On with Kara Swisher

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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com 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 on@voxmedia.com or find us on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and Bluesky @onwithkaraswisher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices