it with Alex Stamos, former chief security officer at Facebook and director of the Stanford Internet Observatory. They touch on the insurrection in Brazil, and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Featuring: Alex Stamos (@alexstamos), Director of the Stanford Internet Observatory

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Was YouTube’s NFL deal a $2 billion mistake?

Thu, 12 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0000

For the first time in 3 decades, NFL’s Sunday Ticket - a subscription service that lets viewers watch many but not all of the NFL’s games each week - has a new home: YouTube TV. The deal will cost YouTube/Google/Alphabet $2 billion a year. Was it it worth it?

There’s no one better to answer that question than Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand. He joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the deal — and what it tells us about other moves by tech giants to get into big-time sports.

Featuring: John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ), Media Reporter for Sports Business Journal and Co-host of the Marchand & Ourand Podcast

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Apple’s new goggles; Hollywood’s new streaming pitch.

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 05:00:00 -0000

Before we face the reality of 2023, we discuss the state of virtual reality — specifically, the still-unannounced VR/AR headset Apple’s been developing for years. The Information’s Wayne Ma joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to share the details of his latest report on the device, which he predicts will cost $3,000 and debut this year.

Then, Jeremy Zimmer, the CEO of United Talent Agency, talks to Peter about Hollywood’s economics and the way he’d like them to change, particularly as streamers like Netflix start selling ads.

Featuring: Wayne Wa (@waynema), Tech Reporter for The Information

Jeremy Zimmer, CEO of United Talent Agency

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Reader Mail!

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Recode’s Peter Kafka answers listener questions about Twitter, niche content streaming, print media microtransactions, regional sports networks and more. Peter’s producers and son also make appearances in descending order according to age.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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An Elon-free year in review

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0000

The Earth has just about completed its latest orbit around the sun, which means it’s time to take a look at what was happening over the past 584 million miles. Joining Recode’s Peter Kafka is Bloomberg’s, Lucas Shaw. Together, they tackle what Avatar: The Way of Water means for Disney, why concerts are doing well and in-person movies are doing meh, and HBO Max and Netflix’s pivot to gaming. Plus, they have a Tik Tok-length discussion about Tik Tok.

Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), Reporter for Bloomberg

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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A n00b’s guide to the Microsoft / Activision deal the FTC wants to stop

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0000

The FTC wants to (candy) crush Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Inc., the makers of games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush. Meanwhile, Microsoft, the maker of Xbox, assures Call of Duty players they’ll still be able to shoot Nazi zombies on rivals’ consoles. For an overview of the gaming business in general and this acquisition in particular, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to Bloomberg’s Jason Schrier, co-host of the podcast Triple Click and bestselling author of the books “Press Reset” and “Blood, Sweat, and Pixels.” Pro tip: If you input the Konami code while listening to this episode, you’ll get 30 extra lives.

Featuring: Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier), Reporter at Bloomberg and Co-Host of Triple Click Podcast

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Why the media landscape is “dire” with WSJ’s Jessica Toonkel

Thu, 08 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Layoffs, Disney CEO take-backsies, and the Netflix of it all — this week, Recode’s Peter Kafka catches up on the not-that-upbeat media industry with Jessica Toonkel, deputy media editor at The Wall Street Journal. They discuss why Big Media companies of every variety are struggling to please investors, advertisers and users, and why good news isn’t coming anytime soon. Also: WTF is Netflix’s video game business going to be? (And if you do want to check out a Netflix-branded mobile game, "Into the Breach" is a good one.)

Featuring: Jessica Toonkel (@jtoonkel), Deputy Media Editor at The Wall Street Journal

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How Eventbrite survived the pandemic, and why it’s not fighting Ticketmaster

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Selling tickets for live events can be… tricky, as Ticketmaster has proven yet again. But Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz runs a much smaller ticketing business and says she’s learned valuable lessons after the pandemic brought her revenue to zero. She talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about growing once again — and how she’s preparing for a potential recession.

Featuring: Julia Hartz (@juliahartz), CEO of Eventbrite

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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It’s not TV it’s HBO — the book

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0000

HBO’s 50-year-old history tells you a lot about culture, business, and TV’s past and future. This perhaps explains why we’ve seen two HBO books in the last 12 months. Felix Gillette is the co-author of the newest one: It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO. He sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about HBO’s story, and the impact his book made before it even hit the shelves.

Featuring: Felix Gillette (@felixgillette), editor for Business Insider and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How to watch a complicated World Cup

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Qatar is hosting the 2022 World Cup, casting a pall over one of the globe’s most-watched sporting events. Men With Blazers co-host Roger Bennett joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk through the geopolitical awareness and cognitive dissonance required to enjoy this year’s tournament. First they tackle the human rights abuses of Qatar and the perennial corruption of FIFA. Then, they get into the games — players to watch, which countries have a chance, and we learn that PETER KAFKA WAS BORN IN WALES. Cymru am byth!

Featuring: Roger Bennett (@rogbennett), Co-Host of Men In Blazers

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

We are conducting a short audience survey to help plan for our future and hear from you. To participate, head to vox.com/podsurvey, and thank you!

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Life, the internet, and everything with Garbage Day’s Ryan Broderick

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Ryan Broderick is very online so you don’t have to be. His internet culture Substack ‘Garbage Day’ is a mix of thought-provoking analysis, trend reporting, and, when you read all the way to the end, dumb memes. In this wide-ranging coversation with Recode’s Peter Kafka, he talks about the big topic of the day: An explanation of NyQuil chicken. But before that, Twitter — and Ryan reminds us that there are some places on the internet where people are actually having a good time. Plus, a whole lot more. It’s a great conversation; tweet about it while you still can.

Featuring: Ryan Broderick (@broderick), founder of the Garbage Day newsletter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

We are conducting a short audience survey to help plan for our future and hear from you. To participate, head to vox.com/podsurvey, and thank you!

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What Elon’s past tells us about his present

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 11:00:00 -0000

This is not an emergency podcast, but, you know, maybe it will be? As questions swirl around what exactly Elon Musk is doing at Twitter (and why) we wanted to take a look at Musk’s history and how it might inform WTF is happening now. Fortunately, we’re joined by Bloomberg’s Ashlee Vance, author of “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.” Recode Media’s Peter Kafka talks to Vance about Musk’s rise, how his public persona changed over the years, and his flirtations with failure.

Featuring: Ashlee Vance (@ashleevance), Writer for Bloomberg

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Tech’s big bust, plus Marvel (and Wakanda) Forever?

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Mass layoffs and cutbacks at companies like Meta and Twitter point to a slowdown (and chaos) in tech. Bloomberg tech reporter Sarah Frier helps us sort through the madness. Then, Disney has used Marvel movies to basically print money over the past ten years. With the release of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” we look at whether that strategy will continue to be a winning one with pop culture expert and X-Ray Vision podcaster Jason Concepcion.

Featuring: Jason Concepcion (@netw3rk), Writer and Host of Crooked Media's X-Ray Vision

Sarah Frier (@sarahfrier), Tech Reporter at Bloomberg

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Election special with Punchbowl's Jake Sherman

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 04:03:00 -0000

Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman joins us from the U.S. Capitol building just in time for the 2022 midterm elections. Recode’s Peter Kafka hits him up for some election spoilers. Then he gets into the business of Punchbowl News: He asks Sherman what drove him to leave Politico, and how Punchbowl’s various revenue streams work (including a $300 annual subscription) and why Sherman isn’t worried about raising money.

Featuring: Jake Sherman(@JakeSherman), Co-Founder of Punchbowl News

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Jason Gay isn’t making Elon Musk jokes

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 04:00:00 -0000

We’re taking a short break from the Twitter shitshow to give you an interview with Jason Gay, sports and humor columnist at The Wall Street Journal. His new book is “I Wouldn’t Do That If I Were Me: Modern Blunders and Modest Triumphs (but Mostly Blunders).” Gay talks to Peter Kafka about what it’s like to write humor for a publication that’s not exactly known for that, the cognitive dissonance required to enjoy football, and why he isn’t interested in making Elon Musk jokes.

Featuring: Jason Gay Matt Levine (@jasongay), Sports and Humor Columnist at The Wall Street Journal

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Bloomberg’s Matt Levine still loves crypto; Ankler’s Janice Min loves newsletters

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 04:00:00 -0000

When Bloomberg’s Matt Levine sent an enticing email about “a big thing coming out about crypto in Businessweek,” Recode’s Peter Kafka couldn’t resist. Turns out, the “big thing” is a 40,000(!) word piece that took over the entire magazine, titled “The Crypto Story." Levine explains why he wrote a 40,000(!) word piece about cryptocurrency, which he thinks is fascinating even if the boom has turned to a bust. Plus some bonus thoughts on the end (?) of the Elon Musk Buys Twitter Saga, and What It All Means.

And then, Ankler Media CEO Janice Min talks about Hollywood's favorite thing to read about: Hollywood. In 2021, Min joined Richard Rushfield to expand his Substack newsletter into a full-on media business. Min talks about how running Ankler differs from running The Hollywood Reporter, and what happens when two media journalists hit up Y Combinator for seed capital. Plus, Min reflects on the heyday of the iconic celebrity news magazine Us Weekly, where her role as editor-in-chief meant she was a celebrity who didn’t plan on becoming a celebrity.

Featuring: Matt Levine (@matt_levine), Reporter for Bloomberg

Janice Min (@janicemin), CEO of Ankler Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Ben Smith says Semafor will take 10 years to get right

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 14:38:07 -0000

One week after the launch of Semafor, Recode’s Peter Kafka flags down the news startup’s co-founder Ben Smith.

Who is Semafor for, really? How can a news startup based in NYC and Washington solve polarization? What, exactly, is a “Semaform” and what’s the point of it? And what New York Times office amenity does Smith miss the most?

Featuring: Ben Smith (@semaforben), Editor-In-Chief at Semafor

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Netflix is back (?) + Julia Boorstin on women who lead

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Netflix added 2.4 million subscribers! Ads are coming! Wall Street’s excited again! But is Netflix back for real? Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to get a reality check on the streamer and the streaming business.

And then, CNBC’s Senior Tech & Media Correspondent, Julia Boorstin, joins Peter for a wide-ranging interview about the latest media news, her career, and her new book "When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them."

And remember, you can always binge-listen to Recode Media completely free on our ad-supported tier, which is also our one and only tier. Please don’t skip past the ads, thank you.

Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), Reporter for Bloomberg

Julia Boorstin (@JBoorstin), Senior Media & Tech Reporter CNBC

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Inside the curious mind of XKCD cartoonist Randall Munroe

Thu, 13 Oct 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Since 2005, Randall Munroe has used his webcomic XKCD to comment on the world around him and express his love for pop culture, math, and science. Now, with the release of his new book “What If 2?: More Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions”, the cartoonist is yet again using his physics expertise to answer the most interesting hypothetical questions with a dash of humor. He sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to reflect on his career so far, and what he has planned ahead.

Featuring: Randall Munroe (@xkcd), creator of XKCD and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Elon Musk is buying Twitter. Really. (Really?)

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 02:55:34 -0000

He’s back! Elon Musk, who agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion last spring and then tried to back out of the deal, says he wants to buy Twitter for $44 billion, after all.

That doesn’t mean it will actually happen - because, Elon Musk - but maybe it’s real this time. Maybe.

So how did we get here and what happens next and what have we learned about Elon Musk over the last few months? Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to two Twitter pros: Jason Goldman, the company’s first product VP, who says a Musk-owned Twitter is the worst-case scenario; and the Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel, who dove deep into Musk’s texts to learn more about Musk’s inner circle, and the way they think.

Featuring: Jason Goldman (@goldman), Host of DunePod and Former Product VP at Twitter

Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel), Contributing writer to The Atlantic

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Interview with Interview with a Vampire’s Eric Bogosian

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Writer and actor Eric Bogosian (Talk Radio, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Succession) has been in the business for a while. Long enough, that he tells Recode’s Peter Kafka, he’s learned to let other people worry about the business stuff. AMC’s hoping he’s good business for them; the network is hoping its new Interview with a Vampire can help fill the zombie-shaped genre hole left by the ending of The Walking Dead.

Bogosian talks about the modern-day relevance of Talk Radio, paying for his kids’ college with a steady Law & Order paycheck, and why he decided not to monetize his online project 100 (monologues).

Featuring: Eric Bogosian (@ericbogosian), Actor and Writer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

We are conducting a short audience survey to help plan for our future and hear from you. To participate, head to vox.com/podsurvey, and thank you!

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YouTube fights TikTok with cash

Wed, 21 Sep 2022 18:34:59 -0000

YouTube wants a piece of that sweet TikTok action, so it’s getting out the checkbook. The most popular creators on YouTube’s TikTok clone — that’s YouTube Shorts, officially — will get a cut that comes from a pool of all Shorts revenue, rather than on an individual video-by-video basis. The company's also introducing a “Super Thanks” tipping feature. Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to YouTube’s Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan about the changes and tries to find out why his YouTube Shorts feed is full of Ben Shapiro videos. We don’t have “Super Thanks,” but feel free to Venmo a tip to our producer Jelani for staying up late to get this one out to you.

Featuring: Neal Mohan (@nealmohan), Chief Product Officer at YouTube

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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José Andrés has a full plate, but he's adding more

Thu, 15 Sep 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Chef José Andrés may very well be The Best Person. His nonprofit, World Central Kitchen, activates local restaurants to provide meals to people in crisis areas. He’s the man behind acclaimed restaurants like Jaleo and minibar. And, he’s a pure delight wherever he shows up, whether it be on TV or this podcast you’re looking at right now. And he has a new podcast and a Substack, both called “Longer Tables.” Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to Andrés about why he added another thing to his… plate. (Sorry.)

Featuring: José Andrés (@chefjoseandres), Celebrity Chef

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The inside story of YouTube

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 04:22:00 -0000

Despite YouTube’s massive influence, it's been chronically underreported on. But finally, Bloomberg’s Mark Bergen wrote the comprehensive, soup-to-nuts history of the site. His new book is called "Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube’s Chaotic Rise to World Domination."

Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to Bergen about changes to YouTube’s recommendation algorithm, its various attempts to make original premium content, the rise of TikTok, and FЯED. Plus, how the entirety of YouTube almost got filed under a tab on Google’s failed social network.

Featuring: Mark Bergen (@mhbergen), Writer for Bloomberg Business and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Why the Good Fight creators are glad they moved from CBS to streaming

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Like other big deal TV creators, Robert and Michelle King are thriving in the streaming era. The duo behind the long-running CBS show The Good Wife is making two shows for Paramount+, with more on the way. As The Good Fight - a Good Wife spinoff - enters its sixth and final season, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to the Kings about the move from broadcast to streaming, and why they spend a lot of time tweaking the Trump administration, but less talking about the pandemic. Plus: a very costly Bitcoin miscalculation.

Featuring: Michelle & Robert King (@RKing618), TV Writers & Show Runners

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Algorithms that give you anxiety and a Web3 project that doesn't suck.

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Kyle Chayka writes about tech and internet culture for the New Yorker; he’s also the co-founder of Dirt, a newsletter — powered in part by crypto — about… tech and internet culture. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about both of his gigs: They dive deep into his recent essay about “The Age of Algorithmic Anxiety”, and what humans mean when they say they’re upset with The Algorithm. Then Chayka describes the way Dirt is using Web3 tech — specifically, a DAO - to help run Dirt, and why he thinks there are genuinely useful/non-scammy ways to apply the blockchain to media companies.

Featuring: Kyle Chayka (@chaykak), Tech and Internet Culture writer for The New Yorker and Co-Founder of Dirt

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Home Box Office of the Dragon

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 04:00:00 -0000

In 2011, HBO changed the prestige television landscape with its expensive, ultra-violent, sex-filled fantasy epic Game of Thrones. Three years after that show’s divisive ending, HBO's hoping the world is ready to go back to Westeros with its GoT prequel, House of the Dragon.

The Ringer’s Joanna Robinson joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about House of the Dragon and its competition, Amazon’s long-awaited The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. Which fantasy show will rule them all? Is there room for both?

And then, we pivot from fictional carnage to real-life (figurative) carnage with a dip back into the streaming wars, and the Netflix of it all.

Featuring: Joanna Robinson (@jowrotethis), Writer and Podcaster at The Ringer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why the Democrats finally got on TikTok

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Democrats have a complicated relationship with social media - sometimes they think it’s a huge help; other times, not so much. Which is why it’s interesting to hear from Nell Thomas, the chief technology officer for the Democratic National Committee, who previously worked on data science for… Facebook. Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to Thomas about how working for Facebook helped her understand the platform; how her current role at the DNC is supposed to help Democrats win elections; and how the DNC weighed the risks and benefits of joining TikTok.

Featuring: Nell Thomas (@nellwyn), Chief Technology Officer for The DNC

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Land of the Giants: Why Instagram Broke Its Square

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 04:00:00 -0000

This week, we bring you an episode of Recode and The Verge’s latest season of Land of the Giants: The Facebook / Meta Disruption. To check out the first two episodes, subscribe wherever you subscribe to podcasts!

This episode explores Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012. Mark Zuckerberg promised he would be hands-off with the company’s curated aesthetic and simple features. But as Facebook scaled the startup into a social media juggernaut, tensions flared. Instagram’s founders would leave, and it’s now a very different app than when it first started. But are the changes setting the company up to compete in the future? Or is Instagram losing the magic that made it great in the first place?

Hosted by Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Heath (@alexeheath)

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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B.J. Novak on “Vengeance”, podcasts and the downside of the streaming boom

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 16:26:00 -0000

B.J. Novak has starred on TV, written a best-selling kids’ book, and tried his hand at app-making. Now he’s written, directed, and starred in his own movie: Vengeance, about a self-obsessed podcaster, red/blue state divides, and much more. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about making the movie during a pandemic, what it was like to be on The Office when it was on NBC and then on Netflix, and why streaming is a “wasteland for comedy.”

Plus! The New York Times' James Poniewozek explains why the January 6 hearings’ novel format has worked on TV and social media.

Featuring: B.J. Novak (@bjnovak), Actor, Comedian, and Writer

James Poniewozik (@poniewozik), TV Critic for The New York Times

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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What is the metaverse, when is it going to show up and who’s going to run it?

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 04:00:00 -0000

People have been talking about the metaverse for years. But they’re talking about it much more these days, spurred by Mark Zuckerberg’s full-fledged embrace of the… actually, what exactly is the metaverse again, anyways?

Investor, analyst and metaverse explainer Matthew Ball, who’s already tried explaining this stuff to Recode’s Peter Kafka, has written a whole book about it, so he’s back again: Ball talks about what he thinks the metaverse is really going to be, what it’s not going to be, how long it might take to get here and why you may or may not care about it.

Featuring: Matthew Ball (@ballmatthew), Investor, Analyst, and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Ken Auletta on the Harvey Weinstein story he wrote, the story he couldn’t write, and the one he’s publishing now.

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 21:28:01 -0000

20 years ago the New Yorker’s Ken Auletta wrote a seminal profile of famed and feared producer Harvey Weinstein - with one glaring omission. Now Auletta has written a book about Weinstein — Hollywood Ending — and this time he’s able to cover the full story. Auletta talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the two works, and why it took so long for Weinstein’s much-rumored sexual abuses to come out in the open.

Featuring: Ken Auletta (@kenauletta), Writer at The New Yorker, and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Netflix has a huge hit with Peaky Blinders — and Caryn Mandabach owns it.

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Caryn Mandabach produced some of the biggest hits in TV history — like The Cosby Show, Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and That ’70s Show. Now she’s thriving in the Netflix era, with Peaky Blinders — a historical crime drama that just ended a six-season run and is a global success story. She talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the way the TV business has changed, and the risk and reward of owning your own shows.

Featuring: Caryn Mandabach (@mandabachtv), Executive Producer of Netflix's Peaky Blinders

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The future of: Crypto criticism; Substack and ABC News

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Three interviews! One pod: First entrepreneur and investor Zach Weinberg tells Recode’s Peter Kafka why he’s accidentally become Twitter Famous as a crypto skeptic — and explains how you can do it, too. Then two talks from the recent Collision Conference: Substack CEO Chris Best on the growth of his company, and about an unsuccessful attempt to raise a funding round (this was recorded before Substack laid off 14% of its workforce); and ABC News boss Kim Godwin on the challenges of reaching audiences that may no longer want fact-based news — or, at a minimum, aren’t watching traditional TV anymore.

Featuring: Zach Weinberg (@zachweinberg) Founder of Flatiron and Invite Media, Investor at Operator Partners

Chris Best (@cjgbest), Co-Founder and CEO of Substack

Kim Godwin (@KimGodwinTV), President of ABC News

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Is this a Netflix problem or a streaming problem?

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Today, CNBC’s Alex Sherman joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to ponder several media mysteries:

Why did Netflix lose 2 million subscribers?

Why was Disney executive Peter Rice unexpectedly fired?

What’s going on at Warner Bros. Discovery?

Is someone gonna buy VICE?

Why is Wall Street meh on BuzzFeed?

Featuring: Alex Sherman (@sherman4949), Media and Tech Reporter for CNBC

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Bill Simmons on podcasts, celebrity interviews and life at Spotify

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 04:16:08 -0000

The Bill Simmons Podcast is, by its own description, "the most downloaded sports podcast of all time." This week, it hits its 1,000th episode.

Bill Simmons began his career as a Boston sportswriter and went on to found ESPN's sports and pop culture blog Grantland. After ESPN shut down the site, Simmons started the Ringer — which he sold to Spotify in 2020.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to Simmons about how he became a podcasting pioneer, and when he realized nerditry about the NBA and Game of Thrones could both live under the same roof. Simmons also reflects on what he learned from his time as an employee of The Walt Disney Corporation and how things are different at Spotify. Plus, he reveals the number one dream guest he’d love to have on his show.

Featuring: Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons), Founder of The Ringer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Why is this VC on your TikTok?

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 04:00:00 -0000

TikTok isn’t just funny dances and glow-ups anymore… it’s also for venture capital!!! Logan Bartlett, managing director at the VC firm Redpoint, reaches out to startups via the socials. He also hosts a podcast called Cartoon Avatars. Bartlett talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about wooing the next generation of tech entrepreneurs, the VC world’s abrupt shift to restraint, and, of course, more crypto stuff.

Featuring: Logan Bartlett (@loganbartlett), Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures and host of Cartoon Avatars

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Engineer Molly White explains why Web3 isn’t going great

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Software engineer Molly White has emerged as one of Web3’s most high-profile skeptics. Her website “Web3 is going just great” chronicles scams, bugs, “rug pulls” and thefts plaguing the world of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations), and other blockchain technologies. She and Recode’s Peter Kafka discuss her take on all things Web3, why she took on this project in her free time, and how the feedback she’s received compares to her previous work on GamerGate and the Boogaloo movement.

Featuring: Molly White (@molly0xfff), software engineer and creator of Web3 is going just great

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Is Big Tech getting better about misinformation?

Thu, 26 May 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Lots of people will tell you that misinformation is a big problem online. But exactly what the problem is, and what tech companies can and should do about it, is up for debate. It’s also what Bloomberg reporter Davey Alba covers every day.

In this conversation, she talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the recent massacre in Buffalo, which the shooter promoted on Discord and live-streamed on Twitch; copies of his manifesto and clips of the killing then migrated around the internet. All of which echoes a previous mass shooting in 2019. What, if anything, have the big tech companies learned about these kinds of attacks and how to respond to them? Then Alba talks about one of the latest problems platforms like YouTube and Facebook are grappling with: Potentially dangerous instructions about how to make your own infant formula, and whether those should stay online.

Featuring: Davey Alba (@daveyalba), reporter for Bloomberg Technology

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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What can you learn from the guy who built the iPod?

Thu, 19 May 2022 04:27:24 -0000

The markets are crashing - and that includes both Netflix and the media companies that wanted to be Netflix. What’s next? Wall Street analyst and investor Rich Greenfield weighs in.

Then, Recode’s Peter Kafka has a conversation with Tony Fadell, who helped bring the iPod and iPhone to life, and then built and sold Nest, the smart home company. His new book is “Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making.” Fadell talks about how developing a product begins with creating its “story,” and why he fought so hard to include a $3 screwdriver in Nest thermostat boxes. He also touches on some high-profile failures, unintended consequences, and why he doesn’t want to dance in the metaverse.

Featuring: Rich Greenfield (@RichLightShed) Partner & TMT Analyst at Lightshed Partners

Tony Fadell (@tfadell), Tech Investor & Entrepreneur, author of "Build"

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Ronan Farrow: “We are living in a post-privacy age”

Thu, 12 May 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Ronan Farrow’s latest investigative work for The New Yorker looks into the surveillance technology Pegasus — spyware that gives remote access to a smartphone’s camera, microphone, and contents. Be sure to power your phone completely off after you listen to the episode; Farrow will tell you why.

Recode’s Peter Kafka also asks Farrow about his career — what it’s like to have his work put under a microscope, the impact of his Pulitzer-winning reporting on Harvey Weinstein, and what he doesn’t miss about working on cable news.

Featuring: Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow), Investigative Reporter at the New Yorker

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Behind the scenes at Apple with journalist Tripp Mickle

Thu, 05 May 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Design genius Jony Ive was Steve Jobs’ chief collaborator at Apple. But Ive didn’t run Apple after Jobs’ death: That role went to Tim Cook, the supply chain guy. Now Apple is a company that’s increasingly interested in making money from services and is less dependent on jaw-dropping devices. And Ive doesn’t work at Apple anymore.

Journalist Tripp Mickle, who covered Apple for years at the Wall Street Journal, has a new book about the fraught relationship between Cook and Ive, and Apple’s transformation after Jobs, and this is one where the title gives away a lot: “After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion-Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul.” He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about all of that — as well as a curious and telling anecdote about a soap dispenser.

Featuring: Tripp Mickle (@trippmickle), New York Times reporter and author of After Steve

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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NYT’s Wesley Morris on writing, podcasting and staying off TikTok

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Wesley Morris wrote his first review when he was 15 years old, about the movie “Cape Fear.” Since then, he’s become one of the most celebrated cultural critics of our time, and has two Pulitzers to prove it.

Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to Morris about his work as a critic at large for the New York Times and the new season of his podcast, “Still Processing.” Other topics discussed in this very fun and thoughtful interview include The Slap, why we’re not getting another “Basic Instinct,” and what’s up with Elon Musk.

Featuring: Wesley Morris (@wesley_morris), Critic at Large for the New York Times and host of Still Processing

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Can Elon Fix Twitter? Can Reed Fix Netflix?

Wed, 27 Apr 2022 02:37:00 -0000

It’s been a big week for media events involving tens of billions of dollars: Elon Musk is buying Twitter for $44 billion, meanwhile, Netflix lost more than $50 billion in value.

First, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel about the multiverse of possibilities of how Musk’s Twitter might operate. Will we enter the “darkest timeline” of supervillain nihilistic world-burning, or revert to Twitter’s pre-2016 stance on content moderation?

Then, Peter checks in on Netflix, which reported a loss of 200,000 subscribers last week and is adding an ad-supported subscription tier. No need to borrow a friend’s password to listen to this conversation with Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg’s Leader of Entertainment, Media & Telecom.

Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), Reporter for Bloomberg

Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel), Writer for The Atlantic, and of The Galaxy Brain newsletter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Elon and Twitter: A love/hate story

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 23:00:00 -0000

Elon Musk loves Twitter and also thinks it’s broken. So he wants to buy it.

Can he, really? And who would help him? And why? And wtf does it mean when the world’s richest man is also one of its best shitposters? Bloomberg's Kurt Wagner and the Atlantic’s Derek Thompson try to help Recode’s Peter Kafka figure it out.

Featuring: Kurt Wagner (@KurtWagner8), tech and social media reporter for Bloomberg

Derek Thompson (@DKThomp), staff writer for The Atlantic and host of Plain English for The Ringer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Disney vs. Itself vs. The Right

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 04:00:00 -0000

Within the past few months, Disney CEO Bob Chapek managed to piss off his shareholders, the LGBT community, and right-wing conservatives. Today we talk about how he did it, why it happened, and what’s next.

First, Puck’s Matt Belloni joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to compare Disney’s old and new Bobs, Iger and Chapek. Belloni details the inner turmoil at Disney over the company’s initially tepid response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law - and why Disney investors are dissatisfied with Chapek for other reasons.

Then, Jane Coaston, host of The New York Times podcast The Argument, explains what the “Don’t Say Gay” law actually says, and how the right made Disney its latest enemy in the culture war.

Featuring: Matt Belloni (@MattBelloni), Founding Partner at Puck

Jane Coaston (@janecoaston), Host of The Argument

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The State of Streaming

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 04:00:00 -0000

It’s time to check back in on the state of the streaming wars, with two binge-worthy conversations. First, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to analyst Michael Nathanson about Big Media’s new problem: TV ratings are plummeting because all the good stuff is streaming — but now Wall Street doesn’t just want streaming, it wants *profitable* streaming.

Then, we travel into the time stream to talk about the past, present and future of the streaming wars with Dawn Chmielewski, co-author of Binge Times: Inside Hollywood’s Furious Billion-Dollar Battle to Take Down Netflix, and Julia Alexander of Parrot Analytics. We discuss the legacy of Seeso, why the real audience of CNN+ may be the people in front of the camera, and when and if we’re getting the bundle back.

Featuring: Michael Nathanson, Senior Research Analyst at MoffetNathanson

Dawn Chmielewski (@DawnC331), U.S. Entertainment Business Correspondent at Reuters

Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia) Senior Strategy Analyst at Parrot Analytics

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Judd Apatow on The Bubble, TikTok and The Slap

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 20:01:21 -0000

Legendary comedy director/writer/producer Judd Apatow was busy during lockdown: He wrote a book and made two movies. One of them is The Bubble, a movie about… making a movie during the pandemic. Apatow talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what success looks like in the streaming era, coming to terms with TikTok, and his Oscar tweets. Also discussed: How many meetings it took to design a CGI flammable alien dinosaur penis.

Featuring: Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow), Writer, Director, Producer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The Oscars: Hollywood’s smallest biggest night?

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 04:00:00 -0000

The Oscars used to be one of the biggest things on TV. Now they’re… not. Does that matter to the movie business and to movie-goers? We discuss with our annual Oscar experts: Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson and Slate’s Allegra Frank, who talk about their favorite movies, and try to sell Recode’s Peter Kafka on watching a 3-hour foreign language film. But more important: How and why should the Oscars try to remake itself for a TikTok world — and will a Twitter poll + DJ Kahled and Tony Hawk do the trick?

Featuring: Alissa Wilkinson (@alissamarie), Film & Culture Editor at Vox

Allegra Frank (@LegsFrank), Senior Editor at Slate

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Dan Le Batard on life after ESPN; Russia sanctions upend big-time soccer

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 04:00:00 -0000

March Madness has started, but this isn’t a podcast about that: Today, it’s a podcast about sports media, about leaving sports media to do your own thing, and about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may radically reshape big-time soccer.

First Dan Le Batard, formerly of ESPN, joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about his “fool’s quest” to found Meadowlark Media, “a company with a soul.” And why that company needed a big infusion of cash from the sports betting business to get off the ground.

Then, soccer journalist Grant Wahl shares an extraordinary story about how the UK’s sanctions against Russia impacted one of the most famous teams in the world, London-based Chelsea F.C. Plus, he talks about what it’s been like to strike out on his own after being fired from Sports Illustrated.

Featuring: Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl), Soccer Journalist on https://grantwahl.substack.com/

Dan Le Batard (@LeBatardShow), Founder of Meadowlark Media and host of the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Big Tech takes a side, finally + Zappos' tragic founder

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Silicon Valley goes out of its way not to upset countries around the world - even when that means making embarrassing compromises. But it has taken a stand against Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, limiting services or cutting them off entirely. What happens next? Recode’s Peter Kafka and the New York Times’ Shira Ovide both wrote about this separately, and now they’re talking about it together.

Then, Wall Street Journal reporter Kirsten Grind talks about her new book, Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Plus Kirsten reflects on her blockbuster reporting about the toxic culture at Activision.

Featuring: Kirsten Grind (@kirstengrind), Investigative Reporter for Wall Street Journal and Author

Shira Ovide (@ShiraOvide), writer of the On Tech newsletter for the New York Times

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Covering the war in Ukraine, online and on the ground

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 05:27:00 -0000

Recode's Peter Kafka talks to three reporters about the realities of covering the war in Ukraine and sorting truth from disinformation -- from the ground, from afar, and online.

In Ukraine: CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward discusses the challenges of war reporting in 2022, everything from planning food and exit routes to working with a remote team to analyze online videos.

In DC: Puck co-founder and Washington correspondent Julia Ioffe talk about how hard it is to learn what Russians think about what's going on, and how long she expects the war to hold the American people's interest.

Finally, Jane Lytvynenko, a senior research fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, gives us a crash course on Russia’s history of disinformation dissemination. She also tells us about Telegram, which essentially functions as “Eastern European Twitter."

Featuring: Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward), Chief International Correspondent for CNN

Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe), Co-Founder and Washington Correspondent for Puck

Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv), Senior Research Fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Uber, but for TV

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0000

When Recode’s Peter Kafka advises you not to write your book, WRITE THAT BOOK. That’s the lesson Mike Isaac learned: His book “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber” is now a Showtime series starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Not only that, Showtime announced that Mike’s next, yet-to-be-finished book about Facebook will be the basis of season 2. Peter talks to Mark about what it’s like to shift from the world of reporting to prestige TV drama.

Then, host of LinkedIn’s “Hello Monday” podcast, Jessi Hempel, talks about the launch of LinkedIn’s new podcast network.

Featuring: Mike Isaac (@MikeIsaac), Author and Tech Reporter at The New York Times

Jessi Hempel (@jessiwrites) Senior Editor At Large at LinkedIn and host of Hello Monday

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Chuck Klosterman relives the 1990s & Sarah Palin loses her NYT libel suit

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Make sure no one’s on your home phone while you use your dial-up modem to listen to this week’s show on your 1998 Bondi Blue iMac. Recode Media’s Peter Kafka talks to bestselling Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs author Chuck Klosterman about his new book: The Nineties: A Book.

But first, NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik walks us through Sarah Palin’s defamation suit against The New York Times, which was rejected by a jury and a judge this week.

Featuring: David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik), NPR Media Correspondent

Chuck Klosterman (@CKlosterman), Author of The Nineties: A Book

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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What's next for CNN? + The Afterparty's Ben Schwartz writes jokes for C-3PO

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0000

This is (an update about what’s going on at) CNN. Dylan Byers of Puck News joins Recode’s Peter Kafka: They talk about the fallout from former CNN president Jeff Zucker’s resignation and the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger federal regulators approved yesterday.

And then for something completely different, it’s the delightful Ben Schwartz! The affable Parks and Rec actor and improviser joins his new pal “PK” for a fun conversation. We talk about his new Apple TV+ show The Afterparty, working for Netflix, and how he became the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. But wait, there’s more: Schwartz also talks breaking into show business via the internet, watching someone steal his content and go viral, and doing punch-up for Star Wars director J.J. Abrams.

Featuring: Dylan Byers (@DylanByers), Founding Partner and Senior Correspondent at Puck

Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes), Actor, Writer, and Comedian

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Is Spotify’s Joe Rogan problem over? Plus how to launch a new media startup.

Thu, 03 Feb 2022 05:30:00 -0000

First: Neil Young quit Spotify over Joe Rogan, but just a handful of musicians have followed him. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw assesses whether Spotify’s podcast problems are over, or just beginning.

Then, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to two journalists who left their jobs to start their own media organizations. Lauren Williams was Vox’s editor-in-chief — this week she co-launched Capital B, a nonprofit news site aimed at Black readers. Brian Morrissey was editor-in-chief at Digiday and is now running The Rebooting - a one-man operation aimed at a business audience. Both of them talk about business models, the risk and reward of building something from scratch, and what success looks like when you’re starting out on your own.

Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), Reporter for Bloomberg

Lauren Williams (@laurenwilliams), Co-Founder and CEO of Capital B

Brian Morrissey (@bmorrissey), Founder of The Rebooting

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Game on: Behind the sports betting boom

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 05:00:00 -0000

Just in time for the NFL playoffs, sports betting is legal in New York. $600 million in bets were placed in the first week alone. Now that it’s legal in more than 30 states, Recode’s Peter Kafka dives into how the business works and how going legit might change the TV sports viewing experience. Getting in on the action: Action Network CEO Patrick Keane and Sports Illustrated’s Richard Johnson.

Featuring: Patrick Keane (@phkeane), CEO of Action Network

Richard Johnson (@RJ_Writes), writer for Sports Illustrated

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Gaming out Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal

Thu, 20 Jan 2022 05:27:10 -0000

It’s the biggest acquisition in Microsoft’s history: $68.7 billion to buy the video game company, Activision Blizzard.

First, Axios’ Chief Technology Correspondent, Ina Fried, tells us how Xbox fits into Microsoft’s overall business. She touches on how Activision Blizzard’s scandals impacted the deal, and whether Microsoft’s plan to buy the company that makes Overwatch will get past federal over watchers.

For the gaming side, Peter talks to Chris Grant, SVP of Polygon and The Verge. He explains just how big the video game industry is, and takes us through the history of Activision, from the 1982 Atari hit Pitfall! to Call of Duty.

Featuring: Chris Grant (@chrisgrant), SVP at Vox Media

Ina Fried (@inafried), Chief Technology Correspondent at Axios

Ina's newsletter, Axios Login: https://www.axios.com/signup/login

Read Ina’s coverage of the deal: https://www.axios.com/microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-big-tech-regulation-aaf95937-7df1-4d4a-99c1-267b9a9d22f8.html

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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So … what the hell is Web3? With the Chernin Group’s Jarrod Dicker

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 05:00:00 -0000

What the hell is Web3, why did everyone start talking about it all at once, and are we going to still be talking about it in a few months? Jarrod Dicker, an investor at the Chernin Group, may know the answers to some of those questions, so he sat down to talk with Recode’s Peter Kafka. For years, Dicker has been in and around crypto — Web3 is really a rebranding of crypto — but he also knows the media business: Prior to Chernin, he was an executive at the Washington Post. He’s bullish on Web3 because that’s his job, but he’s also got a nuanced perspective on what this stuff does and doesn’t mean for lots of different businesses.

Featuring: Jarrod Dicker (@jarroddicker), Partner at the Chernin Group

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How the right covers 1/6 + tales from the Theranos trial, with Oliver Darcy and Erin Griffith

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 05:00:00 -0000

CNN’s Oliver Darcy joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the way conservative media covers - and, importantly, doesn’t cover - the 1/6 riot and its aftermath. Then, NYT’s Erin Griffith reports back from the frontlines of the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos trial, with tales of 3 AM wake-ups and keyboard mufflers. And she argues that Holmes’ story is Silicon Valley’s story, whether Silicon Valley likes it or not.

Featuring: Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy), Senior Media reporter at CNN

Erin Griffith (@eringriffith), Tech & VC reporter at The New York Times

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The Verge’s Ashley Carman on podcasting’s big year

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0000

2021 was the year everyone who wasn’t already in podcasting jumped in the pool - and everyone who was already there spent more time and money trying to move the industry from promising to profitable. The Verge’s Ashley Carman joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about everyone from Amazon to Apple to Spotify - of course - and talk about what we’re going to see, and listen to, next year.

Featuring: Ashley Carman (@ashleyrcarman), Senior Reporter at The Verge and Lead Writer at Hot Pod

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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What the hell happened in 2021? With Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw.

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0000

How do you describe what happened to the media world in 2021? What happened to the movie business, streaming, music, TikTok, and more? Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to sort what changed, what didn’t, and what 2022 might bring.

Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), Reporter for Bloomberg

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s almost-exit interview

Wed, 15 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0000

Jason Kilar does not have opinions about the finale of HBO’s Succession, because he hasn’t seen it yet. The CEO of HBO’s parent company, WarnerMedia, does have opinions about lots of other stuff, though, including the future of movie theaters, the rise of games, and how the ad industry reacts to the streaming world. Kilar is scheduled to leave his post if AT&T’s deal to move WarnerMedia to Discovery goes through next year, which makes this a great time to chat with Recode’s Peter Kafka.

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BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti has gone public

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0000

BuzzFeed used to be an internet experiment. Now it’s a publicly-traded company that expects more than $500 million in revenue this year. CEO Jonah Peretti talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the route his company took to the NASDAQ; why he’s not worried about investors who bailed on the company; and the state of labor negotiations with the BuzzFeed News union.

Featuring: Jonah Peretti (@peretti), CEO of BuzzFeed

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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@Jack is leaving Twitter. What now? + Lina Khan’s battle with Big Tech

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 14:35:48 -0000

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is no longer the CEO of Twitter. Why did he leave? And what does the choice of his successor, Parag Agrawal, tell us about Twitter’s future? Bloomberg’s Kurt Wagner sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss Dorsey's tenure as CEO and the reasons behind his decision to step down. Then the New Yorker’s Sheelah Kolhatkar joins the show to talk about the Biden administration’s campaign to rein in Big Tech. Kolhatkar recently profiled Lina Khan, an antitrust academic who now heads up the FTC. Khan and other Biden appointees want to reframe antitrust law and shrink tech giants like Facebook, which was not part of Biden’s election campaign. What changed?

Featuring: Kurt Wagner (@KurtWagner8), Reporter for Bloomberg Business

Sheelah Kolhatkar (@sheelahk) Staff Writer at The New Yorker

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Director Rhys Thomas on his unlikely journey from SNL to Disney’s Hawkeye

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 05:45:00 -0000

Rhys Thomas used to make short films for Saturday Night Live. Now he’s making Hawkeye, the newest installment of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, which debuts on Disney+ this week. Thomas sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to give a behind-the-scenes look at producing the series and how his previous work at SNL and IFC’s Documentary Now prepared him for his entry into the superhero world.

Featuring: Rhys Thomas (@rhysthom2), Executive Producer of Marvel's Hawkeye

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The inside story of HBO, with Jim Miller

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 05:00:00 -0000

HBO has brought us nearly 50 years of riveting movies and TV shows; the behind-the-scenes stories are equally compelling. Journalist James Andrew Miller, who has written definitive oral histories of media institutions like Saturday Night Live and ESPN, tells Recode’s Peter Kafka about his newest work: Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers. Included in their chat: How HBO ascended to power; why attempts to combine the company with Apple and other suitors never happened; what really happened when AT&T decided to buy and then sell HBO’s parent company; and what happens to HBO in a world where it competes with deep-pocketed rivals like Netflix and Disney.

Featuring: Jim Miller (@jimmiller), Journalist and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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What is Twitter Blue and is it worth $3?

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 05:00:00 -0000

Twitter is free. But Twitter Blue — a new service for Twitter super-users — costs $3 a month. So what is Twitter Blue and why should you pay for it? Twitter product executive Tony Haile, who joined the company last spring after it acquired his Scroll startup, joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to make the pitch.

Featuring: Tony Haile (@arctictony), Senior Director of Product at Twitter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Facebook’s Metaverse explained - by metaverse explainer Matthew Ball. Plus Justin Smith builds a media biz for Bloomb

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Before Mark Zuckerberg told the world he was turning Facebook into a Metaverse company, he called Matthew Ball, one of the Metaverse’s chief evangelists. Now Ball tells Recode’s Peter Kafka what Facebook’s move means.

Then Bloomberg Media Group CEO Justin Smith talks about building a $100 million subscriptions business that’s separate - but related to - Bloomberg’s much larger terminal business. And why he loves video - but not podcasts.

Featuring: Matthew Ball (@ballmatthew), writer and Venture Capitalist

Justin Smith (@Justin_B_Smith), CEO of Bloomberg Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How to cover the Facebook leaks + SNL’s Heidi Gardner

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is handing over thousands of documents to reporters like The Verge’s Alex Heath. The next step: Sorting through all of those files, and figuring out how and when to write about them. Heath talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the weeks of stories we’ll be reading in the future, and his first one - about Facebook’s rapidly aging user base.

And then for something completely different: Saturday Night Live cast member Heidi Gardner joins to talk about her unlikely path into comedy, making live TV during Covid, and thinking about a life after SNL.

Featuring: Alex Heath (@alexeheath), Senior Reporter for The Verge

Heidi Garder (@heidilgardner), actress and comedian for Saturday Night Live

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Dotdash CEO Neil Vogel on his $2.7 billion Meredith deal

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Neil Vogel had no publishing experience before he took over About.com, the how-to website he turned into Dotdash for owner Barry Diller. Now Vogel is about to become one of the most powerful people in media if he completes a deal to acquire magazine heavyweight Meredith - the people behind People, InStyle, and Better Homes & Gardens. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about merging an online-only operation with a print publisher.

Featuring: Neil Vogel (@neilvogel), CEO of Dotdash

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Land of the Giants: "He's No Steve Jobs"

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Steve Jobs co-founded Apple and infused it with his love of product design and attention to detail. His successor, Tim Cook, is widely perceived as lacking Jobs’ vision and innovation. But he managed to do something Jobs never could: make Apple the most valuable company on the planet. So who are these two men, and how have their leadership styles shaped the company that shapes our lives?

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Ozy Media, RIP with NYT’s Ben Smith + Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch on remaking a magazine giant

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Five days after the New York Times’ Ben Smith wrote an astonishing piece about the fakery supporting Ozy Media, the digital publisher announced it was shutting down. What, if anything, does the fiasco tell us about media startups and investors? Smith teases it out with Recode’s Peter Kafka. Then Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch drops by for a progress report on his attempt to turn the magazine giant into a modern entertainment company - and an update on Apple’s News+ service.

Featuring: Ben Smith (@benyt), Media Columnist for The New York Times

Roger Lynch (@rogerlynch), CEO of Condé Nast

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Streamers shrink Hollywood, again + What’s a “Hate Raid”?

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 04:00:00 -0000

More consolidation in Hollywood - but this time it’s talent agency CAA buying rival ICM. Puck’s Dylan Byers sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to explain why the streaming boom has created another merger. Then, podcaster and game streaming expert Bijan Stephen joins for an update on Twitch and its new “hate raid” problem - and what the platform and the community are doing to fight back against trolls.

Featuring: Dylan Byers (@DylanByers), Senior Correspondent at Puck News

Bijan Stephen (@bijanstephen), Host & Executive Producer of Eclipsed for Campside Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How Peter Thiel went from Silicon Valley to The White House with Max Chafkin

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Peter Thiel used to be a Silicon Valley investor best-known for early investment in Facebook. But in recent years he seems to have shifted into something different: A Trump-supporting billionaire who wants to remake American politics - and someone who nursed a years-long grudge against Gawker and ultimately bankrupted the publisher and its owner. Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin details Thiel’s story in his new book The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power; he talks about what animates Thiel, and why he thinks we’ll be hearing from him and about him for a long time. Then Vox Media’s Joe Posner joins to talk about making videos for YouTube, Netflix, and HBO which is now airing his newest show: Level Playing Field.

Featuring: Max Chafkin (@chafkin), Author and Bloomberg reporter

Joe Posner (@joeposner), of Vox Video

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Instagram boss Adam Mosseri on teenagers, Tik-Tok and paying creators

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Instagram is no longer going to be a photo-sharing app, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri announced earlier this summer. So what is Instagram going to be instead? Mosseri talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about his plans to emphasize video and commerce for the service, competing with Tik-Tok, and looming regulation. Mosseri also talks about recent revelations in the Wall Street Journal about Instagram’s own research, which suggests the app could be harmful to a segment of its users, particularly teenagers. Then Kafka talks to Puck co-founder Jon Kelly about his news site’s recent launch, and what sets it apart from other subscription-based news services.

Featuring: Adam Mosseri (@mosseri), Head of Instagram

Jon Kelly (@JonKelly2), Co-Founder of Puck

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Big changes at Apple: New phones, new AR glasses, and big app store changes.

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Mark Gurman has been one of the best-sourced Apple reporters since he was in high school. Literally. Now he’s at Bloomberg, with deep insight into Apple’s new product line - new iPhones this year, new “mixed reality” headsets next year - and its political and philosophical ideology - why it's fighting regulation in courtrooms and capitols around the world. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the future of the world’s most valuable tech company.

Featuring: Mark Gurman (@markgurman) Tech Reporter at Bloomberg

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Defector Media: Life after Deadspin is good (and profitable)

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Defector Media launched a year ago as a digital publishing experiment: What if the former staff of Deadspin built and owned their own site, fueled entirely by subscriptions? Now it looks like we have an answer: It’s working, really well. Editor in chief Tom Ley walks Recode’s Peter Kafka through Defector’s financials and argues that a site that runs on readers’ dollars instead of advertisers is more fun to work at and to read.

Featuring: Tom Ley (@ToLey88) Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Defector Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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OnlyFans’ weird week with MEL’s Magdalene Taylor; BuzzFeed’s Joe Bernstein on the problem with our misinformation problem.

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 04:00:00 -0000

What is OnlyFans, and why did OnlyFans abandon and then come back to its primary business model in the span of a week? MEL Magazine’s Magdalene Taylor joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to explain the rise of the NSFW platform, and why some banks are reluctant to work with a company that consumers seem to love. Then BuzzFeed News’ Joe Bernstein talks about his recent story on the disinformation/misinformation industry, which isn’t exactly what we think it is.

Featuring: Magdalene Taylor(@magdajtaylor), Staff Writer for MEL Magazine

Joe Bernstein (@Bernstein), Senior Technology Reporter for BuzzFeed News

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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WWE’s Nick Khan on pivoting his streaming strategy and getting back in the ring

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Nick Khan used to be a CAA agent who represented the WWE. Now he’s president of the pro wrestling company and is pivoting it from a direct-to-consumer strategy into a content studio for the likes of Peacock and Fox. Khan tells Recode’s Peter Kafka why the WWE has abandoned its pioneering streaming model, how he’s managing the company through covid, and what got him into the TV business.

Featuring: Nick Khan, WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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NYT’s Shira Ovide on the everything and nothingness of tech.

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 04:00:00 -0000

The New York Times’ Shira Ovide, writes the popular and incisive “On Tech” newsletter, which means she gets to write about… everything. She sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss some her latest stories in her column like why “Tech Can’t Fix Everything”, how society rather than social media itself is more to blame for the spread of misinformation, and the pros and cons of writing a popular newsletter.

Featuring: Shira Ovide (@ShiraOvide), tech writer for The New York Times

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Reese’s $900 million deal; ScarJo vs Disney with Matt Belloni, + Derek Thompson on how the media covers Delta

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Puck News Hollywood expert Matthew Belloni sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the biggest stories in the past week: Reese Witherspoon’s new $900M deal and the lawsuit between Scarlett Johansson and Disney. Then, The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson joins the show to discuss how the media has been reporting on COVID-19 recently, especially now that the concerns of the Delta variant begin to increase.

Featuring: Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) Hollywood editor at Puck News

Derek Thompson (@DKThomp) writer at The Atlantic

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Director Tom McCarthy on Stillwater, finishing a movie in a pandemic and playing one of the Wire’s best villains

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Stillwater was supposed to debut in theaters last fall, but the pandemic changed those plans along with everything else. Academy Award-winning director and writer Tom McCarthy explain how he used the extra time to improve the Matt Damon movie, why the film isn’t on a streaming service — and what it was like to play one of TV’s best villains in the final season of The Wire. Then, creator Kyla Scanlon joins the show to discuss her quick rise on social media from making short-form videos on finance.

Featuring: Tom McCarthy, director and writer

Kyla Scanlon (@kylascan), Content Creator and writer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Deep fakes come to the movies and Hollywood resets for the streaming era

Thu, 22 Jul 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Anthony Bourdain is dead. So how does a new documentary have audio of him reading his emails? It’s not him: It’s a deep fake. The New Yorker’s Helen Rosner explains. Then journalist Richard Rushfield takes us behind Hollywood’s closed doors to talk about the return of movies, the dominance of Netflix — and why he can more candid than ever because he’s writing about all of it on The Ankler, his subscription-only newsletter.

Featuring: Helen Rosner (@hels) staff writer for The New Yorker

Richard Rushfield (@richardrushfield) Editor-In-Chief of The Ankler

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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WeWork's rise and fall (and rise again?) with Eliot Brown

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Wall Street Journal’s Eliot Brown first became interested in WeWork back in 2014 after an encounter with founder co-founder Adam Neumann, who quickly told the reporter that he should not “think about his company as a real estate business, but as a community-building startup”. Fast forward seven years, Brown, along with his colleague Maureen Farrell, plan to release their new book The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion, which chronicles the infamous journey of one of the most talked-about companies in recent years, and how a billion-dollar business fooled Silicon Valley.

Featuring: Eliot Brown (@eliotwb), Reporter for Wall Street Journal and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Kevin Delaney turns the future of work into a media business; plus a Sun Valley update from David Gura.

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 04:00:00 -0000

When are we going back to the office? How often are we going back to the office? And what’s work going to be like when we get there? Kevin Delaney is trying to answer all of those questions — and really, every question we have about the future of work — with Charter, the new media company he launched by starting a newsletter. Plus we check in with NPR’s David Gura, who is hollering — from a distance — at the tech and media moguls gathered at the annual Sun Valley conference.

Featuring: David Gura (@davidgura), podcaster and journalist at NPR

Kevin Delaney (@delaney), Co-Founder of Charter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Men In Blazers’ Roger Bennett loves soccer and America

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Roger Bennett is half of Men In Blazers, the entertaining podcast/broadcast duo dedicated to Americans who love soccer. So he’s an excellent person to talk to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the state of the world’s most popular sport, and why an attempt to create a “Super League” failed dramatically. Bennett, born and raised in Liverpool, is also a huge fan of America and Americans, which he describes in his new memoir: "(Re)Born In The USA: An Englishman’s Love Letter to His Chosen Home”.

Featuring: Roger Bennett (@rogbennett), podcaster and TV broadcaster

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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One of the most popular streamers on Twitch… is a lefty political commentator? Hasan Piker explains

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Twitch, the Amazon-owned streaming platform best known as a haven for gamers, wouldn’t be the first place you’d look for a left-leaning political commentator. But Hasan Piker, also known as “HasanAbi” is thriving there: He has more than 1.5 million followers, where he comments on the news of the day during marathon sessions. Piker talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about becoming a new kind of Internet famous.

Featuring: Hasan "Abi" Piker (@hasanthehun) Twitch Streamer and Political Commentator

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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One of Silicon Valley’s most powerful investors is now a media company, too

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 13:00:00 -0000

The newest publication covering tech is Future — a site owned and operated by Andreessen Horowitz, the powerful Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Partner Margit Wennmachers, who used to court press coverage for her company and its portfolio companies, now wants to go directly to readers, without relying on journalists to carry her message. She explains her strategy to Recode’s Peter Kafka.

Featuring: Margit Wennmachers (@wennmachers) Partner at Andreessen Horowitz

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Jake and Amir on being Web famous, fed up with Hollywood, and podcast bosses

Thu, 10 Jun 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Jake Hurwitz & Amir Blumenfeld got their start on the internet when making content for sites like YouTube and Facebook was considered the Wild West. Then, after an iconic run on College Humor, starring in thousands of videos over the course of 10 years, they took another leap of faith: starting the podcast network HeadGum. The duo sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss their unorthodox career as entertainers and entrepreneurs, as well as their newly launched dating app, Orion.

Featuring: Jake Hurwitz (@jakehurwitz), Comedian and Co-Founder of HeadGum

Amir Blumenfeld (@blumenfeld), Comedian and Co-Founder of HeadGum

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How to make it in the creator economy with Rob Walker

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Journalist Rob Walker sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss why he decided to go the independent route instead of writing for another publication after his buyout from Medium, his thoughts on the creator economy, and details behind his newsletter The Art of Noticing, based on his 2019 book of the same name.

Featuring: Rob Walker (@notrobwalker), Journalist and Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why is Amazon buying MGM?

Thu, 27 May 2021 04:00:00 -0000

The Information’s Jessica Toonkel joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss Amazon’s (planned) $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM. It’s the first time a big tech company has ever bought a big media asset. But why Amazon, why MGM, and what does this mean for the rest of the media world? Then podcaster pioneer Dan Taberski, comes on to discuss The Line — an Apple-commissioned series, as well as his journey into audio after a career in TV.

Featuring: Jessica Toonkel (@jtoonkel), reporter for The Information

Dan Taberski (@dtaberski), Journalist and Podcaster

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Jim Miller on HBO’s new home; Alan Yang on a very different season of “Master of None”

Thu, 20 May 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Jim Miller was finishing up a book about HBO and then… the story changed. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what may change now that AT&T is handing the service - along with the rest of WarnerMedia — to Discovery. Then writer, producer, and director Alan Yang join to discuss his career, the upcoming season of the Netflix hit Master of None which he co-created with comedian Aziz Ansari, and what he thinks of the current state of the movie and TV industry.

Featuring: Jim Miller (@jimmiller), Reporter and Author

Alan Yang (@alanyang), Writer, Director, and Producer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why did AT&T just bail on WarnerMedia? And what happens next?

Mon, 17 May 2021 22:12:25 -0000

AT&T bought WarnerMedia three years ago for more than $100 billion, so it could chase after Netflix. Now it’s getting out of streaming, and every other part of the media business. What happened? And what happens next? NYT media reporter Edmund Lee has a reunion with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss.

Featuring: Edmund Lee (@edmundlee), media reporter for The New York Times

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Antonio García Martínez's controversial exit from Apple

Sat, 15 May 2021 01:11:57 -0000

Antonio García Martínez used to work at Facebook, and wrote a book about it. In April, he started working at Apple, and weeks later he was gone, after Apple employees revolted. Martinez talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about why he went to work for Apple, why he left, and what he thinks of the criticism of him and his writing.

Featuring: Antonio Garcia Martinez (@antoniogm)

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Live music is back! Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino can't wait

Thu, 13 May 2021 04:00:00 -0000

The concert business has been shut down for a year, which means that Live Nation, the world’s dominant concert promoter and ticket seller, has been shut down, too. CEO Michael Rapino sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the industry’s comeback, how his company survived without revenue, and how he’s figured out new tricks, like a subscription model.

Featuring: Michael Rapino (@Michael_Rapino), President & CEO of Live Nation

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The Jeff Bezos Empire with Brad Stone & Jason Del Rey

Tue, 11 May 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Bloomberg's Brad Stone and Recode's Jason Del Rey report on all things Amazon and Jeff Bezos. They discuss how Bezos built his global empire and Stone's new book 'Amazon Unbound.'

Featuring: Brad Stone (@BradStone), Tech writer for Bloomberg, and Author

Guest Host: Jason Del Rey (@DelRey), Senior Correspondent at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Apple vs Epic with John Gruber; Truth, Doubt and History with Jill Lepore

Thu, 06 May 2021 04:00:00 -0000

The antitrust trial between Apple and Fortnite’s parent company Epic Games is underway, so Apple observer John Gruber talks about Apple’s App Store problem with Recode’s Peter Kafka. Then, historian Jill Lepore joins to discuss her podcast The Last Archive, which looks at the demise of truth and the rise of doubt in American history - and why it matters to us today.

Featuring: John Gruber (@gruber), of Daring Fireball

Jill Lepore, writer for the New York Times and host of The Last Archive

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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AMC Networks can’t compete with Netflix. CEO Josh Sapan is fine with that.

Thu, 29 Apr 2021 04:00:00 -0000

AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan checks in with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about his company’s pivot from TV to streaming, and what it’s like to be a smaller fish in the video pond.

Featuring: Josh Sapan (@JWSAPAN), CEO of AMC Networks

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Did the pandemic kill the Oscars?

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 04:00:00 -0000

The Oscars are supposed to be a celebration for Hollywood, but this year it feels like a collapse: The pandemic has altered the slate of movies up for awards - and, crucially, seems to have removed most of the TV audience for Sunday’s show. Slate’s Allegra Frank and Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson talk to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what all of this means for the movie business and for moviegoers. Then The Ringer’s Rob Harvilla explains why he’s spending a year praising 60 Songs That Explain the 90s on his podcast series, and what it’s like to write music criticism you’re supposed to hear instead of read.

Featuring: Allegra Frank (@LegsFrank) , Senior Editor at Slate

Alissa Wilkinson (@AlissaMarie) Film Critic at Vox

Rob Harvilla (@harvilla) Staff writer at The Ringer and host of 60s Songs That Explain The 90s

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Apple and Facebook's ambitious audio plans

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 01:11:20 -0000

Apple’s selling podcasts. Facebook wants to distribute podcasts - and take on Clubhouse, too. It’s been a busy couple days for big tech and audio, so Vox Media producer Zach Mack stopped by to talk to Recode’s Peter Kafka and sort through the news. What does all of this mean for creators? What about listeners? And what happens next?

Featuring: Zach Mack (@zachthemack), Senior Producer for the Vox Media Podcast Network

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Substack’s next target: Local news

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 10:00:00 -0000

Substack is known for recruiting high profile writers to leave the big name publications and start their own newsletter businesses. Now it wants to recruit writers you haven’t heard of, and get them to cover local news. Cofounders Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie talk to Recode’s Peter Kafka about their plans — as well as criticism and controversy their startup has kicked up in the last year.

Featuring: Chris Best (@cjgbest) Co-Founder of Substack

Hamish McKenzie (@hamishmckenzie) Co-Founder of Substack

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How Hollywood and the NBA are betting on NFTs

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 04:00:00 -0000

NFT’s have been rising in popularity in recent months with franchises like the NBA partnering with Roham Gharegozlou’s Dapper Labs to create Top Shot, or UTA’s Brent Weinstein assisting entertainers to take advantage of it as well. Recode’s Peter Kafka speaks to both of them about their journey getting into NFT’s and blockchain, as well as The Verge’s Mitchell Clark who breaks down the industry as a whole.

Featuring: Roham Gharegozlou (@rohamg) , CEO of Dapper Labs

Mitchell Clark (@strawberrywell), reporter for The Verge

Brent Weinstein (@brentweinstein), Partner & Chief Innovator Officer for UTA

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar on a wild first year on the job

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Warner Media CEO Jason Kilar started his job in the middle of a global pandemic. Things got even weirder after that. Kilar talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about his controversial plan to stream big movies on HBO Max, and how he’ll change that in 2022. Plus thoughts on sports, CNN, and Amazon, where he got his start.

Featuring: Jason Kilar (@jasonkilar), CEO of Warner Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Media Merger Mania with Axios’ Dan Primack and WSJ’s Ben Mullin

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Why is every digital media company talking about a SPAC? Why now? And what, exactly is a SPAC? Axios’ Dan Primack and WSJ’s Ben Mullin talk to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the wave of deal-making, what it means, and how long it will last.

Featuring: Dan Primack (@danprimack), Business Editor at Axios

Ben Mullin (@BenMullin), Media Reporter at The Wall Street Journal

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The rise and maybe fall of YouTube star David Dobrik; inside Facebook with the Markup’s Julia Angwin

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 04:00:00 -0000

David Dobrik was one of YouTube’s biggest stars. Now his career is in peril after an expose by Business Insider’s Kat Tenbarge; she talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about her story. Then The Markup’s Julia Angwin talks about her site’s efforts to peer into Facebook’s black box and an update on her non-profit newsroom.

Featuring: Kat Tenbarge (@kattenbarge), Reporter for Business Insider

Julia Angwin (@JuliaAngwin), Editor-In-Chief of The Mark Up

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How Christina “Tinx” Najjar became a TikTok star overnight

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 04:00:00 -0000

Like many of us last year, Christina “Tinx” Najjar decided to download TikTok on a whim. Unlike many of us, she has become a TikTok star, with close to a million followers and lots of brands knocking on her door. She sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to detail her journey on how she did it. Then Vox’s Rebecca Jennings joins Peter to break down the business and economics of being an influencer.

Featuring: Christina "Tinx" Najjar (@itsmetinx), Comedian and Social Media Influencer

Rebecca Jennings (@rebexxxxa), Internet Culture reporter at Vox

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How did - and didn’t - the pandemic transform media?

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 05:00:00 -0000

The pandemic changed everything - including the media landscape. What happens when things get back to mostly normal? ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, The Verge’s Bijan Stephen, and Lightshed’s Rich Greenfield talk about the way big-time sports, streaming, TV, movies, and gaming all responded to the pandemic, and predict what happens next.

Featuring: Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN), NBA Reporter for ESPN

Bijan Stephen (@bijanstephen), reporter for The Verge

Rich Greenfield (@RichLightShed), General Partner at Lightshed Ventures

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Fubo TV is a Reddit meme stock. CEO David Gandler has bigger ambitions.

Mon, 08 Mar 2021 13:44:47 -0000

Fubo TV wants to take on the giants in streaming and in sports betting. Investors have sky-high expectations and skeptics think it will never work. Fubo TV CEO David Gandler talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the way his company has evolved since he founded it in 2015, and what it’s like to run a public company in the Gamestop/Reddit age.

Featuring: David Gandler (@davidgandler), Co-Founder & CEO of Fubo TV

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Have we hit peak streaming? + NYT’s Kevin Roose on his new book “Futureproof”

Thu, 04 Mar 2021 05:00:00 -0000

Paramount Plus and Discovery Plus are the latest, and perhaps the last big streaming services to launch in a very crowded market. Recode’s Peter Kafka asks The Verge’s Julia Alexander to assess the new entrants and the overall state of the Streaming Wars. Then, New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose talks about his latest book, Futureproof: Nine Rules For Humans In The Age of Automation. It’s a guide to thriving - or at least surviving - in a fast-approaching future where technology will displace many careers, while also creating new ones.

Featuring: Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia), reporter at The Verge

Kevin Roose (@kevinroose), New York Times tech columnist and author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Australia vs. Facebook; Al Madrigal means business about All Things Comedy

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 05:00:00 -0000

Facebook and Google faced off against Australia and Rupert Murdoch. Who won? Recode’s Peter Kafka asks his colleague Sara Morrison to explain. Then, comedian and actor Al Madrigal stops by to discuss his career in stand-up comedy; what it’s like to make TV shows during a pandemic, and how he started the very popular All Things Comedy podcast network with fellow comedian Bill Burr.

Featuring: Sara Morrison (@SaraMorrison), reporter at Recode

Al Madrigal (@almadrigal), Comedian, Podcaster, Actor

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Pandora founder Tim Westergren on the future of streaming

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 05:00:00 -0000

Pandora founder and former CEO Tim Westergren is back in the music business with Sessions, a live-streaming service well-timed for the pandemic. He talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about what happens when people start seeing live shows in person again - and the lessons he learned running a music service that used to be ubiquitous, but got side-swiped by Spotify and the on-demand era.

Featuring: Tim Westergren (@timwestergren), founder of Pandora & co-founder of Sessions

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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New York Times CEO Meredith Levien on the future of news, and her newspaper

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 05:00:00 -0000

The New York Times has a thriving subscription business, award-winning journalism - and a staff that increasingly turns to Twitter and Slack to express its dissatisfaction. CEO Meredith Kopit Levien talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about managing all of that. This interview was recorded at Digital Content Next’s virtual summit.

Featuring: Meredith Levien (@meredith_levien), CEO at The New York Times

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How To Make An Influencer In America with Nick Bilton

Thu, 04 Feb 2021 05:00:00 -0000

Can you make someone famous on the internet by buying their fame? Journalist Nick Bilton tries to do just that in “Fake Famous”, a new HBO documentary. Bilton talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about bots, the influencer economy, and why he’s more convinced than ever that social media has outlived its usefulness.

Featuring: Nick Bilton (@nickbilton), director of Fake Famous

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Andrew Ross Sorkin on Gamestop, Robinhood, Reddit and how to fix the system.

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 05:19:41 -0000

CNBC host and New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to recap a wild week on Wall Street for Gamestop, Robinhood, and a lot of small investors. What happens next? Was this a one-off for the Reddit crowd, or will we see repeats? And what kind of steps should business and investing leaders take to make the system fairer? Also: The origin story behind Showtime’s Billions.

Featuring: Andrew Ross Sorkin (@andrewrsorkin), NYT Columnist and Co-Host on Squawk Box for CNBC

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How Jessica Lessin got people to pay for The Information

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 05:00:00 -0000

In 2013, Jessica Lessin left her job as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal to start The Information, a subscription-based business publication. 7 years later, it’s thriving, and she’s more convinced than ever that her model can work for other publishers. Lessin sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to weigh to talk about what she’s learned, what she thinks about the Substack movement, and her concerns about tech leaders’ attempts to end-run journalists.

Featuring: Jessica Lessin (@Jessicalessin), Founder & CEO of The Information

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Trump vs the Press - a final report card from Jay Rosen

Thu, 21 Jan 2021 05:00:00 -0000

The mainstream press spent the last four years trying to figure out how to report in the Trump era? NYU journalism professor joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the highlights and lowlights, and what political journalism in the Biden era should look like - what it might look like. Plus: Apple is talking about selling podcast subscriptions. How do you do that? Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez explains.

Featuring: Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu), Journalism professor at NYU

Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez), Podcaster & Writer for Figure Four Online and Wrestling Observer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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What the Capitol Riot tells us about online power

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 05:00:00 -0000

It’s going to take a long time to come to grips with the January 6 Capitol Riot and what happened in its wake, but let’s start trying. Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to the New York Times’s Kevin Roose about big tech’s power and responsibility - and whether it is going to have accountability. And NBC’s Ben Collins provides an update on Qanon, the online cult that had a very large hand in the violence in Washington.

Featuring: Kevin Roose (@kevinroose), Tech Columnist for The New York Times

Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__), Reporter for NBC News

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Behind the making of The Dissident, the movie about Jamal Khashoggi’s murder

Thu, 07 Jan 2021 05:00:00 -0000

Director Bryan Fogel’s first documentary, Icarus, won an Oscar. His next effort, The Dissident, details the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Fogel talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about why and how he made the movie - and why he thinks Hollywood and big tech companies didn’t want to distribute it.

Featuring: Bryan Fogel (@bryanfogel), Director

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Zach Seward started Quartz, sold it, and bought it back. Now what?

Thu, 31 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Zach Seward co-founded Quartz, the brainy business news site, in 2012. Six years later, it had a new owner, and two years after that, Seward bought it back. Now he’s trying to maintain Quartz’s inventive spirit while getting it on firmer financial ground; he talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what he got right early on, what he missed, and what he wants to do in 2021.

Featuring: Zach Seward (@zseward), Co-Founder & CEO of Quartz

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Kemp Powers spent years breaking into Hollywood — and his first film is Pixar’s Soul

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Kemp Powers spent years trying to break into Hollywood, left, and came back. Now, at 47, he’s made his first movie: It’s Pixar’s Soul, streaming to millions on Christmas Day. His second movie — One Night In Miami - streams on Amazon next month. Powers talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about his overnight success that took more than a decade, Hollywood’s an-and-offscreen struggles with race, and the advantage of knowing what you’re good at.

Featuring: Kemp Power (@Powerkeni), American playwright

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Trump is leaving; Trump media isn't

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0000

New York Times reporter Mike Isaac, joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to explain the new antitrust suits against Facebook. Then, NYT’s Charlie Warzel and CNN’s Oliver Darcy discuss the evolution of right-wing media during the Trump presidency, and what will happen when Trump leaves the White House.

Featuring: Mike Isaac (@MikeIsaac), New York Times Tech Reporter

Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel), New York Times Writer-at-large

Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy), Senior Media Reporter at CNN

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Behind the scenes with Queen’s Gambit creator Scott Frank

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0000

No one thought The Queen’s Gambit would be a breakout hit — including Scott Frank, the Hollywood veteran who created the Netflix show. Frank sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about why a show about chess in the 1960s found a huge audience; what it’s like to work for and with Netflix right now; and how Hollywood is reacting to seismic change.

Featuring: Scott Frank, Screenwriter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Eli Pariser wants to build a better Facebook

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Nearly 10 years ago, Eli Pariser coined the term “filter bubble” — the idea that Facebook and other platforms limit our view of the world through software choices. Now he wants to create new, non-profit and localized versions of Facebook to help restore our fragmented communities. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about his plans.

Featuring: Eli Pariser (@elipariser), Co-Founder of New Public by Civic Signals

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Gimlet’s Lydia Polgreen wants to shake up podcasting

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Spotify is making a huge push into podcasting. Lydia Polgreen is helping to figure out what means. Gimlet’s head of content sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the experimenting she’s done since starting her new job at the beginning at the pandemic - and to share thoughts about her time at HuffPost and the New York Times.

Featuring: Lydia Polgreen (@lpolgreen), Head of content at Gimlet Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti explains his HuffPost deal

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 00:14:59 -0000

Jonah Peretti co-founded Huffington Post, then left to start BuzzFeed. Now he’s running both companies. He sits down with Recode Media’s Peter Kafka to explain the logic behind the deal, his ambitions to grow even bigger - and why he says the New York Times can’t be “the paper of record”.

Featuring: Jonah Peretti (@peretti), Founder & CEO of BuzzFeed

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish on Paramount+, Pluto TV

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Viacom and CBS merged a year ago. Now their CEO Bob Bakish sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the company’s future, and its bets on streaming.

Featuring: Bob Bakish, CEO of ViacomCBS

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Fox and the New York Times face the end of the Trump era

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 05:00:00 -0000

New York Magazine’s Reeves Wiedeman sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the messy internal workings of The New York Times, which changed dramatically during the Trump presidency. Then NPR’s David Folkenflik details how Fox News and Rupert Murdoch covered the election and Trump’s refusal to concede, and that means for the Biden presidency.

Featuring: Reeves Wiedeman(@reeveswiedeman), Contributing Editor for New York Magazine

David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik), Media Correspondent for NPR

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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NY Mag's Olivia Nuzzi takes us inside Trumpworld, post Election Day

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 02:27:19 -0000

Washington correspondent for New York Mag, Olivia Nuzzi, sits down with Recode's Peter Kafka to tell us what she’s hearing and seeing after the election, what she saw before the election, what really happened to her on Air Force 2, and why she livestreamed with Roger Stone on election night.

Featuring: Olivia Nuzzi (@olivianuzzi), Washington Correspondent for New York Magazine

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Election 2020: What happens next?

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 17:30:00 -0000

Vox senior correspondent Matt Yglesias drops by to unpack a wild election night. What just happened? What do we think will happen next? Why were the polls wrong - again? What could the media have done better? And what do the next four years look like for politics and political media?

Featuring: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Vox Senior Correspondent, host of The Weeds

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why Zeynep Tufekci saw the pandemic coming - and what else she knows

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Zeynep Tufekci is an academic and writes for the Atlantic. She’s not an epidemiologist. So how did she see the pandemic coming before most everyone else? Tufekci sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about experts, expertise, the problem the media has with communicating risk - and why she’s starting her own newsletter, too.

Featuring:Zeyneep Tufekci (@zeynep), sociologist and writer for The Atlantic

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Google vs The U.S. Government

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 04:00:00 -0000

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Google, in the biggest tech antitrust case in two decades. New York Times’ Dai Wakabayashi joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to break downs the details and politics behind the suit, and what it may mean for the search giant’s future.

Featuring: Dai Wakabayashi (@daiwaka), New York Times Tech Reporter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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ESPN’s Pablo Torre on balancing sports and politics

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Host of ESPN Daily, Pablo Torre, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the odd sports + politics + pandemic moment we’re in; he also talks about why he’s a sports journalist and not lawyer, and what it’s like to be a rare sight on TV.

Morning Brew, the business newsletter publisher for millennials, is in talks to sell itself to Business Insider

Featuring: Pablo Torre (@PabloTorre) TV Personality and host of ESPN Daily

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Congress comes for big tech; Axios thrives in the pandemic

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 04:00:00 -0000

What does the new Congressional report on tech antitrust say, and what does it mean for Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple? Recode’s Shirin Ghaffary explains. Then, Axios CEO and co-Founder Jim VandeHei talks about his publication’s very fast start, navigating the Trump White House, and his plans to break into local news.

Featuring: Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei), CEO and Co-Founder of Axios

Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary), Reporter at Recode

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Is big media bouncing back from the pandemic?

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about how the media and entertainment industry has held up during the Pandemic, including Hollywood’s attempts to bring movies to your house; the music industry’s concert-less summer; and the ongoing booms in streaming and podcasting.

Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), reporter at Bloomberg Business

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Politico editor Carrie Budoff Brown on the challenge of covering 2020

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Poltico Editor, Carrie Budoff Brown, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the way she’s navigating the political site through a pandemic and the 2020 election — and how the pandemic is affecting the way her publication covers the 2020 election.

Featuring: Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown), editor of Politico

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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QAnon Explained with NBC's Ben Collins

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 04:00:00 -0000

NBC News’ Ben Collins breaks down QAnon, the political pro-Trump conspiracy and its current effect on politics. He and Recode's Peter Kafka also discuss how Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube continue to allow the spread of misinformation on their platforms.

Featuring: Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__), reporter for NBC News

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Ben Thompson explains TikTok, Trump and China

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 16:33:00 -0000

Stratechery’s Ben Thompson sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to unpack what Oracle's proposed TikTok deal actually means, and why removing China's oversight is a good idea.

Featuring: Ben Thompson (@benthompson) author and founder of Stratechery

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman is building a media brand one newsletter at a time

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Recode's Peter Kafka chats with Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman about his ambitious path from business newsletters to full-fledged media company and why he's looking closely at models like Complex and Barstool.

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Baratunde Thurston wants to teach us how to be a good citizen

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Writer, comedian, author, and commentator, Baratunde Thurston sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss his early pursuits in journalism at Harvard, his thoughts on athletes using their platforms to inspire change and speak out against injustices, and his views on the upcoming election.

Featuring: Baratunde Thurston (@baratunde), writer and comedian

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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NYT’s James Poniewozik on the virtual conventions; CNN’s Brian Stelter on Trump + Fox

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 04:00:00 -0000

How do you have a political convention when you can’t convene? New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the virtual conventions the Democrats and Republicans have put on, and what they tell us about the state of politics and media. Then CNN’s Brian Stelter joins to discuss Hoax, his new book about the way Fox News and Donald Trump have melded — and what it’s like for him to become the subject of attacks from Trump and Fox News personalities and fans.

Featuring: James Poniewozik (@poniewozik), TV Critic for The New York Times

Brian Stelter (@brianstelter), Chief Media Correspondent at CNN and author of Hoax

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why Desus & Mero are pandemic-proof

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Comedians, podcasters, and now authors, Desus Nice & The Kid Mero, have had an interesting path to becoming one of the hottest duos in late night television. The Bronx natives sit down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss how they got hosting Showtime’s first talk show, what you can expect in their upcoming book God-Level Knowledge Darts: Life Lessons from the Bronx (which is available for pre-order right now!), and what their plans are for the post-pandemic future.

Their Virtual Book Tour kicked off last week. Tickets are available at Bodegahive.com

Featuring: Desus Nice (@desusnice) & The Kid Mero (@THEKIDMERO)

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

With a special appearance from our producer, Jelani Carter (@_JelaniCarter)

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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NYT CEO Mark Thompson on subscriptions, platforms and internal Slack fights; IAC’s Joey Levin bets on betting.

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Outgoing New York Times CEO Mark Thompson talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the eight years he spent transforming the paper from an ad-based business to one supported by subscribers; his views on big tech platforms like Facebook and Google; and the high-profile departure of opinion editor Bari Weiss. And IAC CEO Joey Levin talks about his company’s billion-dollar bet on gambling.

Featuring: Mark Thompson, CEO of The New York Times

Joey Levin, CEO of IAC

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Kurt Andersen on the “Evil Geniuses” that got America into this mess

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Author Kurt Andersen sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History. Andersen argues that starting in the 1970s, a small group of men made a concerted, and successful push to move the US to the right. Now he wants the country to correct course.

Featuring: Kurt Andersen (@kbandersen), Author

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Sports are back! But for how long?

Thu, 30 Jul 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Sports are back! Kinda. With the return — for now — of baseball and basketball in the U.S., Recode’s Peter Kafka sits down with some of the best sports journalists for an update on the state of the games. First, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explains how the NBA plans to run the rest of the season, and how they’re thinking about next year. Then, Yankees reporter Lindsey Adler of The Athletic details her current experience reporting on the return of baseball and how the recent outbreak of the Florida Marlins will effect the rest of the season. Then Tania Ganguli, who covers the Lakers for the LA Times, explains what life is like inside the NBA’s “Bubble” in Orlando.

Featuring: Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) NBA reporter, ESPN

Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) New York Yankees reporter, The Athletic

Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) Los Angeles Lakers reporter, LA Times

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why your favorite writers are taking their talents to Substack. Plus: Peacock!

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Substack is a service that helps writers created paid newsletter businesses. It’s also finding lots of writers — like Andrew Sullivan — who want to go to work for themselves. CEO Chris Best sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about his rapidly growing startup, and what it means for the media industry. Later, The Verge’s Julia Alexander calls in to give her thoughts on the recent launch of NBC Universal’s newest streaming service, Peacock.

Featuring: Chris Best (@cjgbest), CEO and Co-Founder of Substack

Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia), reporter for The Verge

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Hank Green on everything YouTube, Tik Tok, podcasting, and Montana

Thu, 16 Jul 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Hank Green and, his brother John Green, have been on the internet for a long time. Initially gaining fame from their YouTube series The Vlog Brothers. They later created Youtube shows like Crash Course and Sci Show, one of the biggest online video conventions VidCon, and written young adult novels such as A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. Hank Green sits down Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss life as a content creator and the current state of YouTube.

Featuring: Hank Green (@hankgreen) Author and Video Creator

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How to run a newspaper in Hong Kong: South China Morning Post CEO Gary Liu

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Running a newspaper in 2020 is hard. Running a newspaper in Hong Kong will be really challenging: Gary Liu, CEO of The South China Morning Post, talks to Recode's Peter Kafka about what it’s been like to operate his publication in an uncertain environment that just became more fraught. Liu, who came to the paper after stints at Google, Spotify and Digg, says his publication can provide a crucial window into China, but new Chinese rules about the way Hong Kong operates may change all of that. Note: This conversation was recorded in early June.

Featuring: Gary Liu (@garyliu) CEO of The South China Morning Post

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Why Fox bet $450 million on Tubi and free streaming

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi just sold his streaming video company to Fox for more than $450 million. Now he sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about how he built Tubi; how his free, ad-supported service fits in an era dominated by Netflix’s ad-free service; and what it’s like to sell your startup in the middle of a pandemic.

Featuring: Farhad Massoudi (@Tubi), CEO and founder of Tubi

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How Netflix became a streaming giant

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Recode’s Peter Kafka and Rani Molla give you a sneak peak of Vox’s latest season of Land of the Giants, — a seven part series on the rise of Netflix. They give some background on what it was like developing the show during the pandemic, and look ahead to Netflix’s future. After the break: A look at Netflix’s biggest blunder, and how it shaped the company.

You can listen to Land of the Giants: The Netflix Effect here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever podcasts are distributed.

Featuring: Rani Molla (@ranimolla), Senior Data Reporter at Recode

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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W. Kamau Bell wants to help you understand racism

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Comedian and host of CNN’s United Shades of America, W. Kamau Bell, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. Bell shares his thoughts on how how major news networks and social media companies are meeting the moment, how white Americans can educate themselves about racism — and why he doesn’t mind doing that work. He also discusses Dave Chapelle’s recent performance addressing Floyd, and what comedy will look like in the future.

Featuring: W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell), comedian and host of CNN's United Shades of America

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Wondery CEO Hernan Lopez wants to make the Marvel of podcasts

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Wondery CEO Hernan Lopez, whose company specializes in long-form, narrative podcasts like “Dirty John”, talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about the state of the podcast industry and how his business has weathered the pandemic. He also discusses the impact of recent federal wire fraud and money laundering charges related to his last job, as a Fox TV executive. Later, The Ringer’s Alyssa Bereznak, swings by to discuss her new podcast Boom/Bust, which details the rise and fall (and rise again?) of the hit mobile game HQ Trivia.

Featuring: Hernan Lopez (@WonderyMedia), CEO of Wondery Media

Alyssa Bereznak (@alyssabereznak), tech and culture writer for The Ringer, host of Boom/Bust

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Conferences were a great business — before the pandemic

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Paddy Cosgrave is the co-founder of one of the most popular tech conferences in the world, Web Summit. With its Toronto iteration “Collision” approaching quickly, this year, as a result of the global pandemic, the event must be held online. He sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to detail how his team is pulling that off. Later, Rafat Ali, CEO and Founder of Skift, gives some insight on how his business and travel publication is adapting to the times as well.

Featuring: Paddy Cosgrave (@paddycosgrave), CEO & Co-Founder of Web Summit

Rafat Ali (@rafat), CEO & Co-Founder of Skift

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Twitter, Trump, Facebook and George Floyd with NYT’s Charlie Warzel

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 23:07:25 -0000

Writer at large for New York Times Opinion, Charlie Warzel, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss his thoughts on how social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, are handling how their users are utilizing their platforms in response to the most recent protests following the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.

Featuring: Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel), writer at large for New York Times Opinion

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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HBO Max is here!

Tue, 26 May 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Chairman of WarnerMedia and head of HBO Max, Bob Greenblatt, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss this weeks big launch and what differentiates HBO Max from the field.

Featuring: Bob Greenblatt, Chairman of WarnerMedia

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Meet the man who made Netflix’s most popular movie

Thu, 21 May 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Have you seen Extraction? More than 90 million Netflix viewers have, making the violent thriller the service’s most popular original movie to date. Stuntman-turned-director Sam Hargrave, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss his action movie starring Chris Hemsworth. Hargrave talks about learning how to make action movies on the set of Marvel’s Avengers series, working with the Russo brothers, and the power of Netflix’s global platform.

Featuring: Sam Hargrave (@thesamhargrave), Director of Extraction

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Joe Rogan takes his podcast to Spotify

Wed, 20 May 2020 00:30:14 -0000

Recode’s Peter Kafka and Vox Media Podcast Network senior producer Zach Mack, discuss the recent deal to bring The Joe Rogan Experience exclusively to Spotify and what it means for the podcast industry.

Featuring: Zach Mack (@zachthemack), Senior Podcast Producer at Vox Media Podcast Network

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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It’s Twitch’s Time: Talking live streaming with gamer Dr. Lupo and journalist Bijan Stephen

Thu, 14 May 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Ben “Dr.” Lupo always works from home: He’s a professional video game player. And he’s a star, with 4 million Twitch subscribers. This week Dr. Lupo sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to break down a day in the life of being a full-time Twitch Streamer, how he and his fellow colleagues are handling creating content during the pandemic, and what he plans on doing in the upcoming future of his career. Later, The Verge’s Bijan Stephen joins Peter to give some insight as to why there has been a huge pivot to Twitch and live streaming in general, and what that could mean for the industry as a whole.

Featuring: Ben "Dr." Lupo (@DrLupo), professional Twitch Streamer

Bijan Stephen (@bijanstephen), Twitch & streaming reporter, The Verge

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How Tara Reade told her story

Mon, 11 May 2020 23:37:00 -0000

Vox.com’s Laura McGann and Recode’s Peter Kafka discuss Tara Reade, her allegations of sexual misconduct against Joe Biden, and the way the media has treated her. McGann, Vox’s politics editor, discusses her attempt to verify Reade’s allegations in 2019, and why the story has resurfaced now; the discussion also includes Reade’s decision to tell her story to former TV personality Megyn Kelly, on Kelly’s YouTube channel.

https://www.vox.com/2020/5/7/21248713/tara-reade-joe-biden-sexual-assault-accusation

Featuring: Laura McGann (@lkmcgann), politics editor, Vox.com

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Michael Jordan's Last Dance, with director Jason Hehir

Thu, 07 May 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Michael Jordan and the 1998 Chicago Bulls are profiled in ESPN's 10-part documentary series The Last Dance. Director Jason Hehir chats with Recode's Peter Kafka about the complex process of telling this story in 10 parts, interviewing Michael Jordan and the '98 Bulls and wondering how MJ would handle the digital era.

Featuring: Jason Hehir (@jasonmhehir), director of ESPN's The Last Dance

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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The man behind The Office brings you the future, on Amazon

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Writer Greg Daniels and Recode’s Peter Kafka discuss discuss 'Upload' and 'Space Force,' his upcoming series for Prime Video and Netflix and what its been like launching two TV shows in this moment. Later, Vulture’s Craig Jenkins talks about how the pandemic has changed the way we see live music and how recording artists are taking advantage of Instagram live to conduct friendly battles and engage with their fans.

Featuring: Greg Daniels, writer and co-creator of Upload and Space Force

Craig Jenkins (@CraigSJ), Music Critic at New York Mag and Vulture.

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Matthew Ball on how the pandemic will remake TV, movies and video games

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Analyst Matthew Ball sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss how the coronavirus is changing the landscape on how SVOD’s are currently conducting business, why Hollywood is choosing to delay some big feature releases, and how the video game industry is thriving.

Featuring: Matthew Ball (@ballmatthew), Analyst

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How the Atlantic is thriving in the pandemic

Thu, 16 Apr 2020 04:00:00 -0000

The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jefferey Goldberg, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss how his publication became a must-read during the Coronavirus pandemic, how he is converting new readers into new subscribers, and what it’s like to run a media outlet owned by billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs.

Featuring: Jeffery Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg), Editor-In-Chief of The Atlantic

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Jeffrey Katzenberg's $1.75 billion bet on Quibi

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Quibi is here. Founder Jeffrey Katzenberg chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about launching a new product during a pandemic, how he thinks his service differs from other bigger streaming platforms, and his vision for Quibi’s future. Later, The Verge’s Julia Alexander reviews some of Quibi’s new and original shows.

Featuring: Jeffery Katzenberg (@Quibi), Founder of Quibi

Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia), Reporter at The Verge

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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TikTok, Facebook and podcasts respond to the pandemic

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Taylor Lorenz, who covers the internet for the New York Times; Campbell Brown, who heads up Facebook news partnerships; and Sarah Larson, who writes about podcasts for the New Yorker, chat with Recode’s Peter Kafka about the way the pandemic is affecting their industries. Lorenz discusses the way social networks like TikTok have responded — and why Zoom is a new social network; Brown discusses Facebook’s $100 million plan to boost local news outlets; and Larson talks about the way podcasters are tailoring their shows for a stuck-at-home audience.

Featuring: Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz), reporter for The New York Times

Campbell Brown (@campbell_brown), VP of Global News Partnerships at Facebook

Sarah Larson (@asarahlarson), New Yorker staff writer, Podcast Dept. column

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Making people laugh during a pandemic, with Jon Lovett and Jon Gabrus

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Two chats with people who make you laugh for a living: Pod Save America co-host Jon Lovett talks about making his shows — including one that’s supposed to happen with a live audience - from home during the pandemic, what’s happening to his podcast business during the economic disruption, and how to help people get through a very rough time. Then, in an interview taped as the pandemic was beginning to hit the U.S., improviser Jon Gabrus explains how podcasting has allowed him to build a loyal audience and make money. Gabrus talks about how he got his start, via the influential Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, how he’s making his way in Los Angeles, and what the comedy landscape looks like in 2020.

Featuring: Jon Gabrus (@Gabrus), comedian and host of High & Mighty and Action Boyz

Jon Lovett (@jonlovett), Co-Founder of Crooked Media, host of Lovett or Leave It

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How social media works - and doesn’t — during the pandemic

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 04:00:00 -0000

Stratechery’s Ben Thompson, Lightshed’s Rich Greenfield, and Crisis Text Line’s Bob Filbin join Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Thompson talks about the pros and cons of social media in a crisis - and what it’s like to live in Taiwan, where he’s based; Greenfield discusses Hollywood’s move to let us watch new movies at home instead of theaters; and Libin explains what we can do to help people in crisis.

Featuring: Ben Thompson (@benthompson), founder of Stratechery

Rich Greenfield (@RichLightShed), analyst and partner at Lightshed

Bob Filbin (@bobfilbin), Chief Data Scientist at Crisis Text Line

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why the Coronavirus canceled the NBA, with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 02:12:00 -0000

In a conversation taped hours before the NBA suspended its season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Recode’s Peter Kafka discuss how the Coronavirus could affect the NBA, and why the league could cancel games — including its playoffs this spring - entirely. Windhorst also discusses the NBA’s TV problems, its dust-up with China last fall, and how LeBron James kickstarted his career.

Featuring: Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN), ESPN Reporter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How streaming changed comedy with Vulture’s Jesse David Fox

Thu, 05 Mar 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Vulture Senior Editor and host of the Good One podcast, Jesse David Fox, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss how social media and streaming has had an effect on the comedy industry and specifically how Netflix has revitalized the hour long standup comedy special.

Featuring: Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox), Senior Vulture Editor

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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ViacomCBS gets into the streaming wars, too. Sort of.

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 05:00:00 -0000

ViacomCBS just announced new plans to do… something in streaming video. CNBC’s Alex Sherman explains how the newly merged TV company sees itself competing with Netflix, Apple and everyone else, and how that might actually work. Also: Who wants to spend billions and billions of dollars to buy NFL rights? The answer might surprise you.

Featuring: Alex Sherman (@sherman4949), CNBC Media & Tech reporter

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Food52’s surprising success story, with co-founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Food writers Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs turned a book deal into a digital publishing and retail company. Then they spent 10 years turning that company into something worth more than $100 million. They tell Recode Media’s Peter Kafka what they learned along the way — and why he was wrong to count them out years ago. Plus: A conversation with Pod Save America’s Dan Pfeiffer about the state of the 2020 race, the media strategies the candidates are using, and what they did and didn’t learn from 2016.

Featuring: Amanda Hesser (@amandahesser) and Merrill Stubbs (@merrillstubbs), Co-Founders of Food52

and Dan Pfieiffer (@danpfeiffer) author of Un-Trumping America, co-host of Pod Save America

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Local news is dying. John Thornton wants to save it.

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 05:00:00 -0000

John Thornton went from venture capitalist to founder of The Texas Tribune. He sits down with Recode's Peter Kafka to discuss his latest plans to empower local news organizations via the American Journalism Project.

Featuring: John Thornton (@thorntonaustin), Founder of The Texas Tribune, Co-Founder of American Journalism Project

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Spotify, The Ringer and the future of podcasts

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 20:44:30 -0000

Spotify is buying Bill Simmons’ sports and pop culture website and podcast network, The Ringer. It’s Spotify’s fourth podcast acquisition in a year. Recode’s Peter Kafka (who broke the story) sits down with Vox Media Podcast Network producer and former Ringer staff member Zach Mack to discuss what this deal means for Spotify, The Ringer and the future of podcasts.

Featuring: Zach Mack (@zachthemack), Senior Podcast Producer at Vox Media Podcast Network

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How Netflix is changing The Oscars

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Vox culture and movie mavens Alissa Wilkinson and Allegra Frank sit down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the 92nd Academy Awards. Who will win? Who should win? And how has Netflix and the streaming industry changed the Oscars?

Featuring: Allegra Frank (@LegsFrank), Associate Culture Editor at Vox

and Alissa Wilkinson (@alissamarie), Film Critic at Vox

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Why Ben Smith is leaving BuzzFeed for the New York Times

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 00:21:00 -0000

Ben Smith spent eight years building BuzzFeed News into a publication that could compete with the New York Times. Now he’s going to the New York Times as its media columnist. He sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to explain why he’s going, and what it means - or doesn’t mean - for digital media.

Featuring: Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen) Editor-In-Chief of BuzzFeed News

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti reboots his business plan

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0000

BuzzFeed CEO, Jonah Peretti, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka live from the Digital Content Next Summit in Miami to discuss BuzzFeed's new direction.

Featuring: Jonah Peretti (@peretti) CEO & Founder of BuzzFeed

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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NBC’s Peacock enters the Streaming Wars

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 17:00:36 -0000

Recode's Peter Kafka and Rani Molla break down everything you need to know about NBC's new upcoming streaming service, Peacock, and share their thoughts on how it will fair against its competitors.

Featuring: Rani Molla (@ranimolla) Senior Data Reporter at Recode

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Anna Wiener on disillusionment with startup culture

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0000

The New Yorker’s Anna Wiener chats with Recode’s Shirin Ghaffary about her new memoir, Uncanny Valley, which gives insight on her time working in the tech startup industry, and how being one of the few women in it, gave her a whole new perspective.

Featuring: Anna Wiener (@annawiener) author and writer for The New Yorker

Host: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary), Reporter at Recode

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How The Safdie Bros. landed Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems

Thu, 09 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0000

Filmmakers Josh & Benny Safdie join Recode’s Peter Kafka for a great discussion on their early path to making movies and why Adam Sandler originally turned down the part of Howard in their latest movie Uncut Gems.

Featuring: Josh & Benny Safdie (@JOSH_BENNY) writers and directors of Uncut Gems

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Adam Davidson on how to thrive in this economy

Thu, 02 Jan 2020 05:00:00 -0000

The New Yorker’s Adam Davidson chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about his start as a financial reporter, launching NPR's Planet Money, the science of consumerism, and his new book “The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century”.

Featuring: Adam Davidson (@adamdavidson) author and writer for The New Yorker

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Streaming wars! (Don’t call them streaming wars!) and everything else we learned in 2019, with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw

Thu, 26 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0000

Bloomberg Business reporter, Lucas Shaw joins Recode's Peter Kafka to wrap up the decade by reviewing the year in media. They also discuss the current state and future of streaming.

Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), reporter for Bloomberg Business

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Eat up! Food talk with The Infatuation’s Chris Stang and the New Yorker’s Helen Rosner

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0000

It's an all food edition of Recode Media! CEO & Co-Founder of The Infatuation, Chris Stang, and roving food correspondent for the New Yorker, Helen Rosner join Recode's Peter Kafka to delve into all things food and culture.

Featuring: Chris Stang (@houseofstang), Co-Founder & CEO of The Infatuation

Helen Rosner (@hels), Food Correspondent for The New Yorker

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc on the internet, TV and her famous founder

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:11:43 -0000

Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc discusses the different challenges she faced since taking charge in 2018 and how their new acquisition of the lifestyle brand Refinirey29 fits in with their strategy for the future of Vice Media.

Featuring: Nancy Dubuc, CEO of Vice Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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The anatomy of a hit song, with Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding

Thu, 12 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0000

Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding chat with Recode’s Peter Kafka about their new book (Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why It Matters) and break down the different elements of Post Malone’s latest #1 single, “Circles”, that makes it such a hit.

Featuring: Nate Sloan (@neatsloan) and Charlie Harding (@charlieharding), hosts of @SwitchedOnPop

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Roger Lynch’s plan to save Condé Nast

Mon, 09 Dec 2019 15:52:00 -0000

Conde Nast CEO Roger Lynch used to run digital music and video companies. Now he’s in charge of the world’s most iconic magazine publisher; he talks about his plans with Peter Kafka at the Code Media conference.

Featuring: Roger Lynch (@RogerLynch), CEO of Condé Nast

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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DAZN's John Skipper and the future of streaming sports

Thu, 05 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0000

DAZN’s executive chairman, John Skipper, chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka live from Code Media 2019 to discuss how he and his team are pushing forward the live streaming industry by running a service he describes as “Netflix for sports”, and how he deals with his competitors such as ESPN and network television for the rights of live sporting events.

Featuring: John Skipper, executive chairman of The DAZN Group

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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The men who want to remake Sports Illustrated: Maven’s James Heckman and Ross Levinsohn

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 18:56:42 -0000

The Maven’s James Heckman and Ross Levinsohn, the new owners of Sports Illustrated talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka at the Code Media conference about their history in digital publishing, and their plans for the iconic magazine.

Featuring: James Heckman (@JamesCHeckman) and Ross Levinsohn, of The Maven & Sports Illustrated

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Carolyn Everson runs the Facebook ad machine

Wed, 27 Nov 2019 19:41:29 -0000

Facebook’s VP of Marketing Solutions, Carolyn Everson, chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about Facebook's billion dollar money maker; ads, their policies around ads, and how they handle politicians using their platform for their campaign.

Featuring: Carolyn Everson (@ceverson), Facebook’s VP of Marketing Solutions

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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John Stankey’s plan for HBO, HBO Max and WarnerMedia

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 16:46:46 -0000

CEO of WarnerMedia John Stankey joins Recode's Peter Kafka on stage at Code Media in Los Angeles to discuss the streaming wars and his plans for HBO, HBO Max and WarnerMedia as a whole.

Featuring: John Stankey, CEO of WarnerMedia

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Meet the man behind Disney+: Live from Code Media with Kevin Mayer

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 05:01:00 -0000

Live from Code Media 2019, Disney's Kevin Mayer sits down with Recode's Peter Kafka to discuss the rocky initial launch of Disney+, and how how they are handling their other streaming brands like Hulu and ESPN+.

Featuring: Kevin Mayer, Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International division of The Walt Disney Company

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Scott Z. Burns on making movies with Amazon, Netflix & Steven Soderbergh

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 05:00:00 -0000

Producer, director and writer Scott Z. Burns chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about how he was able to convince Netflix and Amazon Prime to distribute and produce The Report and The Laundromat. Scott details the process of having his movies bounce around from studio to studio until ultimately landing a deal with two major streaming services, while also having his films released theatrically.

Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.

Featuring: Scott Z. Burns, Writer, Director, and Producer of The Report and The Laundromat

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Did Disney+ and Apple TV+ live up to the hype?

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 05:00:00 -0000

Vox critic-at-large Emily VanDerWerff tackles the streaming wars and the rollout of Disney + and Apple TV + with Recode's Peter Kafka. They discuss The Mandalorian, The Morning Show and the shows that have surprised and disappointed them thus far.

Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.

Featuring: Emily VanDerWerff (@tvoti), Critic-At-Large, Vox.com

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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What's next for The New York Times after The Daily?

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 05:01:00 -0000

Sam Dolnick, assistant managing editor of The New York Times who helped launch The Daily and The Weekly sits down with Recode's Peter Kafka to discuss where The Times's digital strategy is headed next.

Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.

Featuring: Sam Dolnick (@samdolnick), Assistant Managing Editor of The New York Times

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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Matt Levine left Goldman to become a journalist. Great move!

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 05:00:00 -0000

Bloomberg's financial columnist Matt Levine joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss his early career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and that path that led him to becoming one of the industry's top financial columnists.

Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.

Featuring: Matt Levine (@matt_levine), Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering finance

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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It's not HBO... It's HBO Max. Plus Steve Swartz, CEO of Hearst on turning a magazine publisher into a diversified media company

Thu, 31 Oct 2019 06:47:57 -0000

Recode’s Peter Kafka covers the latest in the Streaming Wars as Warner Media unveiled new details about its upcoming streaming service HBO Max. How will this new streaming service stack up against other newcomers like Apple TV Plus and and Disney Plus in the race to take on Netflix? And later, Hearst President & CEO, Steve Swartz talks about his journey from reporter for the Wall Street Journal, to becoming the head of one of the top media and news brands in the world — and why Hearst is working hard to diversify out of consumer media.

Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.

Featuring: Steven R. Swartz, President and CEO of Hearst

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

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How the Wu-Tang Clan raised Sophia Chang

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 04:00:00 -0000

From managing members of The Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest to training the next generation of entrepreneurs, Sophia Chang chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss her new audiobook-only memoir, The Baddest Bitch In The Room. In it, she outlines what it was like being one of the first asian women in Hip-Hop, the power of networking, and how to break into the business.

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Featuring: Sophia Chang (@sophchangnyc), Author, The Baddest Bitch In The Room

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Introducing Reset: Can AI Teach You To Write Better?

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 04:00:00 -0000

Introducing Reset, a new podcast about how tech is changing our lives. In this episode, students across the country are graded by artificial intelligence. But does an algorithm really know how to write?

About Reset

Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why–and how–tech is changing everything.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Reset for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or your favorite podcast app to get new episodes every week.

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How The Athletic CEO Alex Mather convinced people to pay for sports news on the internet

Thu, 17 Oct 2019 04:00:00 -0000

CEO of The Athletic Alex Mather chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about his path of setting out to disrupt local sports media through hiring away top talent and building out a subscription model. But will it be profitable?

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Featuring: Alex Mather (@amather), CEO of The Athletic

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How Shea Serrano used the internet to become a best-selling author

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 04:00:00 -0000

New York Times best selling author and staff writer for The Ringer, Shea Serrano chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about his new book Movies (And Other Things). Shea recounts his career trajectory and how he went from middle school teacher to twitter celebrity and best selling author.

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Featuring: Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano), New York Times best selling author and staff writer for The Ringer

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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BuzzFeed News' Ben Smith on covering Trump and making money

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 04:00:00 -0000

Buzzfeed News Editor-In-Chief, Ben Smith sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka at the Texas Tribune Festival to discuss how Buzzfeed News went from fledgling news organization to breaking major news stories in the Trump era. They also explore how Buzzfeed's newsroom is testing out new journalism tactics like text messaging to communicate with the 2020 presidential candidates and more.

Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.

Featuring: Ben Smith (@BuzzFeedBen), Editor-In-Chief of Buzzfeed News

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Complex CEO Rich Antoniello on running a youth culture media empire

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 04:00:00 -0000

CEO of Complex Rich Antoniello chats with Recode's Peter Kafka about co-founding and building a powerful youth culture brand that's leveraged its popularity into viral video series's like Hot Ones and Sneaker Shopping and major events like ComplexCon.

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Featuring: Rich Antoniello (@BuzzFeedBen), CEO and Co-founder of Complex

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Vox Media + NY Media CEOs Jim Bankoff and Pamela Wasserstein go behind the deal

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 16:17:00 -0000

Breaking News: Vox Media has acquired New York Media. CEO of Vox Media Jim Bankoff and CEO of New York Media Pamela Wasserstein join Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the merger and what’s next for the media brands within the Vox Media and New York Media umbrella and how the financial model is going to work.

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Featuring: Jim Bankoff (@Bankoff), CEO of Vox Media & Pamela Wasserstein, CEO of New York Media

Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Behind the scenes of the Brett Kavanaugh investigation with NYT's Kate Kelly

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 19:32:00 -0000

New York Times reporter and co-author of 'The Education of Brett Kavanaugh' Kate Kelly joins Recode's Peter Kafka to discuss the polarizing Supreme Court justice and the criticism Kelly faced from both the right and the left while reporting the story.

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Featuring: Kate Kelly (@katekelly), reporter at The New York Times

Host:Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Craiglist's Craig Newmark is using his power and money to save journalism

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 04:00:00 -0000

Craigslist founder Craig Newmark joins Recode's Peter Kafka on stage in Brooklyn to discuss his unlikely career as a media mogul and how he's actively giving away his fortune to fund philanthropic efforts to support journalism, military veterans, and pigeons - but mostly journalism.

Survey: We are conducting an audience survey to better serve you. It takes no more than five minutes, and it really helps out the show. Please take our survey here.

Featuring: Craigslist founder Craig Newmark (@craignewmark)

Host:Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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How Survivor and The Sopranos created Trump, with New York Times critic James Poniewozik

Thu, 12 Sep 2019 04:00:00 -0000

Chief television critic for The New York Times James Poniewozik explores how television and the modern media landscape played a critical role in the rise of Donald Trump as both a reality television star and political leader.

Featuring: Chief television critic for The New York Times James Poniewozik (@poniewozik)

Host:Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Apple TV+ is coming. Will you pay for it?

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 23:55:00 -0000

At today's Apple’s iPhone 11 event Tim Cook unveiled new details about their upcoming streaming service Apple TV+. Recode Media Senior editor Peter Kafka breaks down everything you need to know it.

Come See Recode Live in Brooklyn with Craigslist's Craig Newmark

We will hold 10 spots for Recode Media fans. First 10 to rsvp at voxmediaevents.com/recodelive will be confirmed for the event.

Featuring: Vox Media Senior Producer Zach Mack (@zachthemack)

Host: Senior Editor at Recode, Peter Kafka (@pkafka),

About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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The epic battle for Uber, with Mike Isaac from the New York Times

Thu, 05 Sep 2019 04:00:00 -0000

New York Times technology reporter Mike Isaac joins Peter Kafka to discuss Uber and his ongoing investigation into the transportation giant’s tumultuous leadership issues. In his new book ‘Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber’ he unpacks how Travis Kalanick, the contentious founder and original CEO of Uber, was ousted and how Uber’s growth at all costs mentality is indicative of a larger issue in tech.

Later on, Peter is joined by two special guests to discuss what the kids are up these days.

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The decline of the right wing troll with CNN’s Oliver Darcy

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 04:00:00 -0000

CNN Senior media reporter Oliver Darcy chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about Fox News, Breitbart, The Drudge Report and the current state of attack politics in right-wing media. Darcy also outlines his own path into media from a conservative writer for Glenn Beck’s The Blaze to his current role covering the media at CNN.

Featuring:CNN Senior media reporter Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy)

Host:Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode

About Recode by Vox:Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley wants to know where you are

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 04:00:00 -0000

Foursquare co-founder and executive chairman Dennis Crowley speaks with Peter Kafka about the business of tracking and selling location data and Foursquare's pivot into that space. Crowley also discusses his personal transition from CEO to executive chairman and why he finds more joy in tinkering and running Foursquare labs than he ever did as CEO.

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The Sportswriter: The Ringer's Bryan Curtis on the sports-media-politics mash-up

Thu, 15 Aug 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Bryan Curtis is Editor-at-Large at The Ringer, and co-hosts The Press Box podcast, and talks to Peter Kafka about the intersection of sports, media, and politics. Curtis discusses the relationship between journalists and the players they cover, and what happens when players bypass the media to tell their own stories. Also: why podcasting didn’t come naturally to him, his obsession with the New York Times, and - do audiences really know what they want?

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Taylor Lorenz on TikTok, Twitter … and Tumblr

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Taylor Lorenz writes about internet culture for The Atlantic, and talks to Peter Kafka about how she fell in love with Tumblr, why all the kids are now on TikTok, and why Twitter is broken. She also talks about the ‘influencer industry’ and why understanding the mechanics of how people consume news is crucial. And she schools Peter on internet circa 2019: micro-memes on Facebook, authenticity on Instagram, and what’s a tea account, anyway?

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John Harris, co-founder of Politico

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 11:06:00 -0000

John Harris talks to Peter Kafka about how he helped start Politico, how its subscription model works, and owning your mistakes. Also Donald Trump’s relationship with the media, and his obsession with the intricacies of coverage.

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Splice's Steve Martocci wants to remake the music business + All things Amazon with Recode's Jason Del Rey

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Steve Martocci talks to Peter Kafka about his venture, Splice, a platform for digital music creation, and why big name artists and teenagers alike are using it to share pieces of music and their creative process. Martocci also talks about his previous business GroupMe, a group messaging app ahead of its time.

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Chuck Klosterman on Trump, Twitter and cancel culture - and his new book

Thu, 18 Jul 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Journalist and author Chuck Klosterman is back to talk all things pop culture and politics with Recode’s Peter Kafka. Their wide-ranging chat touches on Trump, Twitter, cancel culture, keeping up (or not) with pop culture and paying college athletes. They also talk about “Raised in Captivity” Klosterman’s, new book of (very) short stories, which he describes as “fictional nonfiction”. You can buy that here: https://www.amazon.com/Raised-Captivity-Nonfiction-Chuck-Klosterman/dp/0735217920

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Media mogul watch at Sun Valley with Dylan Byers + Erin Lee Carr on making true crime documentaries

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Sun Valley’s annual gathering of billionaires is happening this week, and NBCU’s Dylan Byers is covering it. Byers talks to Peter Kafka about the tech and media leaders there, and what to cover when there’s not a lot to cover.The main conversation in this episode is with Erin Lee Carr, whose most recent film is ‘I Love You, Now Die,’ a documentary about the Michelle Carter texting suicide case. She talks in depth about the painstaking process of making this doc, from gathering footage in the courtroom to talking to the victim’s families. And …. The best advice from her father, the late, great David Carr.

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The Texas Tribune’s secret sauce, with Emily Ramshaw

Thu, 04 Jul 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Editor-in-chief Emily Ramshaw talks to Peter Kafka about the crisis in local news - and why The Texas Tribune stands apart from it. They discuss what it means to be a non-profit news organization - for coverage, audiences, and revenue. Also: how she stepped into the role of E-I-C, her approach to running the newsroom, and why diversity, and entrepreneurship matter in journalism.

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How Roger Ailes built Fox News - and how Gabriel Sherman turned Ailes’ story into a TV show

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Journalist Gabriel Sherman talks to Peter Kafka about his biography of Fox News' Roger Ailes, which has just been made into a Showtime series with Russell Crowe. He talks about how he wrote the book despite Ailes' pushback and intimidation tactics. Also: how Ailes built up Fox News, and how he might react to the network's relationship to the Trump Whitehouse if he were still alive today. And ... on working (or not) with Russell Crowe on the set of 'The Loudest Voice in the Room.'

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Vimeo’s Anjali Sud shifted the company’s strategy — and became its CEO + The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson on the limits of the ‘attention economy’

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo talks to Peter Kafka about how she changed things up at Vimeo, working with Barry Diller, and how she came to the top job.

More content on this episode: a conversation with writer Derek Thompson about why Google, Facebook are looking for new markets beyond media; also, his new podcast Crazy/ Genius.

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New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger at the Code Conference

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 04:01:00 -0000

A.G. Sulzberger talks to Peter Kafka about the ‘Trump bump’ for the New York Times, how it’s subscription-first model is doing, and the future for local news.

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YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki at the Code Conference

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 15:06:00 -0000

Susan Wojcicki talks to Peter Kafka at Code Conference, defending YouTube’s controversial decision not to ban Steven Crowder for slurs against journalist Carlos Maza. She talks about YouTube's use of humans, software and rules to police the videos its 2 billion users upload, and says the company is improving its ability to remove objectionable content. After a 30 minute on-stage interview, Wojcicki answers more questions from the Code audience.

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Matthew Ball on Amazon vs Apple vs Netflix vs Disney, and how he built a digital media career by writing for free

Thu, 06 Jun 2019 02:21:00 -0000

Analyst/writer/investor-to-be Matthew Ball gives his predictions on how Disney, Netflix, Apple and Amazon are faring in the ‘battle royale’ - the streaming wars. He gives Peter Kafka his insight on Amazon Video from his time there, and talks about why he's bullish on Disney but skeptical about WarnerMedia. He also explains how he used the internet to transform himself from anonymous consultant to in-demand-strategy guy.

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ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro on how he’s reshaping the network

Thu, 30 May 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Jimmy Pitaro is president of one of the most powerful programming networks on TV - but how does ESPN stay competitive in the streaming era? He talks to Peter Kafka about how he got the job at ESPN, and how he’s reshaping the network. Also: building relationships with the NFL and NBA, and sports journalism at ESPN: where sports and politics intersect.

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YouTube’s Neal Mohan is trying to police the world’s largest video site + Game of Thrones is gone. What’s next?

Thu, 23 May 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer at YouTube talks to Peter Kafka about how YouTube deals with problematic content: how it enforces the site’s community guidelines, and deploys machines to detect, and humans to evaluate this content. YouTube users upload 500 hours of content every minute, and YouTube has no plans to slow that down, so the job won't get an easier; the site takes down 8-9 million videos every quarter. They also discuss the strategy around YouTube's subscription service and its TV service. Also on the show, Vox’s Todd VanDerWerff’s take on Game of Thrones, and his new podcast, Primetime.

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Eugene Wei explains why we’re all ‘status monkeys’ on social media

Thu, 16 May 2019 04:02:00 -0000

Amazon and Hulu veteran Eugene Wei has a really smart take on how status determines our use - and the success - of social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. He talks to Peter Kafka about why we’re all status monkeys on social media, how young influencers use it differently than the rest of us, and how our mental models of these networks are changing. Also: his thoughts on working in the Amazon bubble, and the failed HQ2 in New York.

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Nick Hornby on writing for TV, 10 minutes at a time

Tue, 14 May 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy) talks to Peter Kafka about his newest project: Sundance’s “State of the Union” a 10-part series that unfolds in 10 minute episodes. Hornby, who became famous writing about obsessive fans, also talks about trading vinyl for Spotify, and why that’s not a bad thing.

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Game of Thrones is down to its last dragon + Hulu CEO Randy Freer

Thu, 09 May 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Two conversations in this episode: Vanity Fair writer, podcast host, and Game of Thrones expert Joanna Robinson talks to Peter Kafka about the end of GOT, and what that means for HBO, and the media ecosystem that has built up around the show — and what it says about the state of TV. Plus, Hulu CEO Randy Freer, talks about the fast-growing subscription service, which has become a key part of Disney's video strategy.

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Digital media pioneer Jason Hirschhorn on Netflix vs. Everyone Else

Tue, 07 May 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Jason Hirschhorn, digital media pioneer and CEO of news aggregator REDEF, comes back for this third visit with Peter Kafka. They talk about streaming and ‘direct-to-customer’: what this means for Disney and Netflix. Also: how tech is changing movie-making, and the evolution of Hulu.

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Kickstarter’s Perry Chen on 10 years and billions of dollars of crowdfunding

Thu, 02 May 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Kickstarter is now synonymous with crowdfunding, but for years it was just an idea in founder Perry Chen’s mind: “This is something that should exist.” Chen talks to Peter Kafka about building and funding the site, the challenges of running a for-profit, mission-driven business — and why he hates ads.

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New York Magazine editor David Haskell on taking over after an industry legend

Thu, 25 Apr 2019 04:01:00 -0000

David Haskell, New York Magazine's new editor-in-chief, talks to Peter Kafka about following in the footsteps of star editor Adam Moss. Also: New York Magazine’s digital strategy, working with Amazon and Apple, and how to solve the cover problem

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Why Jessi Hempel left a superstar writing career for LinkedIn

Thu, 18 Apr 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Jessi Hempel spent years covering tech giants for Fortune, BusinessWeek and Wired. Now she’s working for a tech giant herself. Hempel explains why she’s writing, and podcasting, for Microsoft’s LinkedIn, and what she’s learned about the pros and cons of tech, from both sides of the divide.

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Disney enters the streaming wars + AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Joe Adalian, west coast editor of Vulture, from New York Magazine, talks to Peter Kafka about the Disney+ launch event, and what it could mean for streaming, Netflix and Apple.

Later on the show, Josh Sapan, CEO of AMC Networks (Killing Eve, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead) has a lively and an-depth conversation about the business of TV, and figuring out how to compete against giants like Disney and Apple.

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"Savage News" author Jessica Yellin on the dark side (and the silly side) of TV news

Thu, 11 Apr 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Journalist Jessica Yellin talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new satirical novel about TV journalism, Savage News.

In this episode: Yellin's Instagram project, News Not Noise; the lie, "nobody wants news without a panic attack"; where News Not Noise could go next; embracing a bias of being against conflict and outrage; Yellin's political background; being a "one-man band" in local TV news; the 2000 recount and moving up to national TV; finally getting her dream job: White House correspondent for CNN; in the Trump era, does the White House press briefing provide a useful service?; a day in the life of a correspondent; the depressing economics of TV pundits vs. reporters; how the news changes when women are in charge; what Savage News is about (it's not Trump); "I had no idea how important my hair would be to White House coverage"; the #MeToo-ish element of the book and the generational differences in what women will put up with; and the ingrained artifice of TV news live shots.

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Nilay Patel and Peter Kafka talk about Apple's media event

Thu, 04 Apr 2019 04:01:00 -0000

If you like Recode Media, we think you'll also like this episode of The Vergecast! Peter Kafka sits down with Nilay Patel, editor-in-chief of The Verge, to talk about Apple's “Show Time” event and whether it's prepared to battle Netflix and Disney in the streaming wars. If you like what you hear, subscribe to The Vergecast.

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How Brat co-founder Rob Fishman is making TV for the internet's young women

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Brat co-founder Rob Fishman talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his LA-based digital video studio, which is making shows aimed at young women who might have once watched the CW or MTV.

In this episode: What sets Brat apart from other online video startups; how the company makes money; how it pays the stars of it shows; Fishman's second startup, Niche, and the influencer economy; selling Niche to Twitter and what it was like inside the company; what he's learned from being a serial entrepreneur; and the long-term prospects of the digital media bundle.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

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The business of podcasting with Jacob Weisberg, Bethany McLean and Marshall Williams

Thu, 21 Mar 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Bethany McLean and Jacob Weisberg from Pushkin Industries and Marshall Williams from Ad Results Media talk with Recode's Peter Kafka in front of a live audience at South by Southwest.

In this episode: How podcast advertising works; why Weisberg is interested in experimenting with podcasts you have to pay to hear; why McLean got into podcasting after 25 years in print; why are direct response ads so common and will they go away?; is podcast advertising propped up by a bubble?; how podcasters could screw up their good ad business; the importance of standardizing what a podcast "download" is; does more specific measurement endanger the quality of the work?; how easy is it to make a living from podcasting?; exclusive podcasts; podcasting in China; and the future of podcast metrics.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

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Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources"

Tue, 19 Mar 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media correspondent and the host of Reliable Sources, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka in front of a live audience at South by Southwest.

In this episode: How Stelter figures out what to focus on in his coverage; President Trump’s tweets; covering more issues and fewer insults in the 2020 race; the Democrats’ breakup with Fox News; name-calling among journalists; Stelter’s extremely public online life; the Twitter “sewer”; the Twitter-TV-Trump cycle and how social media amplifies cable news’ reach; the ongoing power of TV and CNN as an institution; cord-cutting and how cable stays relevant; the Apple TV adaptation of Stelter’s book; when CNN or its owner AT&T is the news; media is in a "Trump bump," but would there have been a “Clinton bump?”; do Democrats need to be as crazy as Trump to get airtime?; gender bias in how female candidates are covered; and correcting for the mistakes the media made in 2016.

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Alex Gibney, director of HBO's Theranos documentary "The Inventor"

Thu, 14 Mar 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Documentary director Alex Gibney talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about The Inventor: Out For Blood In Silicon Valley, a new film about the fall of Theranos and its CEO Elizabeth Holmes.

In this episode: Why making the documentary wasn't as straightforward as you might think; John Carreyrou and the other journalists in the documentary; the outsized power of corporations; the prevalence of fraud and the "fake it til you make it" mentality; how Holmes and her deputies shaped Theranos' public image; how Gibney assembles a documentary; Richard Plepler's departure from HBO; Holmes' motivations and the psychology of lying; and Gibney's next documentaries.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

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"Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban on investing, sports gambling and how he helped Elon Musk

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 04:01:00 -0000

Mark Cuban talks with Recode's Peter Kafka in this live interview recorded at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

In this episode: Who can beat Trump in 2020?; why Cuban was spotted talking with Steve Bannon in 2016; behind the scenes of Shark Tank; how the TV business has changed and what happens now that tech is getting into TV; the moats protecting legacy TV studios and Time Warner's new owner AT&T; the potential of 5G for sports and entertainment; should sports streaming rights be broken up?; online sports gambling; sexual harassment at the Dallas Mavericks; what areas in tech is Cuban most excited about now?; why everyone has to understand AI; Elon Musk and the SEC; how much do regular people really care about privacy?; and why "treating people equally doesn't mean treating everybody the same."

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The New Yorker's Jane Mayer on Fox News and the Trump White House

Fri, 08 Mar 2019 05:01:00 -0000

The New Yorker staff writer Jane Mayer talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her recent investigation into the links between the Trump administration and Fox News, The Making of the Fox News White House. She says Congress should investigate one of the things her reporting uncovered, an alleged attempt by Trump to use the Justice Department to sabotage the AT&T-Time Warner merger.

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Overtime CEO Dan Porter on making sports media for Gen Z

Thu, 07 Mar 2019 05:01:00 -0000

Overtime CEO Dan Porter talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how his company is turning non-professional athletes into stars — and some common mistakes media founders make.

In this episode: Porter's background; why it's not accurate to say Overtime covers "high school sports"; what it is focusing on and how it's reaching a young audience; how it helps non-professional athletes build a following online; why it still makes sense to distribute digital content everywhere; building a bond with Overtime's audience; how it makes money now and how it will in the future; why are VCs investing in sports media?; how Porter met his then-22-year-old co-founder, Zack Weiner; how Porter thought about raising money; putting together a house for eSports athletes; how the process of starting a startup has changed in the past decade; building a company on other people's platforms; is Hollywood ready for the tech invasion?

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J2 Global CEO Vivek Shah on being a serial acquirer of media businesses

Thu, 28 Feb 2019 05:01:00 -0000

J2 Global CEO Vivek Shah talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about running the company that owns a portfolio of digital brands, including Mashable, PCMag and Speedtest.

In this episode: What J2 Global is; the importance of having multiple revenue streams in media; how Shah turned Ziff Davis around; why much of J2's business is built around performance marketing and affiliate commerce; buying Mashable and returning it to profitability; bidding for Gawker Media and what J2 would have done with it; making the cultures of acquired media companies fit within the larger company; the silver lining of the media industry's troubles; what J2 wants to buy; why Speedtest is so valuable; is increasing awareness of and regulation around privacy a problem for that business?; Humble Bundle and the most important equation for building a subscription business; and why "we are the largest internet company that many people have never heard of."

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AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson on sports gambling and buying Time Warner

Thu, 21 Feb 2019 05:01:00 -0000

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the potential of 5G internet, AT&T's 2018 acquisition of Time Warner and how the company is thinking about sports gambling in the U.S.

In this episode: What does 5G internet actually mean for consumers?; when will 5G be ubiquitous in major cities?; why it will eventually replace home broadband; the rise of professional sports gambling; cord cutting and the TV rights to broadcast sports; buying sports games a la carte and leagues becoming direct distributors; competing in video-on-demand with Apple, Netflix and Disney; integrating the cultures of AT&T and Time Warner.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

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Indie.vc founder Bryce Roberts: Why venture capital doesn't work for everyone

Thu, 14 Feb 2019 05:01:00 -0000

Bryce Roberts, the "recovering venture capitalist" who founded Indie.vc, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why more entrepreneurs should be asking if venture capital is right for them.

In this episode: Roberts' past investments; how VCs have controlled the definition of "entrepreneur" and why that's a problem; how Indie.vc works and what it looks for in applicants; is venture capital really that bad?; Gimlet's sale to Spotify; the connection between venture capital and layoffs at digital media companies; Shade Room's Angie Nwandu and the unusually diverse group of founders Indie.vc has backed; are traditional venture capitalists threatened by Roberts?; and why Tavi Gevinson shut down Rookie.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

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Gimlet co-founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber, plus Fortune CEO Alan Murray

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 05:01:00 -0000

Gimlet co-founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber talk with Recode's Peter Kafka about selling their company to Spotify. Then later in the show, Fortune Media Group CEO Alan Murray sits down with Peter to talk about selling Fortune to a Thai billionaire and navigating its transition into new digital challenges.

In the Gimlet interview: "We didn't leak the story, I don't know who did"; Blumberg and Lieber's interactions with Gimlet staff since Recode's scoop on Friday; why the acquisition makes sense; how Spotify became a distribution partner and when acquisition talks started; could Gimlet have remained independent?; how much did Blumberg and Lieber's ability to personally profit influence the decision to sell?; listeners who invested in Gimlet's crowdfunding seed round will see a return; will Gimlet's existing shows become Spotify exclusives?

And in the Murray interview: Fortune's acquisition and the end of Time Inc.; why it's hard to destroy legacy media brands; why it would be a problem if Time Magazine owner Marc Benioff had also bought Fortune; who is Fortune's new owner, Chatchaval Jiaravanon?; the "death sentence" of working with its old owner, Time Warner; how has Fortune changed since Jiaravanon bought it?; developing and scaling up live events to make them both accessible and valuable; advertising-supported businesses and Fortune's competitors; Murray's background at the Wall Street Journal and why Rupert Murdoch is "the best thing that could have happened" to the paper; developing the WSJ's ultimately unsuccessful iPad app, The Daily; President Trump's lies and attacks on journalism; and and how other media outlets are alienating his supporters.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

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Jill Abramson on BuzzFeed layoffs, "Merchants of Truth" and the local news crisis

Thu, 31 Jan 2019 05:01:00 -0000

Jill Abramson, the former executive editor of the New York Times, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new book, Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts.

In this episode: Why Abramson wrote Merchants of Truth; why she focused on the New York Times, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed and Vice; the recent layoffs at BuzzFeed and why it's now "winter" for digital media; is the New York Times unfairly targeting Facebook in its reporting?; the criticism Merchants of Truth has received before publication; the shrinking wall between business and editorial interests at the Times; the media is critical of President Trump — is that a problem?; the surprising happiness at the Washington Post; Abramson's fact-checking process; and the crisis in local news.

Thanks to Microsoft Azure for sponsoring this episode. Get started with a free account and 12 months of popular free services at Azure.com/trial today.

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NYU's Jay Rosen says 2020's political journalism will be even worse than 2016's

Thu, 24 Jan 2019 05:01:00 -0000

NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the problematic state of the political media in the Trump era.

In this episode: Why 2020 will be even worse for the political press than 2016; alternatives to "horse race" political coverage; how the Democrats' takeover of the House of Representatives is encouraging the media's worst habits; media outlets that anger liberal audiences; the state of Trump journalism; Rosen grades the different roles of the press; the repeated failure of the press to reflect on its own failings; should the press always carry a televised address from the president?; and an alternative model for journalism, The Correspondent, that is launching soon in the United States.

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Axios business editor Dan Primack on newsletters, IPOs and the economy in 2019

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 05:01:00 -0000

Axios' Dan Primack, the author of the Pro Rata business newsletter, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka.

In this episode: Why Dan Primack didn't start his own site like other star journalists; economic predictions for 2019, including what companies will go public this year; whether those companies will mimic Spotify's direct listing IPO instead of going through a bank; predictions for the media industry; what journalists get wrong about business and what businesses like Facebook get wrong about journalists; and Axios' controversial HBO interview with President Trump.

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Harvard's Susan Crawford on the importance of fiber internet

Thu, 10 Jan 2019 05:01:00 -0000

Harvard Law School professor Susan Crawford talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new book, Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution—and Why America Might Miss It. In this episode: (01:22) Crawford's book and the state of fiber internet in America; (05:39) Why fiber is like electricity; (11:19) Why isn't fiber everywhere already?; (16:01) The failure of Google Fiber and how someone could bring fiber everywhere; (20:07) Politics and 5G; (23:32) Tech giants and net neutrality; (27:11) The political will to get fiber into homes; (30:21) What cities in the US are doing fiber right?

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Neil Vogel on turning around an aging internet property

Thu, 03 Jan 2019 05:01:00 -0000

‘It took us a while to figure out what our real value is to the universe’ - Neil Vogel, CEO of Dot Dash, talks about - ‘About.com’, and the challenges of turning around an internet property in decline. Also: building brands with real value to consumers, and how Vogel built up the Webby Awards.

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Filmmaker Hao Wu and Loretta Chao on streaming culture in China

Thu, 27 Dec 2018 05:00:00 -0000

"A real life Black Mirror story, a cautionary tale," is how director Hao Wu describes his new documentary, 'People's Republic of Desire.' Recode's Kara Swisher talks to Hao Wu, alongside Loretta Chao, a former WSJ reporter who covers tech in China, about streaming culture in China.

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Lydia Polgreen talks to Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian

Thu, 20 Dec 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Former Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger in conversation with Lydia Polgreen.

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The big business of being a social media star

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 05:01:00 -0000

John Shahidi, the CEO and co-founder of digital production company Shots Studios, talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about creating content for warring online platforms like Netflix, YouTube and Spotify. In this episode: (01:45) What Shots Studios does; (07:49) What it used to be and how it got Justin Bieber to invest; (16:49) How Shots found the stars it manages; (20:31) How it works with those stars; (29:19) The distribution strategy; (35:24) What platforms work best for Shots' content; (43:31) Twitter Video and getting "Shahidi'd"; (47:00) What Shahidi has learned from experimenting with social media

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Axios reporter Jonathan Swan talks to Maggie Haberman about reporting on the Trump administration

Thu, 06 Dec 2018 16:02:45 -0000

Jonathan Swan, the national political reporter for Axios, talks with the New York Times' Maggie Haberman about the highs and lows of covering the Trump administration. In this episode: (01:18) What to expect from the Trump administration in 2019; (06:35) How do reporters ensure that their reporting on Donald Trump is accurate?; (10:14) Should they change their approach?; (12:28) Swan's background; (16:14) How he started covering Trump for The Hill; (20:22) Trump's relationship with the media; (24:39) The Jim Acosta incident; (26:14) Swan's approach to reporting; (28:43) His interview of Trump and people's reactions; (32:15) The birthright news from that interview; (35:25) What does the press get wrong about this administration?; (38:42) Does Swan miss writing longer stories?; (40:26) Do presidential interviews matter as much as they used to?

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Former GE and NBC executive Beth Comstock

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 06:02:30 -0000

Beth Comstock, the former vice chair of GE and former president of integrated media at NBCUniversal, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "Imagine It Forward: Courage, Creativity, and the Power of Change." In this episode: (01:34) Comstock's background and taking over digital at NBC; (05:56) iVillage and making digital content in-house; (09:59) Why NBC and Fox needed to make Hulu; (12:19) The difficulties of starting it; (16:14) Bringing in ABC and the "existential threat" of tech; (18:18) Mistakes made; (21:56) Why she wrote her book; (23:32) "I was more able to be more creative at GE than NBC"; (31:26) How to get a big company to be innovative; (34:14) What does "Imagine It Forward" mean?; (36:03) Imagination vs. agitation; (41:25) Tips for being more imaginative; (43:42) How do you decide what to invest in?; (48:21) Three things that have to change in business; (49:52) Women at work

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How Twitch's CEO thinks about tech addiction

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Twitch CEO Emmett Shear talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about launching the live video service, selling it to Amazon and reckoning with tech companies' responsibilities to their users. In this episode: (01:41) Why Twitch is "multiplayer entertainment"; (04:31) Shear's background at Justin.tv; (08:50) Pivoting from Justin.tv to Twitch; (11:13) Why Twitch sold itself to Amazon; (16:04) What non-gaming content is popular; (19:17) Movies and football on Twitch; (22:27) How Twitch gets non-gaming content; (24:46) Fortnite and other huge games; (27:06) How game streamers make money; (30:17) NinjaTyler and some musician named Drake; (34:23) The competitive landscape in live video; (39:15) Attracting an audience; (42:08) Tech addiction and streamer burnout; (47:16) Shear's autonomy within Amazon

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Netflix will get ads, predicts The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Jeff Green, the CEO of the online advertising marketplace The Trade Desk, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the state of digital ads. In this episode: (2:04) Competing with Google and Facebook; (4:21) What the Trade Desk does; (06:56) Programmatic advertising, Yahoo and Microsoft; (12:35) Fixing “crappy” ads online; (15:26) Google and Facebook’s lack of transparency; (17:18) Are programmatic ads responsible for publications’ declining revenues?; (20:08) Subscriptions vs. ads and Connected TV; (24:00) Will Netflix ever have advertising?; (26:12) Matching brands with “safe” content; (28:55) Fraudulent programmatic ads; (32:09) "The biggest problem in advertising today”; (36:06) Convincing people top buy ads off Google and Facebook; (39:41) Amazon’s encroachment on Google’s turf; (42:39) GDPR and other regulations; (45:27) Direct-to-consumer offerings and China

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Is the Daily Beast the new Gawker?

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Noah Shachtman, the editor in chief of the Daily Beast, talks with BuzzFeed's Steven Perlberg about taking over that job in May and how he's thinking about the "gonzo" site's place in the media landscape. In this episode: (01:07) How The Daily Beast fits into the media ecosystem; (04:55) How the rest of the media is handling the Trump moment; (08:25) Access journalism and Axios; (11:42) Being opinionated on Twitter; (13:51) How should outlets respond to bad-faith attacks?; (17:04) Social media policies; (19:30) Facebook's algorithm tweaks; (22:51) Running the Daily Beast and optioning stories to Hollywood; (24:50) Beast Inside and being owned by Barry Diller; (26:58) Covering political campaigns and why "next year may be the craziest year yet"; (29:31) The "gonzo spirit"

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John Skipper: You’ve heard of ESPN. Now give DAZN a try.

Thu, 08 Nov 2018 06:38:23 -0000

Former ESPN president John Skipper talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new role as chairman of the DAZN Group, an online sports streaming service that recently launched in the U.S. In this episode: (1:00) Skipper's new job; (3:52) How it compares to his old job, running ESPN; (10:00) What DAZN does; (20:25) How Skipper got from ESPN to DAZN; (22:48) Skipper's surprise departure from ESPN; (25:41) #MeToo and societal change; (28:24) Diversity and politics at ESPN; (33:25) Sports rights around the world; (40:17) Silicon Valley getting into sports; (45:38) Convincing people to watch sports online

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'The Front Runner' director Jason Reitman

Thu, 01 Nov 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Film director Jason Reitman talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new movie, "The Front Runner," which stars Hugh Jackman and chronicles Gary Hart's scandalous 1988 presidential campaign. In this episode: (1:12) Reitman’s past movies, such as “Up in the Air"; (2:40) "The Front Runner" and Gary Hart; (5:41) How the Hart scandal changed political journalism; (7:32) The legacy of the scandal and Donald Trump; (9:39) Donna Rice, #MeToo and how the stories of women in sex scandals get told; (13:11) Releasing on election day; (16:51) Jason’s father, Ivan Reitman; (20:13) Making movies for theaters vs. Netflix/Amazon; (24:27) How would someone break into the movie business today?; (29:58) Location vs. story in filmmaking; (32:13) Making a film set in 1987

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Snap VP of Content Nick Bell

Thu, 25 Oct 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Nick Bell, the vice president of content at Snapchat maker Snap, talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about In this episode: (02:35) Bell's background as a 16-year-old entrepreneur; (06:43) Quick.tv and News Corp; (09:12) Meeting Evan Spiegel and the surprise job interview; (11:34) What works best in Snapchat Discover?; (16:47) Why Stories caught on and created the language of mobile video; (21:05) Who is the audience for Discover?; (22:47) How to balance sexy selfies with serious journalism; (28:40) Big media partnerships and growing the business; (34:44) Instagram's IGTV and working with creators; (37:47) What's happening inside Snap post-IPO; (40:40) Should Amazon buy Snap?

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NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew

Tue, 23 Oct 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Maurice Jone-Drew, a former running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders, talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about the transition from playing football into talking about it — as an analyst on the NFL Network and a color commentator for the Los Angeles Rams. In this episode: (01:38) Monday Night Football and the LA Rams; (05:01) How Drew got into broadcasting; (11:06) Being critical of former teammates; (14:58) TV ratings, Colin Kaepernick and the politics of protest; (22:50) How we'll watch football in five years; (32:23) Investing in tech; (34:52) Investing as an NFL player and players who start businesses after retirement; (38:59) Going home to the Bay Area; (42:58) Professional athletes using social media; (48:37) How Drew deals with trolls; (50:16) Kids using social media and playing tackle football

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'The Fairway' author Matt Taibbi

Thu, 18 Oct 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Matt Taibbi, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, talks with BuzzFeed's Steven Perlberg about "The Fairway," a new book that he is publishing via a paid email newsletter. In this episode: (01:19) The endurance of newsletters and Taibbi's last book, "The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing"; (07:02) How cable news brought about President Trump; (11:42) The problem with the "Trump angle" mindset; (15:08) Alternative business models for journalism; (17:28) The legacy of the 2008 financial crisis; (22:06) The Exile and sexual harassment allegations; (25:47) The responsibility people have for misogynistic things they wrote in the past; (27:55) Becoming an accidental Russia expert and the Steele dossier; (32:29) What bothers Taibbi about "Russiagate" coverage; (36:26) The 2020 presidential campaign; (39:45) Did the media learn anything from 2016?

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Rival CEO Nathan Hubbard

Thu, 11 Oct 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Former Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new live events startup, Rival.

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Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones

Thu, 04 Oct 2018 05:14:03 -0000

Radhika Jones, the editor of Vanity Fair, talks with HuffPost's Lydia Polgreen about the role of the magazine and its famous New Establishment list in the digital age. In this episode: (02:17) Graydon Carter and Tina Brown; (05:40) How Jones became editor in chief; (07:12) Her background and becoming a “magazine junkie”; (11:42) Mixing the highbrow and lowbrow; (15:52) Putting Lena Waithe on the cover; (20:16) The fragmentation of and opportunities for magazines online; (25:06) The business of making magazines; (30:46) What Jones has learned from shifting to an online paywall; (32:41) Vanity Fair’s place in the year of both #MeToo and Black Panther; (35:00) The 2018 New Establishment List

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'The Big Disruption' author Jessica Powell

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 14:00:00 -0000

Jessica Powell, Google's former vice president of communications, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new novel, "The Big Disruption: A Totally Fictional but Essentially True Silicon Valley Story." In this episode: (02:05) Excerpt #1: Arsyen's introduction; (05:21) Powell's background; (08:17) The Google interview; (11:45) Google's early days in Europe; (13:51) Why she started writing the book; (19:54) Excerpt #2: The management meeting; (22:31) Taking over comms at Google; (27:33) The goal of writing "The Big Disruption"; (35:31) Excerpt #3: Fake news; (37:18) The power of tech companies; (39:12) Why publish the whole book on Medium?; (40:42) Disrupting the world without thinking about the consequences; (46:17) How will the tech community react?; (50:25) Is Silicon Valley a good place?

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The Markup co-founder Julia Angwin

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Investigative journalist Julia Angwin talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the Markup, a new data-driven nonprofit media outlet that will investigate the "societal harms of emerging technologies." In this episode: (02:05) What is the Markup?; (03:29) “Data journalism” doesn’t mean what you think it means (05:42) Angwin’s "greatest hits” of investigating Facebook; (08:15) Her background and why she left ProPublica; (14:42) Why is The Markup a nonprofit startup?; (17:21) Asking people for donations and respecting readers’ privacy; (19:50) Craig Newmark and other patrons of journalism; (24:36) People leaving Facebook and the dearth of user data; (26:00) "What They Know," data collection and post-2016 politics; (31:04) Do consumers understand ad tech now? And how much should they care?; (33:10) Testing the Facebook microphone-wiretapping theory; (34:58) Building tools to collect data — for good; (37:15) Crawling Facebook vs. receiving data donations; (40:00) The challenges of reporting on the tech industry; (42:44) “We are not against interesting stories"; (46:26) 🎮 👦🏻

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'Big Game' author Mark Leibovich

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 04:01:00 -0000

If you enjoy Recode Media, we think you'd also like Recode Decode. On a recent episode of the show, Recode's Kara Swisher spoke with Mark Leibovich, the chief national correspondent for The New York Times Magazine and author of "Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times." They discussed the fault lines emerging in America’s football addiction, the public debate over NFL players who kneel in protest during the National Anthem, and whether journalists should change the way they cover politics and sports.

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Business of Fashion editor in chief Imran Amed

Thu, 20 Sep 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Imran Amed, the founder and editor in chief of the fashion publication Business of Fashion, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka. In this episode:02:30 - New York Fashion Week and the BoF 50006:39 - How Fashion Week is changing09:16 - How Amed built Business of Fashion into a subscription business13:47 - BoF's competitors16:37 - The "creation myth" of Imran Amed and the value of consultants20:19 - Why he resigned from consulting and started a blog24:49 - Writing critically about the fashion industry28:33 - Making a standalone business and raising money33:24 - Pricing a subscription media product38:35 - Media M&A40:18 - "There’s real reckoning going on" in the fashion industry

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'The Land of Steady Habits' director Nicole Holofcener

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Filmmaker Nicole Holofcener talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new film "The Land of Steady Habits," which stars Ben Mendelsohn and is Holofcener's first to be made for Netflix. In this episode:02:10 - Is this a "Netflix movie?"03:20 - What the movie is about05:27 - Audiences on Netflix vs. in theaters09:52 - The process of casting and making "The Land of Steady Habits"14:49 - Commercials and TV shows20:11 - Movies with complicated female leads21:59 - How Hollywood has changed post-Harvey Weinstein24:11 - How Holofcener's life would be different if she were starting now26:11 - What's next?

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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 10:30:00 -0000

In this special bonus episode of Recode Media, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey talks with NYU professor Jay Rosen about how Twitter is thinking about its responsibilities to society at large. In this episode:01:08 - Technological change02:42 - Dorsey’s outreach to conservatives09:43 - How Twitter employees think about news14:33 - Fluid conversations, threads and "edit” buttons18:56 - Why Twitter isn’t “neutral” and making conversations healthy28:03 - The world is round, but “there are other people who share different facts”32:28 - Would Twitter hire an ombudsman? 36:52 - Experimenting with “presence” on Twitter40:58 - "We’re never going to build a perfect antidote” to bad faith actors46:16 - Can global problems be fixed by private companies?49:27 - The top positive and negative impacts of Twitter

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Roku CEO Anthony Wood

Thu, 13 Sep 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Roku CEO Anthony Wood talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how the TV streaming company went public, embedded itself in a slew of TVs and shrugged off competition from some of the biggest tech firms in the world. In this episode:01:55 - Why Roku is not a “hardware company”02:50 - Roku’s history with Netflix06:42 - Putting the Roku platform on smart TVs11:27 - Working with obscure Chinese TV brands19:09 - Wood’s background with computers25:17 - Competing with Apple, Google and Amazon31:48 - Working with traditional TV distributors34:39 - The Roku Channel37:33 - Revenue sharing with Netflix et al38:50 - Advertising 42:57 - What has surprised Wood about being a public company CEO44:23 - How close did Roku get to selling itself?46:01 - Roku’s new speakers48:45 - Other peripherals

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Substack CEO Chris Best

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Chris Best, the CEO and co-founder of Substack, talks with the Verge's Casey Newton about how and why writers are starting paid email newsletters. In this episode:01:40 - What is Substack?03:00 - Why email is better than social media06:55 - Readers are nicer on email09:09 - The pioneers of paid email newsletters12:05 - How email compares to podcasting13:54 - How much will people pay for an email?18:32 - What about free newsletters?20:33 - The challenges of running a newsletter22:56 - Curating the rest of the internet25:57 - How often do successful writers send out new newsletters?30:18 - Building a community34:31 - Should paid newsletters get bundled together?38:31 - “The paradox of email” for media companies42:17 - Where is Substack going next?

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ThinkProgress founder Judd Legum

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Judd Legum, the founder of the left-wing political blog ThinkProgress, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why he left that site to start a political newsletter, Popular Information. In this episode:02:27 - Legum’s background and early blogs05:09 - Starting ThinkProgress08:58 - Working on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign12:59 - The Steele dossier and “who’s the messenger?”15:35 - Have we stopped holding candidates to a higher standard?22:02 - Getting internet-famous in the Trump era25:11 - Why he left ThinkProgress27:31 - Why Popular Information is an email newsletter31:41 - Newsletters vs. Twitter and Facebook 34:09 - Convincing readers to pay37:33 - Filter bubbles40:02 - Previewing the next round of Congressional tech hearings

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Redef CEO Jason Hirschhorn

Thu, 23 Aug 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Jason Hirschhorn, the CEO and chief curator of Redef, returns to the podcast to talk with Recode's Peter Kafka about media moguls, the virtues of taking time off and how Netflix outsmarted the TV guys. In this episode:02:50 - Viacom and YouTube09:51 - Big media on the internet vs. digital-first DNA11:51 - How Netflix outsmarted the TV guys, part one14:48 - The non-Netflixes and “traditional relationships”17:52 - Should tech companies buy movie/TV studios?23:38 - Sumner Redstone25:48 - The future of Redef28:48 - The Murdochs and Fox News36:35 - James Murdoch not going to Disney41:35 - Amazon and Apple45:42 - How Netflix outsmarted the TV guys, part two48:38 - Streaming music and musicians ditching labels54:51 - It’s okay to take time off58:17 - “When you’re CEO, no one gives a shit.”

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Digiday editor in chief Brian Morrissey

Thu, 16 Aug 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Brian Morrissey, the president and editor in chief of Digiday Media, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how the digital media and marketing business is pivoting toward live events and away from Facebook growth-hacking. Morrissey says he's happy to see the end of "flimsy, overly engineered media brands," many of which were overly dependent on outside platforms to make money. Those publishers were naïve if they didn’t think Facebook would eventually put its own interests above theirs, he says, and today it would be "crazy" to make a new business that's similarly reliant on the social giant's algorithm. Plus: Why more technologists need to invest in media subscription-tech.

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Discord CEO Jason Citron

Thu, 09 Aug 2018 14:00:00 -0000

Discord CEO Jason Citron talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about how the chat app for PC gamers has grown to 150 million registered users, nearly 20 million of whom use the app every day. Citron says Discord has been "pre-revenue" for the past three years, but now it's starting to think about how it will make money; first up, a games store aimed at recommending new titles to users based on what their friends play, focusing on smaller "indie" titles rather than big games like Fortnite. Citron also talks about the broader state of the gaming industry today, including how gamers are stereotyped and why they don't trust Facebook.

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Product Hunt CEO Ryan Hoover

Thu, 02 Aug 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Ryan Hoover, the founder and CEO of Product Hunt, talks with Recode's Kurt Wagner about running a popular online community for startup founders and other tech enthusiasts. Hoover explains how Product Hunt, now owned by AngelList, is expanding beyond its social media roots into tech news curation and features to help entrepreneurs ship their products to the world. Plus: Why redesigning your app is probably a mistake and how computer-generated celebrities such as Lil Miquela are changing how we think about fame in the social media era.

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'Eighth Grade' director Bo Burnham

Thu, 26 Jul 2018 03:59:00 -0000

Comedian Bo Burnham talks about his new movie "Eighth Grade" with Recode's Peter Kafka. Burnham says that although the movie's characters are depicted facing issues shared by real eighth graders, he wrote "Eighth Grade" to reflect how he feels now, as a 27-year-old in the public eye, and "how I handle anxiety" in the social media age. He also talks about how he accidentally became a teenage YouTube star and why he has veered away from stand-up conventions in his comedy specials "What" and "Make Happy."

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'Billions' producer Brian Koppelman

Thu, 19 Jul 2018 03:59:00 -0000

Writer and filmmaker Brian Koppelman talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about co-creating the hit Showtime series "Billions." Koppelman has made a habit of engaging with the show's fans online, but says that when he's writing new episodes, he has to completely unplug from the rest of the world and not think about how Twitter will react to the latest twists and turns. He also talks about the show's intense commitment to detail, including its frequent visits to real-life New York restaurants, and whether he thinks the viewers of "Billions" are watching for the characters or for "wealth porn." Plus: How Koppelman accidentally became a Vine star and why Wall Street power players are similar to experienced poker players.

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Manoush Zomorodi: Can blockchain save journalism?

Thu, 12 Jul 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Stable Genius Productions co-founder Manoush Zomorodi talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her decision to leave public radio juggernaut WNYC for a two-woman startup. Stable Genius is one of 20 companies in the journalism marketplace Civil, which is hoping to leverage the emerging technology blockchain to save media; later this summer, Civil plans to sell 100 million digital coins, which it hopes will appreciate in value the way bitcoin did — benefiting its partners, who also have coins. Zomorodi also talks about how the people who hold those coins will be able to influence the news available to readers and explains that, even though she doesn't know if the gambit will pay off, she's happy to be proactively trying to fix the media business rather than just talking about it. Plus: Why she was not impressed by her first in-person encounter with Mark Zuckerberg and why Stable Genius refused to take venture capital funding.

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Eugene Wei: The invisible ceilings to Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter’s growth

Thu, 05 Jul 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Eugene Wei, an early Amazon employee who went on to work at Hulu, Flipboard and Oculus, talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about “Invisible asymptotes,”a post on his personal blog that went viral. In it, Wei wrote that all companies have a ceiling to their growth, but the ones that can figure out what that ceiling is can adapt and keep growing beyond it. For example, Wei’s old employer, Amazon, recognized that customers’ aversion to paying for shipping was its ceiling, and so developed Amazon Prime to keep them coming back. He explains how Twitter has historically failed to iterate similarly, why Snap’s attempt to redesign Snapchat for a broader audience backfired, and why Facebook, which is still growing internationally, is seeing its American users get less value out of the platform over time. Plus: Why Instagram is the least toxic social network, what’s holding VR back and why "Star Wars" is like a social network.

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‘The King of Content’ author Keach Hagey explains the Redstone dynasty

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Wall Street Journal media reporter Keach Hagey talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about her new book, “The King of Content: Sumner Redstone’s Battle for Viacom, CBS, and Everlasting Control of His Media Empire.” Hagey says that, like the Murdochs, Redstone’s family is embroiled in “soap opera drama” as they work out what happens to a company once dominated by a single patriarch-mogul. She talks about why the people closest to Sumner Redstone did not disclose his declining mental health to shareholders and what sets his daughter, Shari Redstone, who controls both CBS and Viacom, apart from others in that circle. Plus: Hagey discusses Disney’s aborted attempt to buy Vice and why she thinks 21st Century Fox would rather sell to Disney than to Comcast.

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Spotify CEO Daniel Ek (Live at Code 2018)

Thu, 21 Jun 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Daniel Ek, the CEO of music-streaming company Spotify, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka at the 2018 Code Conference. Ek explains why Spotify temporarily banned R. Kelly from its playlists and why it backed off of that ban. He also talks about the company’s recent public listing and how Spotify plans to grow while losing money every quarter based on normal accounting standards. Plus: Why video is becoming more important to Spotify as a platform and how the company is distinguishing its corporate culture from Silicon Valley norms.

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Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Former White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer, now the co-host of the popular liberal podcast Pod Save America, talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about his new book, “Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter, and Trump.” Pfeiffer outlines the ways in which the political media landscape has been profoundly warped and upended since he went to work for Barack Obama in 2009, arguing that today “the press” is such a broad term that it has lost all meaning. He warns his fellow Democrats that the thing they should be most scared of is how successfully the Republicans have tapped into tools like Facebook and Twitter to develop a “media advantage” built on outrage. Pfeiffer also talks about why he decided to write a book after initially rejecting the idea, and why the White House press briefings delivered by Sarah Huckabee Sanders are “always pointless.”

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Gimlet founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber, the founders of podcasting network Gimlet, talk with Recode's Peter Kafka about trying to create the "HBO of audio." Gimlet's first show was StartUp, a podcast about the creation of Gimlet itself that exposed the "myth of being an entrepreneur" — although entrepreneurs might say things are always going great, the reality is that everything always feels like it's "about to break," Lieber says. The founders also talk about how Gimlet is expanding beyond its slate of original shows into TV, movies and special branded podcasts that are entirely underwritten by one advertiser. Through that process, they've learned the importance of educating those sponsor about the need for "emotional honesty" in podcasting and why Gimlet is especially well-positioned to pitch new shows in Hollywood.

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AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson (Live at Code 2018)

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 04:01:00 -0000

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka at the 2018 Code Conference. Stephenson discusses the company’s pending acquisition of Time Warner, which the U.S. Justice Department has attempted to block. Stephenson explains how — if the deal goes through and AT&T therefore owns content — he would deal with public controversies like the racist tweet that got Roseanne Barr fired. He also discusses AT&T’s decision to pay Donald Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen hundreds of thousands of dollars, calling it a “bad mistake.” Plus: The story behind his speech to employees about Black Lives Matter and discrimination, which went viral when someone posted it to YouTube.

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Momofuku chef David Chang (Live at Code 2018)

Sat, 09 Jun 2018 06:41:51 -0000

David Chang, the chef and founder of culinary brand Momofuku, talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka and Eater’s Amanda Kludt at the 2018 Code Conference. Chang — who’s also the host of “Ugly Delicious” on Netflix — says “there was no strategy” for Momofuku’s first decade of growth, but now he’s thinking more strategically about scaling up. Food is now a blue-collar profession with “white-collar values,” Chang says; that means chefs and restaurateurs are afraid of losing “cool” status when they grapple with professional issues like HR, inclusion and payroll. He explains why those fears are misplaced. Plus: What does Chang think of food delivery startups, and how is the restaurant industry changing in the #MeToo era?

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Jessica Pressler talks 'lady grifters' + Ken Auletta on the 'frenemies' of the ad business

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 05:47:41 -0000

On this special episode of Recode Media, you get two interviews for the price of one: First, Recode's Peter Kafka talks with Jessica Pressler, a New York Magazine staff writer whose longform story about a New York City high society grifter, Anna Sorokin, became a viral hit online. Pressler explains how she reported that story in a matter of months, and why Sorokin's con worked so well. Later in the show, Kafka is joined by New Yorker media critic Ken Auletta, who's the author of a new book called "Frenemies: The Epic Disruption of the Ad Business (and Everything Else)." Auletta says advertising is in peril as people have shifted to smaller screens and ad-free media viewing. He also expains why media companies like Fox and Time Warner are trying to sell, and recounts how he tried (and failed) to break the Harvey Weinstein story in the early 2000s.

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James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox (Live at Code 2018)

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 04:01:00 -0000

21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka at the 2018 Code Conference. Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, says he’s focused on “land[ing] the plane” as Fox plans to merge with Disney in the coming months, but doesn’t expect to be a part of either the merged entity or the remaining Fox properties, such as Fox News, which won’t be sold. Murdoch also talks about the possibility of a competing bid for the company from Comcast, what the pending merger signifies for the larger business ecosystem and how the media and advertising industries can adapt to changing viewer habits. Plus: Should companies fire on-air talent the way ABC fired Roseanne Barr for her tweets? And is the reckoning over #MeToo ever going to end?

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Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and CTO Mike Schroepfer (Live at Code 2018)

Thu, 31 May 2018 05:20:28 -0000

Facebook executives Sheryl Sandberg and Mike Schroepfer talk with Recode’s Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka at the 2018 Code Conference. Sandberg, the company’s COO, and Schroepfer, the CTO, talk about the continuing fallout from Cambridge Analytica and other scandals, including “fake news” during the 2016 elections. They retrace the timeline of the Cambridge Analytica affair and talk about what they’ve learned from their mistakes during that time, pledging to take responsibility for the platform. The duo also talks about Apple CEO Tim Cook’s criticism of Facebook’s privacy policies, the potential of government regulation and why trust and safety is now an “arms race.” Plus: Sandberg says Facebook won’t stop offering a free version of its product and Schroepfer explains how it’s thinking about VR and AR.

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Roman Mars, host of 99 Percent Invisible: Don't put podcasts behind a paywall

Tue, 29 May 2018 05:59:01 -0000

Roman Mars, the founder of Radiotopia and host of the hit podcast 99 Percent Invisible, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the state of podcasting in 2018. Mars talks about why he started Radiotopia, how it works within the nonprofit PRX and how it thinks about translating its audio shows into live productions. He also explains why the podcasting industry isn't ready to be divvied up into paid subscription services, a la Hulu and Netflix, even though some of its biggest players are beginning to experiment along those lines. Plus: Why 99 Percent Invisible, a show about design, also tackles seemingly eccentric concepts, like how doctors give bad news to their patients.

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Ezra Klein explains Vox's new Netflix show 'Explained'

Thu, 24 May 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Vox.com editor-at-large Ezra Klein talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about Vox's new Netflix series "Explained." The first season of the show, which debuted May 23, will feature 20 mini-documentaries about topics such as monogamy, cryptocurrency or the racial wealth gap. Klein said these topics are too big to be tackled in a three-minute YouTube video, and that one of his team's metrics of success is whether the Netflix episodes are still useful and relevant to people a year or more from now. Klein also explains why he's skeptical about the supposedly dramatic changes in video consumers’ habits online, and how Vox.com's approach to journalism has changed since he founded the site four years ago. Plus: Why divisions over social justice, political correctness and "identity politics" are the new "fundamental driver of political conflict" in the world.

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YouTube's Lyor Cohen on YouTube Music, Childish Gambino and Kanye West

Tue, 22 May 2018 04:01:00 -0000

YouTube global head of music Lyor Cohen talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about the launch of YouTube Music, a $10-a-month music subscription service that will replace YouTube Red. Cohen says giving the consumers the choice of paying with money or “paying with your eyeballs” by watching ads is the right direction for the music industry, and will liberate artists to make music on their terms. He also talks about a now-infamous photo tweeted by rapper Kanye West in which Cohen and fellow music exec Lucian Grainge are hugging with West, who is wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. Cohen says he’s “disappointed” in many of West’s political views and wants him to focus on music over politics; however, he also argues that consumers don’t understand the suffering artists like West go through, and that social media can exacerbate that pain.

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What people get wrong about Robin Williams’ life — and his death

Thu, 17 May 2018 04:01:00 -0000

New York Times reporter Dave Itzkoff talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new book, "Robin: The Definitive Biography of Robin Williams." Itzkoff traces the history of the manic comedian and actor, whose stardom spanned more than four decades in roles in TV shows, such as "Mork and Mindy," and movies, like "Good Will Hunting." After Williams' death by suicide in 2014, Itzkoff says fans and the media were led astray by incorrect or incomplete explanations for what happened, and that Williams' reasons for taking his own life were more complicated than many assumed. Itzkoff also talks about whether another movie star like Williams could emerge in today's Hollywood, his interactions with the comedian as a journalist and how much time he spends crafting jokes for his popular Twitter account @ditzkoff.

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The Outline CEO Josh Topolsky: Online ads are stuck in the '90s

Thu, 10 May 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Josh Topolsky, CEO and editor in chief of The Outline, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the importance of good internet-native design for both advertising and editorial content. Topolsky dismisses the idea that everything publishers put out will move behind paywalls, arguing instead that when ads are done well, they can engage readers and support free content. Most of the time, though, online media companies have forced boring ads on their audiences, who have learned to ignore them. He also talks about his past life as a music producer, picking a fight with Mike Bloomberg and what it's like to raise money when you have a reputation as someone who can be difficult to work with.

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'Chasing Hillary' author Amy Chozick looks back on a decade of writing about Hillary Clinton

Thu, 03 May 2018 04:01:00 -0000

New York Times writer-at-large Amy Chozick talks with Recode’s Ed Lee about her new memoir, “Chasing Hillary: Ten Years, Two Presidential Campaigns, and One Intact Glass Ceiling.” Chozick says the book is about more than Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful campaigns for president; it’s also about all the things reporters didn’t write in their stories about Hillary Clinton, and the “decline of campaign reporting.” In 2016, she explains, dramatic technological changes made Donald Trump’s victory possible and made it harder for political reporters like her to justify always being “on the bus” with Clinton. She also talks about the Clinton family’s contentious history with the New York Times, and how attending the annual media/finance conference Sun Valley led to one of the most humiliating experiences of her reporting career.

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This is how the New York Times reports Pulitzer Prize-winning stories

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 04:01:00 -0000

New York Times reporter Emily Steel talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the stories she and her reporting partner Michael Schmidt wrote that brought down Fox News star Bill O'Reilly — part of a series of stories on sexual harassment that netted the Times and the New Yorker a Pulitzer Prize for public service. Steel says she and Schmidt strategized before every phone call and recalls how she got her first source to talk on the record, an act of dogged reporting that necessitated a cross-country flight to take a Pilates class. She also discusses her subsequent story about the toxic culture at Vice Media, a contentious interview with O'Reilly that was broadcast on the NYT's hit podcast The Daily and why she doesn't use Twitter as much as colleagues do.

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Our hoax-filled internet, now available as a book (Rex Sorgatz, author, 'The Encyclopedia of Misinformation')

Thu, 19 Apr 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Writer Rex Sorgatz talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about his new book, “The Encyclopedia of Misinformation: A Compendium of Imitations, Spoofs, Delusions, Simulations, Counterfeits, Impostors, Illusions, Confabulations, Skullduggery, Frauds, Pseudoscience, Propaganda, Hoaxes, Flimflam, Pranks, Hornswoggle, Conspiracies & Miscellaneous Fakery.” Sorgatz says he doesn’t want readers to move through the book in order; instead, they should open it to a random page, read an article and then see where the footnotes at the bottom of the page tell them to go next. He also talks about the T-word: How much should a book about falsehoods, released in 2018, acknowledge the mendacity of President Donald Trump?

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Outside Magazine editor Axie Navas: Yep, we're getting more political.

Sun, 15 Apr 2018 06:12:35 -0000

Axie Navas, the executive editor of Outside Magazine, talks with Lauren Goode about how that magazine is adapting to the changing digital media industry. One of her key initiatives has been diversifying the editorial staff of the Santa Fe-based magazine and covering issues like sexual harassment, even though its readers are still largely male. Navas explains how Outside is trying to reach new audiences, including younger readers and city dwellers. Plus: Why it has consciously gotten more political since Donald Trump became president, providing a platform for articles like a critical profile of Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and, after an inflammatory Trump comment about immigration last year, "Top 5 'Shitholes' To Visit."

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How Marques 'MKBHD' Brownlee got six million subscribers on YouTube

Thu, 12 Apr 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his YouTube channel, MKBHD, which has more than six million subscribers — a breakthrough success story on the site. Brownlee started making videos for fun in 2009, when he was 15, but today he's doing well enough to have three full-time employees working under him. He explains how he works with the tech companies who want to get their products in his videos and how he's still able to maintain a certain level of anonymity in public. Plus: Brownlee shares his advice for anyone who wants to make YouTube videos and be the next MKBHD.

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Financial Times CEO John Ridding: How to make people pay for media

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Financial Times CEO John Ridding talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about the company’s decade-long head start in paid online subscriptions. Some of his peers in the tech and media world were initially “hostile” to the idea of a paywall, he says, but two-thirds of the FT’s current revenue is coming from subscriptions. Ridding also talks about how the London-headquartered newspaper has butted heads with some of the big tech platforms, how its global business-minded staff has grappled with the Brexit and Trump phenomena, and how the business has changed since Nikkei bought the FT in 2015.

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Why every Hollywood movie is a superhero movie

Thu, 29 Mar 2018 04:01:00 -0000

Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new book, "The Big Picture: The Fight for the Future of Movies." Fritz says the economics of the movie business have been completely transformed by the rise of online streaming services and by brands like Marvel, which have supplanted name-brand stars and directors as the most reliable indicator of a film's success. He explains how Sony fumbled the "Spider-Man" franchise and missed a big opportunity to own the rest of the Marvel characters, and what the big studios are still doing that Netflix and Amazon can't.

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What it's like to be the only woman in a TV writers’ room

Thu, 22 Mar 2018 04:01:00 -0000

TV writer and "Lean In" co-author Nell Scovell talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new book, "Just the Funny Parts ... And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking Into the Hollywood Boys’ Club." Scovell says TV is hierarchical, meaning bad behavior at the top — including sexual harassment — trickles down to other employees. She also talks about what has changed since "Lean In" and what happened when she publicly criticized her former boss, David Letterman. Plus: How writing an episode of "The Simpsons" is like chiseling a sculpture.

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Houseparty CEO Ben Rubin on livestreaming and SXSW fame

Sat, 17 Mar 2018 04:02:00 -0000

Ben Rubin, the CEO of Houseparty, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why his livestreaming company pivoted away from its original product, Meerkat, just three months after that app was the toast of South By Southwest. Although Meerkat was the first mobile livestreaming app to get a lot of buzz, the company quickly realized that most users can't make good, genuine live content for others every day. Rubin explains how Houseparty is doing things differently, making it possible for multiple friends to hang out together on their phones and — he hopes — have genuine, troll-free interactions.

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'Get Out' producer Jason Blum (Live at SXSW)

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 06:10:45 -0000

Blumhouse Productions founder and CEO Jason Blum talks with Recode's Peter Kafka at South by Southwest 2018. Blum's company, which largely makes low-budget "genre" films such as "The Purge," "Happy Death Day" and "Paranormal Activity," scored a Best Picture nomination this year with Jordan Peele's hit thriller "Get Out." He talks about the experience of awaiting — and losing — that Oscar, as well as what makes Blumhouse so different from all the other companies more commonly represented at the big awards shows. Plus: Why the studio is often happy to sell its films directly to Netflix or Amazon, rather than sending them to theaters, and why Blum thinks the Hollywood establishment has already lost the in-theater vs. at-home battle.

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How to make a hit TV show for Amazon

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Veteran screenwriter Graham Yost talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about the second season of the Amazon Prime Video series “Sneaky Pete.” Showrunner Yost previously wrote movies like “Speed” and TV series like the FX crime drama “Justified,” and he explains what makes writing for Amazon different — including how the online streaming service thinks about the all-important cliffhanger. He also discusses working with the late novelist Elmore Leonard on “Justified,” and how to stop binging shows like “Sneaky Pete” if you’re hooked but need to get some sleep.

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SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor (Live at Code Media 2018)

Thu, 01 Mar 2018 06:14:20 -0000

SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor talks with Recode's Peter Kafka at the 2018 Code Media conference in Huntington Beach, Calif. Trainor replaced then-CEO Alex Ljung last summer at a time when the music-streaming company was struggling and couldn't find a buyer. He explains how he convinced the board not to sell the company and what changes he's making to reorient its business model toward audio creators instead of audio listeners.

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Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (Live at Code Media 2018)

Sat, 24 Feb 2018 14:00:00 -0000

Rony Abovitz, the founder, president and CEO of Magic Leap, and Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, talk with Recode's Peter Kafka at the 2018 Code Media conference in Huntington Beach, Calif. They talk about a new partnership to bring some NBA content to Magic Leap's augmented reality goggles, due out sometime this year, and Abovitz shares some new hints about the roadmap for his company. Plus: A cameo appearance by basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal.

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How Lauren Duca became an internet star overnight

Thu, 22 Feb 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Journalist/activist Lauren Duca talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about the column she wrote for Teen Vogue that catapulted her into fame, and the ensuing interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson that made her even more of a star. Duca’s original mega-viral essay, “Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America,” is “still true” today, she says; it established her as a leading feminist critic of the Trump administration before he even took office. Since then, she has endured waves of backlash from the alt-right internet (and, occasionally, Carlson himself), and has had to think carefully about everything she posts and tweets — but Duca says the experience has made her “fireproof,” and her convictions are now “unshakeable.”

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Hollywood Reporter part owner Janice Min (Live at Code Media 2018)

Tue, 20 Feb 2018 05:20:47 -0000

Janice Min, part owner of the Hollywood Reporter, talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka at the Code Media Conference in Huntington Beach, Calif. She talks about how the Reporter is keeping an eye on the nexus of Hollywood, media and power and that one time when she got dinner with Steve Bannon, Michael Wolff and Roger Ailes.

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BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti (Live at Code Media 2018)

Sat, 17 Feb 2018 05:01:00 -0000

BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti talks with Recode's Peter Kafka at the 2018 Code Media conference in Huntington Beach, Calif. Peretti says Facebook should be willing to share in the revenue it makes from its News Feed, something it has already done on other parts of its platform that make a lot less money. He also addresses recent reports that BuzzFeed might spin off its news division and argues that Google and Facebook have distorted the media business by hoovering up most of the digital ad revenue.

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Facebook's Adam Mosseri and Campbell Brown (Live at Code Media 2018)

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Campbell Brown, Facebook’s head of news partnerships, and Adam Mosseri, the company's head of News Feed, talk with Recode’s Peter Kafka and Kurt Wagner at the 2018 Code Media conference. They defend the recent controversial changes to the types of stories that appear in users’ feeds, with Brown saying that Facebook is okay with having a point of view if it means “leaning into quality news.” However, Mosseri says Facebook will never make a judgment on any entity’s ideological or political point of view.

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MoviePass sounds too good to be true. Is it?

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 05:01:00 -0000

MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how he's trying to make a profitable business out of charging $10/month for nearly unlimited visits to the movie theater. Lowe says MoviePass now has more than 1.5 million paying subscribers, who see twice as many films in the theater as non-subscribers. He also talks about the company's risky public feud with the large theater chain AMC, which he says is due to AMC's unwillingness to share the profits of all the new business it is getting. Plus: What Lowe learned as an early Netflix exec from CEO Reed Hastings.

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Paywalls make content better (Nick Thompson, editor in chief, Wired)

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Wired editor in chief Nick Thompson talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the merits of running a print magazine in 2018 and why Wired.com is adding a $20/year paywall. Thompson, previously the editor of NewYorker.com, learned there that asking readers to pay for content changes not just their experience, but also how writers and editors do their jobs because now the pressure is on to make unique content that people will love. He also discusses why much of the conventional wisdom around Facebook's News Feed changes is wrong, the difference between writing for print versus the web and how he is reconciling Wired's original mission of techno-optimism with the realities of 2018.

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How we pivoted from Facebook to Instagram (Dave Finocchio, CEO, Bleacher Report)

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Bleacher Report CEO Dave Finocchio talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about founding a sports media site, selling it to Turner and leaving — and why he came back to lead the company again. Finocchio discusses the recently announced changes to Facebook's News Feed that will deemphasize news from publishers like him, but says Bleacher Report started migrating to other platforms years ago, and now sees the highest enagement with its content on Facebook-owned Instagram. He also talks about how the company is using Snapchat to understand its teen readers, how it weaned itself off of having unpaid contributors and what he thinks of sports media rivals like ESPN, SB Nation and Barstool Sports.

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NYU’s Jay Rosen, CNN’s Oliver Darcy and BuzzFeed’s Charlie Warzel talk Trump and the media

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Recode’s Peter Kafka brings three past podcast guests back into the studio on this special two-in-one episode about how the media has handled President Trump. First, he interviews NYU Professor Jay Rosen, who lambastes the political press for trying to treat Trump like a normal president; Rosen says interviewing Trump is “meaningless” because his answers aren’t tethered to actual policy ideas. Later in the show, CNN’s Oliver Darcy and BuzzFeed’s Charlie Warzel return to the studio to talk about what’s new in the right-wing media sphere. They say that digital-savvy right-wingers like Mike Cernovich and Milo Yiannapolous have been sidelined, and it’s becoming clear to the pro-Trump media that Trump mostly cares about conventional outlets like Fox News and the New York Times.

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Digital media companies are headed for a crash (David Carey, president, Hearst Magazines)

Thu, 11 Jan 2018 05:02:00 -0000

Hearst Magazines President David Carey talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how the 130-year-old media giant is striking a balance between its print legacy and the digital future. Carey says print still accounts for two-thirds of his division's profits, and it will be a "long time" before those lines cross. And he predicts that many digital media companies that are heavily reliant on advertising have a rough year ahead, with too much cash heading out the window and no moat to protect themselves. Carey also talks about the advantages of being a private company, why he readily partners with or invests in tech platforms like Snapchat and why everyone still wants to be on the cover of a magazine.

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Will Trump still dominate the news in 2018?

Thu, 04 Jan 2018 05:01:00 -0000

Washington Post Media Reporter Sarah Ellison and New York Times Media Columnist Jim Rutenberg talk with Recode's Peter Kafka about what the media got right and got wrong in 2017. Ellison says readers' interest in all things Trump, known as the "Trump bump," may be waning, so now is the time for journalists to figure out what comes next. Rutenberg agrees that more focus is needed, but says last year was the best for the media in his 25-year career. They also talk about what stories are currently under-covered in the media world, the challenges of balancing writing with investigative reporting and why the Harvey Weinstein scandal seems to have contributed more to the #MeToo movement than the oustings of Bill O'Reilly and Roger Ailes earlier in the year.

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Kara Swisher reviews the media, 2017 edition

Thu, 28 Dec 2017 04:59:00 -0000

Recode's Kara Swisher returns to the podcast to talk with Peter Kafka about how the media and Silicon Valley have fared in the year-plus since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. Swisher says tech companies are still abrogating their share of the responsibility over the content that appears on their platforms and says she's tired of a perpetual-victim mentality among "the richest and most powerful people in the world." She also talks about how Susan Fowler's blog post took down Uber, whether there's a Harvey Weinstein-style predator in tech and why she's reconsidering a run for mayor of San Francisco. Plus: A guest appearance by Recode Editor in Chief Dan Frommer, who explains why we made a list of the 100 most important people in tech this year.

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Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir want to make figure skating great again

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 05:01:00 -0000

Figure skating commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir talk with Recode's Peter Kafka about the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Lipinski and Weir, both former professional skaters, got their start as commentators at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, and explain why the official ban on Russian participation this year will not take away from the drama of their sport. Unlike in the 1990s, Lipinski says, there are no household-name figure skaters, meaning it's up to her and Weir to be the stars. Plus: How the commentators use social media and why Weir is not looking forward to the Tonya Harding movie "I, Tonya."

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How Netflix makes a hit (Steven Soderbergh and Scott Frank, co-creators, ‘Godless’)

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 05:25:58 -0000

Steven Soderbergh and Scott Frank talk with Recode’s Peter Kafka about their new western miniseries, “Godless.” The duo brought Frank's 180-page movie script to Netflix and witnessed firsthand how the streaming service gets its shows noticed: Rather than aiming for a specific opening weekend like a traditional movie studio would, Netflix waited to spend much of the marketing budget for “Godless” until after the show was released. The filmmakers also share their perspectives on how consumers are watching more shows on smaller screens, and Soderbergh explains why it was a mistake to go all-in on social media when promoting his recent theatrically released movie, “Logan Lucky.”

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I'm more famous than Anderson Cooper (Cenk Uygur, CEO, The Young Turks)

Thu, 07 Dec 2017 05:00:00 -0000

The Young Turks CEO Cenk Uygur talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about running an online media company for young left-wingers. Uygur says the Washington establishment is just now waking up to the power of the internet, but he and his colleagues have been broadcasting live video over the internet since 2005. Cable news is overrated, he explains, because it's on in the background of stores and press rooms and congressional offices — but, he argues, it's also to blame for the rise of Donald Trump and the defeat of Bernie Sanders. Plus: Uygur bets Kafka $100 that, if Sanders runs again he will win the presidency in 2020.

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Andy Weir on 'The Martian,' 'Artemis' and when we'll live on the moon

Thu, 30 Nov 2017 05:00:00 -0000

Andy Weir, the author of the hit science fiction novel "The Martian," talks with Recode's Edmund Lee about his new book, "Artemis." Set in a city on Earth's Moon in the late 2080s, "Artemis" is a crime caper that centers on a smuggler named Jazz, a young woman who moved to the Moon from Saudi Arabia. Weir explains how "The Martian" became an accidental hit thanks to Amazon's Kindle platform, but also why crowdfunding isn't the future of all media — he wrote "Artemis" with a traditional print publisher already on board. Plus: How Weir writes diverse characters, why he never visited the set of "The Martian" movie and when humans will live on the Moon.

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Hollywood’s sexual harassment story is far from over (Kim Masters, editor-at-large, Hollywood Reporter)

Wed, 22 Nov 2017 05:00:00 -0000

Kim Masters, the editor-at-large of the Hollywood Reporter, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about covering the entertainment industry at a time of daily tumult. Masters says the sexual harassment allegations against people like Miramax's Harvey Weinstein and comedian Louis C.K. are just the beginning; Many powerful men who have harassed and abused people in the workplace have yet to be exposed, she says. She discusses why it's important for reporters to be sympathetic to their sources' distress, why there's a big difference between men like Weinstein and Senator Al Franken, and how the Hollywood Reporter would react if threatened with a lawsuit.

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Don't 'lean in,' fight back (Sarah Lacy, author, 'The Uterus Is a Feature, Not a Bug')

Thu, 16 Nov 2017 05:02:00 -0000

Pando CEO Sarah Lacy talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about her new book "The Uterus Is a Feature, Not a Bug," which is part memoir and part feminist guide to "overthrowing the patriarchy." Lacy explains why she rejects the type of "careerism feminism" advanced by books like Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In." Amusingly, Facebook rejected ads for Lacy's new book because the title contains the word "uterus." She also talks about her relationship with Pando co-founder Paul Carr, why she hasn't spoken to her former friend and Pando investor Peter Thiel since last year and why she's spending most of her time now on a new company, Chairman Mom.

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How to make a ‘comedy-horror’ TV show (Dana Gould, creator, ‘Stan Against Evil’)

Thu, 09 Nov 2017 05:03:00 -0000

Comedian Dana Gould talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his comedy-horror television series "Stan Against Evil," which just returned for a second season on IFC. Gould says the show never would have made it to the air when there were only three networks on TV and praises the fact that nearly "all programs are niche programs" in 2017. He also explains why it's important for content creators to be adaptable but not slaves to new modes of viewing TV, and reflects on the seven years he spent writing for "The Simpsons." Plus: Why he still does stand-up comedy and how he sneaks his politics into shows without turning them into lectures.

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How Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner built and lost a rock and roll empire (Joe Hagan, author, "Sticky Fingers")

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 04:06:00 -0000

Author Joe Hagan talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new book, "Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone Magazine." In the book, Hagan traces Wenner's rise as an eccentric, spendy and sometimes barbaric media mogul and how Rolling Stone became the "entire internet" for the music world before the internet existed. Wenner — who commissioned the biography — publicly denounced the book when he found out that Hagan had also written about his drug use, sexual escapades and business failings, but the author explains how the two men have reached a sort of peace and why he sympathizes with Wenner's "tragic" later years.

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NYT's Michael Barbaro explains why you love 'The Daily'

Sat, 28 Oct 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Michael Barbaro, the host of the New York Times podcast "The Daily," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka in front of a live audience at Joe's Pub in New York City. Barbaro explains how "The Daily" gets made and what it signifies as the once-omniscient and authoritative tone of the Times has softened, allowing journalists to talk about their reporting process and admit when they don't know something. He also talks about what makes "The Daily" different from print stories, why podcasts are succeeding at the Times when video did not and how the paper is integrating audio into its journalists' work.

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Samantha Bee on Harvey Weinstein, Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump (Live)

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 04:05:00 -0000

"Full Frontal" host Samantha Bee and TBS President Kevin Reilly talk with Recode's Peter Kafka, recorded in front of a live audience at Joe's Pub in New York City. Bee dissects how her show has approached the sexual assault scandals rocking Silicon Valley and Hollywood, particularly that of movie producer Harvey Weinstein, and why her show is able to cover them so well. She also talks about "Trump fatigue" and why Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos's excuses for the lack of diversity among the company's top executives "sound like such fucking horseshit to me." Reilly talks about how Turner approaches Bee's comedy show as a business and why it's not worrying about where people are watching the show — unlike some of the traditional broadcast networks.

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How blocking ads can save the media industry (Tony Haile, CEO, Scroll)

Thu, 19 Oct 2017 04:02:00 -0000

Scroll CEO Tony Haile talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his company's not-yet-launched product that will let news consumers pay once for a clean, ad-free experience across multiple news outlets and across all platforms. Haile says Scroll, which has taken funding from companies like News Corp, Axel Springer and the New York Times Company, is trying to solve the media business model for the vast majority of casual visitors who don't currently pay for content. Previously the CEO of Chartbeat and still an adviser to that company, he discusses why he left and explains why it still makes sense for media professionals to monitor real-time data about who’s consuming their work. Haile also talks about leading polar expeditions in his 20s and how he faked his way through his first year of business meetings with media companies.

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Jimmy Kimmel on the intersection of comedy and politics

Tue, 17 Oct 2017 04:02:00 -0000

The eponymous host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” tells Recode’s Peter Kafka how speaking out about political issues on his show has affected his life online and on TV. Kimmel says he agrees with Disney CEO Bob Iger that he should try not to get political too often and stay “in the middle” by default. He acknowledges that politics may turn off some of his show’s viewers, but that issues like health care and gun violence are “too important to ignore.” Plus: Why comedy shows initially shied away from talking about the Harvey Weinstein story, and how late-night TV is changing (or not) in the YouTube era.

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How to start a company when you’re 25 years old (Brit Morin, CEO, Brit + Co)

Thu, 12 Oct 2017 04:04:00 -0000

Brit + Co CEO Brit Morin talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about launching a media and commerce company aimed at millennial women when she was 25. Brit + Co has since raised about $40 million, and has branched out beyond online content to include education, merchandise and live events. Morin explains how she fought against the sexist assumptions of investors that she was merely “Dave Morin’s wife” (The answer: Data!), why she named the company after herself, and why Brit + Co has intentionally not raised as much money as it could have.

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Sports have always been political (Jason Gay, columnist, Wall Street Journal)

Thu, 05 Oct 2017 04:01:00 -0000

Wall Street Journal sports columnist and Vogue contributor Jason Gay talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the raging debate over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality against African Americans. Sports have always been political, Gay says, and the football players who have taken a knee are especially brave given the NFL's lack of loyalty to players. He also talks about how he got into writing about sports for the Journal, and why his editors let him get high on marijuana gummies before covering the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor boxing show. Plus: How a Vogue cover story featuring celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna or Nicole Kidman comes together, and why the world still cares.

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Why podcasts are better than radio (Jad Abumrad, co-host, Radiolab)

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Jad Abumrad, the co-host of WNYC Studios' hit show Radiolab, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the new season of More Perfect, a spinoff podcast about the Supreme Court. Abumrad says he was getting "restless" a couple years ago at Radiolab, and so dispatched his team to find interesting stories from the judicial system. He also talks about the intense process of making Radiolab — episodes can take a year to report and cost $100,000 — and why, in the heat of the political protests in Charlottesville last month, his team decided to pull down a controversial episode. Plus: The "really weird" way Abumrad was informed he'd won a MacArthur "genius grant," which he initially suspected was a Nigerian email scam.

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When is the internet going to change TV ads? (Dave Morgan, CEO, Simulmedia)

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 04:09:00 -0000

Simulmedia CEO Dave Morgan talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the future of TV advertising, which has historically been "not so broken that it’s had to be fixed." However, Morgan's company is betting that big advertisers will want their TV ads to start working more like digital ads, personalized to each viewer and able to be connected with buying behavior. He also talks about how his first company, Real Media, weathered the dot-com crash, why the advertising world hasn't changed as quickly as he once predicted and why TV is a much bigger deal than most people in the tech bubble would assume. Plus: A bonus chat with the New York Times' Jim Rutenberg about how Russia used social media to meddle in the U.S. election and what that means for Silicon Valley companies.

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Why Ken Burns won't leave PBS for HBO

Thu, 14 Sep 2017 12:05:06 -0000

Documentarian Ken Burns talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new 18-hour documentary, "The Vietnam War." Burns says he sought to upend conventional wisdom about the war by rewinding the iconic images, stories and music of the time and telling history through the lens of all the countries involved in the fighting. He believes we are in a "golden age" of documentaries, but Burns says he has no desire to leave his career-long home, PBS, for a more digital-focused platform like HBO, Netflix or Amazon. He also talks about how war documentaries will change now that no one writes letters anymore, why critics have stopped fretting about the length of his films and why it's okay to watch that cute cat video online — so long as you come back to something more substantial later on.

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How to pay for serious journalism (Clara Jeffery, editor in chief, Mother Jones)

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Mother Jones Editor in Chief Clara Jeffery talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how the progressive magazine made its business model work on the web, with more than $15 million in revenue per year. Jeffery says the media put itself in an economic crisis by ignoring the business side of its work and argues that the best way to fund "stuff that's not just cat videos" is to ask readers and viewers for donations. She also reflects on how journalism has changed since Donald Trump won the presidency, why she still blames Facebook and Twitter for helping him win and why she's skeptical of media companies "pivoting to video."

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How to compete against Google and Facebook: Go around them! (Tim Armstrong, CEO, Oath)

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 04:07:26 -0000

Tim Armstrong, the CEO of Verizon's media properties Yahoo and AOL, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how those sites — collectively known as Oath — will survive and evolve. Armstrong, previously an early sales exec at Google, says competing directly against Google and Facebook for advertising dollars would be "the worst thing we could do" and instead, Oath plans to find other ways to win a piece of the pie. He also explains why it makes sense for Verizon to own Yahoo and AOL in the first place, what he learned from the struggles of local news site Patch and whether he would run for political office (no).

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A guided tour of the pro-Trump media (Oliver Darcy, CNN; Charlie Warzel, BuzzFeed)

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 04:45:38 -0000

CNN's Oliver Darcy and BuzzFeed's Charlie Warzel talk with Recode's Peter Kafka about how they report on the many facets of the far-right media, which has exploded in prominence thanks to President Trump. They talk about how ideas, memes and conspiracy theories originated on websites like Breitbart or message boards like Reddit's /r/The_Donald can bubble up to more traditional conservative outlets — or even the White House. Darcy argues that Drudge Report founder Matt Drudge is the center of this digitally savvy lineup, acting along with Twitter as the most important gateway to the mainstream. Warzel explains why he's careful not to label everyone a "Nazi," instead offering the alt-right and others in the new landscape of pro-Trump media a "tough but fair shake."

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Chuck Klosterman talks about Nazis, Taylor Swift and the future of journalism

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 04:39:28 -0000

Writer Chuck Klosterman talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new book, "Chuck Klosterman X," a collection of essays and profiles he wrote for such outlets as Esquire, Grantland and the New York Times Magazine. Klosterman says he wants people to talk about what he writes, not how he writes it, and considers how politics, social media and the rise of media analytics have reshaped the work of journalism. He says he intentionally tries to avoid the tropes that his peers in the magazine world fall back on: Pretending that his interviews are casual, friendly conversations; taking subjects to weird places simply for the sake of a stylish opening; and, when the subject is a woman like Taylor Swift, talking about what she is wearing or what she looks like.

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Patreon will help fans pay artists more than $140 million this year (Jack Conte, CEO, Patreon)

Thu, 10 Aug 2017 04:08:00 -0000

Patreon CEO Jack Conte talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about why the current version of the web, where content is mostly free and supported by ads, is not necessarily the “best version.” Conte’s site makes it possible for subscribers — or "patrons" — to pay creators for what they make and get bonus content or other perks in return, and it's on track to process $150 million in 2017. He predicts that Patreon will one day go public, and explains why he really, really hates it when people call Patreon a “tip jar” or a “fan club.”

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Everyone still wants to be on TV (Tonia O'Connor, chief revenue officer, Univision)

Thu, 03 Aug 2017 04:08:00 -0000

Univision's new Chief Revenue Officer Tonia O'Connor talks with Recode's Edmund Lee about how the company has grown from a handful of Spanish-language TV channels to 17 TV and digital channels. O'Connor says TV is still the hot ticket for everyone, even once-digital-only players like the former Gawker sites, which Univision acquired last year for $135 million. She also talks about how the company serves as an intermediary for reaching Hispanic consumers; why it changed course on Fusion TV and is putting less news on the air; and why she sees it as her "life's mission" to help other women succeed in business.

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How food became cool (Larry Fitzgibbon, CEO, Tastemade; Helen Rosner, editor at large, Eater)

Thu, 27 Jul 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Tastemade CEO Larry Fitzgibbon talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about building a digital media company around food-as-lifestyle that reaches more than 200 million people per month. Fitzgibbon, who was previously an executive at Demand Media, says quality is the new key to succeeding in online video across all platforms — social, mobile and possibly TV. Later in the show, Eater Editor at Large Helen Rosner joins Peter in the studio to discuss why there are no new celebrity chefs on TV and how food culture became cool.

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How to make a bestseller that lasts (Ryan Holiday, author, 'Perennial Seller')

Thu, 20 Jul 2017 04:49:46 -0000

Writer, marketer and self-proclaimed media manipulator Ryan Holiday talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about his new book, “Perennial Seller,” which explores “the art of making and marketing work that lasts.” He argues that creators over-value how their work launches, and don’t pay enough attention to how their decisions — from start to finish — affect its staying power. Holiday also talks about how his 2012 book, “Trust Me, I’m Lying,” predicted the alt-right’s approach to media manipulation, and explains why the ancient Roman philosophy of stoicism is still resonating today with everyone from the Secretary of Defense to startup founders in Silicon Valley.

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Shari Redstone, Vice Chair, Viacom (Code Conference 2017)

Thu, 13 Jul 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Viacom and CBS Vice Chair Shari Redstone talks with Recode's Peter Kafka at the 2017 Code Conference about the venture firm she co-founded in 2011, Advancit Capital, and why it operates outside of her other companies. She says her biggest mistake there was not investing in Twitch in 2011 because she thought the video game-streaming company was already too highly valued. Redstone also discusses how content companies like Viacom are facing the challenges of the digital age and why they don't necessarily need to sell themselves off, as Time Warner is trying to do. She says she's not too worried about tech companies like Twitter, Google and Facebook making bids for the rights to NFL games, which CBS has locked up for several years.

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Podcasting is growing up (Nick Quah, founder, Hot Pod)

Thu, 06 Jul 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Nick Quah, the founder and writer of the podcasting industry newsletter Hot Pod, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about where podcasts are headed next. Quah says two events in 2014 — Apple's decision to make the Podcasts app a default one on iOS and the success of the true crime show "Serial" — are responsible for the explosion of interest in podcasts over the past few years. His newsletter, which currently reaches about 11,000 inboxes, is aimed at people who work in the growing industry and has become his full-time job, along with several side hustles. Quah also discusses how Apple's plans to share more data about podcasts' audiences with their creators will be good in the long term for most shows, but could spell bad news for some of them.

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Why Hillary Clinton won't admit that she made mistakes (Rebecca Traister, writer at large, New York Magazine)

Thu, 29 Jun 2017 04:41:41 -0000

New York Magazine's Rebecca Traister talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about covering the intersection of gender and politics and her recent profile of Hillary Clinton's post-election life. Traister explains how she gradually convinced Clinton's campaign to give her access to its candidate, and how everything changed after Nov. 8. She also analyzes Clinton's appearance at the 2017 Code Conference, where the former Secretary of State was reluctant to admit any missteps that she would do over if given the chance.

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What Peter Thiel’s war against Gawker can tell us about Trump (Brian Knappenberger, director, "Nobody Speak")

Thu, 22 Jun 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Director Brian Knappenberger talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new documentary "Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press," which premieres on Netflix on June 23. In it, Knappenberger connects venture capitalist Peter Thiel's successful lawsuit against Gawker Media, by way of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan; the rise of Donald Trump to the presidency amid increasing distrust of the media; and the secretive sale of the Las Vegas Journal-Review to billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Knappenberger says these incidents are all intertwined, giving his new film an added level of urgency. He also talks about why the work of the Washington Post and the New York Times is a "ray of hope" for newsrooms everywhere.

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Dean Baquet, Executive Editor, The New York Times (Code Conference 2017)

Sat, 17 Jun 2017 04:06:00 -0000

In this special bonus episode from the 2017 Code Conference, New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how the newspaper's journalists are covering President Donald Trump and why there are so many leaks coming out of Washington at the moment. Baquet acknowledges that many journalists, including him, misunderstood the "anger and anti-elitism" that elevated Trump, and defends the hiring of climate skeptic Bret Stephens as an opinion columnist, saying people on the left should be willing to hear him out. He also warns that local news is "verging on a crisis" and smaller outlets around the country may have to be rescued by technologists and philanthropists. Baquet says one of his other goals is figuring out how to update the "voice" of the Times to match the way people talk online.

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Meet the Wall Street analyst the big media companies love to hate (Rich Greenfield, analyst, BTIG)

Thu, 15 Jun 2017 07:05:00 -0000

BTIG's Rich Greenfield talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about being an outspoken media and technology analyst who has made enemies throughout Hollywood and much of the big-media landscape. Greenfield has advised clients to bet on Netflix and against Disney as the traditional paid content model breaks down, but also readily cops to the times in the past when he has been wrong. He also talks about why investors have to keep an eye on the startup ecosystem, the importance of data for anyone in media who wants to go direct-to-consumer, and why Google should buy Spotify.

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Reed Hastings, CEO, Netflix (Code Conference 2017)

Sat, 10 Jun 2017 13:17:13 -0000

In this special bonus episode from Code Conference 2017, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the video-streaming platform's continuing push into making original TV and movies. He says current windowing practices, in which movies are exclusively in theaters for a time before they're available in the home, will inevitably go away. Hastings also explains why Netflix has backed off of working in China, why it has no plans to carry sports or ad-supported content and why Netflix is in favor of net neutrality even though the company is so big that it doesn't need it anymore.

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BuzzFeed chairman and HuffPost co-founder Ken Lerer on the future of media

Thu, 08 Jun 2017 06:02:14 -0000

Media mogul Ken Lerer — the chairman of BuzzFeed, a board member at Viacom and a venture capitalist — talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about the media landscape in 2017. Lerer, who previously helped start MTV and co-founded HuffPost with Arianna Huffington, discusses why BuzzFeed did the right thing with its explosive Trump dossier, what he looks for in companies he invests in, and why he’s more optimistic about AT&T’s pending acquisition of Time Warner than he is about Verizon’s deal to buy Yahoo and AOL. He also makes the case for a Breitbart-style online news outlet for liberals.

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'Better Call Saul' actor Michael McKean doesn't care how you watch

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 07:05:00 -0000

Michael McKean, who plays Chuck McGill on AMC's "Better Call Saul" and has previously appeared in films such as "This Is Spinal Tap" and "Clue," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the process of acting and comedy. McKean is currently appearing in a dramatic play on Broadway (a new production of Lillian Hellman’s "The Little Foxes") and he says he’s glad the audience usually leaves their phones off. He also chats about improvising with Christopher Guest, his brief stint on "Saturday Night Live" and why he doesn't think much about how people are watching his work.

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Why this four-hour Grateful Dead documentary took 14 years to make (Amir Bar-Lev, director, 'Long Strange Trip')

Thu, 25 May 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Amir Bar-Lev, the director of the new documentary "Long Strange Trip," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka. The four-hour film, which traces the history and cultural impact of the Grateful Dead and its fans, will be released in theaters and will stream via Amazon Prime Video. Bar-Lev says it's accessible to both Deadheads and non-fans alike and that he made it in part as a reaction to how Instagram culture has made people believe they are "mini celebrities." He also argues that mainstream observers have neutered the Dead's legacy by trying to cast them as tech or business geniuses, when in fact they always put art ahead of commerce.

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Information doesn't have to be free (Jessica Lessin, CEO, The Information)

Thu, 18 May 2017 04:04:00 -0000

The Information CEO Jessica Lessin talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why her news site, which reports on tech and business, puts its content behind a $400-per-year pay wall. Lessin says the default assumption should be that news is paid for because it provides value to people's lives. She also talks about why she left the Wall Street Journal in 2013, what most people get wrong about Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg and why sexual harassment at companies like Uber is the toughest story in tech to crack.

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W. Kamau Bell talks about Trump, racism and podcasting

Thu, 11 May 2017 04:14:16 -0000

Comedian, author and TV host W. Kamau Bell talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the second season of his podcast, "Politically Re-Active," and his CNN show, "United Shades of America." Bell explains why his podcast persona is seemingly different from the Kamau that people see on TV, and how both of those things compare to being a stand-up comic. He also talks about the misconceptions that follow him as a comedian who is "always talking about racism" and why he doesn't mind too much if he bombs at a big, broad comedy club.

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Tracking a drug boss across the web (Nick Bilton, author, 'American Kingpin')

Thu, 04 May 2017 04:08:00 -0000

Journalist Nick Bilton talks with Recode's Jason Del Rey about his new book, "American Kingpin." It tells the story of Ross Ulbricht, the programmer and "criminal mastermind" who founded the Silk Road, a notorious online black market where everything from drugs to guns could be bought and sold anonymously. Bilton, a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, also talks about why he left the New York Times in 2016 after more than a decade there, saying he didn't feel challenged by the newspaper's predictability and rigidity. He also argues that, contrary to what the Facebook CEO claims, Mark Zuckerberg is likely running for president — or perhaps planning some other major change that necessitates a heavily photographed tour of the United States.

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The New York 'Startup' scene gets a novel (Doree Shafrir, author)

Thu, 27 Apr 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Doree Shafrir, a writer at BuzzFeed News and the author of "Startup: A Novel," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about updating the coming-of-age-in-New-York story for the modern media scene, where working at a print magazine is not the holy grail. "Startup" satirizes what happens when a tech reporter uncovers a scandal involving the 28-year-old CEO of a mindfulness app. Shafrir says one of the weirdest ways she has promoted "Startup" is on "Matt and Doree's Eggcellent Adventure," a podcast about in vitro fertilization she hosts with her husband, Matt Mira. She also talks about working at the New York Observer under Jared Kushner and at Gawker when it was a largely obscure, New York-specific website.

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How Neil Gaiman's ‘American Gods’ finally made it to TV

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 04:07:00 -0000

Author Neil Gaiman talks with Recode’s Peter Kafka about the TV adaptation of his novel ‘American Gods,’ which debuts April 30 on Starz. Gaiman says ‘American Gods’ is a ‘big, sprawling’ story that could have never been made when the book came out, in 2001 — the rise of prestige TV and consumers’ online binging habits made it possible. He also talks about working in comics, what he thinks of President Trump, and why he’s fascinated by — but not making content for — VR.

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Inside the Trump White House (Mike Allen, co-founder, Axios)

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 04:12:00 -0000

Axios co-founder Mike Allen talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about demystifying the chaotic news of the world in his daily newsletter, Axios AM. Allen says the palace intrigue in the White House is more complicated than it may seem at first blush and explains how he has kept his access to the Trump White House even as coverage of the new administration has soured. He also chats about his previous job writing for D.C. insiders at Politico and how Axios is trying to reach the much broader audience of busy people everywhere who want to be smarter.

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Why TV is different from YouTube (Reza Izad, CEO, Studio71)

Thu, 06 Apr 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Studio71 CEO Reza Izad talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how the business of online video has changed in recent years. Izad came to Studio71 when the German TV station ProSieben bought an earlier company that he co-founded, Collective Digital Studio, and he has worked with YouTube celebrities such as Fred, Lilly Singh and Roman Atwood. He believes "everything that’s successful in entertainment is an outlier" and talks about how digital stars can make the jump to other online platforms and traditional TV. Izad also chats about why Facebook's video ascendancy is a question of when, not if.

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Uber investor Jason Calacanis doesn't want to hear your idea

Thu, 30 Mar 2017 04:16:00 -0000

Angel investor Jason Calacanis talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his media company Inside, and why it plans to launch a new email newsletter every week in 2017, for a total of more than 60 by year's end. He also chats about his past companies, including Mahalo and Weblogs Inc., and how he became one of Uber's first investors. Calacanis explains his angel investing philosophy, which favors founders who have built something over those who just come to meetings with an unrealized idea.

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How to be a rock musician in 2017 (Craig Finn, 'We All Want the Same Things')

Thu, 23 Mar 2017 04:05:00 -0000

Singer, songwriter and The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new solo album, "We All Want the Same Things." Finn still enjoys the life of a touring musician but explains why it's unlikely that The Hold Steady will do another big multi-city tour in the near future. Even though the world is politically divided, he says, music can still play a big role in building communities and friendships among strangers. Finn also discusses working with Bruce Springsteen, opening for The Rolling Stones and adapting lyrics written by George R.R. Martin into a song for the "Game of Thrones" TV show.

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Glenn Beck doesn't care if he alienates Trump voters (Live at SXSW)

Thu, 16 Mar 2017 04:06:00 -0000

Former Fox News commentator and TheBlaze founder Glenn Beck talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about being a conservative media personality at a time when a Republican he hates, Donald Trump, is president. Speaking in front of a live audience at South by Southwest 2017, Beck says he doesn't care if Trump supporters no longer listen to him, because "right is right, wrong is wrong." He also weighs in on how Breitbart became a "platform for the alt-right" under Steve Bannon after the passing of its founder, Andrew Breitbart, and says that politicians need to put aside party labels to talk about big issues — such as how the rise of robots and artificial intelligence could lead to "50 percent unemployment" in the next 40 years.

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The Huffington Post wants to reach Trump voters (Lydia Polgreen, editor in chief, The Huffington Post)

Thu, 09 Mar 2017 05:05:00 -0000

The Huffington Post's new editor in chief, Lydia Polgreen, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about turning the liberal news site founded by Arianna Huffington 11 years ago into a destination for a larger audience — including some of Donald Trump's supporters. Polgreen, who spent 15 years at The New York Times before joining HuffPost late last year, said she wants to help liberals, conservatives and everyone in between see how much they have in common. She also talks about why she left the NYT, the gaps between "have and have-not" media consumers, and how she reacted when HuffPost was barred from a White House press briefing.

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'Why is this on Mashable?' asks Executive Editor Jessica Coen

Thu, 02 Mar 2017 05:05:00 -0000

Mashable Executive Editor Jessica Coen talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about taking the reins of the 12-year-old site last year and how she's working to focus its writers on the stories it can do best. Coen previously spent two years editing Gawker.com and five in charge of Jezebel, Gawker Media's feminist site. She chats about bringing a bit of the Gawker voice to Mashable's writing, where the site is investing the most (video and Snapchat) and her advice for young journalists trying to break into the media business. Coen also discusses the most dramatic moment of her tenure at Gawker: The publication of a sex tape starring Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst.

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Making a superhero movie for adults (Scott Frank, screenwriter, 'Logan')

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 05:05:00 -0000

Screenwriter and novelist Scott Frank talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about writing a superhero movie for people who don't like superhero movies: "Logan," an R-rated sendoff for Wolverine, Hugh Jackman's iconic "X-Men" character. Frank explains how he lucked his way into a job at Paramount at age 24 and what he learned from writing films like "Get Shorty," "Malice" and "Out of Sight." He also discusses his next project after "Logan" — a western miniseries for Netflix called "Godless" — and why, after a long career in Hollywood, he decided last year to write his first novel, "Shaker."

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The New York Times wants to become like Netflix (Gabriel Snyder, journalist)

Thu, 16 Feb 2017 05:05:00 -0000

Wired contributor Gabriel Snyder talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his recent cover story for Wired magazine, "The New York Times Claws Its Way Into the Future." Snyder profiled how the storied newspaper is trying to adapt to the fast-failure-friendly M.O. of a tech company and says it's now betting on one big Netflix-like digital subscription, rather than the multiple smaller subscription products it previously attempted. He also explains why it's so difficult for new ideas to make it up the chain of command inside the NYT and why so many young digital stars have left the company.

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Here’s the secret to making things popular (Derek Thompson, author, ‘Hit Makers’)

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 05:05:00 -0000

Derek Thompson, a senior editor at The Atlantic and author of "Hit Makers," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new book, which explores the "Science of Popularity in the Age of Distraction." Thompson says contrary to conventional wisdom, content is not as important as how you distribute it, and things don't "go viral" the way an actual virus does — instead, they benefit the most from existing social networks and distribution channels that preceded them. He also says ESPN, which is struggling to make as much money from TV as it used to, needs to re-orient its strategy around the smartphone lock screen, rather than the television screen.

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Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget says Trump is pushing 'anti-American' policies

Thu, 02 Feb 2017 05:05:00 -0000

Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why he sold the company to German publisher Axel Springer and why BI is moving toward paid newspaper-like subscriptions. Blodget says digital media is "as different from print and TV as they are from each other" and explains why cloning a newspaper for the web will never work. He also talks about why he took Donald Trump seriously from day one and says that despite a smart campaign, the new president is now advocating "un-American and anti-American" policies.

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The future of advertising is 'fewer, better ads' (Ian Schafer, CEO, Deep Focus)

Thu, 26 Jan 2017 05:02:00 -0000

Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why the digital advertising world is due for a shake-up. Schafer says he's skeptical of the branded content studios being created inside big media companies because he doubts they can compete with Google and Facebook for the same business. He argues that the online ad economy has grown too big and the future must entail "fewer, better ads" that may be more individualized to consumers and placed on new, unconventional platforms.

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How the press can save itself in the age of Trump (Jay Rosen, professor, NYU)

Thu, 19 Jan 2017 05:05:00 -0000

NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how the media, and the reporters who cover the White House in particular, should react to President Trump, who has frequently been hostile to their profession. Rosen says media organizations need to rethink their structures and individual journalists will have to establish a more transparent relationship with their audiences. He also talks about why journalists shouldn't interview Trump surrogate Kellyanne Conway and what everyone can learn from Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold.

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Fox's digital ad guy wants you to use an ad blocker (Joe Marchese, president of advanced advertising, Fox Networks Group)

Thu, 12 Jan 2017 05:05:00 -0000

Fox Networks ad boss Joe Marchese talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why he, an online advertising executive, encourages consumers to use ad blockers. Marchese argues that the relationship between advertisers and the public needs to be reset because people see ads as interruptive and advertisers are paying up for smaller and smaller slices of the pie. He also says all of Fox's ads on Hulu and its own websites should be skippable, and talks about the one time of the year when everyone wants to see advertising — the Super Bowl.

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How to make $11 million by failing (James Altucher, founder, Choose Yourself Media)

Thu, 05 Jan 2017 05:05:00 -0000

Choose Yourself Media founder James Altucher, an entrepreneur and author of several advice books, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the importance of learning from failure in life and business. Altucher twice went from being a multimillionaire to nearly broke, and currently does not own a home even though his company grossed $11 million last year. He says people should consider the alternatives to things like buying a house, going to college and reading the news, focusing instead on the things that will directly affect their lives.

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Why is there no fake news on LinkedIn? (Daniel Roth, executive editor, LinkedIn)

Thu, 29 Dec 2016 05:05:00 -0000

LinkedIn Executive Editor Daniel Roth talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about overseeing the editorial branch of the career-networking site. Roth says LinkedIn users police themselves in ways they don't on Facebook because they know their bosses and colleagues can see them. Hailing from the world of magazine and digital journalism, he also discusses his initially rough transition to working at a tech company and what happened when he wrote a 5,000-word cover story about Donald Trump for Fortune in 2004.

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Kara Swisher: Journalists must be 'tougher on everybody'

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 05:08:00 -0000

Recode co-founder and Executive Editor Kara Swisher talks with Peter Kafka about why the media needs to be tougher and more skeptical in the aftermath of the 2016 election. Swisher says journalists too often behave like "stenographers," lazily relaying what people say without interrogating their ideas. She also discusses the rise of fake news on platforms like Facebook, how she worked her way up from the mailroom at the Washington Post and why she and Recode co-founder Walt Mossberg sold the site to Vox Media in 2015.

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Trump will blow up political journalism (Margaret Sullivan, columnist, the Washington Post)

Thu, 15 Dec 2016 05:01:00 -0000

Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan, formerly the public editor of the New York Times, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the effect of the incoming Trump administration on the world of political journalism. Sullivan says she initially thought, after Trump's win, that the media had completely failed, but has since moderated that position, and expects "a new kind of journalistic inquiry" will arise. She also discusses how she came to the New York Times, why she left the paper after three and a half years and why she still wants internet comments to have a place on media outlets' websites.

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Making viral videos before YouTube (Burnie Burns, co-founder, Rooster Teeth)

Thu, 08 Dec 2016 05:01:00 -0000

Rooster Teeth co-founder Burnie Burns talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how the early viral video hit "Red vs. Blue" evolved into a thriving media company. Burns says Rooster Teeth, which predated the launch of YouTube by several years, has succeeded because it goes deep and talks honestly with its young, geeky, video game-savvy fans. He also discusses how YouTube helped the company release its first feature film, "Lazer Team," and explains why he considers the 2014 harassment campaign Gamergate a prelude to Donald Trump's presidential win.

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Did racism motivate Trump's voters? (Stephen Dubner, co-author, 'Freakonomics')

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 05:01:00 -0000

Journalist and "Freakonomics" co-author Stephen Dubner talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how behavioral economics can explain Donald Trump's victory, arguing that racism and xenophobia are symptoms of a deeper-felt economic resentment. He also discusses widespread misunderstandings about probability and offers a partial defense of poll aggregators like FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver. Later in the show, Dubner explains how "Freakonomics" became a mini media empire, why he's now almost all-in on podcasting and how Bruce Springsteen convinced him to quit rock and roll.

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Trump-related 'terror and hysteria' isn't justified (Ken Kurson, editor-in-chief, Observer)

Wed, 23 Nov 2016 05:05:00 -0000

Observer editor-in-chief Ken Kurson talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about running the online newspaper published by Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Kurson says Kushner has no day-to-day influence on the Observer. He argues that reactions to his alleged ethical lapses — such as his sitting with the Trump family at the Republican National Convention — are overblown or misguided, and says Hillary Clinton's supporters are overreacting to their loss. Kurson also says some journalists and pollsters who mis-called the election should resign or be fired, and explains why staying off Twitter has been good for his psyche.

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Musicians who fight Spotify are 'so f-cking dumb' (Bob Lefsetz, author, Lefsetz Letter)

Thu, 17 Nov 2016 05:01:00 -0000

Bob Lefsetz, author of the influential music industry newsletter the Lefsetz Letter, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the winners and losers in the modern music business. Lefsetz says the traditional music label model was one of artificial scarcity, and there's no going back now that streaming services like YouTube and Spotify have arisen. He also argues that Netflix is doomed and VR is being mis-sold to the public. Later in the show, he reflects on the election of Donald Trump and why he's skeptical of the New York Times' ability to challenge the incoming U.S. president.

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The 'Star Trek' reboot could have naked aliens (Jim Lanzone, CEO, CBS Interactive)

Thu, 10 Nov 2016 05:01:00 -0000

Jim Lanzone, the CEO of CBS Interactive and chief digital officer of CBS, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the balance between free broadcast TV and paid online subscriptions. CBS has so far convinced more than a million people to pay $6 a month for its online service, CBS All Access. Lanzone says the company hopes to court even more subscribers with digital-only shows, including a spinoff of "The Good Wife" and a reboot of "Star Trek," which won't have to play by traditional FCC rules around nudity and swearing. He also makes the case for CBS' tech site CNET and discusses how he came to the company, via a digital TV guide site called Clicker.

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You've outraged the internet? Here's how to apologize. (Bryan Goldberg, CEO, Bustle)

Thu, 03 Nov 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Bustle CEO Bryan Goldberg talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about launching a site aimed at millennial women — and why having a man at the top made a lot of people wary. Goldberg bragged a bit too aggressively and had to spend several months explaining his words, but says "apologizing is great." He also talks about how Bustle rose to 40 million monthly pageviews, why it doesn't care as much about Facebook video views and why he'd rather hire young women out of journalism school than media stars who will bring attention to themselves.

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How tech PR works (Brooke Hammerling, founder, Brew Media)

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 18:52:04 -0000

Brew Media founder Brooke Hammerling talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how she created a PR firm for some of the biggest names in tech and why she sold it to Sigmund Freud's great-grandson. Hammerling has no plans to leave Brew, however. She says she prefers to work with clients who don't think of her company as hired help, but rather as part of the team. She recounts her experience being verbally attacked by a prominent male tech blogger, but says sexism today is even worse in Hollywood than it is in Silicon Valley.

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Smosh and ScreenJunkies boss Keith Richman: We're looking into TV

Tue, 25 Oct 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Defy Media President Keith Richman, who oversees popular YouTube channels Smosh, ScreenJunkies, Clevver and others, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how Janet Jackson's breast-baring "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl inspired him to get into web video. Richman says Defy's ability to hop on video platforms early and figure out what makes them tick has helped the company reach 70 million YouTube subscribers who watch 800 million videos per month. But the ad dollars are still better on TV, so Defy is thinking about how its shows might work there, too.

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BuzzFeed's video boss Ze Frank on going viral at scale

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 04:01:00 -0000

BuzzFeed Entertainment Group president Ze Frank talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how his newly re-organized video team is developing shows for YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat — and also TVs and movie theaters. Frank says online videos are crossing borders and boundaries that text and still images couldn't penetrate, but he acknowledges that some bits of culture may be lost as entertainment goes global. He also shares the behind-the-scenes story of Tasty, BuzzFeed Food's viral video juggernaut, which has attracted more likes on Facebook than Beyoncé.

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Ex-Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau: I'm afraid of a 'smarter Trump'

Tue, 18 Oct 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Jon Favreau, former speechwriter for President Obama and the host of The Ringer's podcast "Keepin' It 1600," talks to Recode's Peter Kafka about how he got to the White House and why he can never totally quit politics. He predicts Hillary Clinton will win the presidency on Nov. 8 but explains why her speaking style is so much less conversational than Obama's. Favreau expects that Donald Trump will launch a new TV venture for his followers after the election, and says he supports the GOP's "never-Trumpers" because he fears that a smarter version of Trump will run in future campaigns.

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Donald Trump is still a 'short-fingered vulgarian' (Kurt Andersen, co-founder, Spy)

Thu, 13 Oct 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Kurt Andersen, co-founder of Spy magazine and host of WNYC and PRI's Studio 360, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about branding Donald Trump a "short-fingered vulgarian in the 1980s and how Trump has changed (or not) since then. Andersen says the real estate mogul flirted with running for president as early as 1987, but that over time, the fantasy became more and more real. He also discusses the organizations Spy influenced — including Gawker and "Last Week Tonight" — and why he now likens podcasting to the rise of public radio 40 years ago.

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Behind the scenes of 'Vice News Tonight' (Josh Tyrangiel, executive vice president, Vice)

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 12:04:25 -0000

Josh Tyrangiel, executive vice president for content and news at Vice, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the company's new weeknightly TV show, "Vice News Tonight" on HBO. To distance itself from traditional newscasts run for decades by the likes of CBS, ABC and NBC, Vice is doing away with a central news desk and news anchor, focusing instead on finding visual ways to tell stories that may get short shrift elsewhere. The big goal: Get millennials watching, which Tyrangiel says can be done so long as "Vice News Tonight" adds value to young people's lives.

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Keith Olbermann: Covering Donald Trump is like covering a tsunami every day

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 04:01:00 -0000

"The Closer" host and former ESPN and MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the 2016 presidential race and the rise of Donald Trump. Olbermann says Trump is not a totally new phenomenon, noting that political demagogues like Huey Long and Joe McCarthy lived before the era of cable TV. He also discusses his past jobs in cable news, the Netflix-influenced future of media and how he cured his addiction to arguing with Twitter trolls.

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"Call Your Girlfriend" co-host Aminatou Sow on how to make a hit podcast

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Aminatou Sow, who co-hosts "Call Your Girlfriend" with Ann Friedman, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about why she started podcasting: A man said that "women don’t make podcasts." Sow explains how she and Friedman leveraged their network of media influencers, including "Girls" star Lena Dunham, to climb the iTunes charts, acknowledging that "we kind of cheated." She also discusses why she's through with San Francisco, the future of "Call Your Girlfriend" beyond podcasting and why she enjoys the fact that Snapchat makes her feel old.

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Skip Bayless: Why I left ESPN for Fox Sports 1

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Skip Bayless, the co-host of Fox Sports 1's "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," talks about his recent decision to leave ESPN after 12 years on the air for its smaller Rupert Murdoch-owned rival in Los Angeles. He tells Recode's Peter Kafka that he needed to get out of his comfort zone — and out of ESPN's hometown of Bristol, Connecticut. Bayless also discusses the ways Fox is different from Disney-owned ESPN, the unlikely way he got into sports journalism and why he doesn't pay attention to the internet, even though he has more than two million Twitter followers.

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CNN's Brian Stelter: No, CNN is not biased for Trump

Thu, 15 Sep 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Brian Stelter, host of "Reliable Sources" on CNN, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about being a cable news host during the historic 2016 presidential election. He argues that the media needs to re-evaluate how it treats politicians' lies, pointing to the differing treatment of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Although CNN gets good ratings from his controversial statements and recently hired Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, Stelter says the network has not given the Republican candidate attention because it's good for business. Instead, he wonders why more presidential candidates couldn't learn from and emulate Trump's media savvy.

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Gigaom founder Om Malik on the virtues of a heart attack

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 04:01:00 -0000

True Ventures partner Om Malik talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his varied career in tech journalism, including the launch and eventual shutdown of his eponymous site Gigaom. Malik describes himself as a workaholic journalist, but a heart attack in 2007 forced him to reconsider his priorities. He also discusses the macro trends of the startup world, his first stint as a venture capitalist in the late 1990s and why Apple should buy Netflix.

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The New York Times has to think like a tech startup (Sam Dolnick and Clifford Levy, editors, New York Times)

Thu, 01 Sep 2016 04:01:00 -0000

New York Times associate editor Sam Dolnick and assistant masthead editor Clifford Levy talk with Recode's Edmund Lee about how the 164-year-old newspaper is modernizing for the web. Levy reflects on the now-defunct NYT Now mobile app, which showed the Times's staff the value of collaboration among departments. The paper must learn to experiment and sometimes fail, the editors say, much like a tech company in Silicon Valley. Dolnick, one of the potential heirs to the paper as a member of the Ochs-Sulzberger family which owns it, shares the behind-the-scenes story of the NYT's first foray into virtual reality last year.

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Skift CEO Rafat Ali: Small media companies are beautiful

Thu, 25 Aug 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Skift founder and CEO Rafat Ali talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how media entrepreneurship has evolved since he launched his first company, PaidContent, in 2002. Ali left PaidContent after an acquisition by the Guardian (that went nowhere) and launched Skift to write about the travel business for people who work in the travel business. Today, Skift is a profitable boutique company with 29 employees, and Ali explains why he's happy to keep it small and let it grow slowly.

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Gawker wasn't always mean (Elizabeth Spiers, founding editor, Gawker.com)

Thu, 18 Aug 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Elizabeth Spiers, the first person to write and edit Gawker.com, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about launching the site in 2003, and reflects on how it has evolved since then. Now that Gawker Media has been sold to Univision for $135 million, many wonder how it might change, but Spiers says Gawker has already changed plenty over its history. She also discusses her stint working for Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and her new company, The Insurrection, an agency focusing on virtual reality content.

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James Andrew Miller examines Hollywood's top agents in 'Powerhouse'

Thu, 11 Aug 2016 13:35:00 -0000

James Andrew Miller, author of the new book "Powerhouse: The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka. Miller says the Creative Artists Agency, or CAA, transformed the entertainment business forever, led by the "yin and yang" personalities of Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer. He also talks about one of his previous books, an oral history of ESPN, and what really happened to ousted Grantland founder Bill Simmons.

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We're not startup bros anymore (Ilan Zechory and Tom Lehman, co-founders, Genius)

Thu, 04 Aug 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Genius co-founders Ilan Zechory and Tom Lehman talk with Recode's Peter Kafka about how they and their business are maturing. Genius, which started as music-annotating service RapGenius, is now striking deals with major media companies to let users and brands insert factoids into content across the web. Zechory and Lehman discuss how they're trying to make Genius annotations omnipresent, and address allegations that their platform facilitates abuse.

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So, you’ve been shamed by Twitter (Virginia Heffernan, author, "Magic and Loss")

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Virginia Heffernan, author of the new book "Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the physical things we risk losing as we digitize more and more of our lives. She praises Snapchat's "brilliance" for preserving impermanent media and talks about what happened when critics of an article about creationism threw her into the "Twitter coliseum." To cope with the social media onslaught, she came to imagine her Twitter handle, @page88, as a tougher, wittier persona who could take the abuse on her behalf.

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Gary Vaynerchuk can't wait for the startup armageddon

Thu, 21 Jul 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Investor and VaynerMedia co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about how he parlayed early success on Google AdWords and YouTube into an agency that helps other brands succeed online. A social media celebrity in his own right, Vaynerchuk calls himself an "entrepreneur through and through" but says tech and media are riddled with phony entrepreneurs who are heading for an "armageddon." He laments today's rising startup valuations as a worrying sequel to the early-2000s dotcom crash.

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Donald Trump is bad for democracy (Jacob Weisberg, chairman, Slate Group)

Thu, 14 Jul 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Slate Group Chairman Jacob Weisberg talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his podcast Trumpcast, which obsesses over presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and his following. Weisberg says Trump will leave a big mark on American politics even if he loses to Hillary Clinton in November. He also discusses how Slate has changed since it launched as a digital magazine in 1996, what social networks it is and isn't using and why media companies should be wary of Facebook's growing power.

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Documentarian Alex Gibney says the Stuxnet virus was a "new kind of weapon"

Thu, 07 Jul 2016 04:01:00 -0000

"Zero Days" director Alex Gibney talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new film's focus on the Stuxnet virus, which sabotaged the Iranian nuclear program. He compares Stuxnet's attack to the first nuclear bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and calls for countries to open a dialogue about cyberweapons. Gibney also discusses his other documentaries, including "Going Clear," "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room."

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Daring Fireball's John Gruber: "I'm a writer first and a businessman second"

Thu, 30 Jun 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Daring Fireball founder and sole employee John Gruber talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about running a one-man media company. Gruber has been writing about Apple since 2002 but he estimates that his podcast — which started in 2013 — now represents half of Daring Fireball's revenue. He explains how he got into writing in the early days of web blogging and why he has opted to monetize his site by having only one sponsor per week. Gruber also chats about Steve Jobs's legacy, why he doesn't love the Apple Watch and the alleged influence of Apple's corporate team on his writing.

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Steve Jobs "literally caught me with my pants down" (Brian Lam, founder, The Wirecutter)

Thu, 23 Jun 2016 04:01:00 -0000

The Wirecutter founder Brian Lam talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about creating a modern update to Consumer Reports that makes best-in-class buying recommendations across a range of products. He also discusses his previous life as editor in chief of Gawker's technology blog Gizmodo, which famously obtained and wrote about the iPhone 4 before it was released. That led to a testy phone call from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who "really didn’t like losing that mini chess game," Lam says.

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Malcolm Gladwell wants to make you cry

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 05:41:15 -0000

Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker columnist and author of "The Tipping Point," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new podcast, "Revisionist History." Gladwell thinks his new foray into audio will have a more emotional effect on listeners than his columns and books, because "you feel with your ears and you think with your eyes." He also discusses how he wandered into a job at the Washington Post in the 1980s and the proliferation of mass shootings in America, from Columbine to this week's tragic attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

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The Ringer editor Sean Fennessey on ending Grantland, starting again

Thu, 09 Jun 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Sean Fennessey, the editor in chief of Bill Simmons's new site The Ringer, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the decisions that go into launching a media business in 2016. Fennessey reflects on the slow death of Grantland, the site Simmons launched under ESPN in 2011, and what the staff is trying to do differently this time. Among the many challenges facing The Ringer: Balancing fun with legitimacy, figuring out an online video strategy and trying not to sound too drunk.

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"Warcraft" director Duncan Jones: Don't watch this movie on an iPhone

Thu, 02 Jun 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Duncan Jones, director of the new movie "Warcraft," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about pleasing both gamers and non-gamers while adapting a popular video game to the big screen. He describes "Warcraft" as a spectacle that should be seen in theaters, but is already working on "Mute," a smaller-scale follow-up to his low-budget debut picture "Moon." Jones also reflects on the death of his father, David Bowie, and the current state of the digitally shifted movie business.

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You have to fight robots to see Beyoncé (Michael Rapino, CEO, Live Nation)

Thu, 26 May 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the challenges and opportunities for live music and events in 2016. He says concerts have changed dramatically in the past 10 years, becoming spectacles rather than just vehicles to sell records. Rapino also delves into why consumers hate Live Nation subsidiary Ticketmaster and how the company has tried to fight overseas bots that buy and scalp most tickets sold online.

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How email saved Jason Hirschhorn's life

Thu, 19 May 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Jason Hirschhorn talks with Peter Kafka about his past jobs at Viacom, Dish Network and MySpace and at his new startup Redef. Expanding on the Redef Media email newsletter, which Hirschhorn started in 2006, Redef now has more than 50,000 subscribers in several industries, including music, fashion and sports. He also talks (in great detail) about his quadruple bypass surgery and how Redef's fans saved his life when his doctors were confounded by complications.

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Samantha Bee says hiring more women = better comedy

Thu, 12 May 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Samantha Bee talks with Peter Kafka about leaving "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," launching her own late-night comedy show "Full Frontal" and what she's doing to make the new show unique. One of the priorities from day one, Bee says, was making a concerted effort to hire women, which has led to some standout stories. She also talks about the 2016 election and why comedy can't be decided by committee.

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Why Larry Wilmore used the N-word at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

Thu, 05 May 2016 04:01:00 -0000

"The Nightly Show" host Larry Wilmore talks about his instantly controversial roast at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. He mocked Brian Williams, Wolf Blitzer and Barack Obama, among many others, and not everyone was laughing. Wilmore also discusses Donald Trump's rise in the Republican Party and why he closed his WHCD speech by referring to the president as "my n---a."

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The NYT's Jenna Wortham just wants to "write about people who look like me”

Thu, 28 Apr 2016 04:01:00 -0000

New York Times Magazine staff writer Jenna Wortham talks with Peter Kafka about covering the intersection of culture and technology at Wired magazine and then at the Times. Wortham has also pursued several side projects, including the journalism-as-live-performance show Pop-Up Magazine. She argues that today's journalists must constantly reinvent themselves and that there's value in zigging where others zag.

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"Veep" Producer Frank Rich: Trump Can Win

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 04:01:00 -0000

"Veep" executive producer and New York magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich talks with Peter Kafka about the 2016 election, why he underestimated Bernie Sanders and what future candidates can learn from Hillary Clinton's gaffes and Donald Trump's larger-than-life persona. Formerly a theater critic and political columnist for the New York Times, Rich explains why he left the Times in 2011 and how he got involved with HBO. Plus: Other than "Hamilton," how is Broadway doing?

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Snapchat Should Start Paying Its Users (Hunter Walk, Investor, Homebrew)

Thu, 14 Apr 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Venture capitalist Hunter Walk, the co-founder of Homebrew, talks with Peter Kafka about his pre-investing career at Second Life, YouTube and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." He also joined Google in 2003, when the 1,000-employee company was only known for search and before it went public. He discusses why venture capitalists like him need to be patient; how YouTube started making money and paying its users; and why Vine, Instagram and Snapchat should follow YouTube's example.

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From Fake Steve Jobs to HBO's "Silicon Valley" (Dan Lyons, Author, "Disrupted")

Thu, 07 Apr 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Dan Lyons, author of the new book "Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble," tells Peter Kafka how he came to work at a "cult-y" unicorn where "grown-up" meant anyone experienced enough to have worked somewhere else. He traces his career from Forbes Magazine, where he secretly created the satirical Internet personality Fake Steve Jobs, to Newsweek, HubSpot, ReadWrite and Gawker's Valleywag. Most recently, he's been a writer on HBO's hit comedy "Silicon Valley" and shares some behind-the-scenes stories.

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Millennials Aren't an Alien Species (Philippe von Borries, co-CEO, Refinery29)

Thu, 31 Mar 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Refinery29 co-founder and co-CEO Philippe von Borries talks with Peter Kafka about how his company morphed from a New York-focused fashion guide to a globally recognized powerhouse with 150 million readers and followers online. He explains how Refinery29 created some of the Web's first native ads and argues that native advertising is the antidote to modern cynicism about traditional ads. Plus: Von Borries wants an end to over-generalizations about millennials.

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Can Donald Trump Be Stopped? (Nate Silver, Founder, FiveThirtyEight)

Thu, 24 Mar 2016 04:01:00 -0000

FiveThirtyEight founder and Editor in Chief Nate Silver talks with Peter Kafka about the 2016 election, and why his site was one of many that didn't see Donald Trump coming. He calls Trump a "demagogue" who has succeeded under extraordinary circumstances and says he has a 25 percent to 30 percent chance of winning the general election if he becomes the Republican nominee. Plus: The end of Grantland and why Silver loves the Golden State Warriors.

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Digital Brands Are a "Sh*t-Ton of Work" (Troy Young, President, Hearst Magazines Digital)

Thu, 17 Mar 2016 04:01:00 -0000

Hearst Magazines' Troy Young talks with Peter Kafka about his efforts to unify the legacy media company's magazines under one digital strategy. He calls himself "incredibly optimistic" about the future of the medium as it moves away from monthly timelines and toward global, minute-to-minute activity. Young also breaks down what it took to create a successful channel for Cosmopolitan on Snapchat.

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Peter Gould, Co-Creator, "Better Call Saul"

Thu, 10 Mar 2016 05:01:00 -0000

"Better Call Saul" co-creator and Executive Producer Peter Gould talks with Peter Kafka about getting his first big break after the age of 40 on the hit AMC television show "Breaking Bad." Gould says that show and "Saul," its currently-airing prequel, might owe their existence to DVRs and the Internet. He explains how today's media consumption habits are changing the way premium TV shows get made.

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Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, theSkimm Co-Founders

Thu, 03 Mar 2016 05:01:00 -0000

Co-founders of theSkimm Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin talk with Peter Kafka about how they built up an email newsletter that gets opened by 1.5 million people, and why they want more. TheSkimm's mission is to make its readers (predominantly young, educated women) more informed and engaged with brand partners, and Weisberg and Zakin explain why email is just one tool to do that.

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Adrian Wojnarowski, Editor of The Vertical

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 05:01:00 -0000

Yahoo sports columnist Adrian "Woj" Wojnarowski talks with Peter Kafka about how he left print journalism and why he's staying at Yahoo, even as the media giant cuts down on its other journalism efforts. He also explains why the NBA is perfect for the Internet and how he approaches the competitive, fast-paced world of reporting sports news.

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David Remnick, The New Yorker Editor

Wed, 17 Feb 2016 20:00:00 -0000

In this first episode of "Re/code Media with Peter Kafka," Peter sits down with David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker. Remnick has presided over the magazine for the past 17 years and built out a variety of digital offerings as the media world has been upturned. He talks about what makes those efforts work and why it's so important to preserve what The New Yorker is famous for.

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Andrew Jarecki, "The Jinx" Director

Thu, 11 Feb 2016 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, Andrew Jarecki joins Peter Kafka to talk about the success of true-crime documentary series such as "Making a Murderer," "Serial" and the show he directed, "The Jinx." He also discusses his history in tech as the founder of MovieFone and a new application called KnowMe.

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Chet Kanojia, Starry CEO

Thu, 04 Feb 2016 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, Starry CEO Chet Kanojia sits down with Peter Kafka to talk about his latest disruptive startup, which aims to attack broadband monopolies and duopolies by delivering high-speed consumer Internet over the air. He also discusses what the Supreme Court didn't understand about his last startup, Aereo.

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Nick Denton, Gawker Media Founder, and Jason Epstein, Investor

Thu, 28 Jan 2016 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, Gawker Media founder Nick Denton and new board member Jason Epstein sit down with Peter Kafka to discuss the online media company's rapidly changing outlook. How will Gawker react to the growing power of Facebook? And will it be set back by an incoming invasion of privacy lawsuit?

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Shani Hilton, BuzzFeed Executive Editor of News

Thu, 21 Jan 2016 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, BuzzFeed’s Executive Editor of News Shani Hilton talks with Peter Kafka about running the "real" news division of the much-talked-about new media company. She also discusses whether millennials need special news.

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Chris Altchek, Mic CEO

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, Mic CEO Chris Altchek talks with Peter Kafka about building a news site for millennials and the differences among news reading generations. He also discusses what Mic has learned in the past five years and why there's no silver bullet for social media success.

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Albert Wenger, Union Square Ventures Partner

Thu, 07 Jan 2016 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, Union Square Ventures partner Albert Wenger talks with Peter Kafka about bubble anxiety, mission-driven "benefit corporations" and why tech companies should be willing to work with the government to stop crime and terrorism.

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Rufus Griscom, Heleo CEO

Thu, 31 Dec 2015 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, Heleo CEO Rufus Griscom talks with Peter Kafka about trying to build a "BuzzFeed for brains" that can distribute Big Ideas to the broader Internet. He also talks about how much things have changed since he launched his first media startup, Nerve.com, in 1997.

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Ev Williams, Medium CEO

Thu, 24 Dec 2015 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, Medium CEO Ev Williams talks with Peter Kafka about why writing on the Internet today is all about the platform. Plus: Why did Williams and the rest of Twitter's board seemingly change their minds about Jack Dorsey's eligibility to be CEO again?

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Katie Nolan, Fox Sports TV Host

Thu, 17 Dec 2015 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, the NFL's media czar Brian Rolapp talks with Peter Kafka about why a soon-to-be-auctioned set of games might (or might not) go to the Internet. Plus: What separates live sports from the rest of the TV business?

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Brian Rolapp, NFL Media Czar

Thu, 10 Dec 2015 05:01:00 -0000

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Ricky Van Veen, CollegeHumor Co-Founder

Thu, 03 Dec 2015 05:01:00 -0000

In an episode that originally aired on Recode Decode, CollegeHumor co-founder Ricky Van Veen talks with Peter Kafka about monetizing content on the Internet and why a lot of that content is moving to "old" platforms like TV. Plus: Who's more powerful, Rupert Murdoch or Mark Zuckerberg?

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