Channels with Peter Kafka
Media and tech aren’t just intersecting — they’re fully intertwined. And to understand how those worlds work, and what they mean for you, veteran journalist Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers - and gets them to spell it out in plain, BS-free English.
Part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Episodes
1440’s newsletters are short, popular and profitable
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/12/24•52m 57s
Studying online bad behavior was hard. It's going to get harder in Trump 2.0
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/12/24•1h
How to build your own media company - without VCs or billionaires
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/11/24•54m 8s
Meet the man making money for Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/11/24•45m 38s
Taylor Lorenz on Joe Rogan, Joe Biden and goodbye to big media.
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/11/24•50m 54s
Elon Musk funds Trump — and owns Twitter. What does that mean?
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/11/24•1h 13m
Pod Save America’s Jon Lovett wants to win an election and make money
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/10/24•43m 47s
Emma Tucker brought fresh eyes to the Wall Street Journal
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/10/24•33m 21s
Tubi CEO Anjali Sud says you can’t beat free
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/10/24•41m 15s
Behind the scenes of the Trump movie you almost never saw
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/10/24•1h 7m
Matt Yglesias on the election, Substack success and the great unbundling
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/10/24•48m 25s
I tried Orion, Mark Zuckerberg's $10k face computer
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/09/24•36m 12s
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wants to share the wealth
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/09/24•52m 0s
How David Remnick remade the New Yorker
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/09/24•46m 10s
Welcome to Channels with Peter Kafka
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/09/24•1m 37s
That’s a wrap (for now)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/12/23•38m 23s
Sam Altman’s back at OpenAI. What’s next?
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/11/23•47m 23s
What just happened to OpenAI?
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/11/23•29m 52s
Why so, Sirius?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/11/23•34m 53s
No seriously. What’s the future of Disney? And why did Fox News fire Tucker Carlson?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/11/23•51m 3s
Land of the Giants: What We All Got Wrong About Twitter
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/11/23•42m 59s
How Dropout found success streaming comedy for $6 a month
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/10/23•32m 45s
Inside the New York Times’ controversial Gaza headline
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/10/23•21m 35s
How the Washington Post is covering the Israel-Hamas War
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/10/23•20m 32s
The rise and (maybe) fall of Marvel
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/10/23•42m 4s
The internet, explained by Taylor Lorenz
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/10/23•35m 54s
Warner Music Group’s CEO says AI songs are coming whether you like it or not
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/10/23•31m 35s
HBO boss Casey Bloys on the strikes, the bundle and AI
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/09/23•29m 18s
Why did it take 5 months to solve the Writers’ Strike?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/09/23•22m 20s
Why did Rupert Murdoch just leave his media empire?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/09/23•18m 45s
How Matthew Berry made fake football his real job
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/09/23•39m 40s
Inside Sam Bankman-Fried's Rise and Fall
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/09/23•38m 43s
The Business of Taylor Swift
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/09/23•26m 17s
It’s the US vs China with tech in between
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/09/23•25m 31s
CNN is Mark Thompson’s problem now
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
31/08/23•26m 38s
How The Try Guys survived going viral
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/08/23•33m 35s
Today, Explained: Sound of Freedom is the surprise movie hit of the summer
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/08/23•30m 50s
Land of the Giants: How Tesla became the Elon Musk Co.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/08/23•38m 13s
Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker says tech isn’t our problem - it’s us
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/08/23•42m 50s
Why Lina Khan is fighting big tech - and losing
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/07/23•29m 52s
Strikes! AI! And a Steven Soderbergh show he’s selling himself.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/07/23•56m 23s
Can Meta Make a Twitter Killer?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/07/23•1h 10m
Why ESPN’s old boss made movies you can’t see - yet
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/07/23•43m 56s
How to make laughs on TikTok and action on Netflix
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/06/23•58m 59s
Is Instagram the place to unbreak news?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/06/23•54m 36s
Meet the AI company that wants to remake Hollywood
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/06/23•42m 42s
CNN’s CEO is out; Apple reveals its goggles
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/06/23•47m 35s
NYT rising star Astead Herndon on podcasts, power, and the 2024 race
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/06/23•50m 7s
Meet the media insider who makes Succession feel real
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/05/23•32m 8s
It’s TV’s biggest week - and TV is on strike
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/05/23•44m 1s
Ken Jennings on the future of Jeopardy!
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/05/23•48m 0s
How worried—or excited—should we be about AI?
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]
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/05/23•53m 53s
Jonah Peretti, Nick Denton and Ben Smith on digital news’ past and future
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/05/23•36m 30s
Inside the AI Gold Rush
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)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/04/23•47m 42s
AI is the future! AI is a fraud. Let's debate.
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/04/23•51m 30s
Has Fox News learned a $787 million lesson?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/04/23•30m 39s
'Chef Reactions' blew up on TikTok. But will TikTok blow up?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/04/23•50m 3s
Why is a talent agency buying pro wrestling? Plus a green media startup
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/04/23•1h 1m
Is Apple sure about Apple’s new Goggles? Plus Roger Bennett, Media Mogul
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/03/23•40m 43s
Podcast pioneer Jesse Thorn built his own business. Now his employees own it.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/03/23•41m 4s
An SVB (phew!) update + Benedict Evans on the future of (almost) everything
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/03/23•1h 4m
Science fiction pioneer Neal Stephenson on the metaverse, the movies and why he still believes in blockchain
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/03/23•44m 55s
Meet the woman who got De La Soul streaming
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/03/23•37m 33s
Real-life “Succession”: Jim Stewart on Sumner Redstone’s sordid saga
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/02/23•37m 38s
We quiz BuzzFeed’s CEO about AI
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/02/23•26m 37s
Why is tech in trouble if the economy is ok?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/02/23•44m 17s
Land of the Giants: The Hidden Hand Behind Your Swipes
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/02/23•39m 59s
Don't tell investor Li Jin that Web3 is dead
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/01/23•44m 2s
How The Last of Us went from hit game to hit zombie tv
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/01/23•38m 55s
"Resist trying to make things better" - a conversation with internet security expert Alex Stamos
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/01/23•54m 25s
Was YouTube’s NFL deal a $2 billion mistake?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/01/23•37m 22s
Apple’s new goggles; Hollywood’s new streaming pitch.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/01/23•41m 6s
Reader Mail!
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/12/22•37m 59s
An Elon-free year in review
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/12/22•36m 8s
A n00b’s guide to the Microsoft / Activision deal the FTC wants to stop
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/12/22•44m 15s
Why the media landscape is “dire” with WSJ’s Jessica Toonkel
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/12/22•29m 28s
How Eventbrite survived the pandemic, and why it’s not fighting Ticketmaster
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/12/22•36m 17s
It’s not TV it’s HBO — the book
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/11/22•53m 35s
How to watch a complicated World Cup
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
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.
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!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/11/22•37m 58s
Life, the internet, and everything with Garbage Day’s Ryan Broderick
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
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.
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!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/11/22•49m 37s
What Elon’s past tells us about his present
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/11/22•42m 46s
Tech’s big bust, plus Marvel (and Wakanda) Forever?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/11/22•33m 47s
Election special with Punchbowl's Jake Sherman
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/11/22•40m 35s
Jason Gay isn’t making Elon Musk jokes
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/11/22•25m 41s
Bloomberg’s Matt Levine still loves crypto; Ankler’s Janice Min loves newsletters
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/10/22•1h 15m
Ben Smith says Semafor will take 10 years to get right
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/10/22•35m 33s
Netflix is back (?) + Julia Boorstin on women who lead
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/10/22•50m 12s
Inside the curious mind of XKCD cartoonist Randall Munroe
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/10/22•37m 9s
Elon Musk is buying Twitter. Really. (Really?)
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/10/22•44m 45s
Interview with Interview with a Vampire’s Eric Bogosian
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
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.
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!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/09/22•44m 16s
YouTube fights TikTok with cash
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/09/22•30m 37s
José Andrés has a full plate, but he's adding more
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/09/22•29m 49s
The inside story of YouTube
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/09/22•50m 13s
Why the Good Fight creators are glad they moved from CBS to streaming
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/09/22•36m 19s
Algorithms that give you anxiety and a Web3 project that doesn't suck.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/08/22•35m 24s
Home Box Office of the Dragon
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/08/22•30m 46s
Why the Democrats finally got on TikTok
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/08/22•41m 48s
Land of the Giants: Why Instagram Broke Its Square
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)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/08/22•37m 59s
B.J. Novak on “Vengeance”, podcasts and the downside of the streaming boom
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/07/22•46m 1s
What is the metaverse, when is it going to show up and who’s going to run it?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/07/22•32m 38s
Ken Auletta on the Harvey Weinstein story he wrote, the story he couldn’t write, and the one he’s publishing now.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/07/22•32m 57s
Netflix has a huge hit with Peaky Blinders — and Caryn Mandabach owns it.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/07/22•31m 57s
The future of: Crypto criticism; Substack and ABC News
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/06/22•1h
Is this a Netflix problem or a streaming problem?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/06/22•35m 34s
Bill Simmons on podcasts, celebrity interviews and life at Spotify
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/06/22•1h
Why is this VC on your TikTok?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/06/22•42m 39s
Engineer Molly White explains why Web3 isn’t going great
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/06/22•32m 31s
Is Big Tech getting better about misinformation?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/05/22•32m 53s
What can you learn from the guy who built the iPod?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/05/22•1h 18m
Ronan Farrow: “We are living in a post-privacy age”
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/05/22•46m 45s
Behind the scenes at Apple with journalist Tripp Mickle
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/05/22•35m 13s
NYT’s Wesley Morris on writing, podcasting and staying off TikTok
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/04/22•44m 8s
Can Elon Fix Twitter? Can Reed Fix Netflix?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/04/22•1h 11m
Elon and Twitter: A love/hate story
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/04/22•46m 8s
Disney vs. Itself vs. The Right
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/04/22•53m 18s
The State of Streaming
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/04/22•1h 1m
Judd Apatow on The Bubble, TikTok and The Slap
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/03/22•44m 49s
The Oscars: Hollywood’s smallest biggest night?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/03/22•38m 2s
Dan Le Batard on life after ESPN; Russia sanctions upend big-time soccer
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/03/22•59m 54s
Big Tech takes a side, finally + Zappos' tragic founder
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/03/22•43m 16s
Covering the war in Ukraine, online and on the ground
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/03/22•1h 8m
Uber, but for TV
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/02/22•51m 46s
Chuck Klosterman relives the 1990s & Sarah Palin loses her NYT libel suit
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/02/22•1h 7m
What's next for CNN? + The Afterparty's Ben Schwartz writes jokes for C-3PO
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/02/22•1h 5m
Is Spotify’s Joe Rogan problem over? Plus how to launch a new media startup.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/02/22•1h 6m
Game on: Behind the sports betting boom
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/01/22•53m 26s
Gaming out Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/01/22•53m 38s
So … what the hell is Web3? With the Chernin Group’s Jarrod Dicker
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/01/22•1h 6m
How the right covers 1/6 + tales from the Theranos trial, with Oliver Darcy and Erin Griffith
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/01/22•49m 43s
The Verge’s Ashley Carman on podcasting’s big year
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/12/21•37m 41s
What the hell happened in 2021? With Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/12/21•46m 23s
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s almost-exit interview
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/12/21•50m 37s
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti has gone public
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/12/21•36m 13s
@Jack is leaving Twitter. What now? + Lina Khan’s battle with Big Tech
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/12/21•45m 21s
Director Rhys Thomas on his unlikely journey from SNL to Disney’s Hawkeye
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/11/21•40m 58s
The inside story of HBO, with Jim Miller
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/11/21•58m 4s
What is Twitter Blue and is it worth $3?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/11/21•31m 2s
Facebook’s Metaverse explained - by metaverse explainer Matthew Ball. Plus Justin Smith builds a media biz for Bloomb
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/11/21•59m 58s
How to cover the Facebook leaks + SNL’s Heidi Gardner
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/10/21•1h 8m
Dotdash CEO Neil Vogel on his $2.7 billion Meredith deal
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/10/21•32m 18s
Land of the Giants: "He's No Steve Jobs"
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/10/21•37m 16s
Ozy Media, RIP with NYT’s Ben Smith + Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch on remaking a magazine giant
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/10/21•51m 38s
Streamers shrink Hollywood, again + What’s a “Hate Raid”?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/09/21•32m 7s
How Peter Thiel went from Silicon Valley to The White House with Max Chafkin
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/09/21•55m 54s
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri on teenagers, Tik-Tok and paying creators
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/09/21•1h 6m
Big changes at Apple: New phones, new AR glasses, and big app store changes.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/09/21•43m 21s
Defector Media: Life after Deadspin is good (and profitable)
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/09/21•37m 56s
OnlyFans’ weird week with MEL’s Magdalene Taylor; BuzzFeed’s Joe Bernstein on the problem with our misinformation problem.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/08/21•39m 35s
WWE’s Nick Khan on pivoting his streaming strategy and getting back in the ring
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/08/21•35m 9s
NYT’s Shira Ovide on the everything and nothingness of tech.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/08/21•36m 14s
Reese’s $900 million deal; ScarJo vs Disney with Matt Belloni, + Derek Thompson on how the media covers Delta
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/08/21•59m 33s
Director Tom McCarthy on Stillwater, finishing a movie in a pandemic and playing one of the Wire’s best villains
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/07/21•39m 20s
Deep fakes come to the movies and Hollywood resets for the streaming era
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/07/21•46m 46s
WeWork's rise and fall (and rise again?) with Eliot Brown
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/07/21•43m 25s
Kevin Delaney turns the future of work into a media business; plus a Sun Valley update from David Gura.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/07/21•57m 55s
Men In Blazers’ Roger Bennett loves soccer and America
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/07/21•53m 47s
One of the most popular streamers on Twitch… is a lefty political commentator? Hasan Piker explains
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/06/21•35m 36s
One of Silicon Valley’s most powerful investors is now a media company, too
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/06/21•30m 50s
Jake and Amir on being Web famous, fed up with Hollywood, and podcast bosses
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/06/21•30m 56s
How to make it in the creator economy with Rob Walker
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/06/21•34m 34s
Why is Amazon buying MGM?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/05/21•44m 8s
Jim Miller on HBO’s new home; Alan Yang on a very different season of “Master of None”
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/05/21•42m 46s
Why did AT&T just bail on WarnerMedia? And what happens next?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/05/21•29m 38s
Antonio García Martínez's controversial exit from Apple
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/05/21•23m 30s
Live music is back! Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino can't wait
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/05/21•44m 27s
The Jeff Bezos Empire with Brad Stone & Jason Del Rey
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/05/21•1h 4m
Apple vs Epic with John Gruber; Truth, Doubt and History with Jill Lepore
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/05/21•1h 1m
AMC Networks can’t compete with Netflix. CEO Josh Sapan is fine with that.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/04/21•40m 29s
Did the pandemic kill the Oscars?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/04/21•54m 54s
Apple and Facebook's ambitious audio plans
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/04/21•23m 51s
Substack’s next target: Local news
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/04/21•42m 15s
How Hollywood and the NBA are betting on NFTs
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/04/21•1h 18m
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar on a wild first year on the job
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/04/21•49m 34s
Media Merger Mania with Axios’ Dan Primack and WSJ’s Ben Mullin
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/04/21•37m 36s
The rise and maybe fall of YouTube star David Dobrik; inside Facebook with the Markup’s Julia Angwin
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/03/21•50m 41s
How Christina “Tinx” Najjar became a TikTok star overnight
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/03/21•49m 46s
How did - and didn’t - the pandemic transform media?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/03/21•1h 18m
Fubo TV is a Reddit meme stock. CEO David Gandler has bigger ambitions.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/03/21•47m 21s
Have we hit peak streaming? + NYT’s Kevin Roose on his new book “Futureproof”
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/03/21•56m 25s
Australia vs. Facebook; Al Madrigal means business about All Things Comedy
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/02/21•44m 56s
Pandora founder Tim Westergren on the future of streaming
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/02/21•37m 13s
New York Times CEO Meredith Levien on the future of news, and her newspaper
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/02/21•42m 51s
How To Make An Influencer In America with Nick Bilton
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/02/21•40m 27s
Andrew Ross Sorkin on Gamestop, Robinhood, Reddit and how to fix the system.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/02/21•41m 32s
How Jessica Lessin got people to pay for The Information
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/01/21•41m 16s
Trump vs the Press - a final report card from Jay Rosen
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/01/21•50m 5s
What the Capitol Riot tells us about online power
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/01/21•48m 31s
Behind the making of The Dissident, the movie about Jamal Khashoggi’s murder
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/01/21•44m 7s
Zach Seward started Quartz, sold it, and bought it back. Now what?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
31/12/20•44m 32s
Kemp Powers spent years breaking into Hollywood — and his first film is Pixar’s Soul
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/12/20•44m 40s
Trump is leaving; Trump media isn't
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/12/20•1h 3m
Behind the scenes with Queen’s Gambit creator Scott Frank
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/12/20•59m 44s
Eli Pariser wants to build a better Facebook
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/12/20•41m 4s
Gimlet’s Lydia Polgreen wants to shake up podcasting
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/11/20•45m 57s
BuzzFeed’s Jonah Peretti explains his HuffPost deal
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/11/20•26m 55s
ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish on Paramount+, Pluto TV
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/11/20•34m 23s
Fox and the New York Times face the end of the Trump era
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/11/20•1h 4m
NY Mag's Olivia Nuzzi takes us inside Trumpworld, post Election Day
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/11/20•45m 20s
Election 2020: What happens next?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/11/20•39m 55s
Why Zeynep Tufekci saw the pandemic coming - and what else she knows
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/10/20•1h 7m
Google vs The U.S. Government
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/10/20•38m 41s
ESPN’s Pablo Torre on balancing sports and politics
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/10/20•40m 53s
Congress comes for big tech; Axios thrives in the pandemic
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/10/20•1h 6m
Is big media bouncing back from the pandemic?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/10/20•48m 30s
Politico editor Carrie Budoff Brown on the challenge of covering 2020
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/09/20•44m 32s
QAnon Explained with NBC's Ben Collins
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/09/20•51m 28s
Ben Thompson explains TikTok, Trump and China
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/09/20•23m 3s
Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman is building a media brand one newsletter at a time
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/09/20•33m 34s
Baratunde Thurston wants to teach us how to be a good citizen
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/09/20•42m 52s
NYT’s James Poniewozik on the virtual conventions; CNN’s Brian Stelter on Trump + Fox
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/08/20•55m 55s
Why Desus & Mero are pandemic-proof
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)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/08/20•48m 11s
NYT CEO Mark Thompson on subscriptions, platforms and internal Slack fights; IAC’s Joey Levin bets on betting.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/08/20•57m 59s
Kurt Andersen on the “Evil Geniuses” that got America into this mess
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/08/20•48m 56s
Sports are back! But for how long?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/07/20•58m 1s
Why your favorite writers are taking their talents to Substack. Plus: Peacock!
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/07/20•43m 49s
Hank Green on everything YouTube, Tik Tok, podcasting, and Montana
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/07/20•52m 54s
How to run a newspaper in Hong Kong: South China Morning Post CEO Gary Liu
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/07/20•41m 12s
Why Fox bet $450 million on Tubi and free streaming
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/07/20•37m 54s
How Netflix became a streaming giant
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/06/20•27m 40s
W. Kamau Bell wants to help you understand racism
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/06/20•46m 39s
Wondery CEO Hernan Lopez wants to make the Marvel of podcasts
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/06/20•1h
Conferences were a great business — before the pandemic
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/06/20•1h 10m
Twitter, Trump, Facebook and George Floyd with NYT’s Charlie Warzel
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/06/20•49m 54s
HBO Max is here!
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/05/20•37m 19s
Meet the man who made Netflix’s most popular movie
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/05/20•42m 21s
Joe Rogan takes his podcast to Spotify
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/05/20•15m 45s
It’s Twitch’s Time: Talking live streaming with gamer Dr. Lupo and journalist Bijan Stephen
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/05/20•54m 50s
How Tara Reade told her story
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/05/20•41m 6s
Michael Jordan's Last Dance, with director Jason Hehir
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/05/20•35m 15s
The man behind The Office brings you the future, on Amazon
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/04/20•50m 33s
Matthew Ball on how the pandemic will remake TV, movies and video games
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/04/20•58m 6s
How the Atlantic is thriving in the pandemic
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/04/20•45m 7s
Jeffrey Katzenberg's $1.75 billion bet on Quibi
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/04/20•1h 8m
TikTok, Facebook and podcasts respond to the pandemic
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/04/20•52m 52s
Making people laugh during a pandemic, with Jon Lovett and Jon Gabrus
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/03/20•1h 7m
How social media works - and doesn’t — during the pandemic
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/03/20•54m 3s
Why the Coronavirus canceled the NBA, with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/03/20•1h
How streaming changed comedy with Vulture’s Jesse David Fox
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/03/20•1h 2m
ViacomCBS gets into the streaming wars, too. Sort of.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/02/20•30m 41s
Food52’s surprising success story, with co-founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/02/20•53m 46s
Local news is dying. John Thornton wants to save it.
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/02/20•47m 21s
Spotify, The Ringer and the future of podcasts
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/02/20•20m 16s
How Netflix is changing The Oscars
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/02/20•49m 42s
Why Ben Smith is leaving BuzzFeed for the New York Times
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/01/20•35m 31s
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti reboots his business plan
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/01/20•30m 37s
NBC’s Peacock enters the Streaming Wars
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/01/20•22m 11s
Anna Wiener on disillusionment with startup culture
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/01/20•1h 4m
How The Safdie Bros. landed Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/01/20•34m 58s
Adam Davidson on how to thrive in this economy
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/01/20•1h 5m
Streaming wars! (Don’t call them streaming wars!) and everything else we learned in 2019, with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/12/19•44m 45s
Eat up! Food talk with The Infatuation’s Chris Stang and the New Yorker’s Helen Rosner
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/12/19•1h 27m
Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubuc on the internet, TV and her famous founder
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/12/19•30m 53s
The anatomy of a hit song, with Switched on Pop’s Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/12/19•52m 48s
Roger Lynch’s plan to save Condé Nast
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/12/19•34m 33s
DAZN's John Skipper and the future of streaming sports
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/12/19•31m 4s
The men who want to remake Sports Illustrated: Maven’s James Heckman and Ross Levinsohn
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/12/19•43m 36s
Carolyn Everson runs the Facebook ad machine
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/11/19•38m 18s
John Stankey’s plan for HBO, HBO Max and WarnerMedia
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/11/19•39m 9s
Meet the man behind Disney+: Live from Code Media with Kevin Mayer
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/11/19•43m 19s
Scott Z. Burns on making movies with Amazon, Netflix & Steven Soderbergh
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/11/19•47m 59s
Did Disney+ and Apple TV+ live up to the hype?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/11/19•38m 25s
What's next for The New York Times after The Daily?
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/11/19•39m 57s
Matt Levine left Goldman to become a journalist. Great move!
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/11/19•53m 5s
It's not HBO... It's HBO Max. Plus Steve Swartz, CEO of Hearst on turning a magazine publisher into a diversified media company
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
31/10/19•56m 16s
How the Wu-Tang Clan raised Sophia Chang
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.
Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.
Featuring: Sophia Chang (@sophchangnyc), Author, The Baddest Bitch In The Room
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/10/19•40m 14s
Introducing Reset: Can AI Teach You To Write Better?
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/10/19•24m 11s
How The Athletic CEO Alex Mather convinced people to pay for sports news on the internet
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?
Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.
Featuring: Alex Mather (@amather), CEO of The Athletic
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/10/19•46m 52s
How Shea Serrano used the internet to become a best-selling author
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.
Want to attend Code Media in Los Angeles, CA from November 18th-19th? Click here to register.
Featuring: Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano), New York Times best selling author and staff writer for The Ringer
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/10/19•44m 38s
BuzzFeed News' Ben Smith on covering Trump and making money
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/10/19•1h
Complex CEO Rich Antoniello on running a youth culture media empire
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.
Attend Code Media in Los Angeles, California from November 18-19. Click here to register.
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: Rich Antoniello (@BuzzFeedBen), CEO and Co-founder of Complex
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/09/19•57m 5s
Vox Media + NY Media CEOs Jim Bankoff and Pamela Wasserstein go behind the deal
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.
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: Jim Bankoff (@Bankoff), CEO of Vox Media & Pamela Wasserstein, CEO of New York Media
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/09/19•34m 18s
Behind the scenes of the Brett Kavanaugh investigation with NYT's Kate Kelly
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.
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: Kate Kelly (@katekelly), reporter at The New York Times
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/09/19•52m 40s
Craiglist's Craig Newmark is using his power and money to save journalism
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/09/19•35m 37s
How Survivor and The Sopranos created Trump, with New York Times critic James Poniewozik
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/09/19•55m 11s
Apple TV+ is coming. Will you pay for it?
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),
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/09/19•20m 16s
The epic battle for Uber, with Mike Isaac from the New York Times
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/09/19•55m 13s
The decline of the right wing troll with CNN’s Oliver Darcy
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
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/08/19•52m 22s
Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley wants to know where you are
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/08/19•51m 17s
The Sportswriter: The Ringer's Bryan Curtis on the sports-media-politics mash-up
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/08/19•52m 19s
Taylor Lorenz on TikTok, Twitter … and Tumblr
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/08/19•59m 37s
John Harris, co-founder of Politico
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/08/19•46m 44s
Splice's Steve Martocci wants to remake the music business + All things Amazon with Recode's Jason Del Rey
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/07/19•1h 5m
Chuck Klosterman on Trump, Twitter and cancel culture - and his new book
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/07/19•56m 12s
Media mogul watch at Sun Valley with Dylan Byers + Erin Lee Carr on making true crime documentaries
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/07/19•49m 26s
The Texas Tribune’s secret sauce, with Emily Ramshaw
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/07/19•45m 47s
How Roger Ailes built Fox News - and how Gabriel Sherman turned Ailes’ story into a TV show
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.'
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/06/19•41m 24s
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’
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/06/19•1h 20m
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger at the Code Conference
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/06/19•31m 39s
YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki at the Code Conference
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/06/19•39m 23s
Matthew Ball on Amazon vs Apple vs Netflix vs Disney, and how he built a digital media career by writing for free
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/06/19•1h
ESPN’s Jimmy Pitaro on how he’s reshaping the network
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/05/19•54m 22s
YouTube’s Neal Mohan is trying to police the world’s largest video site + Game of Thrones is gone. What’s next?
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/05/19•52m 51s
Eugene Wei explains why we’re all ‘status monkeys’ on social media
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/05/19•1h
Nick Hornby on writing for TV, 10 minutes at a time
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/05/19•40m 52s
Game of Thrones is down to its last dragon + Hulu CEO Randy Freer
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/05/19•1h 9m
Digital media pioneer Jason Hirschhorn on Netflix vs. Everyone Else
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/05/19•1h 3m
Kickstarter’s Perry Chen on 10 years and billions of dollars of crowdfunding
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/05/19•1h 4m
New York Magazine editor David Haskell on taking over after an industry legend
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/04/19•48m 13s
Why Jessi Hempel left a superstar writing career for LinkedIn
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/04/19•47m 27s
Disney enters the streaming wars + AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/04/19•1h 7m
"Savage News" author Jessica Yellin on the dark side (and the silly side) of TV news
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/04/19•49m 5s
Nilay Patel and Peter Kafka talk about Apple's media event
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/04/19•50m 59s
How Brat co-founder Rob Fishman is making TV for the internet's young women
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/03/19•40m 30s
The business of podcasting with Jacob Weisberg, Bethany McLean and Marshall Williams
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/03/19•1h 6m
Brian Stelter, host of CNN's "Reliable Sources"
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/03/19•1h 3m
Alex Gibney, director of HBO's Theranos documentary "The Inventor"
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/03/19•37m 3s
"Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban on investing, sports gambling and how he helped Elon Musk
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."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/03/19•46m 10s
The New Yorker's Jane Mayer on Fox News and the Trump White House
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/03/19•13m 52s
Overtime CEO Dan Porter on making sports media for Gen Z
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?
Subscribe to Casey Newton's newsletter - The Interface: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/caseynewton
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.
Vox Media is 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: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3X6WMNF
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/03/19•51m 55s
J2 Global CEO Vivek Shah on being a serial acquirer of media businesses
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."
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/02/19•44m 59s
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson on sports gambling and buying Time Warner
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/02/19•31m 29s
Indie.vc founder Bryce Roberts: Why venture capital doesn't work for everyone
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/02/19•48m 38s
Gimlet co-founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber, plus Fortune CEO Alan Murray
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/02/19•1h 5m
Jill Abramson on BuzzFeed layoffs, "Merchants of Truth" and the local news crisis
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
31/01/19•48m 19s
NYU's Jay Rosen says 2020's political journalism will be even worse than 2016's
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/01/19•55m 35s
Axios business editor Dan Primack on newsletters, IPOs and the economy in 2019
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/01/19•48m 26s
Harvard's Susan Crawford on the importance of fiber internet
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/01/19•34m 35s
Neil Vogel on turning around an aging internet property
‘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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/01/19•44m 15s
Filmmaker Hao Wu and Loretta Chao on streaming culture in China
"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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/12/18•43m 17s
Lydia Polgreen talks to Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian
Former Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger in conversation with Lydia Polgreen.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/12/18•1h 35m
The big business of being a social media star
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/12/18•52m 32s
Axios reporter Jonathan Swan talks to Maggie Haberman about reporting on the Trump administration
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/12/18•43m 43s
Former GE and NBC executive Beth Comstock
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/11/18•56m 2s
How Twitch's CEO thinks about tech addiction
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/11/18•51m 16s
Netflix will get ads, predicts The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/11/18•50m 43s
Is the Daily Beast the new Gawker?
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"
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/11/18•33m 12s
John Skipper: You’ve heard of ESPN. Now give DAZN a try.
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/11/18•54m 30s
'The Front Runner' director Jason Reitman
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/11/18•36m 42s
Snap VP of Content Nick Bell
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/10/18•43m 59s
NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/10/18•58m 49s
'The Fairway' author Matt Taibbi
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/10/18•47m 29s
Rival CEO Nathan Hubbard
Former Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new live events startup, Rival.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/10/18•50m 26s
Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/10/18•40m 35s
'The Big Disruption' author Jessica Powell
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/10/18•56m 29s
The Markup co-founder Julia Angwin
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) 🎮 👦🏻
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
27/09/18•51m 3s
'Big Game' author Mark Leibovich
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/09/18•57m 29s
Business of Fashion editor in chief Imran Amed
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/09/18•49m 50s
'The Land of Steady Habits' director Nicole Holofcener
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/09/18•30m 23s
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/09/18•51m 25s
Roku CEO Anthony Wood
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
13/09/18•50m 21s
Substack CEO Chris Best
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
06/09/18•47m 0s
ThinkProgress founder Judd Legum
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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/08/18•46m 34s
Redef CEO Jason Hirschhorn
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.”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23/08/18•1h 2m
Digiday editor in chief Brian Morrissey
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/08/18•54m 3s
Discord CEO Jason Citron
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/08/18•43m 21s
Product Hunt CEO Ryan Hoover
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/08/18•49m 13s
'Eighth Grade' director Bo Burnham
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."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/07/18•43m 15s
'Billions' producer Brian Koppelman
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/07/18•47m 38s
Manoush Zomorodi: Can blockchain save journalism?
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/07/18•56m 28s
Eugene Wei: The invisible ceilings to Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter’s growth
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/07/18•1h 1m
‘The King of Content’ author Keach Hagey explains the Redstone dynasty
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/06/18•42m 41s
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek (Live at Code 2018)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/06/18•37m 38s
Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer
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.”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/06/18•51m 2s
Gimlet founders Alex Blumberg and Matt Lieber
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/06/18•49m 1s
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson (Live at Code 2018)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/06/18•39m 13s
Momofuku chef David Chang (Live at Code 2018)
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/06/18•37m 7s
Jessica Pressler talks 'lady grifters' + Ken Auletta on the 'frenemies' of the ad business
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/06/18•1h 16m
James Murdoch, CEO of 21st Century Fox (Live at Code 2018)
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/06/18•39m 36s
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and CTO Mike Schroepfer (Live at Code 2018)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
31/05/18•55m 27s
Roman Mars, host of 99 Percent Invisible: Don't put podcasts behind a paywall
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/05/18•29m 41s
Ezra Klein explains Vox's new Netflix show 'Explained'
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/05/18•1h 3m
YouTube's Lyor Cohen on YouTube Music, Childish Gambino and Kanye West
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/05/18•43m 50s
What people get wrong about Robin Williams’ life — and his death
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/05/18•48m 29s
The Outline CEO Josh Topolsky: Online ads are stuck in the '90s
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10/05/18•1h
'Chasing Hillary' author Amy Chozick looks back on a decade of writing about Hillary Clinton
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
03/05/18•46m 2s
This is how the New York Times reports Pulitzer Prize-winning stories
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/04/18•55m 3s
Our hoax-filled internet, now available as a book (Rex Sorgatz, author, 'The Encyclopedia of Misinformation')
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?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/04/18•41m 21s
Outside Magazine editor Axie Navas: Yep, we're getting more political.
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."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/04/18•45m 1s
How Marques 'MKBHD' Brownlee got six million subscribers on YouTube
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
12/04/18•41m 48s
Financial Times CEO John Ridding: How to make people pay for media
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
05/04/18•39m 3s
Why every Hollywood movie is a superhero movie
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
29/03/18•39m 36s
What it's like to be the only woman in a TV writers’ room
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/03/18•35m 5s
Houseparty CEO Ben Rubin on livestreaming and SXSW fame
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/03/18•29m 24s
'Get Out' producer Jason Blum (Live at SXSW)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/03/18•45m 16s
How to make a hit TV show for Amazon
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/03/18•37m 7s
SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor (Live at Code Media 2018)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/03/18•28m 4s
Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (Live at Code Media 2018)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
24/02/18•38m 35s
How Lauren Duca became an internet star overnight
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.”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/02/18•35m 10s
Hollywood Reporter part owner Janice Min (Live at Code Media 2018)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
20/02/18•37m 58s
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti (Live at Code Media 2018)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/02/18•36m 3s
Facebook's Adam Mosseri and Campbell Brown (Live at Code Media 2018)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15/02/18•54m 16s
MoviePass sounds too good to be true. Is it?
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
08/02/18•40m 21s
Paywalls make content better (Nick Thompson, editor in chief, Wired)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
01/02/18•43m 42s
How we pivoted from Facebook to Instagram (Dave Finocchio, CEO, Bleacher Report)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
25/01/18•53m 1s
NYU’s Jay Rosen, CNN’s Oliver Darcy and BuzzFeed’s Charlie Warzel talk Trump and the media
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
18/01/18•1h 29m
Digital media companies are headed for a crash (David Carey, president, Hearst Magazines)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11/01/18•44m 51s
Will Trump still dominate the news in 2018?
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04/01/18•42m 47s
Kara Swisher reviews the media, 2017 edition
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/12/17•46m 22s
Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir want to make figure skating great again
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."
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
21/12/17•33m 27s
How Netflix makes a hit (Steven Soderbergh and Scott Frank, co-creators, ‘Godless’)
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.”
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
14/12/17•50m 59s
I'm more famous than Anderson Cooper (Cenk Uygur, CEO, The Young Turks)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
07/12/17•41m 22s
Andy Weir on 'The Martian,' 'Artemis' and when we'll live on the moon
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30/11/17•44m 44s
Hollywood’s sexual harassment story is far from over (Kim Masters, editor-at-large, Hollywood Reporter)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
22/11/17•41m 11s
Don't 'lean in,' fight back (Sarah Lacy, author, 'The Uterus Is a Feature, Not a Bug')
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16/11/17•53m 32s
How to make a ‘comedy-horror’ TV show (Dana Gould, creator, ‘Stan Against Evil’)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
09/11/17•44m 46s
How Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner built and lost a rock and roll empire (Joe Hagan, author, "Sticky Fingers")
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
02/11/17•1h
NYT's Michael Barbaro explains why you love 'The Daily'
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28/10/17•38m 54s
Samantha Bee on Harvey Weinstein, Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump (Live)
"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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
26/10/17•47m 45s
How blocking ads can save the media industry (Tony Haile, CEO, Scroll)
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
19/10/17•52m 30s
Jimmy Kimmel on the intersection of comedy and politics
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.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17/10/17•19m 2s