Channels with Peter Kafka

Vox Media Podcast Network

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.

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593 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes593

Newest first

Jul 14, 2016 · 36 min
Donald Trump is bad for democracy (Jacob Weisberg, chairman, Slate Group)
Slate Group Chairman Jacob Weisberg talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his podcast Trumpcast, which obsesses over presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and his following. Weisberg says Trump will leave a big mark on American politics even if he loses to Hillary Clinton in November. He also discusses how Slate has changed since it launched as a digital magazine in 1996, what social networks it is and isn't using and why media companies should be wary of Facebook's growing power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jul 7, 2016 · 32 min
Documentarian Alex Gibney says the Stuxnet virus was a "new kind of weapon"
"Zero Days" director Alex Gibney talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new film's focus on the Stuxnet virus, which sabotaged the Iranian nuclear program. He compares Stuxnet's attack to the first nuclear bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and calls for countries to open a dialogue about cyberweapons. Gibney also discusses his other documentaries, including "Going Clear," "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine" and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 30, 2016 · 39 min
Daring Fireball's John Gruber: "I'm a writer first and a businessman second"
Daring Fireball founder and sole employee John Gruber talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about running a one-man media company. Gruber has been writing about Apple since 2002 but he estimates that his podcast — which started in 2013 — now represents half of Daring Fireball's revenue. He explains how he got into writing in the early days of web blogging and why he has opted to monetize his site by having only one sponsor per week. Gruber also chats about Steve Jobs's legacy, why he doesn't love the Apple Watch and the alleged influence of Apple's corporate team on his writing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 23, 2016 · 36 min
Steve Jobs "literally caught me with my pants down" (Brian Lam, founder, The Wirecutter)
The Wirecutter founder Brian Lam talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about creating a modern update to Consumer Reports that makes best-in-class buying recommendations across a range of products. He also discusses his previous life as editor in chief of Gawker's technology blog Gizmodo, which famously obtained and wrote about the iPhone 4 before it was released. That led to a testy phone call from Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who "really didn’t like losing that mini chess game," Lam says. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 16, 2016 · 35 min
Malcolm Gladwell wants to make you cry
Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker columnist and author of "The Tipping Point," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about his new podcast, "Revisionist History." Gladwell thinks his new foray into audio will have a more emotional effect on listeners than his columns and books, because "you feel with your ears and you think with your eyes." He also discusses how he wandered into a job at the Washington Post in the 1980s and the proliferation of mass shootings in America, from Columbine to this week's tragic attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 9, 2016 · 34 min
The Ringer editor Sean Fennessey on ending Grantland, starting again
Sean Fennessey, the editor in chief of Bill Simmons's new site The Ringer, talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the decisions that go into launching a media business in 2016. Fennessey reflects on the slow death of Grantland, the site Simmons launched under ESPN in 2011, and what the staff is trying to do differently this time. Among the many challenges facing The Ringer: Balancing fun with legitimacy, figuring out an online video strategy and trying not to sound too drunk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 2, 2016 · 26 min
"Warcraft" director Duncan Jones: Don't watch this movie on an iPhone
Duncan Jones, director of the new movie "Warcraft," talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about pleasing both gamers and non-gamers while adapting a popular video game to the big screen. He describes "Warcraft" as a spectacle that should be seen in theaters, but is already working on "Mute," a smaller-scale follow-up to his low-budget debut picture "Moon." Jones also reflects on the death of his father, David Bowie, and the current state of the digitally shifted movie business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 26, 2016 · 50 min
You have to fight robots to see Beyoncé (Michael Rapino, CEO, Live Nation)
Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino talks with Recode's Peter Kafka about the challenges and opportunities for live music and events in 2016. He says concerts have changed dramatically in the past 10 years, becoming spectacles rather than just vehicles to sell records. Rapino also delves into why consumers hate Live Nation subsidiary Ticketmaster and how the company has tried to fight overseas bots that buy and scalp most tickets sold online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 19, 2016 · 1 hr 2 min
How email saved Jason Hirschhorn's life
Jason Hirschhorn talks with Peter Kafka about his past jobs at Viacom, Dish Network and MySpace and at his new startup Redef. Expanding on the Redef Media email newsletter, which Hirschhorn started in 2006, Redef now has more than 50,000 subscribers in several industries, including music, fashion and sports. He also talks (in great detail) about his quadruple bypass surgery and how Redef's fans saved his life when his doctors were confounded by complications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 12, 2016 · 29 min
Samantha Bee says hiring more women = better comedy
Samantha Bee talks with Peter Kafka about leaving "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," launching her own late-night comedy show "Full Frontal" and what she's doing to make the new show unique. One of the priorities from day one, Bee says, was making a concerted effort to hire women, which has led to some standout stories. She also talks about the 2016 election and why comedy can't be decided by committee. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 5, 2016 · 43 min
Why Larry Wilmore used the N-word at the White House Correspondents' Dinner
"The Nightly Show" host Larry Wilmore talks about his instantly controversial roast at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. He mocked Brian Williams, Wolf Blitzer and Barack Obama, among many others, and not everyone was laughing. Wilmore also discusses Donald Trump's rise in the Republican Party and why he closed his WHCD speech by referring to the president as "my n---a." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 28, 2016 · 37 min
The NYT's Jenna Wortham just wants to "write about people who look like me”
New York Times Magazine staff writer Jenna Wortham talks with Peter Kafka about covering the intersection of culture and technology at Wired magazine and then at the Times. Wortham has also pursued several side projects, including the journalism-as-live-performance show Pop-Up Magazine. She argues that today's journalists must constantly reinvent themselves and that there's value in zigging where others zag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 21, 2016 · 39 min
"Veep" Producer Frank Rich: Trump Can Win
"Veep" executive producer and New York magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich talks with Peter Kafka about the 2016 election, why he underestimated Bernie Sanders and what future candidates can learn from Hillary Clinton's gaffes and Donald Trump's larger-than-life persona. Formerly a theater critic and political columnist for the New York Times, Rich explains why he left the Times in 2011 and how he got involved with HBO. Plus: Other than "Hamilton," how is Broadway doing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 14, 2016 · 38 min
Snapchat Should Start Paying Its Users (Hunter Walk, Investor, Homebrew)
Venture capitalist Hunter Walk, the co-founder of Homebrew, talks with Peter Kafka about his pre-investing career at Second Life, YouTube and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien." He also joined Google in 2003, when the 1,000-employee company was only known for search and before it went public. He discusses why venture capitalists like him need to be patient; how YouTube started making money and paying its users; and why Vine, Instagram and Snapchat should follow YouTube's example. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 7, 2016 · 39 min
From Fake Steve Jobs to HBO's "Silicon Valley" (Dan Lyons, Author, "Disrupted")
Dan Lyons, author of the new book "Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble," tells Peter Kafka how he came to work at a "cult-y" unicorn where "grown-up" meant anyone experienced enough to have worked somewhere else. He traces his career from Forbes Magazine, where he secretly created the satirical Internet personality Fake Steve Jobs, to Newsweek, HubSpot, ReadWrite and Gawker's Valleywag. Most recently, he's been a writer on HBO's hit comedy "Silicon Valley" and shares some behind-the-scenes stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 31, 2016 · 37 min
Millennials Aren't an Alien Species (Philippe von Borries, co-CEO, Refinery29)
Refinery29 co-founder and co-CEO Philippe von Borries talks with Peter Kafka about how his company morphed from a New York-focused fashion guide to a globally recognized powerhouse with 150 million readers and followers online. He explains how Refinery29 created some of the Web's first native ads and argues that native advertising is the antidote to modern cynicism about traditional ads. Plus: Von Borries wants an end to over-generalizations about millennials. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 24, 2016 · 38 min
Can Donald Trump Be Stopped? (Nate Silver, Founder, FiveThirtyEight)
FiveThirtyEight founder and Editor in Chief Nate Silver talks with Peter Kafka about the 2016 election, and why his site was one of many that didn't see Donald Trump coming. He calls Trump a "demagogue" who has succeeded under extraordinary circumstances and says he has a 25 percent to 30 percent chance of winning the general election if he becomes the Republican nominee. Plus: The end of Grantland and why Silver loves the Golden State Warriors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 17, 2016 · 34 min
Digital Brands Are a "Sh*t-Ton of Work" (Troy Young, President, Hearst Magazines Digital)
Hearst Magazines' Troy Young talks with Peter Kafka about his efforts to unify the legacy media company's magazines under one digital strategy. He calls himself "incredibly optimistic" about the future of the medium as it moves away from monthly timelines and toward global, minute-to-minute activity. Young also breaks down what it took to create a successful channel for Cosmopolitan on Snapchat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 10, 2016 · 30 min
Peter Gould, Co-Creator, "Better Call Saul"
"Better Call Saul" co-creator and Executive Producer Peter Gould talks with Peter Kafka about getting his first big break after the age of 40 on the hit AMC television show "Breaking Bad." Gould says that show and "Saul," its currently-airing prequel, might owe their existence to DVRs and the Internet. He explains how today's media consumption habits are changing the way premium TV shows get made. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 3, 2016 · 31 min
Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, theSkimm Co-Founders
Co-founders of theSkimm Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin talk with Peter Kafka about how they built up an email newsletter that gets opened by 1.5 million people, and why they want more. TheSkimm's mission is to make its readers (predominantly young, educated women) more informed and engaged with brand partners, and Weisberg and Zakin explain why email is just one tool to do that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Channels with Peter Kafka

Donald Trump is bad for democracy (Jacob Weisberg, chairman, Slate Group)

Documentarian Alex Gibney says the Stuxnet virus was a "new kind of weapon"

Daring Fireball's John Gruber: "I'm a writer first and a businessman second"

​Steve Jobs "literally caught me with my pants down" (Brian Lam, founder, The Wirecutter)

Malcolm Gladwell wants to make you cry

The Ringer editor Sean Fennessey on ending Grantland, starting again

"Warcraft" director Duncan Jones: Don't watch this movie on an iPhone

You have to fight robots to see Beyoncé (Michael Rapino, CEO, Live Nation)

How email saved Jason Hirschhorn's life

Samantha Bee says hiring more women = better comedy

Why Larry Wilmore used the N-word at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

The NYT's Jenna Wortham just wants to "write about people who look like me”

"Veep" Producer Frank Rich: Trump Can Win

Snapchat Should Start Paying Its Users (Hunter Walk, Investor, Homebrew)

From Fake Steve Jobs to HBO's "Silicon Valley" (Dan Lyons, Author, "Disrupted")

Millennials Aren't an Alien Species (Philippe von Borries, co-CEO, Refinery29)

Can Donald Trump Be Stopped? (Nate Silver, Founder, FiveThirtyEight)

Digital Brands Are a "Sh*t-Ton of Work" (Troy Young, President, Hearst Magazines Digital)

Peter Gould, Co-Creator, "Better Call Saul"

Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, theSkimm Co-Founders

Steve Jobs "literally caught me with my pants down" (Brian Lam, founder, The Wirecutter)