Channels with Peter Kafka

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Can Elon Fix Twitter? Can Reed Fix Netflix? Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

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.

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Elon and Twitter: A love/hate story Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

Elon Musk loves Twitter and also thinks it’s broken. So he wants to buy it.

Can he, really? And who would help him? And why? And wtf does it mean when the world’s richest man is also one of its best shitposters? Bloomberg's Kurt Wagner and the Atlantic’s Derek Thompson try to help Recode’s Peter Kafka figure it out.

Featuring: Kurt Wagner (@KurtWagner8), tech and social media reporter for Bloomberg

Derek Thompson (@DKThomp), staff writer for The Atlantic and host of Plain English for The Ringer

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

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

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Disney vs. Itself vs. The Right Apr 14, 2022

Show notes

Within the past few months, Disney CEO Bob Chapek managed to piss off his shareholders, the LGBT community, and right-wing conservatives. Today we talk about how he did it, why it happened, and what’s next.

First, Puck’s Matt Belloni joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to compare Disney’s old and new Bobs, Iger and Chapek. Belloni details the inner turmoil at Disney over the company’s initially tepid response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law - and why Disney investors are dissatisfied with Chapek for other reasons.

Then, Jane Coaston, host of The New York Times podcast The Argument, explains what the “Don’t Say Gay” law actually says, and how the right made Disney its latest enemy in the culture war.

Featuring: Matt Belloni (@MattBelloni), Founding Partner at Puck

Jane Coaston (@janecoaston), Host of The Argument

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

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

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The State of Streaming Apr 07, 2022

Show notes

It’s time to check back in on the state of the streaming wars, with two binge-worthy conversations. First, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to analyst Michael Nathanson about Big Media’s new problem: TV ratings are plummeting because all the good stuff is streaming — but now Wall Street doesn’t just want streaming, it wants *profitable* streaming.

Then, we travel into the time stream to talk about the past, present and future of the streaming wars with Dawn Chmielewski, co-author of Binge Times: Inside Hollywood’s Furious Billion-Dollar Battle to Take Down Netflix, and Julia Alexander of Parrot Analytics. We discuss the legacy of Seeso, why the real audience of CNN+ may be the people in front of the camera, and when and if we’re getting the bundle back.

Featuring: Michael Nathanson, Senior Research Analyst at MoffetNathanson

Dawn Chmielewski (@DawnC331), U.S. Entertainment Business Correspondent at Reuters

Julia Alexander (@loudmouthjulia) Senior Strategy Analyst at Parrot Analytics

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

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

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Judd Apatow on The Bubble, TikTok and The Slap Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

Legendary comedy director/writer/producer Judd Apatow was busy during lockdown: He wrote a book and made two movies. One of them is The Bubble, a movie about… making a movie during the pandemic. Apatow talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what success looks like in the streaming era, coming to terms with TikTok, and his Oscar tweets. Also discussed: How many meetings it took to design a CGI flammable alien dinosaur penis.

Featuring: Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow), Writer, Director, Producer

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

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

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The Oscars: Hollywood’s smallest biggest night? Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

The Oscars used to be one of the biggest things on TV. Now they’re… not. Does that matter to the movie business and to movie-goers? We discuss with our annual Oscar experts: Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson and Slate’s Allegra Frank, who talk about their favorite movies, and try to sell Recode’s Peter Kafka on watching a 3-hour foreign language film. But more important: How and why should the Oscars try to remake itself for a TikTok world — and will a Twitter poll + DJ Kahled and Tony Hawk do the trick?

Featuring: Alissa Wilkinson (@alissamarie), Film & Culture Editor at Vox

Allegra Frank (@LegsFrank), Senior Editor at Slate

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

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

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Dan Le Batard on life after ESPN; Russia sanctions upend big-time soccer Mar 17, 2022

Show notes

March Madness has started, but this isn’t a podcast about that: Today, it’s a podcast about sports media, about leaving sports media to do your own thing, and about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may radically reshape big-time soccer.

First Dan Le Batard, formerly of ESPN, joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about his “fool’s quest” to found Meadowlark Media, “a company with a soul.” And why that company needed a big infusion of cash from the sports betting business to get off the ground.

Then, soccer journalist Grant Wahl shares an extraordinary story about how the UK’s sanctions against Russia impacted one of the most famous teams in the world, London-based Chelsea F.C. Plus, he talks about what it’s been like to strike out on his own after being fired from Sports Illustrated.

Featuring: Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl), Soccer Journalist on https://grantwahl.substack.com/

Dan Le Batard (@LeBatardShow), Founder of Meadowlark Media and host of the Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz

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

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

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Big Tech takes a side, finally + Zappos' tragic founder Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

Silicon Valley goes out of its way not to upset countries around the world - even when that means making embarrassing compromises. But it has taken a stand against Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, limiting services or cutting them off entirely. What happens next? Recode’s Peter Kafka and the New York Times’ Shira Ovide both wrote about this separately, and now they’re talking about it together.

Then, Wall Street Journal reporter Kirsten Grind talks about her new book, Happy at Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. Plus Kirsten reflects on her blockbuster reporting about the toxic culture at Activision.

Featuring: Kirsten Grind (@kirstengrind), Investigative Reporter for Wall Street Journal and Author

Shira Ovide (@ShiraOvide), writer of the On Tech newsletter for the New York Times

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

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

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Covering the war in Ukraine, online and on the ground Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

Recode's Peter Kafka talks to three reporters about the realities of covering the war in Ukraine and sorting truth from disinformation -- from the ground, from afar, and online.

In Ukraine: CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward discusses the challenges of war reporting in 2022, everything from planning food and exit routes to working with a remote team to analyze online videos.

In DC: Puck co-founder and Washington correspondent Julia Ioffe talk about how hard it is to learn what Russians think about what's going on, and how long she expects the war to hold the American people's interest.

Finally, Jane Lytvynenko, a senior research fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, gives us a crash course on Russia’s history of disinformation dissemination. She also tells us about Telegram, which essentially functions as “Eastern European Twitter."

Featuring: Clarissa Ward (@clarissaward), Chief International Correspondent for CNN

Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe), Co-Founder and Washington Correspondent for Puck

Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv), Senior Research Fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center

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

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

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Uber, but for TV Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

When Recode’s Peter Kafka advises you not to write your book, WRITE THAT BOOK. That’s the lesson Mike Isaac learned: His book “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber” is now a Showtime series starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Not only that, Showtime announced that Mike’s next, yet-to-be-finished book about Facebook will be the basis of season 2. Peter talks to Mark about what it’s like to shift from the world of reporting to prestige TV drama.

Then, host of LinkedIn’s “Hello Monday” podcast, Jessi Hempel, talks about the launch of LinkedIn’s new podcast network.

Featuring: Mike Isaac (@MikeIsaac), Author and Tech Reporter at The New York Times

Jessi Hempel (@jessiwrites) Senior Editor At Large at LinkedIn and host of Hello Monday

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

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

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