Channels with Peter Kafka

Zach Seward co-founded Quartz, the brainy business news site, in 2012. Six years later, it had a new owner, and two years after that, Seward bought it back. Now he’s trying to maintain Quartz’s inventive spirit while getting it on firmer financial ground; he talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what he got right early on, what he missed, and what he wants to do in 2021. Featuring: Zach Seward (@zse...

Kemp Powers spent years trying to break into Hollywood, left, and came back. Now, at 47, he’s made his first movie: It’s Pixar’s Soul, streaming to millions on Christmas Day. His second movie — One Night In Miami - streams on Amazon next month. Powers talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about his overnight success that took more than a decade, Hollywood’s an-and-offscreen struggles with race, and the ad...

New York Times reporter Mike Isaac, joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to explain the new antitrust suits against Facebook. Then, NYT’s Charlie Warzel and CNN’s Oliver Darcy discuss the evolution of right-wing media during the Trump presidency, and what will happen when Trump leaves the White House. Featuring: Mike Isaac (@MikeIsaac), New York Times Tech Reporter Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel), New York Times...

No one thought The Queen’s Gambit would be a breakout hit — including Scott Frank, the Hollywood veteran who created the Netflix show. Frank sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about why a show about chess in the 1960s found a huge audience; what it’s like to work for and with Netflix right now; and how Hollywood is reacting to seismic change. Featuring: Scott Frank, Screenwriter Host: Pet...

Nearly 10 years ago, Eli Pariser coined the term “filter bubble” — the idea that Facebook and other platforms limit our view of the world through software choices. Now he wants to create new, non-profit and localized versions of Facebook to help restore our fragmented communities. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about his plans. Featuring: Eli Pariser (@elipariser), Co-Founder of New Public by Ci...

Spotify is making a huge push into podcasting. Lydia Polgreen is helping to figure out what means. Gimlet’s head of content sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the experimenting she’s done since starting her new job at the beginning at the pandemic - and to share thoughts about her time at HuffPost and the New York Times. Featuring: Lydia Polgreen (@lpolgreen), Head of content at Gim...

Jonah Peretti co-founded Huffington Post, then left to start BuzzFeed. Now he’s running both companies. He sits down with Recode Media’s Peter Kafka to explain the logic behind the deal, his ambitions to grow even bigger - and why he says the New York Times can’t be “the paper of record”. Featuring: Jonah Peretti (@peretti), Founder & CEO of BuzzFeed Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at R...

Viacom and CBS merged a year ago. Now their CEO Bob Bakish sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the company’s future, and its bets on streaming. Featuring: Bob Bakish, CEO of ViacomCBS 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, jou...

New York Magazine’s Reeves Wiedeman sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the messy internal workings of The New York Times, which changed dramatically during the Trump presidency. Then NPR’s David Folkenflik details how Fox News and Rupert Murdoch covered the election and Trump’s refusal to concede, and that means for the Biden presidency. Featuring: Reeves Wiedeman(@reeveswiedeman), Con...

Washington correspondent for New York Mag, Olivia Nuzzi, sits down with Recode's Peter Kafka to tell us what she’s hearing and seeing after the election, what she saw before the election, what really happened to her on Air Force 2, and why she livestreamed with Roger Stone on election night. Featuring: Olivia Nuzzi (@olivianuzzi), Washington Correspondent for New York Magazine Host: Peter Kafka (@...

Vox senior correspondent Matt Yglesias drops by to unpack a wild election night. What just happened? What do we think will happen next? Why were the polls wrong - again? What could the media have done better? And what do the next four years look like for politics and political media? Featuring: Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Vox Senior Correspondent, host of The Weeds Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka),...

Zeynep Tufekci is an academic and writes for the Atlantic. She’s not an epidemiologist. So how did she see the pandemic coming before most everyone else? Tufekci sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about experts, expertise, the problem the media has with communicating risk - and why she’s starting her own newsletter, too. Featuring:Zeyneep Tufekci (@zeynep), sociologist and writer for The...

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Google, in the biggest tech antitrust case in two decades. New York Times’ Dai Wakabayashi joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to break downs the details and politics behind the suit, and what it may mean for the search giant’s future. Featuring: Dai Wakabayashi (@daiwaka), New York Times Tech Reporter Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to expl...

Host of ESPN Daily, Pablo Torre, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the odd sports + politics + pandemic moment we’re in; he also talks about why he’s a sports journalist and not lawyer, and what it’s like to be a rare sight on TV. Morning Brew, the business newsletter publisher for millennials, is in talks to sell itself to Business Insider Featuring: Pablo Torre (@PabloTorre) TV Pers...

What does the new Congressional report on tech antitrust say, and what does it mean for Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple? Recode’s Shirin Ghaffary explains. Then, Axios CEO and co-Founder Jim VandeHei talks about his publication’s very fast start, navigating the Trump White House, and his plans to break into local news. Featuring: Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei), CEO and Co-Founder of Axios Shirin G...

Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw chats with Recode’s Peter Kafka about how the media and entertainment industry has held up during the Pandemic, including Hollywood’s attempts to bring movies to your house; the music industry’s concert-less summer; and the ongoing booms in streaming and podcasting. Featuring: Lucas Shaw (@Lucas_Shaw), reporter at Bloomberg Business Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor...

Poltico Editor, Carrie Budoff Brown, sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the way she’s navigating the political site through a pandemic and the 2020 election — and how the pandemic is affecting the way her publication covers the 2020 election. Featuring: Carrie Budoff Brown (@cbudoffbrown), editor of Politico Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscrib...

NBC News’ Ben Collins breaks down QAnon, the political pro-Trump conspiracy and its current effect on politics. He and Recode's Peter Kafka also discuss how Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube continue to allow the spread of misinformation on their platforms. Featuring: Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__), reporter for NBC News Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe...

Stratechery’s Ben Thompson sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to unpack what Oracle's proposed TikTok deal actually means, and why removing China's oversight is a good idea. Featuring: Ben Thompson (@benthompson) author and founder of Stratechery 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...

Recode's Peter Kafka chats with Morning Brew CEO Alex Lieberman about his ambitious path from business newsletters to full-fledged media company and why he's looking closely at models like Complex and Barstool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Writer, comedian, author, and commentator, Baratunde Thurston sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss his early pursuits in journalism at Harvard, his thoughts on athletes using their platforms to inspire change and speak out against injustices, and his views on the upcoming election. Featuring: Baratunde Thurston (@baratunde), writer and comedian Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor...

How do you have a political convention when you can’t convene? New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the virtual conventions the Democrats and Republicans have put on, and what they tell us about the state of politics and media. Then CNN’s Brian Stelter joins to discuss Hoax, his new book about the way Fox News and Donald Trump have melded — and what it’s li...

Comedians, podcasters, and now authors, Desus Nice & The Kid Mero, have had an interesting path to becoming one of the hottest duos in late night television. The Bronx natives sit down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss how they got hosting Showtime’s first talk show, what you can expect in their upcoming book God-Level Knowledge Darts: Life Lessons from the Bronx (which is available for pre-ord...

Outgoing New York Times CEO Mark Thompson talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the eight years he spent transforming the paper from an ad-based business to one supported by subscribers; his views on big tech platforms like Facebook and Google; and the high-profile departure of opinion editor Bari Weiss. And IAC CEO Joey Levin talks about his company’s billion-dollar bet on gambling. Featuring: Mark...

Author Kurt Andersen sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History. Andersen argues that starting in the 1970s, a small group of men made a concerted, and successful push to move the US to the right. Now he wants the country to correct course. Featuring: Kurt Andersen (@kbandersen), Author Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Re...