Channels with Peter Kafka

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Chuck Klosterman relives the 1990s & Sarah Palin loses her NYT libel suit Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

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.

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What's next for CNN? + The Afterparty's Ben Schwartz writes jokes for C-3PO Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

This is (an update about what’s going on at) CNN. Dylan Byers of Puck News joins Recode’s Peter Kafka: They talk about the fallout from former CNN president Jeff Zucker’s resignation and the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger federal regulators approved yesterday.

And then for something completely different, it’s the delightful Ben Schwartz! The affable Parks and Rec actor and improviser joins his new pal “PK” for a fun conversation. We talk about his new Apple TV+ show The Afterparty, working for Netflix, and how he became the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. But wait, there’s more: Schwartz also talks breaking into show business via the internet, watching someone steal his content and go viral, and doing punch-up for Star Wars director J.J. Abrams.

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

Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes), Actor, Writer, and Comedian

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

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

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Is Spotify’s Joe Rogan problem over? Plus how to launch a new media startup. Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

First: Neil Young quit Spotify over Joe Rogan, but just a handful of musicians have followed him. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw assesses whether Spotify’s podcast problems are over, or just beginning.

Then, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to two journalists who left their jobs to start their own media organizations. Lauren Williams was Vox’s editor-in-chief — this week she co-launched Capital B, a nonprofit news site aimed at Black readers. Brian Morrissey was editor-in-chief at Digiday and is now running The Rebooting - a one-man operation aimed at a business audience. Both of them talk about business models, the risk and reward of building something from scratch, and what success looks like when you’re starting out on your own.

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

Lauren Williams (@laurenwilliams), Co-Founder and CEO of Capital B

Brian Morrissey (@bmorrissey), Founder of The Rebooting

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

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

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Game on: Behind the sports betting boom Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

Just in time for the NFL playoffs, sports betting is legal in New York. $600 million in bets were placed in the first week alone. Now that it’s legal in more than 30 states, Recode’s Peter Kafka dives into how the business works and how going legit might change the TV sports viewing experience. Getting in on the action: Action Network CEO Patrick Keane and Sports Illustrated’s Richard Johnson.

Featuring: Patrick Keane (@phkeane), CEO of Action Network

Richard Johnson (@RJ_Writes), writer for Sports Illustrated

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

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

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Gaming out Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

It’s the biggest acquisition in Microsoft’s history: $68.7 billion to buy the video game company, Activision Blizzard.

First, Axios’ Chief Technology Correspondent, Ina Fried, tells us how Xbox fits into Microsoft’s overall business. She touches on how Activision Blizzard’s scandals impacted the deal, and whether Microsoft’s plan to buy the company that makes Overwatch will get past federal over watchers.

For the gaming side, Peter talks to Chris Grant, SVP of Polygon and The Verge. He explains just how big the video game industry is, and takes us through the history of Activision, from the 1982 Atari hit Pitfall! to Call of Duty.

Featuring: Chris Grant (@chrisgrant), SVP at Vox Media

Ina Fried (@inafried), Chief Technology Correspondent at Axios

Ina's newsletter, Axios Login: https://www.axios.com/signup/login

Read Ina’s coverage of the deal: https://www.axios.com/microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-big-tech-regulation-aaf95937-7df1-4d4a-99c1-267b9a9d22f8.html

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

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

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So … what the hell is Web3? With the Chernin Group’s Jarrod Dicker Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

What the hell is Web3, why did everyone start talking about it all at once, and are we going to still be talking about it in a few months? Jarrod Dicker, an investor at the Chernin Group, may know the answers to some of those questions, so he sat down to talk with Recode’s Peter Kafka. For years, Dicker has been in and around crypto — Web3 is really a rebranding of crypto — but he also knows the media business: Prior to Chernin, he was an executive at the Washington Post. He’s bullish on Web3 because that’s his job, but he’s also got a nuanced perspective on what this stuff does and doesn’t mean for lots of different businesses.

Featuring: Jarrod Dicker (@jarroddicker), Partner at the Chernin Group

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

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

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How the right covers 1/6 + tales from the Theranos trial, with Oliver Darcy and Erin Griffith Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

CNN’s Oliver Darcy joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the way conservative media covers - and, importantly, doesn’t cover - the 1/6 riot and its aftermath. Then, NYT’s Erin Griffith reports back from the frontlines of the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos trial, with tales of 3 AM wake-ups and keyboard mufflers. And she argues that Holmes’ story is Silicon Valley’s story, whether Silicon Valley likes it or not.

Featuring: Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy), Senior Media reporter at CNN

Erin Griffith (@eringriffith), Tech & VC reporter at The New York Times

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

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

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The Verge’s Ashley Carman on podcasting’s big year Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

2021 was the year everyone who wasn’t already in podcasting jumped in the pool - and everyone who was already there spent more time and money trying to move the industry from promising to profitable. The Verge’s Ashley Carman joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about everyone from Amazon to Apple to Spotify - of course - and talk about what we’re going to see, and listen to, next year.

Featuring: Ashley Carman (@ashleyrcarman), Senior Reporter at The Verge and Lead Writer at Hot Pod

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

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

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What the hell happened in 2021? With Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw. Dec 20, 2021

Show notes

How do you describe what happened to the media world in 2021? What happened to the movie business, streaming, music, TikTok, and more? Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to sort what changed, what didn’t, and what 2022 might bring.

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

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

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

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WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s almost-exit interview Dec 15, 2021

Show notes

Jason Kilar does not have opinions about the finale of HBO’s Succession, because he hasn’t seen it yet. The CEO of HBO’s parent company, WarnerMedia, does have opinions about lots of other stuff, though, including the future of movie theaters, the rise of games, and how the ad industry reacts to the streaming world. Kilar is scheduled to leave his post if AT&T’s deal to move WarnerMedia to Discovery goes through next year, which makes this a great time to chat with Recode’s Peter Kafka.

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