Substack is known for recruiting high profile writers to leave the big name publications and start their own newsletter businesses. Now it wants to recruit writers you haven’t heard of, and get them to cover local news. Cofounders Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie talk to Recode’s Peter Kafka about their plans — as well as criticism and controversy their startup has kicked up in the last year. Featuring: Chris Best (@cjgbest) Co-Founder of Substack Hamish McKenzie (@hamishmckenzie) Co-Founder of Su...
Apr 15, 2021•42 min•Ep 332•Transcript available on Metacast NFT’s have been rising in popularity in recent months with franchises like the NBA partnering with Roham Gharegozlou’s Dapper Labs to create Top Shot, or UTA’s Brent Weinstein assisting entertainers to take advantage of it as well. Recode’s Peter Kafka speaks to both of them about their journey getting into NFT’s and blockchain, as well as The Verge’s Mitchell Clark who breaks down the industry as a whole. Featuring: Roham Gharegozlou (@rohamg) , CEO of Dapper Labs Mitchell Clark (@strawberrywel...
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep 331•Transcript available on Metacast 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 o...
Apr 08, 2021•50 min•Ep 330•Transcript available on Metacast 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 More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the med...
Apr 01, 2021•38 min•Ep 329•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Mar 25, 2021•51 min•Ep 328•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Jenning...
Mar 18, 2021•50 min•Ep 327•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Partn...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep 326•Transcript available on Metacast 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 More to explore: Subscribe for free...
Mar 08, 2021•47 min•Ep 325•Transcript available on Metacast 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 disp...
Mar 04, 2021•56 min•Ep 324•Transcript available on Metacast 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 H...
Feb 25, 2021•45 min•Ep 323•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Feb 18, 2021•37 min•Ep 322•Transcript available on Metacast 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 More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode M...
Feb 11, 2021•43 min•Ep 321•Transcript available on Metacast Can you make someone famous on the internet by buying their fame? Journalist Nick Bilton tries to do just that in “Fake Famous”, a new HBO documentary. Bilton talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about bots, the influencer economy, and why he’s more convinced than ever that social media has outlived its usefulness. Featuring: Nick Bilton (@nickbilton), director of Fake Famous Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of th...
Feb 04, 2021•40 min•Ep 320•Transcript available on Metacast CNBC host and New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to recap a wild week on Wall Street for Gamestop, Robinhood, and a lot of small investors. What happens next? Was this a one-off for the Reddit crowd, or will we see repeats? And what kind of steps should business and investing leaders take to make the system fairer? Also: The origin story behind Showtime’s Billions. Featuring: Andrew Ross Sorkin (@andrewrsorkin), NYT Columnist and Co-Host on Squawk Bo...
Feb 03, 2021•42 min•Ep 319•Transcript available on Metacast In 2013, Jessica Lessin left her job as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal to start The Information, a subscription-based business publication. 7 years later, it’s thriving, and she’s more convinced than ever that her model can work for other publishers. Lessin sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to weigh to talk about what she’s learned, what she thinks about the Substack movement, and her concerns about tech leaders’ attempts to end-run journalists. Featuring: Jessica Lessin (@Jessicalessi...
Jan 28, 2021•41 min•Ep 318•Transcript available on Metacast The mainstream press spent the last four years trying to figure out how to report in the Trump era? NYU journalism professor joins Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss the highlights and lowlights, and what political journalism in the Biden era should look like - what it might look like. Plus: Apple is talking about selling podcast subscriptions. How do you do that? Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer’s Bryan Alvarez explains. Featuring: Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu), Journalism professor at NYU Bryan ...
Jan 21, 2021•50 min•Ep 317•Transcript available on Metacast It’s going to take a long time to come to grips with the January 6 Capitol Riot and what happened in its wake, but let’s start trying. Recode’s Peter Kafka talks to the New York Times’s Kevin Roose about big tech’s power and responsibility - and whether it is going to have accountability. And NBC’s Ben Collins provides an update on Qanon, the online cult that had a very large hand in the violence in Washington. Featuring: Kevin Roose (@kevinroose), Tech Columnist for The New York Times Ben Colli...
Jan 14, 2021•49 min•Ep 316•Transcript available on Metacast Director Bryan Fogel’s first documentary, Icarus, won an Oscar. His next effort, The Dissident, details the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Fogel talks to Recode’s Peter Kafka about why and how he made the movie - and why he thinks Hollywood and big tech companies didn’t want to distribute it. Featuring: Bryan Fogel (@bryanfogel), Director Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the...
Jan 07, 2021•44 min•Ep 315•Transcript available on Metacast 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 (@zseward), Co-Founder & CEO of Quartz Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explo...
Dec 31, 2020•45 min•Ep 314•Transcript available on Metacast 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 advantage of knowing what you’re good at. Featuring: Kemp Power (@Powerkeni), American playwright Host...
Dec 23, 2020•45 min•Ep 313•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Writer-at-large Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy), Senior Media Reporter at CNN Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep 312•Transcript available on Metacast 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: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Pet...
Dec 10, 2020•1 hr•Ep 311•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Civic Signals Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free...
Dec 03, 2020•41 min•Ep 310•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Gimlet Media Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free t...
Nov 25, 2020•46 min•Ep 309•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's ...
Nov 20, 2020•27 min•Ep 308•Transcript available on Metacast 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, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape. About Recode by Vox: Rec...
Nov 19, 2020•34 min•Ep 307•Transcript available on Metacast 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), Contributing Editor for New York Magazine David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik), Media Correspondent for ...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep 306•Transcript available on Metacast 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 (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, o...
Nov 05, 2020•45 min•Ep 305•Transcript available on Metacast 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), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the...
Nov 04, 2020•40 min•Ep 304•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Atlantic Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at Recode More to explore: Subscribe for free to...
Oct 29, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep 303•Transcript available on Metacast 
