Channels with Peter Kafka

Mark Thompson, former CEO of The New York Times and the BBC, now leading CNN. The podcast explores Thompson's background and the challenges he faces. Topics include the future of CNN, the potential combination of NBC and CNN, and Thompson's impact as the new CEO.

Zach Kornfeld, one of the founding members of The Try Guys, talks about the origins and growth of the Try Guys, their branding and approach, expanding the brand with new talent, transitioning from YouTube to traditional media, the impact of the writer strike and rise of TikTok on content creation, and navigating sustainability and engaging with the audience.

Discover how the movie 'Sound of Freedom' became a surprise hit, surpassing blockbuster films, and delve into its themes of child sex trafficking and the involvement of faith-based groups. Explore the challenges the filmmakers faced in finding a distributor and learn about the controversy surrounding the real-life inspiration behind the movie. Join the podcast to listen to personal experiences of confronting human trafficking and the discussion on the essay by Meg Conley, Tim Ballard's departure from Operation Underground Railroad, and Brad Smith's podcast.

The podcast explores how Elon Musk joined Tesla and eventually led a coup against the original founders. It discusses Musk's control in his companies, his removal of the former CEO of Tesla, and the lawsuit with a co-founder. The podcast also highlights Tesla's challenges and Musk's Twitter influence on the company.

Black Mirror isn’t just a hit TV show: It’s a window into the not-too-distant future. Creator Charlie Brooker (@charltonbrooker) has an astonishing track record of consistently imagining what we’re just about to see - whether it’s Donald Trump, the downside of social media, or AI-generated TV shows. And he’s made something that’s pervaded pop culture - when someone says “That’s like a Black Mirror episode” we know exactly what they mean. Brooker tells Vox’s Peter Kafka that, despite what you might think, he doesn’t hate tech - his problem is with the humans that use it.Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at RecodeMore to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape.About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Biden wants to stop big companies - especially big tech companies - from buying or merging with other companies. FTC boss Lina Khan is supposed to be his enforcer, but… it’s not going well. In fact, it’s possible Khan’s struggles have made it easier for big companies to bulk up, or at least more likely to try. Vox’s Peter Kafka talks about all this with Cecilia Kang (@ceciliakang), who covers tech and regulation for The New York Times.Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at RecodeMore to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape.About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a very good week to make a Recode Media episode: Hollywood is reeling from two different strikes. Disney CEO Bob Iger has hung a For Sale sign on parts of his company. And Steven Soderbergh just made a TV series and is selling it directly to consumers, like it’s 2012 or something.First up, Vox’s Peter Kafka runs all of his Hollywood strike theories past Matt Belloni (@MattBelloni), founding partner of Puck News. Is AI really that big of a hangup for writers and actors on the picket line? When does this get solved and will consumers care? Then they discuss the problems Iger is grappling with in his second stint as Disney’s boss - and how he created those problems during his first stint in that job.Finally, a conversation with writer Kurt Anderson (@KBAndersen), who co-created Command Z with Soderbergh, on why now is the perfect time to self-release a project. It’s a business move that feels like a throwback to times before the streaming boom. Are we going to see more of these?Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at RecodeMore to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape.About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re one week into the Threads era. How long is that going to last? What does it mean for Twitter, really? And what do Threads and continued chaos at Twitter say about the future of social media?That’s maybe a lot to talk tackle, but we’re going to do it anyway. NYT tech reporter Mike Isaac (@mikeisaac) joins Vox’s Peter Kafka to get us up to speed on Mark Zuckerberg’s effort to depants Elon Musk — it seems to be going pretty well, for the moment. And we’ll try to answer one big question: Why exactly does Zuckerberg want a Twitter clone, anyway? Then veteran tech exec and big thinker Eugene Wei (@eugenewei) joins to talk about what Musk got wrong at Twitter, why Meta is building its own Twitter using cues from Instagram and TikTok, and life in the algorithm age.Host: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at RecodeMore to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape.About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former head of ESPN John Skipper has produced an ambitious new project. Now he has to figure out how to get it in front of you: SportsExplains the World is a series of films featuring well-known personalities (like Curt Schilling) and people you’ve never heard of (like a group of skater girls in Ethiopia). What it doesn’t have, yet, is a deal to get them on a TV screen near you — a condition that may or may not say a lot about the streaming industry in 2023. Skipper and executive producer Smriti Keshari recently sat down with Vox’s PeterKafka at the Tribeca Film Festival to talk about the work of figuring out what streamers want, why an a la carte ESPN would be a bad deal for consumers and why nothing will ever live up to The Last Dance.Featuring: John Skipper (@johnskipper), Cofounder and CEO of Meadowlark MediaSmriti Keshari (@keshari), filmmaker and Executive Producer of Sports Explains the WorldHost: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at RecodeMore to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape.About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Comedian Nimesh Patel was grinding it out in the stand-up mines for years with middling success. And then the stage changed. Patel tells us how TikTok changed everything and what it’s like to live at the whim of the algorithm.Then, host Peter Kafka catches up with former stunt coordinator and current filmmaker Sam Hargrave about the secret sauce of making action films for Netflix. It’s a lot of punching, a little Chris Hemsworth and a dash of stabbing the crap of people. His new movie, Extraction 2, is out on the streamer now.Featuring: Nimesh Patel (@findingnimesh), stand-up comedianSam Hargrave, director of Extraction 2 on NetfilxHost: Peter Kafka (@pkafka), Senior Editor at RecodeMore to explore: Subscribe for free to Recode Media, Peter Kafka, one of the media industry's most acclaimed reporters, talks to business titans, journalists, comedians, and more to get their take on today's media landscape.About Recode by Vox: Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices