On with Kara Swisher

Latest Episodes:

How the Right Launders Online Propaganda with Renée DiResta Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

Renée DiResta is one the world’s leading experts on online disinformation and propaganda and the author of the new book,Invisible Rulers, The People Who Turn Lies into Reality. About two months ago, DiResta found out her contract as the technical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory would not be renewed. What’s more, the SIO, one of the foremost academic programs studying abuse online, would be essentially hollowed out. The university blames funding challenges, and says it has “not shut down or dismantled SIO as a result of outside pressure.” However, many journalists and fellow researchers suspect that political pressure from the right, including congressional hearings led by Rep. Jim Jordan and lawsuits from people like Stephen Miller, caused Stanford to cave.

Kara and Renée discuss the drama at the SIO; Invisible Rulers; the coordinated effort by the right to target academic researchers who study online propaganda and disinformation; the larger strategy to push back against content moderation by social media platforms; and the role the platforms themselves and their CEOS (looking at you, Elon) play in this fight.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Daily Show’s Desi Lydic Mines the “Weird” 2024 Election For Comedy Gold Aug 12, 2024

Show notes

Desi Lydic has been a Senior Correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show for nearly a decade. Earlier this year, Jon Stewart returned to the anchor desk on Mondays, and Lydic has been part of a rotating cast hosting the show Tuesday through Thursday, often in teams. This week, she'll be flying solo.

Kara and Desi discuss how the Harris/Walz campaign has changed the vibe for the Indecision 2024 team (her message for Dad-joke aficionado Walz: stay in your lane!); how social media has impacted the late night landscape (including her Emmy-nominated series Foxsplains); whether there are any “off limits” topics in political comedy; and why Lydic wasn't prepared to love the anchor seat.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roxane Gay on Guns, Kamala & Media Aug 08, 2024

Show notes

Roxane Gay is a writer, editor, podcaster, and culture critic. She has published a dozen books, including the seminal essay collection Bad Feminist, which just turned 10, and the memoir Hunger — both are best sellers. She writes a newsletter, The Audacity, and is a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times where, until recently, she wrote the workplace advice column, Work Friend.

Gay recently published Stand Your Ground, an essay that explores what it means to be a Black, feminist gun owner and to exercise her constitutional right to bear arms when "the Second Amendment was never meant for Black people." Kara and Roxane discuss the essay, her burgeoning media empire, and Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.

Stand Your Ground is available now as an ebook/audiobook.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nancy Pelosi on the ‘Decision to Win’ in 2024 Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

In almost four decades as an elected official, Rep. Nancy Pelosi is arguably the most powerful woman in American politics today. She’s been celebrated as the greatest Speaker the House of Representatives has ever seen and even now, almost two years after she gave up the gavel, Pelosi’s influence within the Democratic party is clear and unchanging.

When President Biden announced his decision to call off his re-election campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in his stead, many speculated that Pelosi was behind the decision.

Kara asks the former Speaker what went on behind the scenes, what role, if any, she played in it, where the sudden and overwhelming support for Harris came from, and how Pelosi has maintained her grip on power in the Democratic party. Pelosi also teases her much-anticipated memoir, The Art of Power, which will be available on August 6, 2024.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anti-DEI Moms & the Alt-Right: Two Sides of the Same Coin Aug 01, 2024

Show notes

At first blush, the successful, suburban moms in Southlake, Texas who helped kick off the anti-CRT/anti-DEI movement animating school board fights across the country have little in common with the young, self-described losers and incels who make up much of the alt-right. In fact, both are far-right extremist groups that are obsessed with race, trans people, and not surprisingly, Donald Trump — and they occasionally collaborate.

Kara talks to Elle Reeve, author of “Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics” and a CNN correspondent, and Mike Hixenbaugh, author of “They Came For the Schools” and senior reporter for NBC News, to break down the parallels and contrasts between the two groups.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Debate, the Dropout and the Dems' Future with “Biden Whisperer” Ron Klain Jul 29, 2024

Show notes

From the Senate, to the VP Residence to the Oval: Former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain has been inside President Biden’s inner circle for nearly 40 years. This spring, he even took time off from his brand new job as Airbnb’s Chief Legal Officer to help Biden prep for his (no good, very bad day) debate against Donald Trump. Kara talks to Klain (her former Hoya college buddy) about the many questions, accusations and now conspiracy theories swirling around President Biden’s decision to exit the presidential race, whether Republicans are right to call it a “coup”, how Vice President Kamala Harris should be positioning herself in the next 100 days, and what President Biden’s legacy will be in the years to come.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Who’s Behind the Harris Campaign Donation Tsunami? Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

How did Vice President Kamala Harris raise a historic $126 million in just over 48 hours for her 2024 presidential run? The Harris campaign says 1.4 million voters and key constituencies chipped in after President Biden pulled out of the race, but maybe even more important: Harris has long-standing ties to tech titans in Silicon Valley and influential celebrities in Hollywood. On today’s show, Kara discusses the BIG money behind the blue flood with two top campaign finance reporters, Wall Street Journal reporter Emily Glazer and Teddy Schleifer from The New York Times. They also discuss how Harris’s haul compares with the pledges to former President Trump from Elon Musk and his cohort. Plus: will a complaint from Trump’s campaign keep Harris from accessing the $96 million left in the Biden/Harris war chest?

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What Happened to Joe Biden? What’s Next for Kamala Harris and the Dems? Jul 23, 2024

Show notes

Audie Cornish, Franklin Foer, Ashley Parker, and Alex Thompson join Kara for a special bonus episode about the recent historic tumult in this year's presidential election. The panel breaks down how and why President Joe Biden decided to drop out of the race; what his legacy will be; and what a run by Vice President Kamala Harris could look like.

Audie is a CNN anchor and correspondent and host of The Assignment podcast. Franklin is a staff writer for The Atlantic and author of The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future. Ashley is a senior national political correspondent for The Washington Post. Alex is a national political correspondent for Axios, and he’s currently writing a book about President Biden.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ON LIVE: Chrissy Teigen and John Legend on Entrepreneurship, Politics and Dogs Jul 22, 2024

Show notes

Musician, producer and EGOT-winner John Legend and model, TV personality and cookbook author Chrissy Teigan are not just a celebrity couple. They are also entrepreneurs, business partners and passionate surrogates for Democratic politics. Kara spoke with the couple for a live taping of On at Cannes Lions in June about how they’ve built/collaborated on their respective business ventures and what it takes to curate successful brands that work with, not against, their outspoken personalities and political activism.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Guns, Social Media & Loneliness with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Jul 18, 2024

Show notes

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy isn’t afraid to go after powerful interests. In mid-June, he published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for a warning label on social media platforms that says they’re associated with mental health problems for teens. The following week, he declared that gun violence is a public health crisis. However, the surgeon general's powers are limited. It'll take an act of Congress to put a warning label on social media platforms, and thanks to the Roberts court, even legislators are limited in their ability to regulate firearms.

Kara and Dr. Murthy discuss this country's seemingly intractable gun problem and the debate around the research into the harms caused by social media, along with his work on loneliness, and how Covid has eroded trust in the public health sector.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected