On with Kara Swisher

Vox Media Podcast Network
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It's on. Twice a week, award-winning journalist Kara Swisher gets to the heart of the story through no-holds-barred interviews with power players across business, tech, media, politics and beyond. So why do her guests show up? “Smart people,” says Kara, “like difficult questions.” Mondays and Thursdays from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. 

  1. 21 HR AGO

    Is AI Hollywood’s Newest Star? Runway AI’s Vision for the Future of Film

    AI video generators are making storytelling more affordable — and one day, the tools may allow anyone with enough creativity to become a filmmaker. But the same technology can power convincing deepfakes that undermine our shared reality and destabilize our politics.  Cristobal Valenzuela, the co-founder and CEO of Runway AI, joins Kara to discuss how its tools are disrupting the advertising and film industries, and why Hollywood studios might not want to admit how much they are using them.  They also talk about how Runway is holding its own against (and warding off takeover advances from) much bigger tech players, and the AI video industry's responsibility in preventing deepfakes and political manipulation. Plus: Kara becomes a Top Gun pilot! Watch the video on the On With Kara Swisher YouTube page.  Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    50 min

  2. 3 DAYS AGO

    How A ‘Brittle’ Constitution Broke U.S. Politics with Historian Jill Lepore

    In her latest book, We the People, the historian, New Yorker staff writer, and Harvard University professor Jill Lepore turns her attention to the history of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, she focuses on all the ways our government’s foundational text has changed throughout its nearly 250 year history. Lepore calls Article V, which lays out the Constitution’s amendment mechanism, by far its most “radical innovation.” But she says the Constitution has become unamendable in the modern era — it hasn’t been meaningfully updated in more than a half-century, corroding our politics and government.  Kara and Jill break down why the Framers included a way to make changes to the Constitution, how we’re still grappling with Article V’s bad compromises, and why the now dominant judicial philosophy of originalism contradicts the Framers’ intent. Lepore also digs into whether the Constitution can withstand PresidentTrump’s constant attacks. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswishe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    51 min

  3. 4 SEPT

    Liberal Media Bias, Trump & Taming Big Tech with Cable Impresario John Malone

    While media pioneer John Malone may not be a household name, he’s had a hand in shaping how all of us watch TV. Malone built Denver-based Tele-Communications Inc. into the largest cable company in the country, and then carved out Liberty Media from TCI. Liberty, along with various spinoff companies, have owned controlling stakes in companies like Discovery, SiriusXM, the Atlanta Braves, and Formula 1. Now, at 84, Malone has a new book out, “Born to Be Wired,” about his career and the fellow media titans he met along the way.   Kara and Malone talk about how he transformed from the Ivy League-educated engineer to one of the “cable cowboys” who helped bring cable television into the homes of millions of Americans, how he squares his libertarian politics with President Donald Trump’s policies and the MAGA Republican Party, and why he thinks Big Tech needs major regulation. He also expands on some of his recent critiques of CNN and supposed left-wing bias in the media.  Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 2m

  4. 1 SEPT

    Labor Day Special: Hacks On Tap

    Happy Labor Day! Today, we’re bringing you a special episode from our friends at Hacks on Tap. This one is hosted by David Axelrod and John Heilemann, and they’re joined by Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff, mayor of Chicago and ambassador to Japan.  The trio discusses President Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, the FBI’s investigation into former National Security Advisor John Bolton, the collapse of the Ukraine peace talks, the high-stakes redistricting battles in Texas and California, and more. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 8m

  5. 28 AUG

    Joy Reid on Dems, Gaza & Independent Media

    Joy Reid was an early social media adopter — which didn’t always go over well with her former bosses at MSNBC. But after her primetime show, The ReidOut, was canceled as part of MSNBC’s shakeup, this past February, Reid quickly used social media platforms to successfully pivot to independent media.  Kara and Reid discuss the evolving landscape of cable news, how her Substack, "Joy's House", and her YouTube channel, "The Joy Reid Show”, allow her to cover topics like the war in Gaza and politics with more freedom, and her insights into the direction of the Democratic party. Plus: Reid’s thoughts on MSNBC’s new name/logo, MSNOW. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    59 min

  6. 25 AUG

    Cartoons, Capitalism & Censorship: Alison Bechdel & Ann Telnaes on Politics in Art

    How do artists hold the powerful to account? Graphic novelist Alison Bechdel and editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes have been grappling with that question for decades, in their own very different ways.  Bechdel is the creator of the seminal comic strip, “Dykes to Watch out For,” which she self-syndicated for 25 years. She’s also the author and illustrator of four graphic novels, including “Fun Home,” which was adapted into a five-time Tony-winning Broadway musical. She is a professor at Yale, and her latest book is Spent.   Telnaes is a two-time Pulitzer winner and the winner of the Herb Block Prize for editorial cartooning in 2023. Earlier this year, she made international headlines after resigning from The Washington Post when her cartoon mocking tech billionaires for bending the knee to President Trump, including Post owner Jezz Bezos, was spiked. She now publishes her work on Substack  Kara, Alison and Ann discuss everything from politics and money in art, to South Park, book bans, drawing Kristi Noem's flowing extensions, art making, and AI drawings.  Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    59 min

  7. 21 AUG

    Why Trump’s Economic Illiteracy Might *Not* Tank the Economy

    Tariffs are up, but inflation is still holding steady. Job numbers are down, but the stock market is booming. Meanwhile, President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and he’s pushing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates (he’s also calling for Fed governor Lisa Cook to resign, but that began after our taping). MSNBC economic analyst Steven Rattner joins Kara to break down the contradictory and confusing economic news of late. Rattner is the chairman and CEO of Willett Advisors, the investment arm for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s personal and philanthropic assets, and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. He and Kara discuss the impact of Trump’s “economic illiteracy” on the business world; why major price hikes haven’t materialized yet and whether Trump’s tariffs could lead to inflation; why there’s such a disconnect between the economy and the stock market; and whether the AI boom’s potential to increase productivity will keep the economy humming during Trump 2.0. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    57 min

  8. 18 AUG

    Why Trump’s Cartoonish Fascism Is So Effective with Jason Stanley

    As federal troops patrol the capital and masked men whisk away immigrants in unmarked cars, it’s reasonable to ask: is President Trump a fascist? According to Jason Stanley, the answer is a resounding yes. Stanley is a philosopher and the author of seven books, including How Propaganda Works, How Fascism Works, and Erasing History. He’ll be teaching at the University of Toronto this fall, after leaving Yale and the United States for Canada. He describes his self-imposed exile as an expressive act meant to sound an alarm, but Kara is skeptical, and the two of them spar over his choice. They also break down the ways in which Trump is following the fascist playbook — from cultural capture of museums and universities, to data manipulation, and emergency declarations — and the role of the media in normalizing anti-democratic power grabs. Finally they debate whether MAGA can survive without Trump, and whether America can survive MAGA.  Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    51 min
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It's on. Twice a week, award-winning journalist Kara Swisher gets to the heart of the story through no-holds-barred interviews with power players across business, tech, media, politics and beyond. So why do her guests show up? “Smart people,” says Kara, “like difficult questions.” Mondays and Thursdays from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. 

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