Channels with Peter Kafka

Latest Episodes:

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar on a wild first year on the job Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

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

Media Merger Mania with Axios’ Dan Primack and WSJ’s Ben Mullin Apr 01, 2021

Show notes

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

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

The rise and maybe fall of YouTube star David Dobrik; inside Facebook with the Markup’s Julia Angwin Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

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

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

How Christina “Tinx” Najjar became a TikTok star overnight Mar 18, 2021

Show notes

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

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

How did - and didn’t - the pandemic transform media? Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

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

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

Fubo TV is a Reddit meme stock. CEO David Gandler has bigger ambitions. Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

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

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

Have we hit peak streaming? + NYT’s Kevin Roose on his new book “Futureproof” Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

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

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

Australia vs. Facebook; Al Madrigal means business about All Things Comedy Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

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

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

Pandora founder Tim Westergren on the future of streaming Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

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

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

New York Times CEO Meredith Levien on the future of news, and her newspaper Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

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

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