On with Kara Swisher

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times investigative reporter Jodi Kantor joins Kara to talk about her new book, “How to Start: Discovering Your Life’s Work.” It’s a guide for young people starting their careers in an age of AI disruption, economic instability and political chaos.  Jodi acknowledges the difficult reality graduates face and tries to offer practical yet empathic advice. She argues that meaningful careers are built on “craft” and “need.” Kara and Jodi discuss how to find workarounds in an automated hiring hellscape, and what key things to look for in a first job. Plus, Jodi explains why young people need to take calculated risks, and what that looks like for recent graduates.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the heels of the weekend premiere of her new CNN series, “Kara Swisher Wants To Live Forever,” Kara brings together a panel of experts to talk more about longevity, anti-aging, and the money that’s pouring into the wellness industry. Katie Couric is a journalist. She’s also been a longtime advocate for early cancer screenings since her first husband died of colon cancer and she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Amy Larocca is an award-winning journalist and author of the book, “How To Be Well: Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure At A Time.”  And Kara’s brother, Dr. Jeffrey Swisher, is chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. He recently caught a so-called “widowmaker” heart attack before it happened, and his wife has also been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. Kara, Katie, Amy and Jeff talk about the explosion of health misinformation online and why people have become so skeptical of medical experts. They also talk about the promising health care science on the horizon and the real secrets to living a long, happy life.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Eric Topol, the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, joins Kara to discuss reality versus the hype in the booming longevity business ahead of her new CNN series "Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever."  Dr. Topol has written several books, including his latest, "Super Agers: An Evidence-Based Approach to Longevity," which explores the science behind anti-aging and longevity. He explains why the biggest breakthroughs in aging science focus not on extending lifespan, but on extending health span and preventing the chronic diseases that affect most Americans over 65. And Topol takes aim at the “longevity lifespan circus” of pricey supplements and peptides sold by wellness grifters. Kara and Dr. Topol also talk about how inequality, poverty and the lack of universal healthcare in the US impact health span, and what can be done about it.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara’s 2023 interview with journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson about his Elon Musk biography was one of her most contentious conversations ever — and one of the show’s most popular episodes. They’re still friends, though. And at this year’s New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University, Isaacson got his chance to put Kara in the hot seat. In this live conversation, recorded last month, Kara and Isaacson talk about the future of A.I., how power is shifting in the United States, and how those changes are reshaping American life. They also talk about Kara’s new CNN series, “Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever.”  Special thanks to the New Orleans Book Festival for hosting this event.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Louis Theroux joins Kara to discuss his new Netflix documentary, "Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere." The film explores the online world of male influencers selling fitness, wealth and self-improvement through ultra-masculine and misogynistic ideologies. Louis focuses on the extreme fringes of the manosphere, where racist, homophobic and antisemitic rhetoric mixes with conspiracy theories – and his depiction of these influencers manages to be both hilarious and nerve-racking at the same time.  Kara and Louis break down how the manosphere economy works, why so much of the content targets teenage boys and how tech platforms amplify it. They also examine the loneliness and economic frustration that can make young men susceptible to these messages, and why ideas that once lived on the fringe are increasingly moving into the mainstream. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since announcing his decision to retire last year, North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis has become a kind of thorn in MAGA’s side, holding up appointments and voicing criticisms about legislation favored by President Trump. But his resistance raises a perennial question about Republicans in the Trump era: Why do lawmakers only push back when they’re on the way out? Kara and Sen. Tillis talk about his concerns over the Trump administration’s handling of the war in Iran; why he thinks newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin will be an improvement over his predecessor, Kristi Noem; and why Tillis aims his criticisms at Trump’s advisers rather than Trump himself. They also talk about his worries about the upcoming midterms and where he thinks the party is headed after Trump leaves office.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tristan Harris, a technology ethicist and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, studies how the tech industry’s platforms have become extractive and controlling. Kara first interviewed him in 2017, and after he was featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma,” his profile shot through the roof. Now he's featured in a new film called, "The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist," which explores the promises and existential risks of AI.  Tristan joins Kara to discuss how the current AI arms race is driven by the wrong incentives, and why that's leading us towards an "anti-human" future. He argues that the benefits and breakthroughs promised by AI are inseparable from profound risks, and calls for public pressure, regulation and global coordination to build a humane future with AI before it's too late. You can find out more about the work Tristan and the Center for Humane Technology are doing at The Human Movement. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While the Department of Homeland Security publicly claims to be resetting its tactics around immigration arrests, it's been building out its capacity to house detained migrants by buying up almost a dozen warehouses. If opened, they would dramatically expand a system that’s seen more than 40 deaths since Trump took office and is facing staggering accounts of human rights abuses. Kara speaks with three experts who’ve been tracking the Trump administration’s detention boom: Ximena Bustillo, Homeland Security Department and immigration policy correspondent for NPR; Austin Kocher, a political and legal geographer and a research assistant professor at the Syracuse University who tracks immigration enforcement data on his Substack; and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a lawyer and senior fellow at the American Immigration Council. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Raising money off frothy numbers to sugarcoat the rotten apple is what built this town.” That’s according to Duncan Park, the protagonist of "The Audacity," a new dark comedy from AMC about tech CEOs and their relationships with their families, therapists and enablers. Live from SXSW, Kara spoke with executive producer and showrunner Jonathan Glatzer ("Succession," "Bad Sisters," "Better Call Saul"), star Billy Magnussen, and executive producer Gina Mingacci ("Killing Eve," "Orphan Black"). The series follows Duncan, an ambitious, arrogant data-mining CEO determined to join Silicon Valley’s billionaire elite, and holds up a mirror to the greed and ego shaping modern tech culture. They discuss how tech’s obsession with disruption and data has come at the cost of privacy and real human connection. While "The Audacity" is a sharp satire, it also finds surprising humanity in even the most unlikable tech bros — and even made Kara feel empathy for them, despite her best intentions. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Gang of Eight, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is among the select few members of Congress who get to sit in on top intelligence briefings. But with the war in Iran now in its third week, Warner says the administration still hasn’t presented any plans to meet President Trump’s demands for the regime’s “unconditional surrender.”  Kara and Sen. Warner talk about what he’s hearing from the administration about its timeline for the war, why the regime is unlikely to fall anytime soon, and why he thinks an unstable Iran could pose more of a risk to U.S. interests. They also talk about the risks the already unpopular war could pose if it drags on longer than the administration anticipates.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara sits down with Matthew Belloni, author of the flagship Puck newsletter What I’m Hearing and host of The Town podcast, to take the entertainment industry’s temperature just a few days before the Academy Awards. They dig into the Warner Bros. Discovery/Paramount/Netflix saga and the consequences of the Ellison-backed deal for creatives and crews. Then Kara and Matt debate whether consolidation can fix Hollywood’s broken economics and why legacy companies are facing a “Titanic-esque” moment as linear TV collapses. They also unpack the streaming wars, Netflix’s next moves, Disney’s succession questions and how AI could reshape filmmaking from visual effects to writers’ rooms. Plus, they make their predictions for the Oscars. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been more than a month since the Justice Department released the latest tranche of files related to its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein — around 3 million in total — yet the fallout shows no sign of slowing down.  The release almost certainly wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for survivors who fought for transparency and accountability. In this episode, Kara sits down with three women who're still in that fight: Dani Bensky, Jess Michaels and Liz Stein. Kara,  Dani, Jess and Liz talk about how Epstein’s survivors came together after decades of being siloed, who’s helping them in their fight for justice, and who’s standing in the way. They also talk about what the files reveal about the “Epstein Class” and what they says about how power works in this country.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Friction gets an bad rap, according Jennifer Vail. As a tribologist, she studies interacting surfaces in relative motion, and she’s worked on everything from aerospace materials to syringes to dog food. Her new book, Friction: A Biography, explores the science of rubbing surfaces, the history of lubrication, and why “frictionless” is a dangerous fantasy.  Kara and Jennifer unpack everything from Roman chariot “pit stops” to ball bearings and how tiny tweaks in texture and lubricant chemistry can save massive amounts of energy. They end with a discussion of behavioral friction (the kind tech companies want to get rid of) and Kara makes the case for “good friction” in tech, work, and relationships.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is the current front runner on the list of Democrats eyeing a 2028 White House run. While he hasn’t made his presidential ambitions official, he has a new memoir out, called “Young Man in A Hurry.” And his book tour conveniently has him passing through a lot of swing states and early primary states.  In a live interview recorded at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theater on Saturday, Feb. 28, Kara and Gov. Newsom talk about his life growing up in the Bay Area, how he straddled the worlds of the working class and the ultra wealthy, and his early days in San Francisco politics. They also talk about his final year as governor, and what he’s planning to do next. And Kara wraps up by asking Newsom about recent news items, including the continuing fallout around the Epstein files and war with Iran. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill Gurley, accomplished venture capitalist, longtime Silicon Valley “worrywart,” and early Uber backer, joins Kara Swisher to discuss how to build a career you love and the tech industry’s sharp turn to the right.  Gurley’s new book Runnin’ Down a Dream, guides readers on how to find and nurture a truly fulfilling career — and his advice is the polar  opposite of Scott Galloway’s “follow your talent, not your passion.”  Kara and Bill talk about how to find your fascination, and why the best careers are built through craft, peers, mentors, and a willingness to start at the bottom. They also dig into AI-related job loss anxiety and Gurley’s growing focus on public policy — from regulatory capture to the concentration of power in the Mag 7. Plus: an expert question from Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” wasn’t just one of the biggest movies of 2025; it was Netflix’s most popular title — movie or show — ever. Four songs from the film’s soundtrack also simultaneously cracked the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list, a first for a movie soundtrack. Now, it’s up for two Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.  For directors Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang, the megahit is also a celebration of Korean culture. Kara, Chris and Maggie talk about the ways Maggie drew on her Korean heritage to expand the scope of the film, why the hit song “Golden” was so hard to write, and how they were able to make an original film at a time when studios are mostly looking to recycle IP. They also talk about the future of the animation industry amid the threat of A.I. and what’s in store for the much anticipated “KPop Demon Hunters” sequel.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and he’s already laying the groundwork to undermine our confidence in the midterm elections. Kara brings together three experts to map out how Trump is trying to tilt the November elections before a single ballot is cast, and what he might do during and after election day to maintain his grip on power. She’s joined by: Natalie Adona, the registrar of voters for Marin County, California. Adona is the co-author of the books “Understanding the Voter Experience” and “Stewards of Democracy,” and a contributing author to the recently published book, “Local Election Administrators in the United States: The Frontline of Democracy."  Susan B. Glasser is a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine. She writes a weekly column on life in Washington and is a host of the Political Scene podcast. Her recent article on this topic, “Donald Trump Already Knows the 2026 Election Is ‘Rigged,’” is essential reading for those who want to understand the threat Trump poses.  And Nate Persily is the James B. McClatchy Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and the co-director of the Stanford Law AI Initiative. He is an expert on election law and redistricting, and he’s the co-author of the leading election law casebook, “The Law of Democracy.”  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Galloway is spearheading a consumer-led protest movement with a simple goal: to get people to cancel their subscriptions to tech companies that have disproportionate influence over the U.S. economy. The New York University marketing professor and Kara’s “Pivot” co-host says targeting the companies that dominate the stock market — and by extension many of the CEOs who’ve cozied up to President Trump — is an easy way to pressure an administration that doesn’t respond to citizen outrage or media criticism.  Kara and Scott talk about his goals for the Resist and Unsubscribe campaign, how he came up with a list of companies worth targeting, and the outsized impact unsubscribing can have on a tech company’s market capitalization. They also talk about the potential to extend the Resist and Unsubscribe boycott beyond February.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jane Fonda has been fighting for social justice for over five decades, but in the past year, she’s kicked things up a notch. This past fall, she relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment, and her environmentally focused political action committee, Jane Fonda Climate PAC, is gearing up for the midterm elections.  The iconic actor and activist talks to Kara about how to fight for democracy and the environment when both are under attack. She breaks down her PACs electoral strategy, explains why artists’ voices matter, and how to use action to beat back depression and despair. And she shares a couple secrets for living well at any age. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump makes no secret about having a long list of perceived enemies. And for the people he targets, there’s one lawyer many of them call: Abbe Lowell. The longtime Washington defense attorney built a career representing both Republicans and Democrats. But last year, Lowell left a partner position at a big firm to start his own office dedicated to helping those "unlawfully and inappropriately targeted" by the Trump administration. Kara and Lowell talk about his work representing clients like New York Attorney General Letita James, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and independent journalist Don Lemon; the strategy behind Trump’s lawfare; and the ways Abbe is positioning his new practice to anticipate the Trump administration’s next moves. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara talks to Lawrence Lessig about his fight to end Super PACs — without passing a constitutional amendment or overturning Citizens United.  The Harvard law professor and Equal Citizens founder was once the internet’s open-access evangelist. 19 years ago, he shifted his focus from intellectual property to institutional corruption, and since then, he’s become one of the country’s sharpest critics of money-driven politics.  Kara and Lessig examine how the tech industry shifted from being led by largely apolitical or "libertarian-light" figures to becoming a sector that actively enables Trump; whether Democrats can capitalize on the Epstein controversy to persuade Trump's voters that he’s not the outsider he claims to be; how engagement-driven AI is tearing democracy apart; and why citizen assemblies are the way to repair it. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since becoming CEO of the Onion two years ago, former disinformation reporter Ben Collins has helped revitalize the satirical newspaper by relaunching its print edition, bringing back the Onion News Network on YouTube, and launching a bid to take over Alex Jones’s Infowars. The Onion even recently released its own mockumentary about Jeffrey Epstein and his connections to President Trump, called "Jeffrey Epstein: Bad Pedophile."  Kara and Ben talk about the role of humor when reality seems more absurd than satire, and the threats the Trump administration poses to free speech. They also discuss why they’re both bullish on the power of independent media — especially satirical media — to hold powerful people accountable. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara talks with Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe at a tense time for electric vehicles: domestic sales have cooled, federal EV tax credits are gone, and tariffs are raising costs across supply chains. Rivian’s premium R1S SUV and R1T pickup helped establish the brand — the R1S is now the best-selling premium electric SUV in the country — but the company is still losing money. The R2, Rivian’s midsize SUV will hit showrooms this year, and Scaringe says it will be “an inflection point for us as a business.” Kara presses him on how to win buyers cross-shopping hybrids and gas vehicles, and what it takes to compete with both Tesla and low-cost, highly capable Chinese EV makers. They also dig into Rivian’s joint venture with Volkswagen Group, the economics of scaling an EV startup, and why Scaringe believes autonomy will eventually become as critical as having “tires on a vehicle.” Plus: Aurora CEO Chris Urmson asks why Rivian doesn't have CarPlay. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the last few weeks, Minneapolis has been the epicenter of President Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, but tensions between residents and the administration exploded after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renee Good earlier this month. And after the killing of Alexander Pretti by federal agents on Saturday, it's safe to assume the situation will only get worse. Approximately 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents have deployed to the metro area. Roughly the same number of people have been arrested. And the Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to a handful of local elected Democratic officials, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.  Kara and Mayor Frey talk about why he thinks the DOJ’s subpoenas are about politics, not public safety; what his office is telling the local immigrant community; and why he doesn’t agree with calls to "abolish ICE." They also talk about Trump’s threats to use the Insurrection Act against protesters, and why he thinks everyone — even Republicans — should be outraged about what’s happening in Minneapolis right now.  This interview was recorded on Thursday, January 22nd. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On Christmas Eve, Elon Musk’s X rolled out an in-app tool that lets users alter other people’s photos and post the results directly in reply. With minimal safeguards, it quickly became a pipeline for sexualized, non-consensual deepfakes, including imagery involving minors, delivered straight into victims’ notifications.  Renée DiResta, Hany Farid, and Casey Newton join Kara to dig into the scale of the harm, the failure of app stores and regulators to act quickly, and why the “free speech” rhetoric used to defend the abuse is incoherent. Kara explores what accountability could look like — and what comes next as AI tools get more powerful. Renée DiResta is the former technical research manager at Stanford's Internet Observatory. She researched online CSAM for years and is one of the world’s leading experts on online disinformation and propaganda. She’s also the author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality. Hany Farid is a professor of computer sciences and engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He’s been described as the father of digital image forensics and has spent years developing tools to combat CSAM. Casey Newton is the founder of the tech newsletter Platformer and the co-host of The New York Times podcast Hard Fork.  This episode was recorded on Tuesday, January 20th. When reached for comment, a spokesperson for X referred us to a ⁠a statement post on X⁠, which reads in part: We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, non-consensual nudity, and unwanted sexual content. We take action to remove high-priority violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-consensual nudity, taking appropriate action against accounts that violate our X Rules. We also report accounts seeking Child Sexual Exploitation materials to law enforcement authorities as necessary. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Zeke Emanuel is one of the country’s foremost healthcare experts. An oncologist and the former chair of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, he was one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act and now teaches at the University of Pennsylvania. Emanuel’s new book, “Eat Your Ice Cream: Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life,” offers practical advice on eating and living well at a time when Americans are bombarded with dubious “wellness” content everywhere they look. Kara and Zeke talk about how nutrition advice has gotten overly complicated; why it’s OK to indulge in the occasional serving of ice cream or glass of wine; and why he mostly dismisses wearable technology as a means of measuring a healthy lifestyle. Emanuel also shares his thoughts on the Trump administration’s latest updates to the food pyramid, and his fears over the distrust the government is sowing around vaccines.  Special thanks to Politics and Prose Bookstore for hosting this live conversation.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democratic California Representative Ro Khanna joins Kara for a wide-ranging conversation about the culture of impunity that’s taken hold in America during President Trump’s second term.  They discuss Khanna's visit to an immigration detention facility, the Trump administration’s reaction to the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, the Department of Justice investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, and Khanna’s new role as ranking member of the House China Select Committee.  Khanna also explains why he’s pushing for the full release of the Epstein files and the fight over a proposed 5% wealth tax on billionaires in California. Kara also asks him how Democrats can win back voters in 2026 and whether he's making plans for a 2028 presidential run. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the founder and CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Imran Ahmed specializes in researching how hate and disinformation spread online. His work has made him a target of Elon Musk and the Trump administration — he’s one of five European tech regulators and researchers the White House wants to bar from the U.S. over claims of “foreign censorship.” Ahmed, who’s a British national based in the U.S., has sued to block his removal, and he’s not backing down from a fight with the administration over his goal to hold social media and AI companies accountable. Kara and Imran talk about the work his organization does to combat the spread of hate speech; why he thinks the Trump administration is targeting him at the behest of Elon Musk; and the stakes of his case when it comes to protections around free speech and immigration. They also talk about why so many tech CEOs are threatened by efforts to rein in the spread of disinformation on their platforms.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, on Saturday, sent shockwaves across the globe. And although the targeted military operation was a success, the repercussions of ousting the authoritarian leader will be long-lasting and hard to predict.  To make sense of the new world order ushered in by President Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine,” we convened a panel of experts: an oil industry specialist, a national security journalist, and an historian of Venezuela. Luisa Palacios is the managing director of energy transition finance at the Center on Global Energy Policy and the former chairwoman of the Citgo Petroleum Corporation. David Sanger is the White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times. He’s played central roles on three teams that have won Pulitzer Prizes, and he’s the author of four books, including his latest, “New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion and America’s Struggle to Defend the West.” Alejandro Velasco is a historian, a professor at New York University, the former executive editor of the NACLA Report on the Americas, and the author of “Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela.” Together, they unpack the Trump administration’s competing rationales for deposing Maduro; the feasibility of controlling Venezuela without American boots on the ground; how a “regime change” that doesn't change will affect the Venezuelan people; and the global implications for America’s credibility. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the principal contributor to The New Yorker’s “Q&A” interview series, Isaac Chotiner has earned a reputation as “the interview assassin.” His persistent questioning has made for some awkward — and revealing — conversations with high-profile guests over the years, but Chotiner also rejects the caricature of the “gotcha journalist” that’s often applied to him. Kara and Isaac talk about his interviewing style, how he prepares for difficult conversations, and his recent viral Q&As with the legal scholar Cass Sunstein and former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. They also talk about some of the stories that are likely to dominate headlines in 2026. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy 2026 from all of us at On with Kara Swisher! We’re ringing in the new year with an episode of ACCESS, a new tech insider podcast from the Vox Media Podcast Network that’s hosted by two highly connected tech journalists, Alex Heath and Ellis Hamburger. Each week, Alex and Ellis have revealing conversations with Silicon Valley’s most influential leaders, from the tech titans of today to tomorrow’s most interesting entrepreneurs. On this episode of ACCESS, they speak to Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev to discuss the rise of prediction markets, juggling priorities as a public CEO, and much more. For full video episodes, subscribe on YouTube Follow ACCESS on Instagram and TikTok. Follow Alex's ⁠Sources newsletter⁠ and on ⁠X @alexeheath⁠. Follow Ellis at ⁠Meaning⁠ and on ⁠X @hamburger⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara sits down with Chris Urmson, CEO and co-founder of the autonomous trucking company Aurora, and Johnathon Ehsani, a professor of public health at Johns Hopkins University and leading road safety researcher, for a candid look at the future of AI-powered freight transport.  Recorded live at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center, the three discuss the rapid rise of driverless trucking, what it will take to convince a skeptical public that sharing the road with self-driving 18-wheelers will actually make driving safer, the potential for job losses, and how to regulate autonomous vehicles across state lines. It’s a deeply informed look at the promises and the trade-offs of autonomous trucking with two experts. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Holidays from the On with Kara Swisher team! To celebrate, we’re gifting you a recent episode of a new national security podcast from the Vox Media Podcast Network. “The Long Game” is hosted by Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s National Security Advisor, and Jon Finer, his Principal Deputy — both senior aides who sat in on the classified Presidential Daily Brief each morning and translated raw intelligence into policy advice. On this episode of The Long Game, Jake and Jon cover: - The fast-escalating U.S. pressure campaign against the Maduro regime in Venezuela — including the growing American military buildup and Trump’s post calling Venezuela a “foreign terrorist organization.” - President Trump’s decision to allow the sale of Nvidia’s advanced H200 AI chips to China — announced on the same day that the DOJ called the chip a cornerstone of “AI superiority.” - A Red Team/Blue Team exercise on the U.S.-backed peace proposal for the Ukraine–Russia war, with Jake and Jon stepping into the roles of advisers to Zelensky and Putin. Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop on Fridays. Show notes and a transcript of the episode are available here.Watch the video of this episode on Youtube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From an unenforced TikTok ban and a chatbot calling itself MechaHitler to mounting fears that we’re in an AI bubble, 2025 was another messy year for the tech industry. We watched billionaire CEOs fully align themselves with President Trump, Nvidia become the first $5 trillion company, and Elon Musk’s popularity tank, thanks to his DOGE antics (and yet he could still become the world’s first trillionaire).  Kara breaks down the biggest tech stories of 2025 with four journalists: Bill Cohan, a longtime financial journalist, author, and Puck co-founder who covers Wall Street; Casey Newton, founder and editor of the tech newsletter Platformer and host of The New York Times podcast “Hard Fork”; Joanna Stern, senior personal technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal and author of a forthcoming book about how she surrendered her life to A.I. for a year; and Charlie Warzel, staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the tech and culture podcast “Galaxy Brain.”  (Please note, this conversation was recorded before news broke that TikTok had signed a deal to spin off its U.S. business to a group of American investors, the Justice Department released a trove of documents tied to investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, and Waymo halted service in San Francisco because of power outages in the area.)  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara sits down with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to dig into how applied artificial intelligence works at scale.  At Uber, AI powers everything from pricing, routing, and customer service to autonomous vehicles and sidewalk robots that deliver food. It has partnered with more than 20 autonomous vehicle manufacturers, and it’s moving aggressively into robotaxis. And although it may take many decades, Khosrowshahi believes society may eventually decide humans aren’t safe enough to be trusted behind the wheel. Kara and Dara discuss what this all means for jobs, congestion, climate and Uber’s business model.  This conversation was recorded live at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center as part of its Discovery Series on artificial intelligence.   Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of 2025’s most memorable images was of Silicon Valley’s billionaire CEOs lined up in the front rows at President Donald Trump’s inauguration. It was visual proof of the tech industry’s embrace of MAGA’s authoritarian-style of politics — one it has benefited from considerably over the last year. Author and neuroscientist Sam Harris has been using his podcast, “Making Sense,” to talk about the ways tech moguls are corroding our politics, and although he used to be close with some of them, he’s become a vocal critic of their support for Trump. Kara and Sam talk about why he thinks the left is to blame for the tech billionaires’ shift to the right, why all of us are bad at sorting through the glut of information we find online, and the potential risks that come with the Trump administration’s hands-off approach to A.I. They also talk about what possible tech regulation could look like, and whether everyday people stand a chance against tech oligarchs and their platforms.  (Please note: This interview was recorded before President Trump signed an executive order to block states from passing A.I. regulation.) Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rachel Maddow is an author, podcast host and producer, documentary producer, and, of course, the anchor of her eponymous show on MS NOW. Her newest podcast, "Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order," unravels how the incarceration of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during WWII was planned and carried out. Shockingly, the full story behind one of the 20th century’s worst American human-rights abuses might never have come to light if not for the relentless work of a hobbyist researcher — who had been incarcerated herself. Kara and Rachel dig into the story and explore the parallels to President Trump’s mass-deportation policies. They also discuss the recent boat strikes on alleged drug traffickers, the escalating drama around the competing bids for Warner Bros. Discovery and what it signals for the future of the news business, and MSNBC’s evolution into MS NOW. Please note: This episode was taped on Tuesday, before President Trump said it was “imperative that CNN be sold." Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Margaret Atwood is one of the most famous and prolific authors of the modern era. Though best known for her 1985 hit “The Handmaid’s Tale,” her dozens of works span literary genres — poetry, novels, children's books, essays, short stories — and often defy neat categorization. Now, at 86, Atwood has written her first memoir. At roughly 600 pages, it’s an intimate look at the ways her personal life inspired and shaped her writing.  Kara and Atwood talk about her lifelong passion for the outdoors, how she decided to become a poet when she was just a teenager, and her reputation for having an eerie prescience about major world events. They also talk about Atwood’s fears about the Trump administration’s use of power, and why she still considers herself to be a hopeful person despite her predilection for dark stories.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The tech billionaires of Silicon Valley and the Midwestern rural poor wouldn’t seem to have much in common. But somehow many of them have united under the MAGA umbrella. Kara brings together two reporters who have written about the opposite sides of the MAGA coin to talk about the role of social media in fueling enragement, why tech billionaires and poor Americans are coalescing around issues like education, the press and more; and how to bridge the political divide. Her guests are: Beth Macy, a newspaper reporter for three decades and the author of five non-fiction books, including her most recent: Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America. Jacob Silverman, an independent journalist with a focus on tech, political corruption and illicit finance. He’s written three books, including his most recent: Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do you grieve the impending death of a lifelong friend when you are a multi-hyphenate comedian, actor, director and producer? If you are Tig Notaro, you produce a film about their life and work — as she has done for the late spoken word poet Andrea Gibson with the documentary Come See Me In The Good Light. Best known for her dry-witted stand up comedy, Tig is also a podcaster (Handsome), actor (Star Trek: Discovery, The Morning Show), director (Am I Ok?) and producer for film and television. Kara and Tig discuss the documentary, Gibson’s life and relationship with their wife Meg Falley after they were diagnosed with incurable cancer, how Andrea’s death opened her up to experiencing grief in a new way, and how it all relates to Tig's own 2012 cancer diagnosis, which she shared on stage in a genre-breaking set. Plus: how the comedy world is shifting under Trump and Tig’s plans for an all-lesbian action film. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the mid-2010s, television journalist and former chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin left her job at CNN to go independent. A few years later, she founded News Not Noise, a multi-platform news outlet that publishes all across the internet  (mainly on Substack, Instagram and YouTube). It made Yellin one of the first journalists to ditch mainstream media for social media, and it’s given her a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing independent journalists, newsfluencers, and content creators in a crowded media environment.   In a live interview hosted by the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, earlier this fall, Kara and Jessica talk about what it takes to be a successful online news creator, the effects President Trump’s attacks on fact-based journalism have had on the news business as a whole, and how news creators can adapt to changing social media algorithms and AI. They also talk about solutions that could help the entire news industry in an era of waning public trust.  Please note: This conversation was recorded before X rolled out a new transparency location feature, revealing some prominent pro-MAGA accounts are not based in the U.S. despite claims on their profiles.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the year since President Trump won re-election — thanks in part to capitalizing on sitdowns on friendly podcasts — Democrats have been looking for their own answer to the so-called “manosphere.” One of the top contenders has emerged from an unlikely place: bright red Oklahoma. That’s where Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan started their hit podcast, “I’ve Had It.” They’ve interviewed some of the biggest names on the left side of the political spectrum, like former President Obama, New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, and Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. Welch in particular has gone viral for testy exchanges with former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.  Kara and Jennifer talk about what it's like to be a liberal atheist in the Bible Belt, why Jennifer finds centrist Democrats so frustrating, and why she’s skeptical about Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s recent break with Trump. They also talk about what Democrats get wrong about red states, and what she thinks the party needs to do to appeal to voters outside the coasts and big cities.  Please note: The original interview for this episode was taped Friday morning, before Greene announced her decision to resign from Congress and Mamdani met with Trump. We taped a second interview on Saturday morning to get Jennifer’s reaction to the news.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Political commentator Scott Jennings has been called the “conservative explaining Red America to CNN viewers.” As the in-house Republican on CNN’s NewsNight With Abby Phillips debate panels, he often acts as a de facto Trump spokesman at the table. Jennings has been in Republican politics for more than two decades. In the mid-aughts he worked as a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, and later advised Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell in multiple campaigns. Jennings was openly critical of President Trump before and during his first term, especially after the January 6th attacks. But in his new book, A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization, Jennings argues that Donald Trump’s second term is not just a political comeback, but a transformation of the presidency itself. Kara and Scott spar about the Epstein files, discuss what they mean for the MAGA movement, and whether Trump’s policies are really “common sense.” Plus, how Scott turned into a MAGA man and why he likes being the odd-Republican-out at CNN. Note to listeners: This is an extended version of the episode that was originally published on Thursday, November 20th. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In “The American Revolution,” a new six-part docuseries airing on PBS this week, filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein take a deep look at the American Revolutionary War and the years before and after. They debunk many of the idealized myths we tell ourselves about the country’s founding and the complex motivations of the men who championed independence. At once critical and patriotic, it examines America’s history in ways the Trump administration would rather paper over. Kara, Ken and Sarah talk about the ways George Washington was both a deeply flawed man and integral to American victory in the war, how enslaved African Americans looked to the British for hope of freedom, and why it’s unfair to paint all Loyalists to the British Crown as traitors. They also talk about why there’s still a lot of reasons to find hope in America’s origin story today.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, known as one of the “godfathers of AI” for his pioneering work in deep learning and neural networks, joins Kara to discuss the technology he helped create — and how to mitigate the existential risks it poses.  Hinton explains both the short- and long-term dangers he sees in the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, from its potential to undermine democracy to the existential threat of machines surpassing human intelligence. He offers a thoughtful, complex perspective on how to craft national and international policies to keep AI in check and weighs in on whether the  AI bubble is about to burst. Plus: why your mom might be the best model for creating a safe AI. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Futures designer Nick Foster spent decades helping tech companies create products many of us didn’t even know we wanted. As the head of design at Google X — a.k.a. Alphabet’s “Moonshot Factory,” which is now known simply as “X” — he led teams working on brain-controlled computer interfaces, intelligent robotics, and even neighborhood-level nuclear fusion. He also designed emerging technologies for Apple, Sony, Nokia and Dyson. But in his debut book, “Could, Should, Might, Don’t: How We Think About the Future,” Foster argues for a more measured approach to thinking about big disruptive technology, like A.I. Kara and Nick talk about the pitfalls of the current AI hype cycle, why executives need to think critically about how everyday people are using AI, and how companies can more thoughtfully adopt the technology. They also talk about Foster’s argument that all of us need to take a more “mundane” approach to thinking about AI and the future.  This episode was recorded live at Smartsheet ENGAGE 2025 in Seattle.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Under President Trump, the Department of Justice’s long-standing mission to uphold the law “without fear or favor” has been turned on its head. Attorney General Pam Bondi has followed Trump’s directives to target his political enemies and help his allies. But in their new book, Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department, investigative journalists Carol Leonnig and Aaron Davis show that the erosion of the DOJ’s independence began long before Trump’s second term. Kara speaks to Leonnig, MSNBC senior investigative reporter, bestselling author and five-time Pulitzer Prize winner, about how internal pressure campaigns in Trump 1.0 prevailed, despite the noble intentions of prosecutors; the many red flags that were missed by the FBI ahead of the January 6th Capitol attack; the stubborn bravery of unsung heroes in the National Archives Department during the Biden administration; and how the DOJ’s loss of political independence will impact the country. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scott Galloway has spent the last few years ringing the alarm about how boys and young men are falling behind. Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University, best-selling author, and Kara’s ‘Pivot’ co-host, says his concern stems from the fact that he can relate to their problems. As a young boy raised by a single mom, Scott struggled in school, didn’t have many friends, and barely got into college. But he went on to found several successful marketing firms, make millions, and raise two sons of his own. He shares his story — and his own advice on how to be a good man — in his new book, “Notes on Being a Man.” Kara and Scott talk about how the Trump campaign was able to win over young men with its regressive version of masculinity, why he thinks we need to re-embrace young men’s horniness, and why more men need to step up as mentors. They also talk about Scott’s difficult relationship with his late father, and the ways he’s trying to be a better father to his sons.  Check out our sponsor Smartsheet here! Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard first got into business, all he wanted to do was make better equipment for himself and his fellow “dirtbags.” Over 50 years, he built Patagonia into a global outdoor retailer with a sustainable mission and ensured that the company’s profits will go toward protecting the environment for years to come. In his latest book, “Dirtbag Billionaire. How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made A Fortune, and Gave it All Away,” New York Times reporter David Gelles chronicles how Chouinard set new industry standards for sustainable production and charitable giving. Kara talks with Gelles about how Chouinard’s version of conscious capitalism compares with that of tech billionaires, what to make of shifting US corporate environmental and social responsibility, and how artificial intelligence could affect the climate in the future. Want to see Kara and Scott Galloway live on the Pivot Tour November 8th-14th? Limited tickets are still available at PivotTour.com.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From an early age, writer, director, and producer Judd Apatow has been obsessed with comedy. What started as a quest to interview comedians for his high school radio station ultimately evolved into one of the most prolific careers in Hollywood today, with hits like “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up,” and “Anchorman.” Now, Apatow is looking backwards. His new book, “Comedy Nerd,” is a visual memoir of his decades in the business, working with a who's who of the biggest names in comedy.  Kara and Judd talk about how he reimagined the genre of raunchy, R-rated comedies about stunted adolescence; what he got right about American masculinity in the mid-and-late 2000s; and his recent pivot to making documentaries about some of the greatest comedians of the modern era. They also discuss whether AI can be funny and the ways politics is shaping comedy right now.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the Department of Justice has to investigate politically sensitive matters, those investigations are typically handled by outside prosecutors known as Special Counsels: independent investigators given the freedom to unearth the dirtiest dirt against executive branch officials, including the president.  Kara speaks with CNN senior legal analyst, former prosecutor, and best-selling author Elie Honig about his latest book, When You Come at the King: Inside DOJ’s Pursuit of the President, from Nixon to Trump. They discuss the history of the DOJ’s independent investigations, the Trump administration’s current (and mostly successful) attempts to weaponize the DOJ, the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling, and recommendations for fixing the system. Want to see Kara and Scott Galloway live during the Pivot Tour November 8th-14th? There are still limited tickets available. Go to PivotTour.com for details. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the wake of President Trump’s return to the White House, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders spent months crisscrossing the nation rallying huge crowds in red and blue states during his Fighting Oligarchy tour. His new book, “Fight Oligarchy,” is an extension of those rallies and also serves as a blueprint for how everyday Americans can push back against the deep-pocketed forces shaping politics today. But at 84 years old, the two-time presidential candidate is also looking to the future of the progressive movement he helped build.  Kara and Sen. Sanders talk about his headline speech at this weekend’s No King’s rally in Washington, D.C.; the corrosive effects he thinks billionaire donors have on the Democratic Party; and the ongoing government shutdown. They also chat about how he’s getting involved early in next year’s midterm elections to help boost progressive candidates — both Democrats and independents like him — in races across the country.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will artificial intelligence be a job creator or a job destroyer? Who will be most affected — and how long will the AI revolution in employment take?  Futurist Martin Ford and economist Betsey Stevenson join Kara to unpack the realities behind the AI hype. They explore the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of work, from the fate of blue-collar jobs amid advancing robotics to the government’s role in helping workers navigate this new era. They also dive into ideas like universal basic income and a digital dividend, and examine how AI could redefine our economy, society, and the role work plays in a meaningful life. Martin Ford is the founder of a software development firm and the author of four books, including the New York Times bestselling Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. Betsey Stevenson was the chief economist of the US Department of Labor from 2010 to 2011, and then served on the Council of Economic Advisors from 2013 to 2015. She's a professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Michigan and serves on the executive committee of the American Economic Association. Register for Smartsheet Engage here! Want to see Kara and Scott Galloway live during the Pivot Tour November 8th-14th? Get tickets and details at PivotTour.com.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Vice President Kamala Harris joined Kara to talk about her new book, “107 Days,” in front of a packed house at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. They discussed President Trump’s weaponization of the Justice Department, the tech industry’s rightward shift, and how to combat Trump’s march toward autocracy in an age of disinformation, blatant power plays, and political exhaustion. Want to see Kara and Scott Galloway live during the Pivot Tour November 8th-14th? Get tickets and details at PivotTour.com.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Acclaimed researcher, podcaster and best-selling author Brené Brown joins Kara to unpack her vision of leadership, as outlined in her latest book, "Strong Ground." They discuss the dangers of "power over" leadership, why courage and vulnerability are essential traits for real leadership, and how turbulent times can pave the way for bad leadership. They also explore the impact of AI on human connection and the challenges faced by leaders in navigating a world of uncertainty and paradox. Brown shares her research on the self-conscious effects of shame and humiliation, and both she and Kara reflect on the qualities of effective and ethical leadership. Want to see Kara and Scott Galloway live during the Pivot Tour November 8th-14th? Get tickets and details at PivotTour.com.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the late 80s and early 90s, makeup artist Bobbi Brown made a name for herself by pioneering a more natural look long before it became the dominant trend. She eventually turned her side hustle selling lipstick out of her house in suburban New Jersey into a billion-dollar eponymous makeup brand that changed the beauty industry. But her unceremonious exit from parent company Esteé Lauder, with approximately four years left on a 25-year noncompete clause, stripped her of the company she had built over decades and sidelined her from the industry.  Now in her 60s, Brown has started over with a new makeup line called Jones Road, and she’s telling her story in a memoir, “Still Bobbi: A Master Class in Resilience and Reinvention.”  Kara and Brown talk about how she changed the makeup industry and founded a second successful company, plus where she sees the beauty industry headed in the era of influencers and social media.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Universities have been in the crosshairs of the White House since President Trump took office — and Princeton University president Christopher Eisgruber is one of a handful of college administrators who have spoken out against it.  Kara speaks to the Eisgruber about his new book, Terms of Respect: How Colleges Get Free Speech Right, and right-wing attacks on universities that come under the guise of free speech, including from the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk and his organization Turning Point USA. They discuss why some campus leaders have fought against (and others have complied) with the Trump administration’s investigations into allegations of antisemitism and demands to overhaul diversity programs in college admissions and hiring. And they talk about the long-term impacts of losing academic freedom on the reputation and success of US higher education, the economy and society as a whole.  Please note: this interview was recorded on Monday September 29th, before President Trump said his administration was nearing a deal with Harvard while it also began a process called debarment that could allow it to bar the university from future federal grants.  Want to see Kara (and Scott Galloway) live on the Pivot Tour November 8th - 14th? Find tickets and details at PivotTour.com.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At age 67, Sen. Tina Smith (D, MN) is doing something that’s still rather rare for senators: retiring at a relatively young age, after just one full term in office. Smith’s open Senate seat is one of five Democrats will have to defend in next year’s midterm elections, in what’s shaping up to be a tough cycle. But with a little more than a year left in office, she still has to work on the big problems facing the Democratic Party, and the nation more broadly, including a rise in political violence and this week’s looming government shutdown.  In a live conversation recorded Saturday at the annual MinnPost Festival in downtown Minneapolis, Kara and Smith talk about why she thinks Democrats shouldn’t cave to Republican demands to keep the government open; how more of her colleagues should opt to retire instead of run for re-election; and what Democrats need to do to come out ahead in next year’s midterm elections. Smith also reflects on the recent spate of political violence, including the assasination of  her friend and fellow Minnesota Democrat, Melissa Hortman, in June. (The gunman reportedly included the senator on his hit list.)  Thank you to MinnPost for hosting this conversation.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Maria Raine say their son, 16-year-old Adam Raine, started using ChatGPT-4o in September 2024 to help with his homework. After Adam died by suicide this past April, his parents realized that ChatGPT was also lending an ear to Adam’s suicidal ideations and giving him advice on techniques. In a lawsuit filed against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, the Raines allege that the chatbot actively isolated Adam from family and friends.  They say ChatGPT not only didn’t stop Adam from taking his own life —  it actually helped him do it. Kara speaks to Matt and Maria, as well as their attorney, Jay Edelson of Edelson PC, about Adam’s final months, why they believe OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman should be held responsible for Adam’s suffering and death, and what kind of safety features are needed for AI companions.  In response to a request for comment, an OpenAI spokesperson said: “Our deepest sympathies are with the Raine family for their unthinkable loss. Teen well-being is a top priority for us - minors deserve strong protections, especially in sensitive moments. We have safeguards in place today, such as surfacing crisis hotlines, guiding how our models respond to sensitive requests, and nudging for breaks during long sessions, and we’re continuing to strengthen them. We will soon roll out parental controls, developed with expert input, so families can decide what works best in their homes, and we’re building toward a long-term age-prediction system to help tailor experiences appropriately.” This episode discusses the death by suicide of a teenager in significant detail. If you are struggling, please reach out for help. In the US and Canada you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 anytime for immediate support.  This episode version has been updated with a revised introduction. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is on the shortlist of Democrats expected to make a run for the White House in 2028. Six years ago, the then-mayor of South Bend, Indiana, burst onto the national political scene as the first openly gay major presidential candidate. His centrist appeal and platform of good governance helped him win the Iowa Caucuses, edging out independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and then-former Vice President Joe Biden. But should Buttigieg choose to run again, he’ll face a much more fractured Democratic electorate that’s still divided over Gaza, the 2024 election, and the best strategy to counter the MAGA movement.   In a live conversation recorded at the University of Michigan’s Rackham Auditorium, Kara and Pete talk about his concerns over how the Trump administration is using the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk to crack down on free speech; why he and other Democrats struggle to speak clearly about the war in Gaza; and his vision for a post-Trump America. Buttigieg also weighs in on whether he is, in fact, planning to run for president again in 2028. Thanks to the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy for hosting this conversation.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was a Democrat with a habit of voting against the party line. Not surprisingly, that was something many Democrats despised and Republicans relished. His resistance cost Democrats big legislative wins, including President Biden’s $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Act in 2021. After being called a DINO (Democrat in Name Only) for years, Manchin flirted with a presidential run on the No Labels ticket and officially dropped the “D” to become an independent in 2024, shortly before leaving office. Kara talks to Manchin about his new memoir, Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense, his reasoning for occasionally siding with the other side of the aisle, his defense of the filibuster, and why he thinks independents might have a better chance in 2028. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube (full episodes available now!) Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As more companies push AI in their workplaces, the technology is rapidly reshaping the way many of us do our jobs. But a lot of people — from entry-level employees to the C-Suite — are still in the dark about the limits of AI, its best uses, and how to make it work for them.  We called in a panel of AI experts to answer some our listeners’ burning questions about how to use it at work: Sayash Kapoor, co-author of the book AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Can Do, What it Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference and the Substack AI as Normal Technology; Rajeev Kapur, CEO of 1105 Media and author of the book AI Made Simple: A Beginner's Guide to Generative Intelligence; and futurist and author Amy Webb, founder and CEO of the consulting firm Future Today Strategy Group. Kara, Sayash, Rajeev and Amy break down everything from how vibe coding works to thornier questions around privacy and regulation. They talk about how young people can prepare themselves to enter the workforce, and how all of us can develop skills to stay relevant. And, of course, they weigh in on the question so many of us are asking right now: Is AI coming for my job?  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

AI video generators are making storytelling more affordable — and one day, the tools may allow anyone with enough creativity to become a filmmaker. But the same technology can power convincing deepfakes that undermine our shared reality and destabilize our politics.  Cristobal Valenzuela, the co-founder and CEO of Runway AI, joins Kara to discuss how its tools are disrupting the advertising and film industries, and why Hollywood studios might not want to admit how much they are using them.  They also talk about how Runway is holding its own against (and warding off takeover advances from) much bigger tech players, and the AI video industry's responsibility in preventing deepfakes and political manipulation. Plus: Kara becomes a Top Gun pilot! Watch the video on the On With Kara Swisher YouTube page.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In her latest book, We the People, the historian, New Yorker staff writer, and Harvard University professor Jill Lepore turns her attention to the history of the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, she focuses on all the ways our government’s foundational text has changed throughout its nearly 250 year history. Lepore calls Article V, which lays out the Constitution’s amendment mechanism, by far its most “radical innovation.” But she says the Constitution has become unamendable in the modern era — it hasn’t been meaningfully updated in more than a half-century, corroding our politics and government.  Kara and Jill break down why the Framers included a way to make changes to the Constitution, how we’re still grappling with Article V’s bad compromises, and why the now dominant judicial philosophy of originalism contradicts the Framers’ intent. Lepore also digs into whether the Constitution can withstand PresidentTrump’s constant attacks. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswishe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While media pioneer John Malone may not be a household name, he’s had a hand in shaping how all of us watch TV. Malone built Denver-based Tele-Communications Inc. into the largest cable company in the country, and then carved out Liberty Media from TCI. Liberty, along with various spinoff companies, have owned controlling stakes in companies like Discovery, SiriusXM, the Atlanta Braves, and Formula 1. Now, at 84, Malone has a new book out, “Born to Be Wired,” about his career and the fellow media titans he met along the way.   Kara and Malone talk about how he transformed from the Ivy League-educated engineer to one of the “cable cowboys” who helped bring cable television into the homes of millions of Americans, how he squares his libertarian politics with President Donald Trump’s policies and the MAGA Republican Party, and why he thinks Big Tech needs major regulation. He also expands on some of his recent critiques of CNN and supposed left-wing bias in the media.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Labor Day! Today, we’re bringing you a special episode from our friends at Hacks on Tap. This one is hosted by David Axelrod and John Heilemann, and they’re joined by Rahm Emanuel, the former White House chief of staff, mayor of Chicago and ambassador to Japan.  The trio discusses President Trump’s threats to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, the FBI’s investigation into former National Security Advisor John Bolton, the collapse of the Ukraine peace talks, the high-stakes redistricting battles in Texas and California, and more. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joy Reid was an early social media adopter — which didn’t always go over well with her former bosses at MSNBC. But after her primetime show, The ReidOut, was canceled as part of MSNBC’s shakeup, this past February, Reid quickly used social media platforms to successfully pivot to independent media.  Kara and Reid discuss the evolving landscape of cable news, how her Substack, "Joy's House", and her YouTube channel, "The Joy Reid Show”, allow her to cover topics like the war in Gaza and politics with more freedom, and her insights into the direction of the Democratic party. Plus: Reid’s thoughts on MSNBC’s new name/logo, MSNOW. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How do artists hold the powerful to account? Graphic novelist Alison Bechdel and editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes have been grappling with that question for decades, in their own very different ways.  Bechdel is the creator of the seminal comic strip, “Dykes to Watch out For,” which she self-syndicated for 25 years. She’s also the author and illustrator of four graphic novels, including “Fun Home,” which was adapted into a five-time Tony-winning Broadway musical. She is a professor at Yale, and her latest book is Spent.   Telnaes is a two-time Pulitzer winner and the winner of the Herb Block Prize for editorial cartooning in 2023. Earlier this year, she made international headlines after resigning from The Washington Post when her cartoon mocking tech billionaires for bending the knee to President Trump, including Post owner Jezz Bezos, was spiked. She now publishes her work on Substack  Kara, Alison and Ann discuss everything from politics and money in art, to South Park, book bans, drawing Kristi Noem's flowing extensions, art making, and AI drawings.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tariffs are up, but inflation is still holding steady. Job numbers are down, but the stock market is booming. Meanwhile, President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and he’s pushing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates (he’s also calling for Fed governor Lisa Cook to resign, but that began after our taping). MSNBC economic analyst Steven Rattner joins Kara to break down the contradictory and confusing economic news of late. Rattner is the chairman and CEO of Willett Advisors, the investment arm for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s personal and philanthropic assets, and a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. He and Kara discuss the impact of Trump’s “economic illiteracy” on the business world; why major price hikes haven’t materialized yet and whether Trump’s tariffs could lead to inflation; why there’s such a disconnect between the economy and the stock market; and whether the AI boom’s potential to increase productivity will keep the economy humming during Trump 2.0. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As federal troops patrol the capital and masked men whisk away immigrants in unmarked cars, it’s reasonable to ask: is President Trump a fascist? According to Jason Stanley, the answer is a resounding yes. Stanley is a philosopher and the author of seven books, including How Propaganda Works, How Fascism Works, and Erasing History. He’ll be teaching at the University of Toronto this fall, after leaving Yale and the United States for Canada. He describes his self-imposed exile as an expressive act meant to sound an alarm, but Kara is skeptical, and the two of them spar over his choice. They also break down the ways in which Trump is following the fascist playbook — from cultural capture of museums and universities, to data manipulation, and emergency declarations — and the role of the media in normalizing anti-democratic power grabs. Finally they debate whether MAGA can survive without Trump, and whether America can survive MAGA.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Are boys and men in crisis? Kara tackles the "male malaise" head-on with Richard Reeves, founding president of the American Institute for Boys and Men and author of "Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters and What to Do About It."  Kara and Richard explore the challenges they face and their implications for society at large. Those challenges include the political vacuum allowing right-wing voices to dominate the conversation, the loss of male role models in education and care services, and the profound impact of smartphones, social media, and artificial intelligence on male identity. They also explore solutions that will benefit boys and men without  undermining the progress made by women and girls. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than 25 years after his tragic death, John F. Kennedy Jr. remains one of the most captivating figures in American public life. He was handsome, charming, and born into political royalty — and when he died in a plane crash in 1999, he was fighting to save George, his glossy political magazine, and weighing a run for New York governor. Ryan Murphy is producing American Love Story, a new series about John and his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy; some QAnon conspiracy theorists believe JFK Jr. is still alive; and CNN has just released the first episode of a three-part documentary series called American Prince: JFK. Jr.  So why can’t we look away? Why are John and Carolyn still objects of fascination, speculation, and even conspiracy? What does our continued obsession say about us — and about American political culture? Kara talks to two close friends of John and Carolyn, Gary Ginsberg and Carole Radziwill, who are featured in American Prince. Together with Kara, they reflect how myth and reality collided in the story of John and Carolyn, what George got right (and wrong) about modern politics, and how the media scrutiny that continues to shape John and Carolyn's legacy. Ginsberg met John at Brown University, and he was the senior editor and legal counsel at George magazine. He went on to become an assistant counsel to President Clinton and a senior executive at News Corp and Time Warner. He was also a consulting producer on American Prince and the author of First Friends: The Powerful, Unsung (And Unelected) People Who Shaped Our Presidents. Radziwill is a former journalist. Her work at ABC News won a Peabody and multiple Emmys. She’s also a former cast member of the Real Housewives of New York, and her late husband, Anthony Radziwill, was JFK Jr.’s cousin and best friend. Radziwill is the author of three books, including the bestselling memoir, What Remains, and she recently launched a newsletter on Substack, Life with Carole Radziwill.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2022, more than one in three U.S. adolescents between the ages of 18 and 25 had some form of mental health disorder, including anxiety and depression. There’s also a loneliness epidemic: Teens and adults are more connected than ever, yet, somehow, more alone. Kara and three panelists  explore how much blame should be placed on technology like smartphones, the impact of social media, whether the adolescent brain is inherently vulnerable, how artificial intelligence might shift the paradigm, and how parents and society at large could mitigate the problem. In this episode: Lauren Greenfield, artist, documentary photographer and filmmaker, who has been chronicling the lives of American adolescents for decades. Most recently, she created and directed Social Studies, an Emmy-nominated five-part docuseries for FX. Matt Richtel, a health and science reporter for the New York Times, who has long covered the social impact of the tech industry. His latest book, How We Grow Up: Understanding Adolescence, draws on neuroscience and personal narratives to explore the changing complexities of the teen brain and the role technology plays. Jack Thorne, playwright and screenwriter, whose recent Emmy-nominated Netflix hit Adolescence, co-created with Stephen Graham, examines the psychological toll of toxic masculinity, bullying and social media radicalization after a teenage boy kills his female classmate. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Democrats have abandoned the working class, according to former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, leading working people to fall for President Trump’s hollow and hateful cultural populism. But he argues that an economic populist message that exposes how corporations and wealthy people abuse their power could turn the tide. Kara and Reich discuss how that would work in practice, why Democrats have repeatedly sided with Wall Street, how Americans should fight back against Trump’s fascist tendencies, and other questions drawn from his upcoming memoir, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America. Plus, Reich answers an “expert question” from his longtime debate partner, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legacy media isn’t dead, but journalists are leaving traditional outlets in swarms to launch their own newsletters, podcasts and social media ventures, and they may be forcing a reboot. As one of the early media entrepreneurs (and a trusted advisor to many of those who aspire to follow in her footsteps), Kara sits down to discuss the current landscape with Oliver Darcy, founder of the “must-read” media newsletter “Status”; Katie Drummond, Wired’s global editorial director; and Dave Jorgenson, The Washington Post's former “TikTok Guy”, who has recently launched his own site, Local News International. In a freewheeling conversation, they unpack the challenges of audience capture, the looming shadow of AI, and the surprising (financial) realities of being an independent journalist. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ever since Trump was re-elected in 2024, his MAGA base has been eagerly awaiting the release of the Epstein files. So it came as a shock when, in July, a Justice Department memo said they had reviewed the matter and determined that there was “no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials,” that the rumored “client list” did not exist, and that there was no evidence Epstein “blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.” Suddenly, key pillars of the conspiracy theory were knocked down, by the very administration that promised to get to the bottom of the Epstein saga.  Since then, MAGA has split into two factions: those who are siding with the administration and ready to move on, and those who still want the Epstein files released. To make matters worse for President Trump, recent stories in the Wall Street Journal have reminded the public that, for over a decade, Trump and Epstein were actually friends. And while it’s not evidence of a crime, recent reporting has also revealed that Trump’s name is, indeed, in the Epstein files.  To help us separate the facts of the case from the thorny conspiracies that surround it, we’ve brought on Julie K. Brown and Donie O’Sullivan. Brown is an investigative reporter at The Miami Herald who began digging into the Epstein case in 2018, leading to his second arrest. O’Sullivan is a CNN senior correspondent who covers online misinformation and conspiracy theories.  When reached for comment regarding allegations that it passed on the Epstein story, New York Times spokesperson Charlie Stadtlander responded with the following statement: The Times's coverage of Jeffrey Epstein has been hard-hitting and thorough, starting with the first legal charges against him in 2006. Since then, we've covered every step of the story involving Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, the powerful people in their orbit and the shadowy aftermath of Epstein's arrest and death in custody. We can't speak to whatever Julie K. Brown is saying the victims' lawyers told her -- neither of them has actually identified a New York Times journalist in this matter, and we have yet to find any record of such conversations. Times reporters continue to do tough and deep work to uncover and verify the facts about Epstein and those around him. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What happens when artificial intelligence collides with family, morality and the need for justice? Author and University of Virginia professor Bruce Holsinger joins Kara to talk about his new novel, Culpability, a family drama that examines how AI is reshaping our lives and our sense of accountability.  Who is responsible when AI technology causes harm? How do we define culpability in the age of algorithms? And how is generative AI impacting academia, students and creative literature?  Our expert question comes from Dr. Kurt Gray, a professor of psychology and the director of the Collaborative on the Science of Polarization and Misinformation at The Ohio State University. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social media algorithms are leading to the creation of new words, new accents, and even new identities. And while using the apps may seem like a fun, trivial way to waste time, they’re actually having a profound impact on how we communicate — and on our our democracy. To find out more, Kara talks to Adam Aleksic, a 24-year-old Harvard-educated linguist and social media influencer, and the author of Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language. They discuss the way new words, communities, and identities develop on social media apps; the financial motives and incentive structures underlying the algorithms; the mechanisms through which they shape user behavior; and how they ends up impacting our culture and politics.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Not my type” is what President Donald Trump said about writer and former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of sexually assaulting her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman. Despite his denials, in 2023, a jury found Trump liable for assault and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million. After he continued to defame her — leading his supporters to launch an avalanche of threats against her — a second jury in 2024 awarded Carroll $83.3 million in damages.   Kara talks to Carroll and her lead attorney, civil rights lawyer Roberta Kaplan, about the two civil lawsuits Carroll details in her new memoir, “Not My Type: One Woman vs. a President.”  They discuss potential evidence left out of the trial, including connections to Jeffrey Epstein, where Trump’s appeals stand, what chance he might have of bringing the cases to the Supreme Court and what impact his attempts to silence lawyers could have on our legal system. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How skeptical should we be about the bill of goods (often marketed as needs) sold to us by Silicon Valley? Very, says Adam Becker, an astrophysicist and author of the new book, More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. From colonizing Mars to building god-like AIs, Becker argues that the fantasies propagated by tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos and Marc Andreessen aren’t just far-fetched – they’re a convenient cover for a racist, authoritarian power grab. In this conversation, Kara sits down with her “soulmate” to dissect and debunk the narratives that undergird the less-than-benevolent Big Tech agenda and uphold the status quo. They also discuss why some ideas, like Musk’s dream of colonizing Mars, are scientifically impossible; the fallacy of effective altruism; the probability of existential threats against humanity; and how all of these factors add up to more power and more control for the techno-oligarchy. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rep. Robert Garcia was recently elected as the ranking member of the powerful House Oversight Committee by his fellow House Democrats. He won a top job that usually goes to a senior lawmaker who has spent many years (sometimes decades) in line, dutifully waiting for a turn. And his win might be a sign that the unofficial seniority system of congress is eroding under the weight of young Democrats itching for a bigger seat at the table.  This is only his second term in Congress, but Rep. Garcia, who came to the U.S. from Peru as an undocumented immigrant when he was a child, has already shown that he’s a skilled communicator who can find an audience online. He and Kara discuss the power of the Oversight Committee, the future of the Democratic Party, the strategy behind investigating Trump family scandals, the Big Beautiful Bill’s impact on ICE, and more.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Despite the chaos of January 6th, 34 felony convictions, and his party’s underperformance in the 2022 midterms, Donald J. Trump is once again president.  How did he defy political gravity to win again? Why did former President Joe Biden run despite overwhelming evidence that voters didn’t want him to? Was there a coverup to conceal his decline, as Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book, “Original Sin” alleges? Why did former Vice President Harris run such a cautious campaign and refuse to distance herself from Biden? And was she doomed by Biden’s late withdrawal, or did her own mistakes cost her the election? As America enters its 250th year and a new political era, Kara speaks with the authors of 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America to answer these questions and understand how we got here. The trio breaks down how Trump beat back his Republican primary opponents, the Biden campaign’s fatal missteps, the Harris campaign’s stifling paralysis, and why Trump is now governing more like a king than a president.  Isaac Arnsdorf is a senior White House reporter for The Washington Post. His reporting on the first Trump assasination attempt was essential to the Posts’s 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News, and he’s the author of  "Finish What We Started," about the MAGA movement post January 6th. Josh Dawsey is a political investigations and enterprise reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Josh was part of teams at The Washington Post that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2022 for coverage of Jan. 6 and in 2024 for coverage of the role of the AR-15 in American life. And Tyler Pager is a White House correspondent for The New York Times. In 2022, he won the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump and other Republicans keep throwing around the C-word — Communist — to smear anyone slightly progressive, including Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s new Democratic mayoral candidate. But right-wing fearmongering isn’t the only reason it feels like McCarthyism is on the rise again.  So, just in time for the 4th of July, Kara speaks to New York Times reporter and author Clay Risen about his latest book, Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism and the Making of Modern America. They unpack Joseph McCarthy’s insane antics, parallels between the Republican party of the 1940s/50s and today — and what lessons, if any, we can learn from McCarthy’s ultimate downfall. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara Swisher sits down with Emmy-winning comedian Jerrod Carmichael for a raw and revealing conversation about truth, family, faith — and the art of standup. They dig into Carmichael’s work, including his deeply personal special “Rothaniel,” his genre-bending documentary “The Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show” (which he describes as a sitcom), and his latest special, “Don’t Be Gay.” The two of them talk about class in America, the fears that kept him closeted, the role of religion and spirituality in his life, and why standup must evolve or die. Plus, why he’s the son his mother deserves, what he’s learned from artists like Jay-Z and Spalding Gray, and why he wants to “remove hyphens” from his name and focus on stand-up comedy. Happy Pride — and happy listening. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump’s decision to bomb Iran shocked much of the world — but America’s involvement was over almost as soon as it began, and so far, it hasn’t sparked a broader war, like so many feared.  So how did we get here? Was the bombing a success? Will the ceasefire between Israel and Iran hold? Is the regime in Iran any closer to collapsing — and if it did, would that be good? Finally, what’s the long term solution to the nuclear issue? Kara gathers a trio of experts to grapple with these questions, and more.  Jason Rezaian is the Director of Press Freedom Initiatives and a writer for The Washington Post’s Global Opinions. He was the Post's correspondent in Tehran before he was unjustly imprisoned by the Iranian regime, and he’s the author of Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison. Jim Sciutto is CNN’s chief national security analyst and the anchor of The Brief with Jim Sciutto. He’s also the author of The Return of Great Powers: Russia, China and the Next World War. Robin Wright is a contributing writer and columnist for The New Yorker and a distinguished fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She’s the author of several books, including The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran, and Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Molly Jong-Fast is best known as a writer and political commentator. But before she became the host of Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast, a regular on MSNBC, and a novelist and memoirist, she was the daughter of Erica Jong.  Jong catapulted to literary stardom with her 1973 novel Fear of Flying.  The bold — and, at the time — shocking story of a married woman looking for casual sex made her a literary icon of second-wave feminism. And although Jong-Fast was an only child, she grew up sharing her life with the fictional alter-egos Jong created and longing for a deeper connection with her alcoholic and mostly-absent mother. But now, Jong-Fast has turned the tables. She’s written an unsparing memoir about her relationship with her mother and Jong’s struggle with dementia titled, How to Lose Your Mother.  Kara talks to Molly about difficult mothers, the perils of writing a memoir, her pivot to journalism, and what gives her hope for America.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As President Trump considers striking Iran, Kara talks to Nicolle Wallace — host of MSNBC’S Deadline: White House and the new podcast The Best People.  They unpack President Trump’s mixed messaging on Iran and his growing credibility gap with the American public, the political calculus behind his domestic shows of force, and the disturbing rise of political violence in America. Plus, a look back at the 2008 presidential campaign and a candid conversation about how journalists can remain relevant in a rapidly shifting media landscape.  Please note: This conversation was recorded on the morning of Tuesday, June 17th, before Senator Mike Lee deleted his heinous posts on X about the assassinations in Minnesota, and before President Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” on Truth Social. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Democrats in disarray” is more than just a trope — after last year’s disastrous elections, Democrats are openly fretting about how to pull the party out of its crisis. Kara speaks to a panel of millennial leaders about how to rejuvenate it; what role the generational divide plays in policy and agenda setting; and what Democrats need to do to win back younger voters (and older ones, too). Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) was first elected to Congress in 2022. He is the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and he’s currently part of the “Fighting Oligarchy Tour” with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Amanda Litman is a co-founder of Run for Something, an organization that helps young, diverse progressives run for down-ballot races. Since its founding in 2017, Run for Something has helped elect nearly 1,500 candidates in 49 states and the District of Columbia – including more than 250 candidates in 2024, 18 of whom flipped their seats from red to blue. Litman’s new book, “When We’re in Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership” was just published. Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE) was elected to the House last year, and she is the first openly transgender elected member of Congress. She is also member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a former Delaware state senator, and a Run For Something alum. Her campaign and first few months in office (which included being banned from using the women’s bathroom in the Capitol) is the subject of a new documentary “State of Firsts,” which just played at the Tribeca Film Festival and DC/DOX. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After reportedly speaking to President Trump on the phone, Elon Musk took to Twitter, on Wednesday, to say he regrets “some” of his tweets about President Trump — but that doesn’t mean all is forgiven. As the dust settles on last week’s cross-platform showdown, the long-term consequences from the breakup of the world’s richest man and its most powerful one are just beginning to emerge. So, Kara gathered a panel of four expert guests to unpack how the feud ignited, who holds the most leverage, why a ceasefire took place, if it’ll last, and what it all means for the future of tech, politics and power.  Henry Blodget is the co-founder and former CEO of and editor-in-chief of Business Insider. Before that, he was a tech analyst on Walls Stree. You can find him on Substack at Regenerator.  Kirsten Grind is an investigative business reporter at The New York Times, the author of two books, and the winner of more than a dozen national awards.  Kristen Soltis Anderson is a pollster, contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times, author, and co-founder of Echelon Insights. Rick Wilson is a former Republican political strategist and ad-make. He is a co-founder of the Lincoln Project and you can find him on Substack or listen to his podcast The Enemies List. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the past five decades, every Republican president except Gerald Ford has tried to cut funding for public media. But NPR and PBS have never dealt with a moment like this, where the Trump administration is attacking them from every possible angle. A recent executive order demanded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (or CPB) and executive agencies halt all funding for NPR and PBS; the FCC is investigating their corporate underwriting; and this week, the House is expected to take up a rescissions package that would claw back federal funding for the CPB. Katherine Maher, the CEO of NPR, is fighting back. On May 27th, NPR and three Colorado member stations filed a suit challenging the president’s executive order. (PBS followed suit a few days later.) Suing the president is, obviously, an uncomfortable position for a media organization which has to cover him. But according to Maher, NPR is doing its patriotic duty to defend the First Amendment. Kara and Maher discuss the potential effects the defunding would have on NPR, its member stations, and the communities that it serves; criticisms aimed at NPR and Maher, from both conservatives, on one hand, and some journalists, on the other; and her approach to innovation at NPR. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From media moguls to tech billionaires, Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning writer, producer and director Jesse Armstrong knows how to tap into the psyche of the rich and powerful. In the “Succession” creator’s new HBO movie, “Mountainhead,” a tech-bro poker weekend turns into a life-or-death battle over who will control the future — in both business and the real world. From their isolated lair in Utah, four millionaire/billionaire friends (played by Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef) watch as deepfakes created on one of their platforms lead to massacres, assassinations, and government takeovers around the world. This sparks the friends’ imperialistic fantasies and some unfriendly inter-group competition. Kara talks to writer-director Jesse Armstrong about the real-world inspirations for these characters, how tech founders think about their own role in society, and whether the tech oligarchy has replaced legacy media giants like Rupert Murdoch. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeffrey Goldberg has been a thorn in President Donald Trump’s side since the real-estate developer–turned reality-show host first ran for office in 2016. Back then — ten months before he took over as editor-in-chief of The Atlantic — Goldberg wrote a piece headlined “A Brief Exercise Meant to Illuminate the Prejudices of Donald Trump.” The magazine has continued its unsparing criticism of Trump ever since, and Goldberg’s recent Signalgate story was just the latest in a series of blockbuster scoops that have nominally embarrassed the president.  On Friday, Goldberg sat down with Kara for an on-stage interview at the WBUR Festival in Boston. They discussed Trump’s corruption, the unserious people staffing his administration (as well as with the very serious Russell Vought, a Project 2025 architect who heads the OMB), the Democratic Party’s travails, and the state of the news media.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the One Big Beautiful Bill Act lumbers through Congress, President Trump lobs threats at Russian President Vladimir Putin on Truth Social, and the administration continues its war against Harvard, we’re bringing back New York Times reporter and de facto Trump chronicler Maggie Haberman to weigh in on the president’s state of mind.  Kara and Maggie talk about the startling scale of disinformation coming out of the White House, Trump’s ambivalent relationship to Supreme Court rulings and democratic norms, and his ever-widening campaign of retribution against institutions and individuals, (including pop stars like Maggie’s favorite, Bruce Springsteen). They also revisit Haberman’s prescient analysis from earlier this year that Stephen Miller is wielding immense power within the administration and discuss whether Elon’s power is shrinking or he’s simply slipping out of public view.  This episode was taped on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 27th, before Elon Musk spoke out against the omnibus bill and Russia proposed to hold peace talks with Ukraine. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year, AI and machine learning startups raked in about half of all VC funding in North America. And so far this year, AI is still leading the pack. But a huge chunk of the money in the Q1 — $40 billion — went to one player: OpenAI. So is there still room for smaller, more focused startups in the AI gold rush? Or will it be a case of “winner takes all?” In this live conversation at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center's inaugural Discovery Series, Kara speaks with Gary Rivlin, author of “AI Valley: Microsoft, Google and the Trillion-Dollar Race to Cash In on Artificial Intelligence,” and Christy Wyskiel, senior advisor to the president of Johns Hopkins University for innovation and entrepreneurship and the executive director of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures. The three discuss the impact of government cuts on AI research, how small AI startups can compete with the tech giants, and how AI could revolutionize health care.  This interview was recorded on April 28, 2025. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Few technological advances have made the kind of splash –– and had the potential long-term impact –– that ChatGPT did in November 2022. It made a nonprofit called OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, household names around the world. Today, ChatGPT is still the world’s most popular AI Chatbot; OpenAI recently closed a $40 billion funding deal, the largest private tech deal on record. But who is Sam Altman? And was it inevitable that OpenAI would become such a huge player in the AI space? Kara speaks to two fellow tech reporters who have tackled these questions in their latest books: Keach Hagey is a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Her book is called “The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI and the Race to Reinvent the Future.” Karen Hao writes for publications including The Atlantic and leads the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series. Her book is called “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI.” They speak to Kara about Altman’s background, his short firing/rehiring in 2023 known as “The Blip”, how Altman used OpenAI’s nonprofit status to recruit AI researchers and get Elon Musk on board, and whether OpenAI’s mission is still to reach AGI, artificial general intelligence. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Barry Diller’s fingerprints are all over pop culture. From inventing the Movie of the Week and pioneering the television mini-series to launching the FOX broadcast network, redefining home shopping channels, and popularizing dating apps — Diller has had a hand in shaping the American experience for decades.  His memoir, Who Knew, takes readers from his difficult childhood through his meteoric rise in Hollywood and finally, his reinvention as a groundbreaking internet entrepreneur.  And although much of the press around the book has focused on Diller’s sexuality and his relationship to his wife, Diane von Furstenburg, nothing in his personal life is anywhere near as fascinating as his singular career. Kara and Barry discuss his life, his family, his approach to business, and his take on Trump and how to beat him. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Few people have as much knowledge of the MAGAsphere as Jordan Klepper, co-host and correspondent for The Daily Show. Klepper has been covering President Trump and his supporters since the 2016 presidential campaign, from rallies across the country to the steps of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. One difference that he — and others — have noted between Trump 1.0 and 2.0 is the growing number of young people, especially young men, who are now in the Republican fold. Kara talks to Klepper about his upcoming special, The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation, and what he learned about young conservatives on his tour of college campuses, UFC events, and Spring Break beaches. They discuss "manosphere" influencers such as Charlie Kirk, Andrew Tate, and Joe Rogan, which progressive voices (like Hasan Piker) might break through, and whether Hollywood and comedy are veering to the right. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, joins Kara to unpack current and potential conflicts — from simmering tension between India and Pakistan to escalating violence in Gaza, attempts to forge a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and rising concerns over Taiwan. They also examine how President Trump’s trade wars are reshaping global diplomacy and the rules of international engagement. Plus, Kara and Christiane discuss Amanpour's new podcast, The Ex Files, which she co-hosts with her ex-husband Jamie Rubin, and how journalism is evolving amid partisanship, social media, and endless attacks on the press. This episode was recorded on Wednesday May 7th, before India and Pakistan signed a cease-fire and The White House announced a trade deal with China. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first few months of President Trump’s second term have been chaotic, to say the least. There have been an unprecedented number of executive actions that have triggered an equally impressive number lawsuits; a new government “department,” headed by the world's richest man and launched via executive order, that ousted nearly a quarter of a million government workers; and a global trade war. Trump and his cabinet have been crowing about these achievements, but his approval ratings for the first 100 days are abysmal — tied for last place, with himself. Kara speaks to three Washington insiders about what this all means for the next 100 days, whether we'll see rollbacks or more full steam ahead, what role Congress will play, and what the potential long-term fallout could be. Our guests are: Carol Leonnig, an investigative reporter at The Washington Post. She’s written three best-selling books, including two she co-authored about the first Trump presidency: A Very Stable Genius and I Alone Can Fix It. Ashley Parker, a staff writer at The Atlantic. Previously, Ashley spent eight years at The Washington Post, where she covered Trump’s first presidency, President Biden’s first two years in office, and the 2024 presidential campaign. Ben Terris, a Washington correspondent for New York Magazine. He is the author of The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind and a former feature reporter covering national politics for The Washington Post. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Governor Wes Moore of Maryland was elected less than three years ago, but he’s already on the shortlist of potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2028. In 2022, the former combat veteran, investment banker and nonprofit CEO became just the third Black person ever elected governor in the United States.  But with a large port and one in ten workers on the federal payroll, Maryland is particularly vulnerable to DOGE cuts and President Trump’s trade war. Plus, the state just had to raise taxes and cut $2 billion in spending to close a $3 billion budget deficit. Kara and Gov. Moore and Kara discuss how this approach to Trump has evolved, whether he’ll run in 2028 (like George Clooney and many others seem to want him to), his advice to the Democratic Party, and how Maryland’s latest tax reform and budget cuts could be a “roadmap” for the rest of the country. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2014, when Lisa Su took over as CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, AMD was on the verge of bankruptcy. Su bet hard on hardware and not only pulled the semiconductor company back from the brink, but also led it to surpass its historical rival, Intel, in market cap. Since the launch of ChatGPT made high-powered chips like AMDs “sexy” again, demand for chips has intensified exponentially, but so has the public spotlight on the industry — including from the federal government.  In a live conversation, at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, as part of their inaugural Discovery Series, Kara talks to Su about her strategy in face of the Trump administration’s tariff and export control threats, how to safeguard the US in the global AI race, and what she says when male tech leaders brag about the size of their GPUs. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ed Helms is best known for playing Andy Bernard in The Office and Stu in The Hangover trilogy. But the comedic actor is also the politically engaged, banjo-playing, podcast-hosting, TV series–producing author of a new book titled, SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups.  Kara and Ed discuss domestic politics and satire's role during Trump 2.0; government overreach and history’s tendency to repeat itself; his podcast SNAFU with Ed Helms and the eponymous book; and the entertainment industry’s evolving economics. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Philosopher and critical theorist Judith Butler, Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School at UC Berkeley, has been at the forefront of gender theory for 35 years. But while their work Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, which helped establish the idea of gender as a social construct in the 1990s, was lauded by the LGBTQIA+ community for opening the doors to queer theory, they’ve been vilified by those on the right for whom gender theory is a threat to “tradition.”  Kara and Judith talk about their latest book, Who’s Afraid of Gender, which analyses the growing attacks on gender and gender theory around the world; how Trump’s executive order redefining sex as binary impacts everything from personal rights to medical research; and why recent attacks on the independence of universities could have a chilling effect on academic freedom in the long term.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has led to a series of legal skirmishes with major constitutional implications. To unpack it all, Kara speaks to three experts:  Caitlin Dickerson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning staff writer for The Atlantic who covers immigration. She is currently writing a book on the impact of deportation on American society. Maria Hinojosa is the host and executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning Latino USA and the founder of Futuro Media Group, which just released the second season of their Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast, Suave. She has won over a dozen awards in journalism, including four Emmys and the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award Deborah Pearlstein is the director of the Princeton Program in Law and Public Policy at the Center for the Study of Democratic Politics. She is an expert in constitutional law and her book, Losing the Law, will be published next year.  This episode was recorded on Thursday, April 17th. While we were recording, the Supreme Court announced it will hear a case related to President Trump’s executive order to undo birthright citizenship. And on Saturday, April 20th, the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt the removal of Venezuelan migrants from the country.    Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Melinda French Gates is a businesswoman and philanthropist, as well as an advocate for women and girls both in the U.S. and abroad. And over the past few years, she’s also become a force in Democratic politics. Kara and Melinda talk about her new memoir The Next Day, which takes readers through some of the most important transitions in her life, including her very public divorce with Bill Gates and her decision to leave the Gates Foundation; how she is working to offset the impact of cuts to programs like USAID on the health of women and children around the world; where political lobbying works (and it’s not in the White House); and why she thinks it’s essential to get more girls into A.I. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump's chaotic rollout and partial rollback of tariffs has roiled financial markets and confused many allies, both domestically and internationally. Although he temporarily calmed bond markets by announcing a 90-day pause on his misleadingly labeled "reciprocal tariffs," the uncertainty he created continues. Meanwhile, China has responded to the 145% tariffs on their imported goods by imposing retaliatory tariffs on American products and halting exports of rare earth minerals. To help us makes sense of the mess, Kara talks to three experts:  Raj Bhala is a professor at the University of Kansas School of Law and one of the foremost scholars on international trade law. He is also the author of Trade War: Causes, Conduct, and Consequences of Sino-American Confrontation. Bill Cohan is an M&A banker-turned-financial journalist and a co-founder of Puck. He’s the author of a number of books, including Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon. Catherine Rampell is a nationally syndicated columnist at The Washington Post who specializes in economics, politics, and public policy. She’s a special correspondent for PBS Newshour and she will soon anchor and co-host of MSNBC’s The Weekend. This episode was recorded on Wednesday April 9th. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emmy-nominated writer, stand-up comic and actor Josh Johnson may be the most prolific comedian on the internet right now. You might recognize him as a regular correspondent on The Daily Show, or maybe you've come across his sharp political critique on TikTok (where he has 2 million followers), or watched one of his longer, philosophical stand-up routines on YouTube (where he has 1.5 million subscribers). Josh is currently touring the country (catch his Flowers Tour in a city near you), but he took a break this week to sit down with Kara at the Great Hall at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. They discussed Josh’s entrepreneurial approach to distributing and owning his work, how to make dry political topics like tariffs funny and relatable, what Elon Musk should really be doing with his money and how the ultimate antidote to fear is community. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year, after pressure from activist investors, Jeff Lawson stepped down from his perch as CEO from Twilio, the cloud communications company he co-founded. But he didn’t spend any time twiddling his thumbs — that same spring, he bought the satirical news organization The Onion, and by the end of the year, they’d tried to buy Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction.  Jeff also stayed busy on the political front, continuing his work on DemocracyFirst, a political action committee he co-founded, in 2022, to support candidates committed to democracy.  So there was plenty to chew on when Kara interviewed Jeff last week at Democracy’s Information Dilemma, a symposium hosted by the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. They discuss the tech founder mindset; how Jeff is remaking The Onion; why political satire is more necessary than ever; why DEI — which Jeff championed as a CEO — can sometimes do more harm than good; and how to fight for democracy during Trump 2.0. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Donald Trump has always bashed the press. But his attacks are no longer just rhetorical — he’s using lawsuits to intimidate the news media, and he’s inspired a conservative legal movement to overturn the New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. The landmark Supreme Court decision protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and unfortunately, Trump’s attempt to destroy it are part of a larger pattern of tearing away at our right to freedom of expression.  To break it all down, Kara speaks to three exceptional journalists: David Enrich, a deputy investigations editor for The New York Times and the author of four books, including the newly released, Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful; Ruth Marcus, a former associate editor and columnist for The Washington Post and the author of Supreme Ambition: Brett Kavanaugh and the Conservative Takeover; and Ben Mullin, a media reporter for The New York Times covers the major players in the news and entertainment business.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Michelle Buteau is a true mutli-hyphenate — actor, standup comic, TV host, podcaster, and executive producer — and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Kara spoke to Buteau about the season 2 launch of “Survival of the Thickest,” a Netflix series loosely based on her 2020 memoir, and how she’s using her life stories to push the boundaries of representation. They also talked about Buteau’s 20-year stand up career, how she became the first woman to record a special in Radio City Music Hall (“A Buteau-ful Mind”), why she stands by calling out Dave Chappelle for his transgender jokes, and how she wants to use her producing prowess to uplift more marginalized voices, despite the current political climate. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Graydon Carter is the co-founder of Spy Magazine and Air Mail, and for 25 years, he was the editor of Vanity Fair. His memoir, When The Going Was Good, chronicles a time when the going was extremely good for glossy magazines and their star editors. During the golden age of magazines, Vanity Fair combined celebrity profiles with deeply reported journalism to great acclaim, and Carter, arguably, became more famous than many of his extremely talented writers.  He and Kara discuss everything from office politics at Vanity Fair to Canadian politics, including President Trump’s (possible) descent into madness, the artistry involved in making a restaurant cool (as opposed to hot), and why anxiety is an essential ingredient for editors.   Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump fired Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Slaughter, the two Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission, last week, sending shock waves through political and business circles. The FTC is an independent, bipartisan agency and, as a defender of antitrust and consumer protection laws, one of the most important government watchdogs. FTC commissioners serve seven year terms and, according to a 1935 SCOTUS ruling, can only be fired for cause. But even though, based on that decision, Bedoya’s and Slaughter’s terminations are illegal, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson has come out in support of Trump’s firing power. The White House says it’s ready to take the case to the Supreme Court. Kara talks to Bedoya and Slaughter about why this happened now, what Elon Musk and other tech billionaires stand to gain by getting rid of “minority commissioners,” and why business leaders are concerned that Trump’s move could affect other independent agencies, like the Federal Reserve. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everything, everywhere, all at once — but not the movie. This is how cybersecurity experts describe a scenario where a foreign adversary shuts off critical infrastructure, like oil pipelines, water networks, ports, and electric grids, all over the country. The terrifying truth is that China has already hacked into our critical infrastructure. They’re “living off the land” and could conceivably attack whenever is most convenient. What’s worse? Our political leaders are defunding America’s cybersecurity efforts. In order to dig in deeper, Kara talks to Nicole Perlroth, Michael Schmidt, and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, (Ret.)   Nicole Perlroth spent a decade as the lead cybersecurity reporter at The New York Times, before going inside the tent and joining the advisory board of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Council on Foreign Relations’ Cyber Task Force. She is a founding partner at Silverbuckshot Ventures and the host and producer  of To Catch a Thief, a new podcast on China’s rise to cyber dominance. Michael Schmidt is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times and the author of the best-selling book Donald Trump v. The United States. He’s also the executive producer and co-creator of the Netflix series Zero Day, a political thriller about a devastating cyberattack on the U.S. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is the former director of European Affairs for the National Security Council. Vindman was a key witness during President Trump’s first impeachment and testified about Trump’s infamous phone call with President Zelensky of Ukraine. He is a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute and the author of The Folly of Realism: How the West Deceived Itself About Russia and Betrayed Ukraine. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scarcity is a policy choice — one liberals need to reject and replace with abundance, according to journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson in their new book, Abundance. They say that by building a wall of bureaucracy in front of growth, Democrats have created an affordability crisis, hindering their own progressive goals and leading voters to flee blue cities and states. Kara talks to Klein and Thompson about concerns around equity and access; the tech industry’s culpability in all of this; which Dems are best positioned to pursue an abundance agenda; and how pursuing abundance can help fight the Trump-Musk agenda of cruelty.  Klein hosts the popular New York Times podcast The Ezra Klein Show and writes an accompanying column on the intersection of politics, policy and society. Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic, writes the weekly Work in Progress Newsletter, and hosts the Plain English podcast. Correction: Ezra Klein was a founder of Vox.com, a news site created in 2014. He was not a co-founder of Vox Media, the company that publishes On With Kara Swisher. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From spiking her childhood lemonade stand drinks with vodka to launching Netflix's first talk show, Chelsea Handler has always had an entrepreneurial instinct. Case in point: the comedian’s new book, “I’ll Have What She’s Having” is her sixth to top the New York Times best-seller list.  Chelsea joined Kara onstage at SXSW to share her juiciest stories from the book (including the joke that made Woody Allen literally spit out his desert), offer her unfiltered takes on President Trump and Elon Musk, break down the problem with men, and reveal how she became a “father” to her ex-boyfriend’s three daughters. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Bluesky, Instagram, and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) pushing back against the Trump/Musk “co-presidents” wreaking havoc in Washington? Speaking to Kara at SXSW, Warren talks about what Musk has to gain by shutting down watchdogs like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other DOGE antics; why a crypto reserve would be bad for Americans and the cryptocurrency industry; and what Democrats are doing to fight back against this hostile government takeover. Plus: will Warren make another run for president again in 2028? This interview was recorded Saturday, March 8th, on the Vox Media Podcast Stage at SXSW, presented by Smartsheet.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On May 27, 2019, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, best-selling author (and Kara’s friend) Tony Horwitz was on book tour for his latest work, Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide, when he died suddenly. He left behind two sons and his wife, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Geraldine Brooks, whose books include March and Horse.  Dealing with Tony’s death, taking time to grieve his passing and remembering their life together are at the center of Brooks’ latest memoir, Memorial Days. Brooks and Kara reminisce about Tony’s life, reflect on the challenge of grieving in a culture that is “averse to sad,” and ponder how Tony would have continued his “barstool democracy”  — an attempt to span the political divide already shaking the nation — under Trump 2.0. They also discuss her latest project, a chapter in Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service, edited by acclaimed author Michael Lewis, which will be released on March 18th.  This interview was recorded live at Sixth & I, a center for arts, entertainment, ideas, and Jewish life in Washington, D.C., and hosted in partnership with Politics and Prose Bookstore, Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For months, Kara has been assembling a group of investors to buy The Washington Post. Although it's not actually for sale, an ongoing exodus of journalistic talent, combined with Bezos's decision to kill an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris days before the 2024 presidential election, made it both plausible that Bezos might entertain a bid and crucial that someone step forward. Now, after watching Bezos remake the opinion section in ways that seem designed to curry favor with President Trump, the chances of persuading him to sell seem increasingly remote. Nonetheless, Kara’s quixotic quest continues, and in this episode, she talks to some of the people she’s turned to for advice, including: Cameron Barr, a former senior managing editor at the Post who resigned in the wake of the new changes; Tina Brown, a pioneering journalist and media executive who has led multiple publications, including Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Newsweek, and The Daily Beast; Oliver Darcy, a former CNN senior media reporter and currently the founder and lead author of Status.news; Sally Quinn, the first woman to anchor a CBS News morning show, and a best-selling author, and longtime Post columnist who was married to the late Ben Bradlee, a legendary executive editor at the Post; and Amanda Katz, a writer, editor and translator who worked as a senior assignment editor for the opinion section of the Post until she resigned last year (and wife to Kara Swisher).   And make sure to watch "Becoming Katharine Graham," a new documentary about the former Post publisher's extraordinary life and journalistic courage (now streaming, ironically enough, on Amazon Prime). CORRECTION: In the intro, Kara incorrectly stated that Jeff Bezos hired Marty Baron. In fact, Baron became the executive editor of The Washington Post in January 2013, and Bezos completed his purchase of the newspaper in October 2013. We apologize for the error. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years, Wall Street veterans have been saying that a market correction is around the corner, and last week's jitters have only intensified concerns. To find out if the party is ending sooner rather than later — and what role Trump’s policies will play — Kara talks to the Dean of Valuation, Aswath Damodaran.  Damodaran teaches corporate finance and valuation at the Stern School of Business at New York University, and he is the author of over ten books. His latest is The Corporate Life Cycle: Business, Investment, and Management Implications. He and Kara discuss valuations, DOGE, tariffs, mass deportation, and tech stocks and much more.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Emmy Award-winning comedian and actor Ronny Chieng is a self-described grumpy Malaysian who get to tell it like it is to Americans as aco-host and correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Kara talks to Ronny about creating political satire during Trump 2.0; how his law degree helps him write pithy cerebral jokes, including for his latest (third!) Netflix special, Love to Hate It; his latest acting role playing Fatty Choi in Hulu’s Interior Chinatown; and why people still think Jon Stewart is the only host of The Daily Show. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a three-year stint in Japan, Ambassador Rahm Emanuel is back in the States. And now that he's freed from diplomatic constraints, Rahm is bluntly telling fellow Democrats where they went wrong in 2024 and what they need now to do to salvage the brand.  Kara and Rahm talk about Elon Musk’s takeover of the federal government; how Democrats should use legal challenges and procedural tactics to block President Trump’s agenda; and how they can rebuild their reputation by pivoting thematically to issues around education, quality of life, and the American Dream. They close with a rapid-fire assessment on global hotspots: China, Ukraine, and Gaza.  This interview was recorded on Tuesday, February 18th.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram, TikTok and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week, President Trump signed a memorandum calling for reciprocal tariffs on countries that charge fees on US exports and called his 25% tariff order on all steel and aluminum imports “the beginning of making America rich again.” But is it? We turn to three brilliant economists for their takes (and disagreements) on the real impact Trumponomics will have on the U.S. economy. Kara leads a spirited and insightful conversation about industrial policy, the efficacy of Trump’s tariffs, how worried we should really be about the U.S. 's trade deficit, the odds of an AI bubble and bail out, and, of course, DOGE. Featuring:  Oren Cass, the founder and chief economist of American Compass, a conservative think tank, and a contributing opinion writer for the Financial Times and the New York Times.  Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist who writes a newsletter on Substack, teaches at the City University of New York Graduate Center, and recently retired his New York Times Opinion column after writing it from 2000 to 2025. And Mariana Mazzucato, a professor of economics at University College London, where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation & Public Purpose and author of the hugely influential book, The Entrepreneurial State. This episode was recorded on Monday, February 10. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In just a few weeks, President Trump has flooded the zone with executive orders, which have been met with dozens of lawsuits by state attorneys general, unions and non-profits and complaints by Democrats in Congress. Some of the orders have been blocked in court. But last weekend, Vice President JD Vance posted a tweet implying that a judge can’t tell the executive what to do. So what recourse do the courts, Congress or states have if the administration were to just ignore judicial rulings against them? Kara discusses the strength of our constitutional “checks and balances” and whether we are in or on the brink of a “constitutional crisis” with former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara (host of the Vox Media Podcast Network’s Stay Tuned with Preet); lawyer and outspoken anti-Trump conservative George Conway; CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel; and former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter.  Note: This episode was taped the morning of 2/11/2025, before President Trump said in response to a reporter’s question in the Oval Office that he intended to abide by court rulings and appeal if his orders are blocked. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is it strange that Wicked, a film about a marginalized person discovering her magic and rising up to fight against government oppression, has been a box office success under Trump 2.0 – or does the movie's message actually meet the moment? Wicked has been nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Actress in a Leading Role for Cynthia Erivo, who already has Grammy, Emmy and Tony awards under her belt. This week, Kara talks with Erivo about why, as a queer, Black woman, the role of Elphaba was especially meaningful and how she made it her own; what she thinks about the current attack on diversity programs and the LGBTQ+ community; which projects she wants to lend her voice and other talents to going forward; and what becoming the youngest EGOT winner (if she wins the Oscar) would mean to her. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk and a band of young DOGE engineers are taking control of key government infrastructure. The scale and speed with which they’re hijacking control of the federal government is shocking, and even President Donald Trump appears not to know all that Musk is doing.  In order to analyze what’s actually happening and understand how and why other tech billionaires are also cozying up to Trump, we’re joined by Anne Applebaum, Eoin Higgins & Ryan Mac. Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, and author of the recently released Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run The World. Higgins is a reporter for the IT Brew and author of Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left. And Mac covers corporate accountability across the global technology industry for the New York Times, and he is the co-author of Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter. This episode was recorded on Monday February 3rd.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Stiller knew he needed to make Severance the moment he read an early version of the show in a writing sample its creator, Dan Erickson, submitted to his production company. Now, years later, Severance is a hit, reportedly generating $200 million for Apple TV, and Stiller is the series’ executive producer and go-to director responsible for some of its most pivotal episodes. Kara talks to Stiller about the most poignant themes of the show, from its commentary on surveillance and technology to its meditations on trauma and identity. Plus, they chat politics — including Stiller’s reaction to an angry post about him by Elon Musk and his view on making political art now.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump’s executive action granting clemency to all of the January 6th insurrectionists – violent and non-violent alike – has been met with concern by legal experts and people who have been studying and reporting on militia groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys for years. Kara speaks with Dr. Amy Cooter, director of research at the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and author of Nostalgia, Nationalism and the US Militia Movement; investigative reporter Tess Owen who has covered violent extremist groups, including the J6 protesters extensively; and Paul Rosenzweig, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security under George W. Bush, who specializes in issues relating to domestic and homeland security about the message the pardons send to violent militias, the impact of social media (and Elon Musk) on far-right extremism, and whether Trump has the authority to deputize these groups, especially on the border. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since the inception of social media, content moderation has been hotly debated by CEOs, politicians, and, of course, among the gatekeepers themselves: the trust and safety officers. And it’s been a roller coaster ride — from an early hands-off approach, to bans and oversight boards, to the current rollback and “community notes” we’re seeing from big guns like Meta, X, and YouTube. So how do the folks who wrote the early rules of the road look at what’s happening now in content moderation? And what impact will it have on the trust and safety of the platforms over the long term? This week, Kara speaks with Del Harvey, former head of Trust and Safety at Twitter (2008- 2021); Dave Willner, former head of Content Policy at Facebook (2010-2013); Nicole Wong, a First Amendment lawyer, former VP and deputy general counsel at Google (2004-2011), Twitter's legal director of product (2012-2013), and deputy chief technology officer during the Obama administration (2013-2014). Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Attention is our world’s most endangered resource — and whoever commands it, commands power. That’s the thesis of Chris Hayes’s new book, The Sirens’ Call, which chronicles the rise of attention capitalism and how it’s fundamentally disordering our politics, our media, and our brains. It’s a book Hayes felt partly inspired to write after years covering President Trump, an unparalleled expert in manipulating this attention age. Well, unparalleled until Elon Musk. Kara and Chris discuss how "big tech" got us here, what makes Trump and Musk so good at commanding attention, and whether Democrats should figure out how to command more attention themselves.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Donald Trump has vowed to tackle immigration on “day one,” and that includes promising to close the southern border and begin mass deportations almost immediately. So who better to discuss the plausibility of those imminent plans than the man who led immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security for the past four years, former Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas?  Kara sits down for an exit interview with Mayorkas to talk about the backlash he faced, from both sides of the aisle, during a term plagued by “Biden’s Border Crisis”; whether he feels responsible for Trump’s election victory; his assessment of the threats posed by foreign and domestic extremists; his thoughts on calls to break up the mammoth DHS; and what he makes of his tapped successor, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Plus: why he thinks banning TikTok an imperative, if ultimately thankless, game of national security whack-a-mole. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They’re incredible pieces of technology, they’re unbelievably useful, and we feel lost without them. Nonetheless, smartphones have become the bane of our existence. So Graham Dugoni started Yondr with a surprisingly simple and analog solution to their ubiquity: locking pouches that force cell phone users to put away their device while still keeping their phones on them. Now, they’re used everywhere from comedy shows, to concerts, courtrooms, and weddings. After the success of Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, more and more states and school districts are instituting cell-phone bans — and, oftentimes, Yondr is the first company they turn to when they need help. Kara and Graham talk about the push to ban phones from schools, the company’s success, and his philosophical take on smartphones, social media and technology. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transgender kids and adults have become a political punching bag for conservatives — but Laverne Cox is stepping into the ring. Kara talks with the transgender activist, Emmy award-winning producer and four-time Emmy-nominated actor, known for her groundbreaking role as Sophia Burset in Orange is The New Black, about the Trump campaign’s $200+ million spend on anti-trans ads during the election (and the Harris campaign’s lack of response); why Meta’s decision to no longer monitor hate speech could lead to more gender violence, and not just against trans kids; and how to stay resilient in the fight for civil and human rights (including packing a go bag). Plus: Laverne and Kara bust myths in a speed round about gender-affirming care, which is being targeted by laws across the country, and talk about her upcoming Prime Video comedy series Clean Slate. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Senator Amy Klobuchar has been legislating on Capitol Hill for 18 years. She recently won reelection and is now the number three Democrat in the Senate. And even though Big Tech has blocked her attempts at reform, at every turn, she is determined to keep pushing forward bills on everything from antitrust to privacy, competition, kids' safety and revenge porn.  Kara and Klobuchar talk about Trump’s nominations, January 6th and the upcoming inauguration (Klocuchar was one of four members of Congress who counted the electoral votes and she’s the chair of the Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies), her attempts to work across the aisle, and of course, tech and antitrust legislation. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After MAGA rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, many people thought Donald Trump's days as a political force were over. A notable exception was Maggie Haberman – senior political correspondent for the New York Times, political analyst for CNN, and author of Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America. Four years later, as the country prepares for President-elect Trump's second inauguration this month, Kara talks to Haberman about initial actions he'll likely take on immigration, tariffs and TikTok; which of his controversial cabinet picks could pass muster in Congress; and whether tech billionaire Elon Musk will have an all-access pass to the West Wing. Plus: how seriously she takes the administration's threats to retaliate against Trump's political enemies, Special Counsel Jack Smith, and journalists like herself. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re kicking off the year with a deep-dive into AI ethics and safety with three AI experts: Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, the CEO and co-founder of Humane Intelligence and the first person to be appointed U.S. Science Envoy for Artificial Intelligence; Mark Dredze, a professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University who’s done extensive research on bias in LLMs; and Gillian Hadfield, an economist and legal scholar turned-AI researcher at Johns Hopkins University. The panel answers questions like: is it possible to create unbiased AI? What are the worst fears and greatest hopes for AI development under Trump 2.0? What sort of legal framework will be necessary to regulate autonomous AI agents? And is the hype around AI leading to stagnation in other fields of innovation? Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samantha Bee is a comedian, author and former late-night host who hosts the podcast Choice Words with Samantha Bee and co-hosts The Daily Beast Podcast with Joanna Coles. Her weekly late-night comedy series, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee was nominated for over 70 awards — and she has personally been nominated for 18 Emmy awards and won for both writing and executive producing.  Full Frontal was explicitly, and hilariously, political and left-leaning so it’s a bit surprising that Bee has declared herself Democrat-celibate, (at least for now). Samantha explains her new approach to politics and dishes on her biggest regret in this CNN pilot titled “Off Script” with Kara, Audie Cornish, CNN correspondent and host of The Assignment, and Van Lathan, co-host of The Ringer’s Higher Learning podcast. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Holidays! We have a special episode from our friend Adam Grant and the folks at the TED Audio Collective. Sarah Silverman is a comedian, actor, and writer who doesn’t shy away from saying what she thinks. In this episode of ReThinking with Adam Grant, Sarah shares stories from her bold, distinctive career that has taken her from Saturday Night Live and Seinfeld to Broadway, late-night TV, plays and Disney animated movies. Adam and Sarah also discuss defusing anger, finding courage, and forging connections when we don’t see eye-to-eye.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Which subpar books actually warrant writing a bad review? Do best sellers usually live up to the hype? And how does our relationship with technology affect the publishing industry? Kara sits down with two of her favorite book critics, Dwight Garner of The New York Times and Becca Rothfeld of The Washington Post, to discuss the best and worst books of 2024.  The trio debates standout books and notable disappointments, the craft of book reviewing, and the best way to experience a great book. They also explore the importance of best-seller lists, how concerned we should be over the rising tide of book censorship, and which books from 2024 could end up becoming forever classics. Books mentioned includes (listed alphabetically): What Are Children For? On Ambivalence and Choice, Anastasia Berg & Rachel Wiseman Boswell’s London Journal 1762-1763 Believe Nothing Until it is Officially Denied: Claud Cockburn and the Invention of Guerrilla Journalism, Patrick Cockburn D'Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths Carson McCullers: A Life, Mary V. Dearborn You Dreamed of Empires, Álvaro Enrigue James, Percival Everett When the Clock Broke, John Ganz The Upstairs Delicatessen, Dwight Garner Small Rain, Garth Greenwell Lesser Ruins, Mark Haber Alphabetical Diaries, Sheila Heti A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman, Robert Hilburn Splinters, Leslie Jamison Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones Creation Lake, Rachel Kushner Liars, Sarah Manguso We Who Wrestle With God, Jordan B. Peterson Intermezzo, Sally Rooney The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World, Christine Rosen Things Are Too Small, Essays in Praise of Excess, Becca Rothfeld Knife, Salman Rushdie I Heard Her Call My Name, Lucy Sante The Rebel’s Clinic, Adam Schatz The Politics of Cultural Despair, Fritz Stern Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara sits down for a live interview with Yann LeCun, an “early AI prophet” and the brains behind the largest open-source large language model in the world. The two discuss the potential dangers that come with open-source models, the massive amounts of money pouring into AI research, and the pros and cons of AI regulation. They also dive into LeCun’s surprisingly spicy social media feeds — unlike a lot of tech employees who toe the HR line, Yann isn’t afraid to say what he thinks of Elon Musk or President-elect Donald Trump. This interview was recorded live at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC as part of their Discovery Series. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RFK Jr. was on the Hill, on Monday, working to persuade senators he’s capable of running the Department of Health and Human Services and its almost $2 trillion budget. Ever since the news his lawyer has petitioned the federal government to revoke the approval of a polio vaccine broke, that job has gotten a little harder — but it doesn’t mean he won’t get confirmed. And so could a number of other highly unorthodox candidates that Trump plans to nominate for key positions in the HHS. Kara talks to an expert panel to make sense of it all and find these nominations could means for America’s public health policy.  Her guests are: Dr. Zeke Emanuel, Dr. Celine Gounder, and Donald McNeil Jr.  Dr. Emanuel has written and edited 15 books and over 300 scientific articles. He was Chief of the Department of Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health, one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act and he teaches at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Celine Gounder is an internist, infectious disease specialist, and epidemiologist, a CBS News Medical Contributor and Editor-at-Large for Public Health at KFF Health News, and she teaches at New York University. Donald McNeil wrote for the New York Times from 1976 to 2021, where he was a health and science reporter and the lead reporter the COVID beat. He won the prestigious John Chancellor Award in 2020 and was on the New York Times team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2021. You can find his latest work on Medium. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canadian chef Matty Matheson has been a force in the culinary world for over two decades, but the non-foodies of the world recognize him as Neil Fak, the goofy, handyman-come-waiter-in-training on the FX/Hulu hit series The Bear. Aside from being the show’s much-needed comic relief, Matheson is an executive producer and a culinary consultant on set. Matheson first became chef de cuisine in his early 20s and now owns over a dozen restaurants. He also runs an incredibly popular YouTube channel with over 1.5 million subscribers and he’s authored three cookbooks – his latest, Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, came out in October. Kara and Matty talk about the good, bad and ugly of the restaurant industry, why he loves both haute cuisine and homestyle cooking and how his YouTube persona changes when he puts on his chef’s hat. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Representative Ro Khanna represents the wealthiest congressional district in the country, but he wants to show Democrats how to speak to the working class. And perhaps surprisingly, he’s pretty good at it. But although Khanna was one of Bernie Sanders’ co-chairs in 2020, the “progressive capitalist” from Silicon Valley (don’t call him a democratic socialist) also hobnobs with tech titans. Because according to Khanna, the way to reindustrialize and revitalize the economy is by mobilizing both union leaders and tech and industry leaders — and he thinks he can be the one to bring them together.  Kara and Ro discuss everything from the DOGE committee, the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and Trump’s threats to jail members of the January 6 committee, AI policy, KOSA, and tech antitrust.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How will AI agents change the economy and the workforce — and are Americans ready? Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has some thoughts. After a stellar quarter boosted by the customer resource management company’s new AI autonomous agents, Agentforce, Benioff explains to Kara how employers and employees will be impacted by a new era of digital workers; why he thinks investing tens of billions in AI capital expenditures (like his competitor Microsoft) is a “race to the bottom”; and what he hopes will come from Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.  Plus: Kara and Marc go another round on “DOGE Master” Elon Musk, and whether it’s still possible for business leaders to still defend their values and workers without fear of political repercussions. They also remember their mutual friend, former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, who died earlier this year. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does an ad-based streamer compete with subscription-based models like Netflix, Hulu, Max, and all the rest? By charging nothing. At least that’s what Tubi is doing. And despite being seemingly less prestigious than premium streamers, Tubi is used by millions of Americans and outranks Peacock, Max, Paramount Plus, and Apple TV+ in total viewing time. For those who are fatigued by subscriptions fees and monoculture viewing, Tubi offers an enormous catalog of nostalgia and “newstalgia” movies, hours of bingeable classics, over 250 live channels, plus Tubi originals – all at no cost to viewers. So why aren’t more people talking about it? Kara sits down with Tubi CEO Anjali Sud in this special episode of On presented by e.l.f. Cosmetics to talk about Tubi’s appeal to cord-cutters and cord-nevers; how niche-specific fans help inform Tubi content; why Sud thinks Tubi can democratize storytelling and create space for emerging filmmakers; and how she came to be one of few female CEOs in tech. This interview was taped live at the Whitney Museum in partnership with e.l.f cosmetics as a part of their campaign to increase representation and diversity in boardrooms. Find out more here: https://www.elfbeauty.com/changing-the-board-game/so-many-dicks  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the worst fears around AI come true? For Megan Garcia, that’s already happened. In February, after spending months interacting with chatbots created by Character.AI, her 14-year-old son Sewell took his own life. Garcia blames Character.AI, and she is suing them and Google, who she believes significantly contributed to Character.AI’s alleged wrongdoing.  Kara interviews Garcia and Meetali Jain, one of her lawyers and the founder of the Tech Justice Law Project, and they discuss the allegations made by Megan against Character.AI and Google.  When reached for comment, a spokesperson at Character.AI responded with the following statement: We do not comment on pending litigation. We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of one of our users and want to express our deepest condolences to the family. We take the safety of our users very seriously, and our dedicated Trust and Safety team has worked to implement new safety features over the past seven months, including a pop-up directing users to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that is triggered by terms of self-harm or suicidal ideation. Our goal is to provide a creative space that is engaging, immersive, and safe. To achieve this, we are creating a fundamentally different experience for users under 18 that prioritizes safety, including reducing the likelihood of encountering sensitive or suggestive content, while preserving their ability to use the platform. As we continue to invest in the platform and the user experience, we are introducing new safety features in addition to the tools already in place that restrict the model and filter the content provided to the user. These include improved detection, response and intervention related to user inputs that violate our Terms or Community Guidelines, as well as a time-spent notification. For more information on these new features as well as other safety and IP moderation updates to the platform, please refer to the Character.AI blog. When reached for comment, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda responded with the following statement: Our hearts go out to the family during this unimaginably difficult time. Just to clarify, Google and Character AI are completely separate, unrelated companies and Google has never had a role in designing or managing their AI model or technologies, nor have we used them in our products. User safety is a top concern of ours, and that’s why – as has been widely reported – we’ve taken a cautious and responsible approach to developing and rolling out our AI products, with rigorous testing and safety processes. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nathan Myhrvold likes to challenge conventional wisdom. When the founder and CEO of Intellectual Ventures (and former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft) isn’t running one of the world’s leading invention businesses, he’s busy doing norm-defying research on topics like dinosaur bone density, asteroid sizing, and the proper way to knead dough. Kara and Nathan talk about everything from AI, politics, nuclear power, and global warming to “splash shots” — photographs of colliding wine glasses. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram/TikTok as @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Happy Thanksgiving, On listeners — today, we’re featuring a special episode of Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, one of our favorite podcasts! On Wiser Than Me, Julia shares funny, heartfelt conversations with iconic older women who bring the unapologetic wisdom and confidence that only comes with age. On this episode of Wiser Than Me, Julia chats with 80-year-old tennis pro, activist, and LGBTQ+ icon Billie Jean King. Billie Jean delves into the nature of leadership, visualization, and her long journey towards self-acceptance. Inspired by the sports legend, Julia asks Billie Jean for advice about her niece’s college soccer career, as well as revealing the original spark that lit her own love of sports. Additionally, Julia’s mom, Judy, reflects on her generation's acceptance of societal norms and the transformative power of the feminist movement. To hear more of Wiser Than Me, head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/wiserthanmefd Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk’s social media platform X lost more than 280,000 global users the day after the US presidential election. Meanwhile, sites like Threads from Meta and newcomer Bluesky have seen huge surges in signups. Kara talks to a team of social media experts about the “X-odus”; who is migrating to Threads and Bluesky and why; how those federated protocols (or “fediverse”) differ from X’s algorithmic platform; and if the social media “town square” giving way to a more fragmented communities is a good or bad thing. Guests: Nilay Patel, Editor-in-chief of The Verge and Host of Decoder; New York Times Tech Correspondent Mike Isaac; Wall Street Journal Tech Reporter Alexa Corse. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lenard McKelvey is a best-selling author, entrepreneur and media mogul, but you probably know him as Charlamagne Tha God: host of The Breakfast Club. It’s an insanely popular and influential radio program that reaches millions of listeners daily. Charlamagne has been behind the microphone for over a decade, and he's not one for playing by the rules of traditional media. In recent years he’s gotten vocal about the state of politics in the US and interviewed a raft of powerful politicians at the helm including former President Obama, President Biden and Vice President Harris. During the 2024 Presidential race, Charlamagne was an unofficial surrogate for the Harris-Walz campaign, but was arguably more effective as an inadvertent messenger for the Trump campaign’s anti-trans advertising.  Much like his approach to hosting, Charlamagne’s world views don’t stay within the lines of our polarized and partisan politics. He’s quick to remark on the faults of both parties and even quicker to call out the liberal media. In this episode, Kara and Charlamagne get into it all:  the importance of meeting people where they are, both in politics and in media; why authenticity matters more than accuracy and how Democrats don’t seem to understand that; what “mainstream media” means in 2024 and the role of “good” journalists; how he felt about getting dragged into a hateful ad for President-elect Trump and how he thinks VP Harris should’ve responded; the line between funny and offensive; and, most importantly, how to seek out joy and happiness through it all.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Chu grew up in Silicon Valley, in the shadow of Apple Park. His father, Chef Chu, still runs his eponymous restaurant there, and Jon worshiped Steve Jobs as a kid. As a teen, he used Apple products to learn how to make movies. Now he directs some of the biggest movies in Hollywood, but his relationship with the tech industry is much more complex.  Kara and Jon discuss his “new view” trilogy: Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights, and his latest film, Wicked. They unpack his memoir Viewfinder, and Chu explains how growing up in Silicon Valley shaped his understanding of technology — and how the industry’s switch towards data surveillance has changed his relationship with it as an artist.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram/TikTok as @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What role will writers play as we head into a second Trump term? Author, journalist and Howard University professor Ta-Nehisi Coates has some thoughts. The man who has been called “one of the most important writers on the subject of America today” came to the fore during the Obama era as one of the preeminent writers on race, among other things, for his 2014 essay “The Case for Reparations” and his book Between the World and Me, an open letter to his son about growing up as a Black man in America. Kara and Ta-Nehisi discuss how the Democrats lost the “rainbow coalition” in the 2024 election, why America’s “special relationship” with Israel compelled him to rally against Palestinian oppression in his latest book The Message, and why he thinks journalists will need to embrace a new and not-so-safe normal during Trump 2.0. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does a second Trump presidency mean for America? Kara hosts a panel of experts and reporters to reflect on the results of the election and to find out what we can expect going forward. They discuss the issues that mattered most to voters; what Democrats got wrong; the parts of our democracy that are broken beyond repair; the apparent shift in our country’s sense of self; and the role of social media versus traditional media in the digital age. Guests: Kristen Soltis Anderson, a pollster, founding partner of Echelon Insights, author of The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials are Leading America (And How Republicans Can Keep Up) and a CNN political contributor Isaac Arnsdorf, a national political reporter for The Washington Post and author of Finish What We Started: The MAGA Movement’s Ground War to End Democracy.  Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, and author of The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority is Transforming Democracy Abby Phillip, anchor of CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President-elect Donald J. Trump has won a resounding victory against Vice President Kamala Harris, and now, the man who promised political retribution and said he may use the military to go after “the enemy within” is headed back to the White House. Only this time, there will be no guardrails — only enablers. In order to understand the threat Trump poses to our democracy, Kara talks to two historians who know a lot about the birth of American democracy and the last time we came close to losing it: Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Dr. Timothy Naftali.  Chervinsky is a presidential historian and the executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library. Her newest book is Making the Presidency, John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic. Naftali is a senior research scholar in the Faculty of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and the former director of the federal Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram/TikTok as @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, isn’t on the ballot for the 2024 U.S. election, but he might as well be. Elon has become one of the Trump campaign’s top surrogates, top donors (over $119 million through the America Pac), and controls a main megaphone for pro-Trump propaganda at X. Kara and three other Musk experts discuss Elon’s outsized impact on the election, why Trump has been referring to him as the “Secretary of Cost-Cutting”, and why Musk & his businesses (X, Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink) stand to gain, no matter who wins. Guests: Tim Higgins, The Wall Street Journal columnist and author of Power Play, Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century Zoë Schiffer, director of business and industry at Wired and author of Extremely Hardcore, Inside Elon Musk's Twitter Eva Dou, The Washington Post Tech Policy Reporter Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lying has always been a part of politics, but in recent years, political lies have come to dominate our elections and their outcomes. Even the notion that facts and truths can be objective and shared across the political divide has been put into question. As we head into a fraught election, Kara speaks with Bill Adair, professor of journalism & public policy at Duke and author of Beyond the Big Lie, and Timothy Snyder, Yale history professor and author of On Freedom, about which party lies more; the role that social media plays in amplifying and spreading falsehoods; why it’s hard to get believers to turn away from the “Big Lie”; and why factuality is a cornerstone of freedom. Plus: Snyder calls The Washington Post’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate (dictated by owner Jeff Bezos) “anticipatory obedience” to tyranny.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reid Hoffman isn’t just one of the most influential entrepreneurs and investors in Silicon Valley — he’s also one of the most important mega-donors supporting the Democratic party. A member of the so-called PayPal Mafia, Hoffman is a VC partner at Greylock Ventures and Microsoft board member who co-founded LinkedIn and InflectionAI and was a founding investor in OpenAI. He is one of the leading voices in tech fighting against former President Donald Trump, and he puts his money where his mouth is — which doesn’t always sit well with progressives, and is even more upsetting to former friends, like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who have gone full MAGA.   In this live interview at the Masters of Scale Summit, hosted by Hoffman in San Francisco, Kara and Reid discuss everything from the upcoming election, and the business community’s response to Trump, to Elon, Peter Thiel, Lina Khan and artificial intelligence.   Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram as @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Has late-night TV passed its peak? Ticket sales for live comedy shows are booming and there’s no shortage of streaming stand-up specials, but the same is hardly true for late-night television. Is it the business model or the divisive nature of political comedy that’s driving viewership down? Either way, hosting a late-night show remains one of the most coveted jobs in comedy, and in this interview, Kara talks to one of the best. Seth Meyers, SNL veteran, host of Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC, and the host of too many podcasts to name, joins the show to talk about the future of late-night; what he’s learned in 10 years of hosting; the utter lack of diversity in the industry; and what a second Trump presidency could mean for comedians.  Kara and Seth also talk about his new stand-up special “Dad Man Walking,” which premieres on HBO and Max this weekend; how the comic folds his personal life and parenting stories into his acts and what his family thinks of it; why there are so many stand-up specials today; and which streaming platform does it best. Plus, Kara asks Seths about his “manic” content creation and his endeavors into podcasting. “Dad Man Walking” is available on HBO and Max this Saturday October 26, 2024. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“Digital machines are not just remaking stories, they're remaking us.” So says Oscar-winning actor Robert Downey Jr. as the titular character in his Broadway debut, MCNEAL. Kara talks with Downey Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar and Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher about the play and the thorny questions it raises around truth, lies and power in the AI age. They also discuss who is responsible for creating a new “social contract” around AI. Plus: Kara and Robert get into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and whether Downey is more like Elon Musk as Tony Stark aka Iron Man or in his upcoming role as Dr. Doom. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What do cybersecurity experts, journalists in foreign conflicts, indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Drake have in common? They all use the Signal messaging app. Signal’s protocol has been the gold standard in end-to-end encryption, used by Whatsapp, Google and more, for more than a decade. But it’s been under fire from both authoritarian governments and well-meaning democracies who see the privacy locks as a threat. Since 2022, former Google rabble-rouser and AI Now Institute co-founder Meredith Whittaker has been president of the Signal Foundation, the nonprofit that runs the app. Kara talks with Meredith about her fight to protect text privacy, the consolidation of power and money in AI and how nonprofits can survive in a world built on the surveillance economy.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why, despite being the most advanced species on the planet, does it feel like humanity is teetering on the brink of self-destruction? Is it just our human nature? Israeli philosopher and historian Yuval Noah Harari doesn’t think so — he says the problem is our information trade. This is the focus of his latest book, Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. Harari explores the evolution of our information networks, from the printing press to the dumpster fire of information on social media and what it all means as we approach the “canonization” of AI.  In this episode, Kara and Harari discuss why information is getting worse; how fiction fuels engagement; and why truth tends to sink in the flood of information washing over us. Vote for Kara as Best Host in the Current Events for Signal’s Listener’s Choice Awards here: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2024/shows/craft/best-host-current-events  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After more than five decades in broadcasting, Chris Wallace has won almost every award in journalism, including three Emmy Awards, the duPont-Columbia Silver Baton, and the Peabody Award. The host of CNN’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace and The Chris Wallace Show (tune in on Saturday mornings to see Kara spar with Chris and the other panelists) is also an author.  His latest book, Countdown 1960, narrates the twists and turns of the 1960 presidential contest between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Wallace makes the case that JFK and the Democratic machines in Illinois and Texas committed massive fraud to steal the election from the Republican candidate — and that Nixon did the right thing by conceding. Chris lays out the evidence behind his claim, and then, as we head into the 2024 presidential contest with an election denier, he and Kara break down the lessons and implications for democracy. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How did a Ukrainian-born hustler help former President Donald Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani dig up dirt on then-candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter to influence the 2020 presidential election – a scheme that ultimately led to Trump's first impeachment? That's the question behind ‘From Russia with Lev’, a new doc from MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that follows Lev Parnas, a Ukrainian-American from a less-than-savory background, who paid his way into the former president’s inner circle in 2016 and quickly became Trump’s “Ukraine guy.” Kara sits down with Maddow and director Billy Corben to discuss how Parnas gained access to then-POTUS Trump; the mission to take down Hunter Biden; Parnas’ role in the ousting of former US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch; and how he eventually came out on the other side of it all. Vote for Kara as Best Host in the Current Events for Signal’s Listener’s Choice Awards here: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2024/shows/craft/best-host-current-events  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will AI “agents” soon be personalized teachers, doctors, companions and even check items off your to-do list on their own? “Agentic” is the latest buzzword in AI and Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman says moving beyond the text chatbot to a "smart friend” is the goal. The former co-founder of DeepMind, Suleyman helped grow Google’s AI division before launching another start-up, InflectionAI. Earlier this year, Microsoft paid $650 million for the licensing rights to Inflection, and brought Suleyman and most of his staff on board. Kara spoke to him at this year's Lesbians Who Tech conference about his strategy for integrating Copilot into Microsoft’s existing product suite; why he views OpenAI more like a sibling than a competitor; and why renewable energies (and a lot of cash) will be vital in meeting AI’s massive energy needs. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bill Gates needs no introduction. The co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft and the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been one of the richest people in the world for decades. He’s also spent decades giving away his fortune and working on some of humanity’’s most vexing challenges. That’s the focus of his Netflix docuseries What’s Next? The Future with Bill Gates, where Bill dives into AI, misinformation, global warming, inequality, and disease. Kara interviews Bill in front of a live audience at New York City and pushes him on the issues, his proposed solutions, and the always tricky details — plus, she finds out who Bill wants to win the presidential election.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pete Buttigieg burst onto the political scene in 2019, and his rapid ascent into a legitimate presidential contender was one of the most surprising storylines of the 2020 Democratic primary. Today, he’s one of the most effective communicators in the party. He was also one of many Democratic voters’ favorite candidates for the Harris VP pick.  Kara and Pete get straight to all of that in this episode: is the Harris campaign strategy working? ; Was Tim Walz the right pick for VP? How is Pete prepping the Minnesota Governor for his upcoming debate against J.D. Vance? And what is his strategy when he goes on Fox News? Kara and Pete also discuss the Trump cult of personality that has taken hold of young men and tech bros alike; the tech CEOs that need to “come home” to “normal” (you know who we’re talking about); and why some of them continue to support politicians who vote against technological advancement and the core missions of the industry. *Note: Buttigieg appeared for this interview in his personal capacity. Kara was limited in asking questions relating to the Department of Transportation or anything about his role in President Biden’s administration due to the Hatch Act. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For years, former President Donald Trump has railed against law enforcement officials who have sought to hold him accountable. In his latest book, Where Tyranny Begins: the Justice Department, the FBI and the War on Democracy, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and senior executive editor for national security at NBC News David Rohde investigates how Trump’s attacks have impacted law enforcement agencies and the civil servants who work there. In this episode, Kara and David discuss how Trump’s threats and conspiracy theories have undermined important investigations; why Attorney General Merrick Garland hasn’t been able to turn the tide on public trust; and what happens to a democracy that loses the rule of law. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara interviews renowned economist, author, former Labor Secretary, and social media star, Robert Reich. The 78-year old professor of economics at University of California, Berkeley is as prolific as ever, pointing out the inequities in our “rigged system” and calling out the rich and powerful who want to keep it that way.  Kara and Robert discuss the presidential candidates' competing visions for the America, our rigged economic system (and how it got this way), his prescription for reigning in Elon Musk, and his incredible ability to connect with young people on social media. No one is spared from his withering critiques — including Elon Musk, Donald Trump, trickle-down economics, the Democratic party and our two-party system. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former First Lady/Senator/Madam Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton is in a political league of her own. But the “housewife from Chappaqua” (as Kara likes to call her) isn’t ready to hang up her party hat just yet. As she details in her latest memoir, Something Lost, Something Gained, HRC continues to champion the rights of women and girls across the globe. And as a former opponent to Donald Trump and only other woman to lead a major presidential ticket, she’s an inimitable advisor and surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris in her race to the White House.  In their sixth interview, Kara and Hillary do post-game analysis of the Harris/Trump debate, chat about campaign strategy (do voters really need more policy?), discuss the recent backlash against gender equality and what a Trump re-election could mean for HRC personally and the country at-large. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week, the Department of Justice announced major indictments alleging that, among other things, the Kremlin was paying right-wing influencers, like Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, and Benny Johnson, to spread Russian propaganda. The payments were funneled through a Tennessee-based company called Tenet Media, and while Rubin, Pool, and Johnson deny knowledge of the plot ... they don’t seem to have asked too many questions about the mysterious benefactor who was supposedly funding Tenet and paying them unseemly large amounts of money. Unfortunately, this is only the latest in a string of foreign influence campaigns coming from Russia, China and Iran that target American elections. To break down all the news, Kara is joined by Julia Davis, Alex Stamos, and Brandy Zadrozny. Julia is a columnist for the Daily Beast, an investigative reporter, and the creator of the Russian Media Monitor; Alex is the chief information security officer at SentinelOne, the founder of the Stanford Internet Observatory, and a former chief security officer at Facebook; and Brandy is senior reporter at NBC News who covers the Internet, especially politics, tech, and extremism.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash has been having one hell of a summer. She co-moderated the June debate that led to President Biden’s historic decision to step out of the race; she landed the first sit-down interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz; and now she’s out with a book (co-written with David Fisher) called America’s Deadliest Election: The Cautionary Tale of the Most Violent Election in American History. It’s a deep dive into the Louisiana gubernatorial race of 1872 that surprisingly has had ripple effects until today.  Kara and Dana sat down at Politics & Prose in Washington, D.C., to discuss the book, the huge shifts of the current election cycle, and the upcoming debate between former President Trump and Vice President Harris. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How much screen time is OK for a two year old? What is the right age for kids to get on Instagram or TikTok? And is there such a thing as "good" social media? Figuring out how to grapple with technology is one of the biggest headaches parents have to deal with these days. Kara talks to Dr. Becky (the "millennial parent whisperer") to get answers to the most pressing questions about tech and parenting. And this time, our expert questions come from you — our listeners! Dr. Becky Kennedy is a clinical psychologist who’s been called the “millennial parent whisperer." She is also a best-selling author and successful entrepreneur who has 2.8 million followers on Instagram, a hit TED talk, and a subscription-based platform called Good Inside that recently launched an app. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On with Kara Swisher is off for the Labor Day holiday, and we’re sharing an episode of friend-of-the-pod Preet Bharara's podcast Stay Tuned with Preet.  In the episode you’re about to hear, Preet interviews leading U.S. political historian Joanne Freeman. Their conversation covers what may turn out to be the craziest 33 days in modern American history – from the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, to President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race – and the momentum behind Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.  On will be back with a fresh episode on Thursday September 5th. Listen to Stay Tuned with Preet every Monday and Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tech’s tentacles are wrapped around almost every segment of the media industry. They haven't just choked off a large part of the ad revenue media companies relied on — Americans now consume media on devices built by tech companies and platforms owned by those same tech giants, and their algorithms often dictate what media we engage with.  To explore, question, and analyze the myriad intersections between the tech and media, Kara is joined by three of the sharpest reporters covering these two worlds. Oliver Darcy is the founder of Status, a new newsletter on beehiiv that covers the media. He's the former senior media reporter at CNN, where he covered the intersection of media, politics, and technology. Charlotte Klein is a features writer and media columnist at New York Magazine, who previously covered media for Vanity Fair. And Joanna Stern is the Wall Street Journal’s senior personal technology columnist, as well as author of the TechThings Newsletter, and she also hosts and produces the TechThings video series. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Almost 29 million television viewers tuned in to see Vice President Kamala Harris’s historic nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. But does size matter? And what’s next after the raucous, A-list celebrity packed, “joy-filled" DNC for the Harris/Walz campaign? With just 10 weeks left in the campaign, Kara reviews the biggest moments and messages from Chicago with today’s panel (Politico White House correspondent Eugene Daniels, co-author of Politico Playbook; Noel King, co-host of Vox’s Today Explained; political strategist Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark and founder of Republican Voters Against Trump; and V Spehar, independent journalist and host of the TikTok account, Under the Desk News) and discusses strengths and vulnerabilities coming out of the conventions for both campaigns. Plus: how RFK Jr.’s Trump endorsement will likely play out in key swing states. Note: This episode was taped on Friday, Aug 23rd, 2024. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David Axelrod was one of the first prominent Democrats to suggest that President Biden should withdraw from the race. The former senior advisor to President Barack Obama earned Biden’s ire in the process (and a colorful nickname to go along with it), but time proved him right. And now, he’s calling on Democrat’s to temper their “irrational exuberance.”  Kara talks to the Axe man about the Democratic National Convention (of course), his role in persudading President Joe Biden to drop out of the race, and his analysis of Vice President Harris’s messaging and campaign strategy. To get more David Axelrod, watch him on CNN or listen to Hacks on Tap and The Axe Files. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Democratic National Convention gets underway this week with party stars, social media influencers and Republican Never Trumpers flocking to Chicago for the historic event. Although Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have already been officially nominated online, the DNC will be a prime chance to lay out their agenda to the American people. But will they? Or will they be more focused on vibes and values? This week, Kara and a team of longtime Harris reporters and political insiders break down which issues will likely be front and center at the DNC, what you won’t hear a lot about, and what role social media, memes and Generative AI will likely play in the weeks ahead. Guests: Wall Street Journal White House reporter Sabrina Siddiqui; New York Times National politics reporter and host of The Run-Up podcast Astead Herndon; Casey Newton, founder of Platformer and co-host of the Hard Fork podcast; and Reed Galen, co-founder of the Lincoln Project, president of Join the Union, and author of the substack The Home Front. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As unlikely as it may seem, until this episode was recorded, Kara Swisher and Rachel Maddow had never met. The two sat down for a riveting conversation that connects America’s unsavory and under-told authoritarian history with the unprecedented political peril we find ourselves in today. After addressing the increasingly desperate calls for President Biden to step down from members of the media and his own party, Kara and Maddow turn to her latest project: the podcast Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra. It focuses on far-right extremism and Nazi propagandists in American politics during the 1930s to 1950s. It’s a story that she connects to the country’s present existential crisis — and one she looks to for guidance, as well. We ask her to explain.  Please note — this interview was recorded prior the the assassination attempt on former President Trump on July 13th. SEND US A QUESTION: Kara is talking to Dr. Becky this week about parenting, tech and social media and we’re opening the floor to listener questions. What would YOU like to ask her about kids and tech? Leave a voicemail at 1-888-KARA-PLZ. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gretchen Whitmer might be one of the most down-to-earth politicians in America — the governor from Michigan began her conversation with Kara with a bawdy joke about menstruation that she takes with her to the debate stage, and at no point during the interview did she hesitate from cursing. But with the calls for President Biden to resign growing louder, the Governor is an unenviable position. She’s considered a rising star within the party, and potential presidential candidate by some, but as a co-chair for the Biden/Harris re-election campaign she has to toe the line without seeming unaware of concerns that Biden just isn’t up to the task.  Governor Whitmer and Kara discuss the Democratic party’s current conundrum, as well as her new memoir, True Gretch, the infamous foiled attempt to kidnap and assassinate her, the best way for Biden (or any Democrat) to win Michigan’s 15 electoral votes, and her campaign slogan for 2028. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed 75 years ago to protect Europe and North America against Russian aggression – a mission that is once again top priority, as NATO supports Ukraine’s battle against President Vladimir Putin. Ahead of the NATO summit and anniversary celebration in D.C. this week, Kara sits down with US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith to talk about the war and Ukraine’s prospective membership in NATO, why the alliance is increasingly looking for partners in Asia and Africa, what members are saying about former president Donald Trump’s threats to quit the team, and how cybersecurity, climate security and AI will play a greater role in the years ahead. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump’s historic felony conviction, a SCOTUS ruling in favor of presidential immunity, and a dumpster fire Biden vs. Trump debate: Those are just a few of the things that have happened on the American democracy front since Kara spoke to historian Heather Cox Richardson in January. In a special Independence Day episode, Kara and Heather replay that conversation, including history lessons from her book Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, and then rejoin at the end. They discuss what Heather thought of the first presidential debate, why she believes changing presidential horses mid-race would be disastrous for Democrats, and how events of the past six months have (or haven't) changed her perspective about American Democracy. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hands with six fingers, mouths with dozens of teeth, hairlines and limbs out of whack: We’ve all seen eye-roll worthy generative AI images. But despite the prevalence of these easy to spot fakes, photography and video media companies like Getty Images are already feeling the impact of AI and trying to integrate the technology without compromising their core business. Kara speaks with Getty CEO Craig Peters about why he can promise users of the Getty AI Generator “uncapped indemnity”, whether he thinks licensing agreements with OpenAI and similar AI companies are “Faustian” deals with the devil, and how better standards to protect visual truth and authenticity could help the industry remain financially viable in the long run. Plus: how worried should we be about deep fakes impacting the 2024 election? Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2024 race is ON and the gloves are coming off: President Biden and former President Donald Trump will go head-to-head tonight, in the first debate of this campaign season [Thursday, 9 pm ET on CNN]. The two are basically tied in the polls, so both candidates are vying for independent voters in a handful of swing states to secure the Oval. Kara hosts a panel of political junkies (Stephanie Ruhle, host of MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle; Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief at the neoconservative Washington Free Beacon; and veteran Republican strategist Mike Madrid, co-founder of the Lincoln Project and author of a new book The Latino Century, How America's Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy) to discuss the top issues for voters, what could turn the tide for Trump or Biden, and whether this debate – or any – can change hearts and minds. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor and Director Griffin Dunne grew up surrounded by Hollywood fame and celebrity — his father was a TV producer, his aunt the renowned writer Joan Didion, his sister a blossoming actress and the late Carrie Fisher his best friend and onetime roommate. But the Dunne family became famous for tragedy when Griffin’s 22-year-old sister Dominique was murdered by her boyfriend. Dunne’s father, Dominick, chronicled the tumult of the murder trial for Vanity Fair, while privately struggling as a closeted homosexual. Kara talks to Dunne about the difficult decision to revisit these moments in his new memoir The Friday Afternoon Club. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Threads/Instagram @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Late spring/early summer is always a busy time for the Supreme Court, but this year, it’s not just the controversial decisions that are making news. The justices themselves have been in headlines — for all the wrong reasons. Kara and an expert panel discuss the ethical lapses, refusals the recuse, and of course, the cases themselves — including the big one, over Trump’s claim to “complete and total” immunity. The panelists are: Judge Nancy Gertner (retired), a lecturer at Harvard Law School and former US District Court judge for the District of Massachusetts who served on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court; Kedric Payne, vice president, general counsel, and senior director for ethics at the Campaign Legal Center; and Judge David Tatel (retired), a former judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and author of the new book Vision: A Memoir of Blindness and Justice. This interview was recorded on Tuesday June 18.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus is most famous for her comedic TV characters Elaine Benes in Seinfeld and Veep’s Selina Meyer. But in recent years, Louis-Dreyfus has been showing her dramatic chops, including in her latest film Tuesday, in which she takes on grief, denial and death. She's also been winning awards as the host of her podcast Wiser Than Me. Kara and Julia discuss how in-depth conversations with iconic older women have radicalized her, her concerns about the commercialization of art films and why she thinks comedy is risky - but still very much possible. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara takes the stage with Laurene Powell Jobs at Sixth & I in Washington D.C. to talk about Kara’s recent memoir, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story. In this bonus episode of On, Powell Jobs interviews Swisher about her life as a tech reporter, the incredible influence of tech CEOs, the need for regulation, AI and the best devices of all time. This episode was originally taped on February 29, 2024 and has been edited for clarity and length. You can find the full version of their conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrSy8XJgjjE Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara interviews Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI, and one of the most powerful people in tech. Murati has helped the company skyrocket to the forefront of the generative AI boom, and Apple’s recent announcement that it will soon put ChatGPT in its iPhones, iPads and laptops will only help increase their reach.  But OpenAI's rapid ascent has included its fair share of growing pains. There was “the blip,” as company insiders refer to the brief ousting of Sam Altman as CEO. (Murati became CEO for two days.) There have also been high-profile departures, an open letter accusing the company of putting product over safety, questions about highly restrictive NDAs, and even controversy over whether the company had stolen Scarlett Johansson's voice. On top of that, many fear that generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, will be used to fuel disinformation during the upcoming presidential election. Kara and Murati talk about all this, and more. This interview was recorded live at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, DC as part of their new Discovery Series. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Abortion will be a key issue in the election this fall and it's also the focus of two Supreme Court rulings expected later this month. This week, Kara speaks with Cecile Richards, activist and former President of Planned Parenthood, about the fight for reproductive rights in the post-Roe era, where abortion fits into the electoral landscape, the potential outcomes of the two SCOTUS rulings, and how technology is enhancing access to abortion. On a more personal note, Cecile also talks about her recent brain cancer diagnosis and how it’s impacted her work as a lifelong activist. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kara sits down to talk with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The social media-savvy congresswoman from the Bronx is a member of the bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, and she recently introduced a bill to combat nonconsensual deepfake pornography. Kara and AOC discuss the bill, and her opposition to the TikTok ban, along with her take on the overall tech landscape. They also dive into her recent back-and-forth with Marjorie Taylor Greene, her relationship with the Left, Trump vs. Biden and Gaza.  Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Broad City co-creator Ilana Glazer’s new friendship flick Babes is a no-holds-barred comedy about pregnancy, parenthood and the losses that come with adulthood. Kara talks with Ilana about why women’s bodies are considered “raunchy,” whether YouTube is still a good launch pad for breakout comedians, and how she is rallying Gen Z and Millennial voters to “microdose democracy” through her political non-profit Generator Collective. Plus: why, as a Jewish American, she’s calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find Kara on Instagram/Threads as @karaswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices