Recode Media with Peter Kafka
489 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★★ - 468 ratingsWhat happens when media, entertainment, and technology collide? Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters to get their take. Produced by Recode and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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Episodes
The State of Streaming
April 07, 2022 04:00 - 1 hourIt’s time to check back in on the state of the streaming wars, with two binge-worthy conversations. First, Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to analyst Michael Nathanson about Big Media’s new problem: TV ratings are plummeting because all the good stuff is streaming — but now Wall Street doesn’t just want streaming, it wants *profitable* streaming. Then, we travel into the time stream to talk about the past, present and future of the streaming wars with Dawn Chmielewski, co-author of Binge Times: In...
Judd Apatow on The Bubble, TikTok and The Slap
March 29, 2022 20:01 - 44 minutesLegendary comedy director/writer/producer Judd Apatow was busy during lockdown: He wrote a book and made two movies. One of them is The Bubble, a movie about… making a movie during the pandemic. Apatow talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what success looks like in the streaming era, coming to terms with TikTok, and his Oscar tweets. Also discussed: How many meetings it took to design a CGI flammable alien dinosaur penis. Featuring: Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow), Writer, Director, Producer Host: ...
The Oscars: Hollywood’s smallest biggest night?
March 24, 2022 04:00 - 38 minutesThe Oscars used to be one of the biggest things on TV. Now they’re… not. Does that matter to the movie business and to movie-goers? We discuss with our annual Oscar experts: Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson and Slate’s Allegra Frank, who talk about their favorite movies, and try to sell Recode’s Peter Kafka on watching a 3-hour foreign language film. But more important: How and why should the Oscars try to remake itself for a TikTok world — and will a Twitter poll + DJ Kahled and Tony Hawk do the trick...
Dan Le Batard on life after ESPN; Russia sanctions upend big-time soccer
March 17, 2022 04:00 - 59 minutesMarch Madness has started, but this isn’t a podcast about that: Today, it’s a podcast about sports media, about leaving sports media to do your own thing, and about how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may radically reshape big-time soccer. First Dan Le Batard, formerly of ESPN, joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about his “fool’s quest” to found Meadowlark Media, “a company with a soul.” And why that company needed a big infusion of cash from the sports betting business to get off the ground. Th...
Big Tech takes a side, finally + Zappos' tragic founder
March 10, 2022 05:00 - 43 minutesSilicon Valley goes out of its way not to upset countries around the world - even when that means making embarrassing compromises. But it has taken a stand against Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, limiting services or cutting them off entirely. What happens next? Recode’s Peter Kafka and the New York Times’ Shira Ovide both wrote about this separately, and now they’re talking about it together. Then, Wall Street Journal reporter Kirsten Grind talks about her new book, Happy at Any Cost: The...
Covering the war in Ukraine, online and on the ground
March 03, 2022 05:27 - 1 hourRecode's Peter Kafka talks to three reporters about the realities of covering the war in Ukraine and sorting truth from disinformation -- from the ground, from afar, and online. In Ukraine: CNN’s Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward discusses the challenges of war reporting in 2022, everything from planning food and exit routes to working with a remote team to analyze online videos. In DC: Puck co-founder and Washington correspondent Julia Ioffe talk about how hard it is to learn w...
Uber, but for TV
February 24, 2022 05:00 - 51 minutesWhen Recode’s Peter Kafka advises you not to write your book, WRITE THAT BOOK. That’s the lesson Mike Isaac learned: His book “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber” is now a Showtime series starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Not only that, Showtime announced that Mike’s next, yet-to-be-finished book about Facebook will be the basis of season 2. Peter talks to Mark about what it’s like to shift from the world of reporting to prestige TV drama. Then, host of LinkedIn’s “Hello Monday” podcast, Jessi He...
Chuck Klosterman relives the 1990s & Sarah Palin loses her NYT libel suit
February 17, 2022 05:00 - 1 hourMake 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 (@davidfolkenfl...
What's next for CNN? + The Afterparty's Ben Schwartz writes jokes for C-3PO
February 10, 2022 05:00 - 1 hourThis 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 ...
Is Spotify’s Joe Rogan problem over? Plus how to launch a new media startup.
February 03, 2022 05:30 - 1 hourFirst: 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 runni...
Game on: Behind the sports betting boom
January 27, 2022 05:00 - 53 minutesJust 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...
Gaming out Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal
January 20, 2022 05:27 - 53 minutesIt’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 expla...
So … what the hell is Web3? With the Chernin Group’s Jarrod Dicker
January 13, 2022 05:00 - 1 hourWhat 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...
How the right covers 1/6 + tales from the Theranos trial, with Oliver Darcy and Erin Griffith
January 06, 2022 05:00 - 49 minutesCNN’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 (@e...
The Verge’s Ashley Carman on podcasting’s big year
December 27, 2021 05:00 - 37 minutes2021 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: Pet...
What the hell happened in 2021? With Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw.
December 20, 2021 05:00 - 46 minutesHow 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 More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to busine...
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s almost-exit interview
December 15, 2021 05:00 - 50 minutesJason 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. Learn...
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti has gone public
December 06, 2021 05:00 - 36 minutesBuzzFeed used to be an internet experiment. Now it’s a publicly-traded company that expects more than $500 million in revenue this year. CEO Jonah Peretti talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the route his company took to the NASDAQ; why he’s not worried about investors who bailed on the company; and the state of labor negotiations with the BuzzFeed News union. Featuring: Jonah Peretti (@peretti), CEO of BuzzFeed Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe ...
@Jack is leaving Twitter. What now? + Lina Khan’s battle with Big Tech
December 02, 2021 14:35 - 45 minutesTwitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is no longer the CEO of Twitter. Why did he leave? And what does the choice of his successor, Parag Agrawal, tell us about Twitter’s future? Bloomberg’s Kurt Wagner sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss Dorsey's tenure as CEO and the reasons behind his decision to step down. Then the New Yorker’s Sheelah Kolhatkar joins the show to talk about the Biden administration’s campaign to rein in Big Tech. Kolhatkar recently profiled Lina Khan, an antitrust aca...
Director Rhys Thomas on his unlikely journey from SNL to Disney’s Hawkeye
November 23, 2021 05:45 - 40 minutesRhys Thomas used to make short films for Saturday Night Live. Now he’s making Hawkeye, the newest installment of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, which debuts on Disney+ this week. Thomas sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to give a behind-the-scenes look at producing the series and how his previous work at SNL and IFC’s Documentary Now prepared him for his entry into the superhero world. Featuring: Rhys Thomas (@rhysthom2), Executive Producer of Marvel's Hawkeye Host: Peter Kafka (@pka...
The inside story of HBO, with Jim Miller
November 18, 2021 05:00 - 58 minutesHBO has brought us nearly 50 years of riveting movies and TV shows; the behind-the-scenes stories are equally compelling. Journalist James Andrew Miller, who has written definitive oral histories of media institutions like Saturday Night Live and ESPN, tells Recode’s Peter Kafka about his newest work: Tinderbox: HBO’s Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers. Included in their chat: How HBO ascended to power; why attempts to combine the company with Apple and other suitors never happened; what reall...
What is Twitter Blue and is it worth $3?
November 11, 2021 05:00 - 31 minutesTwitter is free. But Twitter Blue — a new service for Twitter super-users — costs $3 a month. So what is Twitter Blue and why should you pay for it? Twitter product executive Tony Haile, who joined the company last spring after it acquired his Scroll startup, joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to make the pitch. Featuring: Tony Haile (@arctictony), Senior Director of Product at Twitter Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kaf...
Facebook’s Metaverse explained - by metaverse explainer Matthew Ball. Plus Justin Smith builds a media biz for Bloomb
November 04, 2021 04:00 - 59 minutesBefore Mark Zuckerberg told the world he was turning Facebook into a Metaverse company, he called Matthew Ball, one of the Metaverse’s chief evangelists. Now Ball tells Recode’s Peter Kafka what Facebook’s move means. Then Bloomberg Media Group CEO Justin Smith talks about building a $100 million subscriptions business that’s separate - but related to - Bloomberg’s much larger terminal business. And why he loves video - but not podcasts. Featuring: Matthew Ball (@ballmatthew), writer and Ve...
How to cover the Facebook leaks + SNL’s Heidi Gardner
October 28, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourFacebook whistleblower Frances Haugen is handing over thousands of documents to reporters like The Verge’s Alex Heath. The next step: Sorting through all of those files, and figuring out how and when to write about them. Heath talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the weeks of stories we’ll be reading in the future, and his first one - about Facebook’s rapidly aging user base. And then for something completely different: Saturday Night Live cast member Heidi Gardner joins to talk about her un...
Dotdash CEO Neil Vogel on his $2.7 billion Meredith deal
October 21, 2021 04:00 - 32 minutesNeil Vogel had no publishing experience before he took over About.com, the how-to website he turned into Dotdash for owner Barry Diller. Now Vogel is about to become one of the most powerful people in media if he completes a deal to acquire magazine heavyweight Meredith - the people behind People, InStyle, and Better Homes & Gardens. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about merging an online-only operation with a print publisher. Featuring: Neil Vogel (@neilvogel), CEO of Dotdash Host: Peter K...
Land of the Giants: "He's No Steve Jobs"
October 14, 2021 04:00 - 37 minutesSteve Jobs co-founded Apple and infused it with his love of product design and attention to detail. His successor, Tim Cook, is widely perceived as lacking Jobs’ vision and innovation. But he managed to do something Jobs never could: make Apple the most valuable company on the planet. So who are these two men, and how have their leadership styles shaped the company that shapes our lives? Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media,...
Ozy Media, RIP with NYT’s Ben Smith + Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch on remaking a magazine giant
October 07, 2021 04:00 - 51 minutesFive days after the New York Times’ Ben Smith wrote an astonishing piece about the fakery supporting Ozy Media, the digital publisher announced it was shutting down. What, if anything, does the fiasco tell us about media startups and investors? Smith teases it out with Recode’s Peter Kafka. Then Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch drops by for a progress report on his attempt to turn the magazine giant into a modern entertainment company - and an update on Apple’s News+ service. Featuring: Ben Smith ...
Streamers shrink Hollywood, again + What’s a “Hate Raid”?
September 30, 2021 04:00 - 32 minutesMore consolidation in Hollywood - but this time it’s talent agency CAA buying rival ICM. Puck’s Dylan Byers sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to explain why the streaming boom has created another merger. Then, podcaster and game streaming expert Bijan Stephen joins for an update on Twitch and its new “hate raid” problem - and what the platform and the community are doing to fight back against trolls. Featuring: Dylan Byers (@DylanByers), Senior Correspondent at Puck News Bijan Stephen (@bi...
How Peter Thiel went from Silicon Valley to The White House with Max Chafkin
September 23, 2021 04:00 - 55 minutesPeter Thiel used to be a Silicon Valley investor best-known for early investment in Facebook. But in recent years he seems to have shifted into something different: A Trump-supporting billionaire who wants to remake American politics - and someone who nursed a years-long grudge against Gawker and ultimately bankrupted the publisher and its owner. Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin details Thiel’s story in his new book The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power; he talks about what...
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri on teenagers, Tik-Tok and paying creators
September 16, 2021 04:00 - 1 hourInstagram is no longer going to be a photo-sharing app, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri announced earlier this summer. So what is Instagram going to be instead? Mosseri talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about his plans to emphasize video and commerce for the service, competing with Tik-Tok, and looming regulation. Mosseri also talks about recent revelations in the Wall Street Journal about Instagram’s own research, which suggests the app could be harmful to a segment of its users, particularly teenag...
Big changes at Apple: New phones, new AR glasses, and big app store changes.
September 09, 2021 04:00 - 43 minutesMark Gurman has been one of the best-sourced Apple reporters since he was in high school. Literally. Now he’s at Bloomberg, with deep insight into Apple’s new product line - new iPhones this year, new “mixed reality” headsets next year - and its political and philosophical ideology - why it's fighting regulation in courtrooms and capitols around the world. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the future of the world’s most valuable tech company. Featuring: Mark Gurman (@markgurman) Tech Re...
Defector Media: Life after Deadspin is good (and profitable)
September 02, 2021 04:00 - 37 minutesDefector Media launched a year ago as a digital publishing experiment: What if the former staff of Deadspin built and owned their own site, fueled entirely by subscriptions? Now it looks like we have an answer: It’s working, really well. Editor in chief Tom Ley walks Recode’s Peter Kafka through Defector’s financials and argues that a site that runs on readers’ dollars instead of advertisers is more fun to work at and to read. Featuring: Tom Ley (@ToLey88) Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of D...
OnlyFans’ weird week with MEL’s Magdalene Taylor; BuzzFeed’s Joe Bernstein on the problem with our misinformation problem.
August 26, 2021 04:00 - 39 minutesWhat is OnlyFans, and why did OnlyFans abandon and then come back to its primary business model in the span of a week? MEL Magazine’s Magdalene Taylor joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to explain the rise of the NSFW platform, and why some banks are reluctant to work with a company that consumers seem to love. Then BuzzFeed News’ Joe Bernstein talks about his recent story on the disinformation/misinformation industry, which isn’t exactly what we think it is. Featuring: Magdalene Taylor(@magdajtaylo...
WWE’s Nick Khan on pivoting his streaming strategy and getting back in the ring
August 19, 2021 04:00 - 35 minutesNick Khan used to be a CAA agent who represented the WWE. Now he’s president of the pro wrestling company and is pivoting it from a direct-to-consumer strategy into a content studio for the likes of Peacock and Fox. Khan tells Recode’s Peter Kafka why the WWE has abandoned its pioneering streaming model, how he’s managing the company through covid, and what got him into the TV business. Featuring: Nick Khan, WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at ...
NYT’s Shira Ovide on the everything and nothingness of tech.
August 12, 2021 04:00 - 36 minutesThe New York Times’ Shira Ovide, writes the popular and incisive “On Tech” newsletter, which means she gets to write about… everything. She sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss some her latest stories in her column like why “Tech Can’t Fix Everything”, how society rather than social media itself is more to blame for the spread of misinformation, and the pros and cons of writing a popular newsletter. Featuring: Shira Ovide (@ShiraOvide), tech writer for The New York Times Host: Pete...
Reese’s $900 million deal; ScarJo vs Disney with Matt Belloni, + Derek Thompson on how the media covers Delta
August 05, 2021 04:00 - 59 minutesPuck News Hollywood expert Matthew Belloni sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the biggest stories in the past week: Reese Witherspoon’s new $900M deal and the lawsuit between Scarlett Johansson and Disney. Then, The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson joins the show to discuss how the media has been reporting on COVID-19 recently, especially now that the concerns of the Delta variant begin to increase. Featuring: Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) Hollywood editor at Puck News Derek Thompson (...
Director Tom McCarthy on Stillwater, finishing a movie in a pandemic and playing one of the Wire’s best villains
July 29, 2021 04:00 - 39 minutesStillwater was supposed to debut in theaters last fall, but the pandemic changed those plans along with everything else. Academy Award-winning director and writer Tom McCarthy explain how he used the extra time to improve the Matt Damon movie, why the film isn’t on a streaming service — and what it was like to play one of TV’s best villains in the final season of The Wire. Then, creator Kyla Scanlon joins the show to discuss her quick rise on social media from making short-form videos on fina...
Deep fakes come to the movies and Hollywood resets for the streaming era
July 22, 2021 04:00 - 46 minutesAnthony Bourdain is dead. So how does a new documentary have audio of him reading his emails? It’s not him: It’s a deep fake. The New Yorker’s Helen Rosner explains. Then journalist Richard Rushfield takes us behind Hollywood’s closed doors to talk about the return of movies, the dominance of Netflix — and why he can more candid than ever because he’s writing about all of it on The Ankler, his subscription-only newsletter. Featuring: Helen Rosner (@hels) staff writer for The New Yorker Richa...
WeWork's rise and fall (and rise again?) with Eliot Brown
July 15, 2021 04:00 - 43 minutesWall Street Journal’s Eliot Brown first became interested in WeWork back in 2014 after an encounter with founder co-founder Adam Neumann, who quickly told the reporter that he should not “think about his company as a real estate business, but as a community-building startup”. Fast forward seven years, Brown, along with his colleague Maureen Farrell, plan to release their new book The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion, which chronicles the infamous journey of one...
Kevin Delaney turns the future of work into a media business; plus a Sun Valley update from David Gura.
July 08, 2021 04:00 - 57 minutesWhen are we going back to the office? How often are we going back to the office? And what’s work going to be like when we get there? Kevin Delaney is trying to answer all of those questions — and really, every question we have about the future of work — with Charter, the new media company he launched by starting a newsletter. Plus we check in with NPR’s David Gura, who is hollering — from a distance — at the tech and media moguls gathered at the annual Sun Valley conference. Featuring: David...
Men In Blazers’ Roger Bennett loves soccer and America
July 01, 2021 04:00 - 53 minutesRoger Bennett is half of Men In Blazers, the entertaining podcast/broadcast duo dedicated to Americans who love soccer. So he’s an excellent person to talk to Recode’s Peter Kafka about the state of the world’s most popular sport, and why an attempt to create a “Super League” failed dramatically. Bennett, born and raised in Liverpool, is also a huge fan of America and Americans, which he describes in his new memoir: "(Re)Born In The USA: An Englishman’s Love Letter to His Chosen Home”. Featu...
One of the most popular streamers on Twitch… is a lefty political commentator? Hasan Piker explains
June 24, 2021 04:00 - 35 minutesTwitch, the Amazon-owned streaming platform best known as a haven for gamers, wouldn’t be the first place you’d look for a left-leaning political commentator. But Hasan Piker, also known as “HasanAbi” is thriving there: He has more than 1.5 million followers, where he comments on the news of the day during marathon sessions. Piker talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about becoming a new kind of Internet famous. Featuring: Hasan "Abi" Piker (@hasanthehun) Twitch Streamer and Political Commentator H...
One of Silicon Valley’s most powerful investors is now a media company, too
June 15, 2021 13:00 - 30 minutesThe newest publication covering tech is Future — a site owned and operated by Andreessen Horowitz, the powerful Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Partner Margit Wennmachers, who used to court press coverage for her company and its portfolio companies, now wants to go directly to readers, without relying on journalists to carry her message. She explains her strategy to Recode’s Peter Kafka. Featuring: Margit Wennmachers (@wennmachers) Partner at Andreessen Horowitz Host: Peter Kafka (@pkaf...
Jake and Amir on being Web famous, fed up with Hollywood, and podcast bosses
June 10, 2021 04:00 - 30 minutesJake Hurwitz & Amir Blumenfeld got their start on the internet when making content for sites like YouTube and Facebook was considered the Wild West. Then, after an iconic run on College Humor, starring in thousands of videos over the course of 10 years, they took another leap of faith: starting the podcast network HeadGum. The duo sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss their unorthodox career as entertainers and entrepreneurs, as well as their newly launched dating app, Orion. Featur...
How to make it in the creator economy with Rob Walker
June 03, 2021 04:00 - 34 minutesJournalist Rob Walker sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss why he decided to go the independent route instead of writing for another publication after his buyout from Medium, his thoughts on the creator economy, and details behind his newsletter The Art of Noticing, based on his 2019 book of the same name. Featuring: Rob Walker (@notrobwalker), Journalist and Author Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka...
Why is Amazon buying MGM?
May 27, 2021 04:00 - 44 minutesThe Information’s Jessica Toonkel joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss Amazon’s (planned) $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM. It’s the first time a big tech company has ever bought a big media asset. But why Amazon, why MGM, and what does this mean for the rest of the media world? Then podcaster pioneer Dan Taberski, comes on to discuss The Line — an Apple-commissioned series, as well as his journey into audio after a career in TV. Featuring: Jessica Toonkel (@jtoonkel), reporter for The Infor...
Jim Miller on HBO’s new home; Alan Yang on a very different season of “Master of None”
May 20, 2021 04:00 - 42 minutesJim Miller was finishing up a book about HBO and then… the story changed. He talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about what may change now that AT&T is handing the service - along with the rest of WarnerMedia — to Discovery. Then writer, producer, and director Alan Yang join to discuss his career, the upcoming season of the Netflix hit Master of None which he co-created with comedian Aziz Ansari, and what he thinks of the current state of the movie and TV industry. Featuring: Jim Miller (@jimmille...
Why did AT&T just bail on WarnerMedia? And what happens next?
May 17, 2021 22:12 - 29 minutesAT&T bought WarnerMedia three years ago for more than $100 billion, so it could chase after Netflix. Now it’s getting out of streaming, and every other part of the media business. What happened? And what happens next? NYT media reporter Edmund Lee has a reunion with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss. Featuring: Edmund Lee (@edmundlee), media reporter for The New York Times Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one...
Antonio García Martínez's controversial exit from Apple
May 15, 2021 01:11 - 23 minutesAntonio García Martínez used to work at Facebook, and wrote a book about it. In April, he started working at Apple, and weeks later he was gone, after Apple employees revolted. Martinez talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about why he went to work for Apple, why he left, and what he thinks of the criticism of him and his writing. Featuring: Antonio Garcia Martinez (@antoniogm) Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one...
Live music is back! Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino can't wait
May 13, 2021 04:00 - 44 minutesThe concert business has been shut down for a year, which means that Live Nation, the world’s dominant concert promoter and ticket seller, has been shut down, too. CEO Michael Rapino sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to talk about the industry’s comeback, how his company survived without revenue, and how he’s figured out new tricks, like a subscription model. Featuring: Michael Rapino (@Michael_Rapino), President & CEO of Live Nation Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode Mor...