On with Kara Swisher

Latest Episodes:

Martha, Martha, Martha (ICYMI) Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Today we’re replaying you a summer episode where Kara and Nayeema took a field trip to Martha Stewart’s 156-acre estate for an interview with the media mogul and O.G. influencer. On the menu for this conversation? The media maven’s early interest in tech, parties with Bill Gates (and the artist formerly known as Puff Daddy), doing Sports Illustrated at age 81, big ideas like “KMartha” or “MarthaAI,” and why nothing — not prison time nor the idea of aging — can stop the constant reinvention of Martha Stewart.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Instagram/Threads. We’re @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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Jon Lovett Talks Trump, Biden & the Podcasting Biz Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

After Kara and Nayeema discuss the defenestration of Kevin McCarthy, we turn to podcaster and political savant Jon Lovett of Crooked Media fame. Kara and Jon share laughs as they talk about the podcast biz, unions, Trump and Biden’s chances in ‘24.

This conversation was taped live at the Code Conference on September 28, 2023.

Questions or comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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Do Never Trumpers Matter? We Asked Adam Kinzinger Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

After Kara and Nayeema discuss Dianne Feinstein’s death and her legacy as a leader, we turn to Kara's interview with Adam Kinzinger. The former Republican congressman has said he would only vote for Trump in one scenario: if his opponent were Satan.

Once a rising star in the Tea Party, Kinzinger is now a leading voice inside the GOP’s anti-Trump cohort. He was one of only ten House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after January 6, 2021 — and, like many of his peers, he paid a high price: his seat in Congress.

We discuss whether his political sacrifice was worth it, what happens in the “Trump Resistance” text chain and why so many Republicans won’t come out against Trump — even when they see him as a threat to democracy.

This conversation was taped live at the Texas Tribune Festival on September 22, 2023.

Questions or comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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The Yoel Roth-Linda Yaccarino Showdown Sep 28, 2023

Show notes

On Wednesday, two Twitter-related interviews rocked the stage at the 2023 Code Conference. Kara interviewed the former head of trust and safety at Twitter/X, Yoel Roth, and Julia Boorstin, CNBC's Senior Media & Tech Correspondent, interviewed X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino.

The late booking of Roth rattled Yaccarino, and her interview led to a media storm. Today, we bring you both interviews. We start off with Kara and Nayeema, as they set the stage early on Wednesday morning, play the interviews in chronological order and then rejoin Kara and Nayeema for a debrief to address accusations that the schedule change amounted to “sandbagging” Yaccarino. (Kara’s response: it does not).

Questions or comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

To join the waitlist for the 2024 Code Conference, visit https://voxmediaevents.com/code2024.

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Sheila Johnson Talks BET, Entrepreneurship and Why She Doesn’t Love Being Called “America’s First Black Female Billionaire” Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

Sheila Johnson is best known for co-founding BET, a network she launched with her ex-husband, Bob Johnson, and which they eventually sold to Viacom for billions. She’s since built a hospitality brand, been an active philanthropist and is an owner or partner in three professional sports teams. But many of those achievements came at great cost, as Sheila writes in her new memoir, “Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph.” We discuss how she navigated her success and independence in a time where “women were defined by their husbands.” We also talk about the future of BET and the role of identity-driven programming in American media.

Questions or comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza.

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Is Biden the Best Democrats Can Do? Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

Biden’s poll numbers are atrocious, and in recent columns from The Washington Post to The New York Times and The National Journal, the punditocracy has started to sour on the president’s 2024 ambitions. Columnists have weighed in on why Biden could lose to Trump — and whether it’d be better for him to step aside. Is this a phase, a pipe dream or an actual crisis?

We convene an all-star panel to discuss. Our guests: Franklin Foer, staff writer for The Atlantic and author of the recently released The Last Politician, a look a Biden’s first two years in office; Astead Herndon, national political reporter for The New York Times and host of The Run-Up; Jen Psaki, former White House press secretary for the Biden administration and host of Inside with Jen Psaki on MSNBC; and Alex Thompson, national political correspondent for Axios.

Questions or comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza.

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The Walter Isaacson-Kara Swisher Showdown Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

Walter Isaacson and Kara are friends — but that doesn’t mean she’s going to go easy on him as they discuss Isaacson’s new hit biography: Elon Musk, which is causing much consternation among readers and reviewers. Kara pushes Walter on whether the book equivocates or excuses too much of Elon’s bad behavior. And Walter, well, he pushes back.

Questions or comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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How Twitter Took Alex Edelman to IRL White Supremacists Sep 14, 2023

Show notes

A Jewish comedian walks into an apartment in Queens to meet a group of white supremacists … This isn’t the setup to a bad joke — it’s the inciting incident in Alex Edelman’s hit one-man show, “Just For Us,” which recently wrapped a nine-week run on Broadway.

We talk to Edelman about the value of entering rooms with people you vehemently disagree with, Elon Musk’s threat to sue the ADL, and whether there should be any uncrossable lines in comedy.

Questions or comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

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Conan O'Brien Talks to His Accountant Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

Late-night legend and podcasting impresario Conan O’Brien joins Kara to talk about the decline of late night, the writers’ strike, his $150 million deal with SiriusXM and his new HBO Max show, Conan O’Brien Must Go. They also trade notes on interviewing and … accounting.

Questions or comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on social media. We’re on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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What Naomi Klein Found Down the Steve Bannon Rabbit Hole Sep 07, 2023

Show notes

For years, Naomi Klein has had a problem: the author and Guardian columnist has been chronically confused with Naomi Wolf, a conspiracy theorist and favorite guest of Steve Bannon’s podcast. This is the premise of Klein’s new book, Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World, where she investigates how her dark twin fell down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole – and what that tells us about the lure of conspiratorial thinking and its dangerous use as a political strategy. Today, we talk to Klein about her journey deep into Steve Bannon’s podcast archive, anti-vaxx groups online, and more realms of what she calls “The Mirror World.”

You can find Kara and Nayeema on Instagram/Threads @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza and Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.

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