On with Kara Swisher

Democratic pollster Terrance Woodbury, Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, and election analyst David Wasserman assess the midterm map. They debate a possible blue wave, polling reliability, prediction markets, affordability, Trump fatigue, and Gen Z’s rejection of party labels. The panel also examines Texas, data centers, Black voter backlash, and the early 2028 succession race.

Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state, senator, first lady, and 2016 presidential nominee, joins a fiery discussion on Trump’s ties to Putin, delayed Russia sanctions, and corruption allegations. She and Kara Swisher examine crypto, pay-to-play contracts, campaign finance, congressional stock trading, and Democratic strategy for the midterms. Clinton also recalls the Nixon impeachment inquiry and reacts to Trump’s proposed renaming of New Mexico.

Ann Patchett, acclaimed novelist and Nashville bookseller; Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko; and Pulitzer winner Barbara Kingsolver discuss fiction’s place in a distracted world. They explore class, diaspora, family, literacy, publishing’s transformation, reaching younger readers, AI’s threat to creativity, research, revision, and the stubborn reasons writers keep going.

Keri Russell, the Emmy-nominated actor known for The Americans and Felicity, discusses returning as Ambassador Kate Wyler in The Diplomat. She explores playing complex women, mastering dense diplomatic dialogue, and Kate and Hal’s combustible marriage. Russell also reflects on real-world diplomacy, Hollywood’s uncertain future, family life, and AI’s impact on storytelling.

Hillary Clinton, former secretary of state, senator, first lady, and 2016 presidential nominee, joins a wide-ranging discussion on the midterms. Topics include Elon Musk’s political spending, rising costs, healthcare subsidies, key Senate races in Michigan and Maine, Democratic messaging, grassroots organizing, and the risks of spectacle-driven government and foreign policy.

Aaron Sorkin, Oscar-winning writer-director of The Social Network, and Jeremy Strong, Emmy-winning Succession actor, discuss their new film about Facebook’s fallout. They explore Mark Zuckerberg’s intentions, algorithmic harm, free speech, January 6th, concentrated platform power, and the challenge of portraying a controversial tech titan with empathy. They also connect Facebook’s reckoning to AI’s looming accountability crisis.

Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning investigative filmmaker behind “Musk,” joins Justine Musk, a novelist and Elon Musk’s former wife. They explore Musk’s carefully built engineer persona, communication as control, family trauma, and his shift toward right-wing politics. The conversation examines DOGE, surveillance power, media pressure, and the growing threat his influence may pose to democracy.

Ari Emanuel, the entertainment executive behind Endeavor, WME and TKO, discusses his memoir and the rage-fueled reputation that shaped his career. He reflects on dyslexia, sibling comparisons, fatherhood and leadership. The conversation also explores Paramount’s potential merger, AI’s impact on Hollywood, sports empire-building, public feuds, and why he still talks with Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

Andy Cohen, the television host, producer, author and media executive behind Bravo’s Real Housewives universe, reveals how reality TV became a cultural powerhouse. He discusses the Housewives formula, live unscripted television, fame, feminism and accountability. Cohen also reflects on fatherhood, political outspokenness, his friendship with Anderson Cooper and expanding across TV, audio, publishing and live events.

Sir Michael Moritz, Welsh-born venture capitalist, author, and former journalist, reflects on his family’s escape from Nazi Germany in Auslander. He discusses archival discoveries, inherited trauma, outsider identity, and why his parents rejected the label “survivors.” The conversation also explores authoritarianism, historical memory, Israel and Gaza, Silicon Valley’s moral responsibilities, San Francisco philanthropy, and persistence.