Tech journalist Kara Swisher gets candid about Silicon Valley and (what should be) the next obsession for entrepreneurs

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Oct 8, 2024

Tech journalist Kara Swisher, known for her sharp interviews since the '90s, shares captivating stories from Silicon Valley's elite, including Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. She emphasizes the importance of honesty in journalism and how it has shaped her career. Swisher discusses the urgent need for innovation in climate change technology, urging entrepreneurs to pivot towards meaningful solutions. With a focus on curiosity and adaptability, she reflects on the evolving media landscape and the necessity for diversity in tech.

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ADVICE

Stay Curious And Change Fast

Be curious and willing to change careers or topics frequently to stay relevant.
Treat your work as making substantive products rather than producing 'craplets'.

ANECDOTE

Meeting Google In A Garage

Kara recounts meeting Google founders when they were still in a garage and early-stage.
Early access to founders let her follow big ideas before they became massive companies.

INSIGHT

Difference Reveals Tech's Cosplay

Being different from the prevailing culture revealed inconsistencies and 'cosplaying' in tech.
Early skepticism helped Kara see that 'everything that could be digitized would be.'

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Journalist Kara Swisher started reporting on tech in the 1990s at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. Since then, she’s conducted interviews with nearly every tech executive you could think of, from the late Steve Jobs to Bill Gates to Mark Zuckerberg, many of which she recounts in her latest New York Times bestseller, “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.” Understanding that “everything that could be digitized would be” early on and always having “been super curious about whatever I happen to do,” she is highly regarded for her quick wit—seasoned with salty language—and her willingness to ask powerful leaders the tough questions. Swisher herself has become her own media entity and currently puts out four podcast episodes a week, in addition to hosting “HBO’s Succession Podcast” until the end of the show’s run last year, as well as various stints on networks like CNN. Moving forward, she says she’s interested in the evolution of climate change technology, which she plans to cover in her next book, which will focus on the link between analog and digital.

In this episode, Kara Swisher discusses her encounters with some of the most powerful tech leaders in the world, how being “dead honest” has aided her career, and the future of climate change technology in conversation with Fernanda Kasper Ortolan, MBA 25, and Ashley Wong, MBA 25. This interview took place on Oct. 1, 2024, as part of the Dean’s Speaker Series. Bringing in a diverse mix of preeminent business leaders, the Dean’s Speaker Series provides the Haas community with insightful perspectives on effective leadership and opportunities for thought-provoking discussions.

Read the full article on today's episode on the Haas Newsroom.
Read more about the UC Berkeley Haas Dean's Speaker Series and upcoming speakers.
Read more about the Haas School of Business.

The UC Berkeley Dean's Speaker Series podcast is a production of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. This production is made possible by our:

Haas Events team: Sarah Bottger, Carrie Hults, Meg Fellner
Podcast production team: Jordan Joseffer, Laura Counts, Stella Kotik
Dean’s Speaker Series Student Board: Ashley Wong, Budi Sosrodjojo, David Bravo, Fernanda Ortolan, Luis Sante, Olivia Halas-Dias, Punit Vyas
Interim Dean Jennifer Chatman
Writing Support: Emily Gordon
Berkeley AV Production Team